This or IV for a smooth and short RPG experience?

[yayokay]

see title

[Blackened Halo]

4

[C4rnif3X]

Depends what you're looking for. Strictly talking about the PR's right now, 4's exp gain has been increased making it extremely easy, and 5 has some annoying bugs atm. If you just want story, go for 4. If you want game play go for 5. These games are both pretty short in general so go for whichever you feel like.

4 is a good game, but not really my cup of tea. I don't like it's constant party swapping, but probably a good starting point for people who haven't had much experience with the older games. I would still recommend that one if you want a shorter experience that's more to the point.

5 is one of the best FF's made imo, but involves more decision making with gameplay elements - and the story is just ok.

[Craig]

Messaggio originale di C4rnif3X:

5 is one of the best FF's made imo, but involves more decision making with gameplay elements - and the story is just ok.

I would argue it's in the top 5 or even 3. The story is more than just okay, sure it's not ground breaking or lacks the character development that you we see in IV and VI but the cast and interactions are pretty engaging for a boy (and his harem) saves the world story. Every time I replay this I am always surprised by the amount of effort that goes into some interactions between chars and cutscenes.

[Rock]

Final Fantasy IV took me 10 hours and I never had to intentionally level up. Still going in FFV at over 20 hours and I've died plenty and had to take some breaks to level jobs and stuff. If you want "smooth and short" go for FFIV. Play FFV afterwards and expect more complexity with gameplay. The story is goofy and serious and epic at times.

[HexGramarye]

FFV is super complex. I spent like 3-4 hours in spreadsheets planning out a workable job progression route with party synergy before evening starting a new game. The job system can be Shin Megami Tensei levels of micromanaging at points.
Definitely IV, no matter what version of the game it is.

[C4rnif3X]

Messaggio originale di Craig:

Messaggio originale di C4rnif3X:

5 is one of the best FF's made imo, but involves more decision making with gameplay elements - and the story is just ok.

I would argue it's in the top 5 or even 3. The story is more than just okay, sure it's not ground breaking or lacks the character development that you we see in IV and VI but the cast and interactions are pretty engaging for a boy (and his harem) saves the world story. Every time I replay this I am always surprised by the amount of effort that goes into some interactions between chars and cutscenes.

For sure, 5 is definitely in my top 3 - It's probably my favorite at times to be honest, there is so much replayability with the fiesta runs, and Chemist is so much fun to break the game with. The super bosses are some of the best the series offers without looking up the cheese strats or power leveling.

I do enjoy the story, but ya it's definitely no 6 in terms of character development - rather basic "going through the jrpg motions" at times. That scene definitely had an emotional impact the first time I played it. They setup the villian decent enough, as ridiculous as it is. I put the final final fight in the same "lol What?" camp as FF9's final fight. Like the context of the situation is obvious, but why it's that is just another "Sure, I guess." It's definitely not my favorite antagonist to say the least.

[NeoRizer]

This game is anything but smooth... There's a lot of missible content you can never obtain again once you pass it up so a walk through is basically necessary.

It can be kind of convoluted at times as to where to go next as well...

FF4 is a very linear experience, you basically just walk through the game and use some basic boss strategies and win.

The side quests are entirely optional and only really stumbled upon if you go exploring.... otherwise the game is basically spelled out for you and the directions are generally clear for the most part as to what to do next... and using a hint guide won't spoil much as it'll just give you some direction.

Using a guide for FFV will only depress you if you haven't been using one from the start as it'll most likely show you tons of content you missed out on. There's a lot of side stuff you can do in FFV and it's very consistent throughout the adventure... such as grinding chemist ingredients, stealing special items, learning blue magic, finding secrets in towns or learning songs / spells you otherwise can't buy in shops.

[damalyx]

IV is smoother as the story guides you to a more linear path

if you rush it, i think V is shorter (based on DS version of IV i played, not sure it works exactly like the PR). but i guess you may be swayed by playing around the job system and ended up in longer playthrough

[Pack 4 Potatoes]

IV is simplistic as characters have fixed classes and gain abilities Just by leveling. V is a better game, though, having a complex class system with customizable classes. The answer to your question is to go with IV, though.

[yayokay]

Thank you everyone for the great and helpful answers. :)

[babinro]

4. Four is a game you play for the story and experience.
5 is a game that heavily rewards grinding and experimentation as it raises the bar on build choices and options. Its the kind of game that rewards sinking time into over just delivering a quick and satisfying one time playthrough.

[yayokay]

Messaggio originale di babinro:

4. Four is a game you play for the story and experience.
5 is a game that heavily rewards grinding and experimentation as it raises the bar on build choices and options. Its the kind of game that rewards sinking time into over just delivering a quick and satisfying one time playthrough.

Would it be possible to do a 'story run' in V. Like grab a job for each character and stick with this job until the end.

[HexGramarye]

Messaggio originale di Sundae Soup:

Messaggio originale di babinro:

4. Four is a game you play for the story and experience.
5 is a game that heavily rewards grinding and experimentation as it raises the bar on build choices and options. Its the kind of game that rewards sinking time into over just delivering a quick and satisfying one time playthrough.

Would it be possible to do a 'story run' in V. Like grab a job for each character and stick with this job until the end.

Yes, it's doable, but it's considered a self-imposed challenge because many bosses require very specific strategies. The game expects you to have maxed out a few jobs for each character, though with enough planning, you don't necessarily have to end the game with four uber-freelancers to have a smooth gameplay experience.

See the Four Job Fiesta for more info on the kind of playthrough you're asking about: https://www.fourjobfiesta.com/

[damalyx]

Messaggio originale di Sundae Soup:

Would it be possible to do a 'story run' in V. Like grab a job for each character and stick with this job until the end.

it is against a typical playthrough, but it is possible

[Alice and Astreus Grimaude]

4's more of a smooth, short, satisfying ride while 5 is much more complex from a gameplay perspective and has about twice or thrice as much to do.
Both are great, but I do find 4 has a more simple charm to it.