izigame.me

I finished this ages ago and just forgot to write a review, so here it is. With an average completion time of 20.5 hours, Final Fantasy 4 is what I believe to be a good introduction to the series for the modern audience. The only other Final Fantasy title I'd finished prior to this was 15, which is an action game. Final Fantasy 4 is the first real turn-based game I played and enjoyed in my 22 years on this planet.


PROS

It's easy to understand the Active Time battle system, being that the normal turn-based nature of Final Fantasy is now accompanied by a perpetual timer which encourages fast decision making and attack coordination. I prefer it to the Conditional Turn Based system from Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII.
I like the locked class system, sometimes I find in JRPGs you can be come overwhelmed by choice of class, but Final Fantasy 4 was good in that you had a character for every situation, even when they evolved or were changed out for someone new. 12 playable characters over all is quite a lot!
A levelling system that for it's time would be quite adequate in XP distribution and gain, however I am an impatient zoomer and played this on Steam so I put the boost on so that the grind for levelling didn't put me off enjoying the game.
Interesting boss battles, all with unique mechanics and attack patterns, I enjoyed doing them more than once just to understand how some of my own skills and attacks worked against enemy types.
NPCs with character, their own backstory, and funny little in-jokes made the whole world ending storyline less despairing.
You can become a pig and a frog, peak gameplay mechanic of running around the overworld as a little piggy to me, is a selling point.
Beautiful soundtrack as expected from a Final Fantasy title, my favourite track was Troian Beauty
A story that was both unique and engaging, I genuinely enjoyed progressing through it and learning about the various characters, areas, past events and lore within the game's universe.


CONS

I wish they'd kept in the Lunar Ruin's dungeon from the Game Boy Advance version in the PC port and later versions, that would have been interesting to play as a split-up party.


If you think Final Fantasy is a hard series to get in to because you "don't like turn based games", well, grow up and expand your taste in games like I did. Final Fantasy 4 is a masterpiece and I understand why it is often regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time, a pioneer in the RPG field. I'd recommend this game as a gateway into the series, as luckily not many Final Fantasy games relate directly back to each other unless specified (13, 13-2, Lightning Returns, 10, 10-2 etc.), and Final Fantasy 4 even has a sequel available!
Square Enix games often go on sale on Steam, but majority of the older Final Fantasy games are multi-platform compatible now, so there's nothing stopping you from picking it up.

Overall, I'd list Final Fantasy 4 as a game I really, REALLY enjoyed, and maybe one day I will play the sequel and other titles in the series.