anyone feel like FF4 is just way better than FF1,2,3?

[👽Shini]

I just beat FF1,2,3 and it just feels like FF4's story and way the game is played out is just so much more engaging. i feel like i understand each character's personality, the situations, the tensions between some characters. but when i played FF1,2,3, i barely care to remember their names. sure, they are much older than FF4, but the gap between FF3 and FF4 seems so big. Maybe i should play the 3d version of FF3 again.
Man ff4 is almost as good as FF6 for me.

[Jeebs]

It's my favourite entry in the series. I don't think the first three are that much older than IV though. If I remember correctly, the first Final Fantasy came out in 1987 and IV came out in 1991. It was originally meant to release on the NES but they decided to push it back and release it on the SNES instead, which gave them the ability to do a little more than they could with the previous titles.

Beyond the obvious advantages of having more processing power, there was also more memory on the SNES cartridges, which meant they could have more story. It definitely has one of the best stories in the series, in my opinion. I certainly found the characters more engaging than in any other FF game, but nostalgia likely plays a part in that. FF IV (called FF 2 back then) was the first Final Fantasy game I really got into as a kid.

It was definitely one of the more popular titles, in no small part because FF II and FF III didn't get released in North America until years later. Which is likely why it got a little more love than the previous entries (along with a sequel). Both the PR and 3D remakes have touched up the story and expanded on it a little, and have given the characters a bit more depth than they had in the original version. I don't think the earlier entries got anything more than a basic port/remaster (but I could be wrong).

[Watcher Rat]

Well, FF4 was the first of the SNES era of games (which let them do more just from the sheer difference of 16-bit vs 8-bit), but the first three games are very much prototype games. FF1 was a literal make-or-break for the company (they were on the verge of bankruptcy if it hadn't succeeded). FF2 tried a lot of ambitious things, but ended up being a game that a lot of people didn't enjoy as much. FF3, likewise, tried a lot of new things and took advantage of the NES/Famicom being an older system that they could code better for, but still had a lot of limitations. The big thing is that the first three games, individually, all taught them a LOT about making the games in general.

FF4-6 are the result of that education; you get a story that is more well-rounded. You get better written characters, better game mechanics, and a journey away from certain things that were limiting on the way you played (moving to the MP system from the D&D-style spell level system, for instance). You also get grander scope; in FF3, you have tiny dungeons for the entire game, mostly because there are no save points outside of the overworld, whereas FF4 begins giving you rest points mid-dungeon before bosses. Little pacing things like that rounded out the game and made it flow better, on top of everything else.

Still, the biggest thing is that leap to new hardware, and you see it with a LOT of series (look at the MegaMan games on the NES at the end of its hardware life vs their SNES games at the START of its life). It made such a massive difference in what they could do for these games.

[D's Journal]

It's better than 6, most are.

[Vambran]

Game Play -
FF4 is a fun straight foward RPG. Not too many places to get lost in and all you have to do to get stronger is lvl up. It's like a super sized version of FF1.

Story -
Yeah its good. like a 2 hour fantasy epic movie. Engaging for your first time.

Only FF3 Job System gives FF4 a run for its money in the gameplay department. But FF3 suffers from some Tedious dungeons and pacing issues.

( i am comparing FF4 only to the first 1-3 games )

[VanishingClimax]

yeah man I feel the same way about FF4!! i appreciate it a lot after playing the first 3 tittles before this. Its my first playthrough of FF4 and it's awesome so far!! engaging interesting story and this set the bar for FF7, FF12, FF13 gameplay with that attack gauge turn based style.

I agree Vambran, FF3 I did struggle here and there with the pacing issue, it got to the point i just wanted to overlevel before Ancient maze and so on. The tedious dungeons weren't too much of a problem but they were a nuisance to do, im guessing you're talking about the forced Mini and Toad situations.

[asapa]

Автор сообщения: Nick

I have been playing and enjoying this game for 33 years now, since I was 11 in 1991. It's my favorite rpg.

Yeah man! I've played this countless times since the early 90s and every time the story is still good!

[Nate O]

Im just sad they changed the package to a bomb ring and spoiled the first big plot. Valley of MIst first time playing it I actually got pissed. oh well.