Others say...

"Not great, but a good quality game...fantastic visuals for DS."
I recently started playing the Final Fantasy series for the first time :0...I'm a 34 year old male and can't explain why I missed out on this series when I was younger. I started with FF I&II for the gba and then III for the DS and then this one. So my impressions/review comes from playing them in order for the first time without any comparisons to the later ones (IE: highly regarded VI and VII)

I enjoyed this game, but unlike others I enjoyed Final Fantasy III for the DS more.

The 3D visuals and cinematics are fantastic for the DS!!! Music is good as always for a Final Fantasy title. The story is good, and the movies and voice make it better.

The gameplay lacks compared to FF III in my opinion. The characters that you get are limitted to their 'job' unlike FF III. You can't customize the characters nearly as much, other than the augment system which is okay in my opinion. I enjoyed leveling up my FF III characters with the jobs I wanted them to have and configuring my party as I wished. In FF IV, your party members have their specific jobs that go along with the story. I enjoyed FF II Advance more than IV due to this limitted leveling up gameplay.

I gave it a 3 star for fun due to the limited character development/customization (which is very important to me) and a 4 star overall due to the enhanced movies and my enjoyment of the Final Fantasy series overall (FF II & III were better in my opinion)

I've been playing Dragon Quest IV lately, and I have enjoyed it's story and character development (story-wise not stat wise) more so than the FF series.

FF IV is definitely worth picking up but waiting until it's cheaper is not a bad idea (it has a premium prices currently at 40 bucks new).

One final note...I was able to 'trade' it straight up for DQIV on gametz dot com which made the premium price not as big of a deal. I highly recommend that site for trading games with others rather than taking them to rip off trading places like gamestop...stepping down from my soap box now :)

"Stylus Function Being Taken Out Dissapoints Buyers and Players of Final Fantasy IV DS"
hmph. Square-Enix obviously doesn't call this a remake if they've decided to take the stylus functionality that was made famous in the Final Fantasy III DS Remake out of this one, which for everyone who has bought this game is disappointed about. people who has bought this game (especially me) want to make very good use of the stylus and Square-Enix remade the game to prevent that. therefore I and alot of people around the world who like i said have bought and played this game are utterly disappointed about it. stil great remake though with added voice overs and stuff.


"Here we go again!"
Reviewed for Big Boss Games by: T.R.C.

Prologue: Taken from the instruction book.

Birthed from womb of dragon's maw
And born unto the stars
By light and darkness cast aloft
Are dreamtide oaths resworn
Moon is swathed in ever-light
Ne'er again to know eclipse
Earth, with hallow'd bounty reconciled.

Personal Note: I'm about the largest Final Fantasy fanatic there is and I'm starting to have an issue with Square Enix retooling, remaking, and re-releasing the same games over and over and over again. That aside, this version of Final Fantasy IV was awesome! It has the same story, for the most part. This game has better graphics and a new skill system to more than validate this purchase.

Story: 5/5
This story is full of adventure, betrayals, love, loss, sacrifices, magic and redemption. You start your adventure as a dark knight, commander of a fleet of airships call the Red Wings. You and your childhood friend, Kain, are sent on a mission to destroy a town.

I found this story to be the 2nd BEST in the Final Fantasy chronicles. This is one of the stories I use to measure all RPGs by.

Sound: 5/5
The musical score haunts my dreams. I loved the whole game soundtrack. The added voice acting really brings this story to life. I give kudos to Square Enix.

Graphics: 4.5/5
ULTRA updated from the 2-D, the DS 3-D style is similar to the remake of Final Fantasy III on the DS. It took me a while to get use to the face lift that one of my favorite games underwent. Because I've played this game on the Super Nintendo then on the Playstation, then on the Game Boy Advance and now on the Nintendo DS, out of all the versions that I've played of this game this DS version has looked the best. They added voice-acted cut-scenes at all the right moments in this game. WOW!

Game-play: 3.5/5
Thank goodness for a typical turn based battle system. They tossed in an abilities section to the item menu that allows you to equip skills that others on your team may have had or that enhance you stats, HP or MP. You can find these items on the ground or by talking to people. (Talk to everyone! Multiple times. And at different stages in the game.) Also, with the DS Map feature, if you complete 100% of the map you are given a prize.

Replay Value: 1/5
Once you go though the game you will not need to play it over again, unless you want to see the cut-scenes and that GREAT story again!

Overall: 4.5/5
I will award this game with a 4.5/5 because I loved the story, the graphics were great, the game-play was standard and the sound was just good. My only issue with this game is that I've bought the same game 4 times on 4 different systems. I'm beginning to get a bit tired of playing the same game. Yes, when they remake Final Fantasy IV again for the next group of systems, I'll be right there in line at the store to pick it up.

This game is for any RPG fan.

"Redemption"
I'd like to chime in and share my thoughts on this lovely little gem of a game, me being one of those who never played the older FF games, and my first exposure being, FF7, I just have to say that this is quickly becoming my all time favourite Final Fantasy game ever! I'll also note that I'm a huge fan of jrpg's and any rpgs in general, but just the old school turned based is what I love the most. Honestly the portability with the handheld system (DS) is fantastic, I'll just take this with me to work and play on my breaks or waiting for a ride or on the bus or train, it's just great.

As far as the actual game is concerned enough reviewers here have referenced the improvements or irks they might have from the original, or other remakes of this game, I'll just talk from a first time experience, and it's everything I have ever loved about this genre, graphically it's the best I've ever seen on the DS, and the depth and ability to customize using the augmentation system is amazing. I've found some difficulty dealing with certain bosses and the level grinding can be a bit tedious at times, but over all I enjoy it for the sake that I've never had a problem grinding out the levels and can just spend days on end leveling my characters up, and really learning just how to use them to their full advantages.

As far as story is concerned it couldn't get better than this a dark knight, seeking redemption and salvation for the wrongs he's caused, and for such a colourful and viberant world, the story is very mature and dark, dealing with death and betrayal, and ultimately saving the world, it's all very epic. And I can't help but become completely swept up into the world and struggles of each character and every time someone knew is introduced I get really excited and just can't wait to find out more about their personalities and traits.

I'm not quite finished playing through this game, and should probably update this review once finished, but I thought I'd chime in and give this remake the credit it deserves, and can't wait to see even more jrpg's on this system, and a chance to play all these famed classics for the first time, ie, Chrono Trigger, and the DQ series. Thanks to Square Enix I'll be able too!

**Edit**

I finished the game and the ending was bitter sweet, so hard to let these characters go. *sniff* And now ranks in my favorite FF ever played.

Highly Recommended to new comers.

"wow"
This is my first Final Fantasy in my life.

It has interesting storyline, very concentrative.

It took me three days to see the ending, 24 hours of playtime,

with cheat codes. I'm afraid how long I would take w/o codes.

The battle system was tactfull, and monotonuose I guess.