Gameplay Today - Because You're Always Gaming

When I was younger, I used to watch my mom play video games on the Nintendo and Super Nintendo. I remember being mesmerized with all these different worlds and I think that’s what got me into gaming in the first place. One game that I was really drawn to was Final Fantasy IV, or what was FFII at the time. A world with castles ruled by kings, airships, so many various characters and who can forget the chocobos. Over the years we have revisited this world on the Playstation, Gameboy Advance, a full 3D remake on the Nintendo DS and now it has a home on the PSP with Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection which includes the WiiWare release of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years plus an all-new interlude story.

Final Fantasy IV takes us on a journey with Cecil Harvey, a Dark Knight and Captain of the Red Wings from Baron. He has been set out to collect the crystals from neighboring cities for his king. Upon return the king demoted Cecil and set him on a task to deliver a package to the Village of Mist. Cecil’s friend and Dragoon of Baron, Kain joins Cecil and when they arrive their package ends up burning the village. The only survivor is a summoner girl by the name of Rydia. She summons Titan who creates an earthquake that separates Kain and Cecil. It is here that Cecil sets out on his real journey while meeting several unique characters to discover what happens to the place he once called home and what is happening to this blue planet.

Of course Final Fantasy IV plays like any other typical RPG. You travel on a world map visiting various places from castles to towns and dungeons with random monster encounters. You command up to five characters through the battle systems Active Time Battle making you pay close attention to your battles. This version of the game is the Gameboy Advance port so it has the same dialogue with the graphics being updated yet again making it look crisp and clean with some amazing special effects for the PSP.

Upon receiving the game I drove right into the Interlude story since it was new and fresh. You take control of several characters showing what they are up to after the events of FFIV but there wasn’t anything really exciting; plus it only took about three hours to complete while I was hoping for more. It is a nice little touch showing us events that happened between the two games though.

The After Years takes place seventeen years after the events of the original. You start off playing as Ceodore, the child of Cecil and Rosa. He is in training to become part of the Red Wings when events from the past seem to be recurring, with a new villain afoot. When completed with his story, new stories of favorite characters with some new characters introduced in their tales, open for you to adventure into; unfolding what’s going on in the world. The battle system is much like the original but has a new feature called Age of the Moon. Depending on the phase of the moon for time, some of your abilities are either halved or strong. For Example, the full moon makes your attacks not as strong but black magic is more powerful. There is also a combination attack called Bands. This allows you to learn new abilities for two or more characters to perform more powerful attacks.

Final Fantasy IV is still one of the most memorable titles in the franchise. From its solid plot to the unforgettable characters, any Final Fantasy fan can’t help relive this story over and over again. With some extra content after completion and The After Years included, it’s the perfect collection for anyone wanting to relive the classic and for any newcomers out there.