by Maverick
As far as I’m concerned, the DS release of Final Fantasy IV is the hardest RPG I have ever played, with maybe the possible exception of Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3: FES on Hard Mode.
Having long been a Final Fantasy fan, and of FFIV in particular, (though the sixth installment is where my heart truly lies) I picked up the DS remake on day one. I discovered pretty quickly that the difficulty in this game was ratcheted up to eleven. Seriously, this entire game makes the last dungeon of the original Final Fantasy look like a piece of soft, fluffy angel food cake.
Monsters hit hard, and more often. And they’re everywhere. Items are more scarce, and skills are more expensive. Square-Enix has decided that since the fans wanted a tougher game, by God, they were gonna give it to ‘em.
Indeed, Final Fantasy IV has long had a record of being tough. The original Final Fantasy II that North American SNESs had way back when, was a watered down, wimpified version of the original game. Squaresoft had deemed North American audiences to simply not be clever enough to beat the game outright.
Well. I’ve said elsewhere but I’ll say it here, I think this version is the definitive version of the game. It’s got all the content of the original game – more unique skills for each character, a far and away superior script, and somehow even the more boring setpieces of the original have been infused with new life to become contrasted and unique. It’s become a better game than when I first came to it.
But as I’ve said, I’ve owned the game since launch day. Having been a fan of the series and the game for 17 years, I know my way around its environs and its strategies pretty well. But now, in its last dungeon, it has had me stymied for months. I’ve never had this many game overs in a Final Fantasy.
I’ll finish this game, though. Matrix Software has created a great game on Square-Enix’s behalf. But damned if they’re not going to make me work for it.
