Final Fantasy IV is Awesome: The CoNcast Ep. 22
Lasz and Stiltz joined me to record some words describing this phenomenon. We talk about the ATB system, the deliciously melodramatic plot, the fantastic soundtrack, and the fact that it's been released for approximately seven thousand gaming platforms. Hopefully, spending some time listening to us will remind you that FF4 is fantastic and you'll seek out a new playthrough (and/or buy a new copy through AmaCoN!).
Source: The CoNcast Subscription Feed, The CoNcast on iTunes
Posted in: CoNcasts
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Rangers51 |
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| Member Since: 1997-07-31 | |
| News articles posted: 558 | |
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Comments
| Glenn Magus Harvey | Comment 1: 2014-04-18 17:26 |
| > zombie games Quite hard for me to muster up, since I generally kinda dislike zombie games. Would a Castlevania game count? And I guess I did play Organ Trail... > Final Fantasy IV This was actually my first FF game, and my fourth (after Super Mario RPG, first-generation Pokémon, and Chrono Trigger). I've got quite fond memories of it. > ATB There is one more interesting feature with ATB that wasn't really explored until Final Fantasy Tactics, and that is spell-casting time. I think the lower-level spells generally take a little less time than the higher-level spells to cast. Though the only spell for which this was noticeable is Meteo taking forever to cast. And due to the 9999 damage cap, it's basically useless, which is kinda sad, given how hyped it is in the game. > spell system and customization, re plot The plot was definitely interesting and very memorable, despite the melodrama. While I say it doesn't rank among my favorite plots, its many twists and climactic moments make it very memorable and something I'm quite fond of. The great music also helped. One of the best features -- which, come to think of it, was instrumental in my enjoyment -- was, as people have noted, the way characters would gain abilities or change class based on the events of the plot. Given how I feel that systems like magicite or materia or their successors (especially really complex systems in some non-FF games) detract from the narrative immersion, I'd much rather games actually do things like this -- unlocking abilities by plot events. Granted, I also tend to want -- or at least expect out of JRPGs -- a focus on story, with gameplay designed to support it, so that the narrative just flows forth both from the script and from the actions my player-characters are taking. (And I tend to be a bit less interested in customization...) I think the reason this was effective was that it basically took a standard game mechanic and used it as a tool to present plot. Rather than being "okay, here's the plot, and on the side, here's this gameplay mechanic that's clearly a gameplay mechanic in order to make the game interesting beyond characters simply learning spells at level up" (for example), it simply took a simple gameplay mechanic I was familiar with and understood, and played with my expectations of it. That right there is gameplay and story integration, which I think happens best when the gameplay is something that's just intuitive to the player rather than having to be an intellectual exercise for them. Similarly, for example, the game Puzzle Agent has you solve puzzles to advance the plot, and it's pretty clear that the point of the game is puzzles. But then, one time, you're solving a puzzle...and then your puzzle-solving interface is itself messed with -- that was a very memorable moment in that game. Re gameplay vs. story, here's an odd little thing: For whatever reasons, I remember this game more for its gameplay and FFV more for its story, despite the reverse usually being the case for people. The less narratively-coherent story and fantasy-kitchen-sink setting of FFIV made it appeal less to me, but instead (and maybe by virtue of playing it on an emulator with a turbo button) I remember how fast attack and spell animations were, and how I could just get to the point quickly in battles (entering commands and seeing the results). (I guess that also played into the gameplay-and-story-integration mentioned above, when features in the battle system that was so intuitive and that I had gotten so used to were then used to present plot points.) In contrast, the more complex gameplay customization system of FFV didn't appeal as much to me in just wanting to see more of the story, whereas that more dramatically coherent story did. > endgame party choice I personally don't like Edge and I'd throw in FuSoYa if I could, though I don't know if I can as I haven't played the version with this bonus content. Though part of that dislike stemmed from his inability to take much of a hit in the front row. > Edward I still insist he's better than nothing in the original game since he can do significant damage to something other than goblins with his Fight command, unlike Rydia or Tellah. > comparing Uematsu and Mitsuda Yeah, that's something I've noticed -- Mitsuda has less memorable melodies and tends to be more atmospheric. Uematsu is more classicism-oriented. > boss music It first shows up in the Mist Dragon fight. Of course, the first time I heard it was when I fought Culex. > "I don't have many nice things to say about The After Years" Oh? I was thinking of getting my hands on that...is it bad? | |
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©1997–2025 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)
All fanfiction and fanart (including original artwork in forum avatars) is property of the original authors. Some graphics property of Square Enix.
©1997–2025 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)
All fanfiction and fanart (including original artwork in forum avatars) is property of the original authors. Some graphics property of Square Enix.