Final Fantasy 4

Final Fantasy is what you'd usually think about when you'd think about RPGs. While it has over welcomed it's stay it has made some impressive works. Some of the most notable titles include Final Fantasy 6, 7, and...really only those two. While 6 and 7 are the most popular, the most groundbreaking title that made the series what it is today is Final Fantasy 4. This is a game that no one really talks about a lot, but has made a big impact in the franchise that it deserves to be given more light.

The story goes like this: Cecil Harvey is the leader of the Red Wings, an elite air force for the kingdom of Baron. After raiding an innocent town for their power crystal, Cecil starts doubting his king's actions and wonders if he's doing the right thing. When he's sent on a mission to attack a small village called mist, Cecil decides to rebel against his king and restore peace through the nations. Along the way Cecil encounters many people on his journey, like the summoner Rydia, the dragoon Kain, the white mage Rosa, who's also Cecil's love interest, the great sage Tellah, and many more. During their journey, thing's become more clear about what's happening, it turns out the evil sorcerer Golbez has taken over the red wings and has manipulated the king to do his bidding and get all the crystals in each kingdom. Who will win, who will lose, you'll have to play to find out.


Well let's look at the good parts: First, let's look at our protagonist. Cecil Harvey is, in my opinion, one of the best heroes in any game. He knows that what he did was bad and that it is hard to be forgiven for what he did, but he also knows that he must right his wrongs and stop Golbez. Everyone you meet is very likable and has some nice development, such as Kain who is your childhood friend slash rival and goes through some turmoils on his own in the game as well. Rosa is Cecil's love interest and wants to fight by his side like her mother did with her father. Tellah is a great sage who lost his daughter in one of Golbez's attacks and wants to avenge his daughter. Rydia lost her mother in Cecil's attack on the village of mist so Cecil basically has to take care of Rydia now. I didn't name off everyone you meet as there's a lot of people, but they all have great development as characters, and that's another plus in this game, the character development. RPGs before this did little to no character development, this game made development a standard for characters. The music is beautiful, most notably the theme of love, in fact the theme of love is so good, 6th graders in Japan are taught this on piano. The combat is also great, this is the first game in the series to do the active battle system where everything happens in real time during combat, and it works well in this. This game is beautiful in story and game play.

However, there are some negatives: For one thing, you need to do a lot of XP grinding if you want to face big bosses. I know it's a standard now, but it does get frustrating when you're at a boss and you can't kill him no matter how hard you try. Also, the graphics, while good, aren't that impressive, I don't really care about graphics because game play and story are more important, but some might not like the graphics.

Overall, Final Fantasy 4 is a beautiful game with great game play, story, and music. If you want to purchase this game I recommend getting either the DS or PS1 versions. The PS1 version can be found in the Final Fantasy Chronicles collection. For now, thanks for reading and remember to keep ranting n' raving.