Late to the Party: Final Fantasy IV Advance
Platform: GameBoy Advance
Publisher: Square-Enix
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Retail
Random battles suck and it's a good thing that they're going the way of the dodo. They were one of the reasons that I lost patience with Final Fantasy VII and they nearly led me to abandon Final Fantasy IV Advance.
I was in one of the game's first caves with no Ether to replenish my party's mana. I couldn't walk a yard without being waylaid by Yellow Jelly -- a beast who seems only vulnerable to Rydia's fire spells. Without her magic Cecil could only do one point of damage per round. A couple of times I attempted to soldier through these prolonged battles, but they seemed do go on for days. And if I did survive, I'd only get jumped by another squad of yellow goons.
It took several aborted attempts at exploring the cave before finding a place to camp where Rydia could rest up and use her magic again. Then miraculously, I never had this problem again. From here the game's story flowed nicely. As Cecil I met and fought alongside warriors, mages and summoners. I lost some friends along the way. One was eaten by the sea creature Leviathan. Yuck.
My good friend Jeremy wrote a walkthrough of the 1991 release of the game. The game I'm playing enjoys the benefit of a much-improved translation. Check out Jeremy's "Ah, The Power of Cheese" to see how much better things have gotten.
Thanks to the sharper writing in this release, I'm finally starting to understand the appeal of Final Fantasy's stories. Where I found Final Fantasy VII overly brooding and turgid, Final Fantasy IV Advance seems a tad more lighthearted. I like the way that my party shifts with the plot, introducing new characters at every turn. This may very well be the first Final Fantasy game I play to completion.
Recommended
Publisher: Square-Enix
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Retail
Random battles suck and it's a good thing that they're going the way of the dodo. They were one of the reasons that I lost patience with Final Fantasy VII and they nearly led me to abandon Final Fantasy IV Advance.I was in one of the game's first caves with no Ether to replenish my party's mana. I couldn't walk a yard without being waylaid by Yellow Jelly -- a beast who seems only vulnerable to Rydia's fire spells. Without her magic Cecil could only do one point of damage per round. A couple of times I attempted to soldier through these prolonged battles, but they seemed do go on for days. And if I did survive, I'd only get jumped by another squad of yellow goons.
It took several aborted attempts at exploring the cave before finding a place to camp where Rydia could rest up and use her magic again. Then miraculously, I never had this problem again. From here the game's story flowed nicely. As Cecil I met and fought alongside warriors, mages and summoners. I lost some friends along the way. One was eaten by the sea creature Leviathan. Yuck.
My good friend Jeremy wrote a walkthrough of the 1991 release of the game. The game I'm playing enjoys the benefit of a much-improved translation. Check out Jeremy's "Ah, The Power of Cheese" to see how much better things have gotten.
Thanks to the sharper writing in this release, I'm finally starting to understand the appeal of Final Fantasy's stories. Where I found Final Fantasy VII overly brooding and turgid, Final Fantasy IV Advance seems a tad more lighthearted. I like the way that my party shifts with the plot, introducing new characters at every turn. This may very well be the first Final Fantasy game I play to completion.
Recommended
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