Final Fantasy IV is great, if you've never played it before then head out and get it.
Anyone else, sit down and find out why and if you should get it given that you've played it before.
As retro games come, this isn't too bad, it's a SNES era RPG so it's new retro at best. Having enjoyed a large amount of SNES games to this day I'd see no reason to mark the game as though it's sole competition is Aero the acro-bat. It's a 3D remake of the original and a powerful example of why the PSP and DS aren't completely on separate levels.
FFIV is the story of love and companionship as usual, if anything this is the Final Fantasy that you'd have gotten stick for from others before Final Fantasy VII cleaned up the image.
This is the series evolution in maturity but some players may well miss the madcap adventures of VI and VII which this game has very little similarity to. IV is a quiet journey with some great plot moments but weak characters (of course dependent upon your interests).
Though the original game was great for its time something's been lost a little in it's remake, though it's questionable it was ever there. The game really pushes a stereotypical set of characters towards you with love rivalry being transparent as a plot weakness.
The music and graphics are on a high though, the fairly upbeat and orchestral epic pieces join together quite well and the battling you'll be doing so much of is rarely a chore given the auto-battle option that gives the game a chance to breathe with the contemporary audiences.
Final Fantasy IV is a key moment in the series but just how much it'll influence and charm you as it once did is in the eye of the beholder.. you. On the basis of my own experience and even in the face of such an unappealing plot I have no doubt this is one of the best Nintendo DS games on the market.
There really shouldn't be rules that once classic games can't be marked down if resurrected but Final Fantasy IV has lost its appeal though it's by no means knocked down far from it's status of old.
Verdict:Great
