The Final Fantasy titles have been big contenders in the games industry for decades and yet I never picked up a copy until Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings was released onto DS earlier this year (the less said about this game in my opinion the better).  I’d heard that Final Fantasy VII was “the best” out of the titles (I state with the intention of not starting a lengthy debate), so I thought I’d give the latest one a go.  Starting with this Final Fantasy game was one of the worst mistakes I’d ever made.  With only playing just an hour of Revenant Wings I had almost given up on the whole series.  Fortunately, I had bought my younger sister (who has absolutely adored the series from Final Fantasy X) a copy of Final Fantasy III.  I didn’t want to spend any more of my hard earned money on another (it pains me to say this) useless game.  I was with this game that my perception of the Final Fantasy series changed completely.  I accept that sometimes development companies get games wrong so I won’t hold Revenant Wings against Square Enix.

          This new found love of the Final Fantasy series led me to discover that Square Enix had remade another Final Fantasy game title on the DS - Final Fantasy IV (FFIV).  As great as I thought FFIII was, FFIV promises to completely annihilate the previous title and deliver what is said to be the best version of FFIV across the platforms.  

          This latest version of FFIV delivers a beautiful 3D experience that truly immerses you in the universe of Final Fantasy.  The quality of the 3D models have certainly improved from the quality in FFIII.  This game also utilizes the dual screens of the DS even more so than FFIII.

          Make no mistake this DS version will test your gaming skills to their limits.  After the first hours of play things do start to get hard, but FFIV maintains that balance of being a pleasant challenge rather than sending you into a mental break down where your DS meets an untimely demise with the nearest wall.  Rather than being hard because it’s overwhelmingly difficult, this game is demanding because of its strategic element.

          On the subject of magic, a new augment system allows for skills, such as “bluff” and “cry” to be transferred to other mage type characters.  This means that skills aren’t lost when characters leave the party for reasons due to the story.

          Another new addition is the command bar, where you can now set specific spells to be readily available just like when using “hot keys”.

          The world of FFIV has been re-made, where pre-existing sections have been restored and graphically updated and areas that have been newly created merge flawlessly into the pre-existing world.  Players of the previous versions will be pleased to know that some levels perfectly resemble these previous games, even holding the same character and secrets as they once did.

          This game promises to be another great master piece remake for Square Enix, but as I stated before this will not be an easy one.  Auto saves aren’t there to rescue you in difficult situations, you may find that you’ll have to train up a lot more in order to buy that one piece of equipment that will make the difference in battle and characters will come and go out of your party whenever they please so be prepared, random battles will leave you near death and skipping text may mean skipping vitals clues to the next step and hours of wandering around aimlessly searching for the answer.

Good luck and enjoy!