Ironically, you are probably playing the hardest version of the game (of the 2D incarnation— the 3D remake is its own beast). The American SNES version made a number of changes to simplify the game, which resulted in the removal of the Protect and Shell spells, the HP- and MP-boosting items, and each party member's secondary ability— for example, Yang can use Focus to miss a turn and deal double damage the next, which is useful against monsters that counterattack. None of this is really a big deal, though: the game is easy enough that Protect and Shell are inessential, and those secondary abilities are situational at best.
For my part, I think I had a slightly tougher time than you have been having, but even then it wasn't much. After the Magnetic Cave, nothing else really threatened me; enemies could still deal a bit more damage than I anticipated, but nothing I couldn't handle. The Moon was a bit nasty at first but a couple levels made all the difference. That's one thing I noticed during this playthrough: levels are very important in this game. Several times I would level up and find Cecil now dealt hundreds more damage in his standard attack, or now shrugged off attacks that previously took off a noticeable chunk of his HP. By the time I made it to the end of the Lunar Subterrane, nothing was really a threat any longer. So when I said before that FF4 was giving me a little trouble, I think it was just as simple as that I was underlevelled.
Looking forward to your final thoughts!
Really interesting. When I played the GBA version ten years ago, I was incredibly underleveled, when I reached Zeromus. Had to grind more than ten levels against blue and red dragons, if my memory isn't failing me. I think when Rydia learned Nuke, or whatever it's name was in that translation, I was finally able to survive Big Bang. But than, I remember the game being harder than it is, probably because I fled way too often. I was bad at JRPGs.
Specifically about Shell and Protect: I knew that there were some spells missing that I assumed to be a staple of FF. Really strange, how much there is missing in the SNES version. I get how taking abilities out of a game makes it look easier, but it takes away tools of the player. It's such a strange way of trying to make a game more accessible.
Thanks for reporting back, I find it very interesting that the GBA version isn't really as hard as I remember it being.
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I will probably repeat thoughts, either from myself or from others. I actually have a bit of a hard time remembering which ones came from me and which ones came from posts of people here or in the old LP. Please know that, if that happens, it's just that I agree with your thought.
Before I forget, I want to thank everyone again for responding and posting their thoughts. It makes the whole project way more interesting, and I'm always excited to see someone else post here.
Hmmm, let's start with the playable characters:
Cecil
I think I agree with Peko here, my opinion of him isn't very high. Well, I enjoyed his journey during the first have of the game (up to, and including, the sacrifice of the twins). I think he starts out well - his level mirrors his experience, he isn't a random mook or farmboy, but an experienced agent of an Empire, he is trapped between his loyalty to his king and the fact that said king became corrupted. That's very cool stuff, especially in comparison with the NES trilogy.
The only thing I don't like about him is how he treats Rosa. Thinking back, he saves her live, but he never considers her an equal partner, always more like a treasure he can't bare to lose. He never wants her to come along, as early as when she recovers from her illness in the desert town. It's the kind of chivalry that I just can't stand anymore, and it throws a bad light at him. Especially considering that he has no trouble taking the twins along.
With Rydia it feels slightly different, as she is hunted by the Barons soldiers, and there just are no other warriors to be found, who could protect her. And I imagine that, when they meet scary monsters, he tries to keep himself between them and her (as she is supposed to be in the back row), but he can't just let her stay in a corner. He needs to be by his side, and I imagine she would, of her own volition, cast her spells to help, or just because she is afraid. Maybe that's a generous reading, but I feel here, it works.
As I mentioned, I really like how this leader of a group of soldiers, is now tasked with protecting a bunch of physically weaker people. His powers are offensive, but he still has to find a way to not let Rydia, Tellah, Rosa and Edward die. The twins too, technically, but half the time he can't help, and they are obviously excited to blast the hell out of any zombie.
But all that goes away after the return to Baron. Well, maybe not all - in the cave of the Dark Elf, he finally loses his ability to do damage (I'll just ignore that he could use bows, due to them being Rosas weapon of choice, they feel like the game wants you to use Cecil as the pure healer of the group, completely contrary to his place in said group to this date.
But then it ends. The group in general gets more stagnant and less interesting, and together with the story, there isn't much changing anymore. And Cecil just...stops being a character. I guess there is the part at the end, where he learns that Golbez is his brother (that he is half alien doesn't matter to him at all, it seems). But even that is just a little bit at the very end, I don't feel like it matters much.
I feel like the game implys that Cecil never really gets over his attack on Mysidia, and is tormented by it for the rest of the game. This also fits with his character portrait, which always shows him looking downwards. I guess that makes kind of sense - he probably feels that he is partly at fault for everything the party has to face, until they kill Zeromus. It reminds me a bit of how Cloud is shown to be mopey in all the extra material for FF VII, despite him becoming an active, likeable dork at the end. Cecil never does. He never gets over his shame. Dunno, I feel like there should be more, but there isn't. Like with many instances, this game feels like they were still feeling their way through how a story driven game works, and ran out of stuff at the halfway point. And Cecil stops becoming a character, and ist just there.
Kain
Why is Kain so popular? I'm not judging, it is just confusing to me. He is shown to be rough and unlikable (I never got over how he tried to kidnap Rydia against her will, after he helped, unwillingly as it was, destroying her home town and killing her mother), he is easily corruptable, due to his feelings for Rosa and he just seems to miss willpower? I guess?
Kain feels a bit like a dark mirror to Cecil, before the end, when that role is taken up by Golbez. They both are orphans and had the same chances. But Kain is obviously jealous of his best friend, partly because Cecil achieved a higher rank, but also because he and Rosa are a couple. And while Cecil tries to become a better person, Kain just becomes more and more corrupted.
The mind control takes away part of the intensity, and feels like it resolves him of his guilt. As conchobhar mentioned, this was done better with Leon in FF II, despite him being nearly a non-entity during the whole game. But there is no mind control. Leon is just greedy for power, and Kain would have had enough motivation to switch sides, due to his jealousy. The game clearly indicates, that the only reason why Kain is able to be mind controlled IS that he has this darkness inside him, but still. It weakens the story, by absolving Kain at least partly of his responsibility.
Another thing that burned itself into my memory is, how he actually treats Rosa when she is kidnapped. He, too, views her just as a possession to have, not as a person. I don't remember the details, but I remember him being plain cruel to the woman he loves. I just don't find any positive qualities in Kain, and absolutely dislike him as a character.
I'm also not quite sure what the game tries to say, with him and with Golbez. Are they inherently flawed, and therefore receptive for mind control? Why not control Cecil? Because he is so pure inside, because he has the soul of a Paladin? I feel like the game argues that you are either inherently flawed, and therefor fallable, or you aren't, which makes you immune to evil vices.
So, uh, second character I don't particularly like. Don't worry, it gets better, but first, let me get the third jerk out of the way.
Tellah
I don't think that I have anything new to say about him. I do like, that he realized at the end that his anger cost him his life, in a pointless way. And I feel like this means, that the game argues that he is in the wrong, for the whole time. Whenever he is in the party, he is there for his own goals, and we are just useful to him. I mean, fair enough, he is useful for us too. We don't need to be friends, as long as we work well together.
But I think the game clearly judges his behaviour. Everything he does, is does for Anna and revenge. He might accidentally help others (like Cecil, when he protects Rydia at the start), but the reasons are always faulty. Edward hasn't earned his anger, and the game knows this.
Which is fine. Characters don't have to be perfect. I don't like Tellah, but I like his story. And I love that Square took one of the most powerful classes of FF III, and made it into this character, who seems powerful at the start, but soon shows his age. It's very well realized.
Rosa
I'm not sure what to say about Rosa, except that I really like her. Part of that is her design - her hair looks like the one from Sailor Jupiter, which makes me immediately like her. She is also shown to be the adult in the relationship (by trying to get Cecil to talk about what happened in Mysidia), and she tries her best to protect the group, which she does very well. She is a great White Mage. And, if you have a good bow and good arrows, she is a pretty competent damage dealer as well. From a gamplay perspective, there is nothing I can say against her.
But the game doesn't treat her like her own character. She does what she does for Cecil, including her whole career as a White Mage, and is used as a McGuffin to motivate Cecil. The game seems to imply a bit of a relationship with Rydia, but there isn't much there. Rosa exists to help others, but not as her own character, and that's a shame.
Rydia
I love Rydia. Part of that is just that she is very powerful. She was always my favourite character in the game, just because Summoners are great.
But I do like that she has an arc. I'm not sure it is that well made - it feels like we see the first half, and the second half happens between Leviathans attack and her helping us against Golbez, when he nearly killed everyone. But what we see is a girl that is horribly traumatized, and who has to grow up way too fast. But she is also very powerful, and develops her power at a fast rate.
I feel like there should be more there, but I'm at a loss. I don't care about her implied relationship with Edge, or whatever that was, because I don't care about Edge. And, while I like her coming back grown up as a twist, it also feels kind of irrelevant? I never thought about this, but it doesn't fulfill any real purpose, right?
I guess it is less an arc. There is no goal for her there. She just loses her mother and home, and then develops her powers, because she doesn't want to die. But the game doesn't even give her motivation to go against Golbez, or even end the war. Huh. There actually doesn't seem to be much there. Which is pretty problematic, considering that the other female character of the final party has even less agenda than her, and all three guys get arcs. Even the loser that joins at the end.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. *sigh*
Edward
Similar to Tellah, I don't have much to say about him that I didn't already say. I think Edward is a very well done character, and I find it pretty annoying how is treated like a useless loser. He fights alongside seasoned warriors, even stays his ground alongside Cecil and Yang, which, come on, this is pretty great. He KNOWS that he isn't a fighter, unlike all the others (Tellah at least was a great mage, and has probably a lot of experience fighting monsters, and Rydia is just straight up more powerful than him). But he still comes along, he still helps, and that makes him the bravest of the cast. Maybe except for Rydia and the twins. They are children, after all. But you know what I mean. Edward should get way more credit than he does.
Also, I want to repeat that the scene during the night was very touching, more than any other scene up to now.
Cid
I don't know much to say about him. There isn't much character development, but I do like that he has this long history with Cecil, Kain and Rosa. When he says he wanted to see Cecils and Rosas children, it made the world grow a bit, to show that there is more than this war going on, and that these people have a history. He is a great, fun side-character, and I enjoyed having him around.
Yang
As I mentioned at one point, Yang feels like he is only a side character in this story, but that this one is clearly not his. He is a guest, he helps, but he is already full formed and just adds his great help. He feels a bit like these old mentor characters, who help the hero along the way, but goes away later on. It probably helps that he has a wive that clearly loves him. We don't see much of her, but she feels pretty well done. But whatever Yangs own story was (and part of why I like him is, that he feels like there is a lot of story and adventure to him), it has already been told, just not to us. He, too, makes this world feel bigger, like there is more going on than the adventures of Cecil and Friends.
Palom and Porom
These two were fun. Not much more, but they did that pretty well. There is not much to say about them, except that I really enjoyed their personalities, and how they played off each other. I bought their sacrifice - they are well realized as kids, who are powerful enough to actually go on a dangerous journey and just don't care. "We have to sacrifice ourselves? Sure, we are all in!"
Golbez
Uh...to be honest, I find him really weird. I feel like the whole twist hurts him, and his personality. Maybe it would have worked out better, if the game had tried a bit harder toshow that he isn't just this horribly evil monster of a person. I dunno, he is this super-powerful wizard up to the end, when we get more information about him, but it is all mixed with the whole infodump about aliens and KluYa, and that there is actually another evil guy behind him, who controlled him.
I feel like he should be effective, but wasn't really, for some reason? He felt too cartoony, with his Evil Lair scenes, and the tied up Rosa. He is over-the-top, until he isn't. Similar to the rest of the story, he feels split in two halves that don't quite work together. I feel the natural comparison is the Emperor from FF II, and that guy still feels better done than Golbez.
There might be additional material, or other translations, that make this clearer and give more context, but to me, that he and Cecil are brothers feels like a twist for twists sake. Like, they needed some story stuff for the end, and that was where they landed on. It really didn't work for me. Too little, too late.
Edge
Why is he below Golbez? Because I nearly forgot about him. I don't care for his personality, and, while he has a character arc and I like the "fight" with his parents, he comes so late that he doesn't feel like part of the core group. Also, how does this guy have more of an arc than Rosa and Rydia (this is a rethoric question)?
I did find him pretty useful and strong in combat, and he did more damage than Cecil, up to the last dungeon. The game also was easy enough, so that keeping him alive was no problem.
But that is all the positive stuff I have to say about him. Too late, too stupid, too gross (can we not imply that he and Rydia have a thing for each other, please?). I might be able to find something more interesting to say about him, but I honestly don't care in the slightest for this guy.
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I feel like there is something structurally unsatisfying about FF IV to me. I understand that other people see this very differently, but like everything else, this are just my thoughts. If you feel different, that's totally valid too. To mention it one last time, it feels like it is split in two halve, one before the return to Baron, and one after. And the second half feels weird.
Specifically the Underground feels like filler to me. Full stop. I feel like you could take that out (including Edge) and just make the whole part with the Moon longer and more in-depth. There is just nothing there, storywise. Yes, there are some dungeons, but one of them is the worst in the game, and you visit the other three times (granted, different parts of it, but it still felt unsatisfying to me).
I would have prefered to go to the Moon immediately, and make that a bigger place. Give me a real town there, and story stuff. Let me start exploring the relationship between Golbez and Cecil from the start of the second half, and tell me more about Golbez's past, and also about KluYa. I would have loved to explore this in more detail, and maybe get someone from that alien race as a final party member. Or let me just keep Yang, that works too. But there would have been possibilities here to extend the story part of the game, and maybe play around a bit more with new party compositions. Maybe split up the party, and give them aid from aliens as party members?
But I guess that is a lot to ask. I understand that this was the first game, where they tried to go big with their story, and they succeeded in many ways. Demanding more seems unfair. It's a good game, and these problems are likely at least partly just mine.
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Hmm, I think that's all. Gameplay wise, there isn't that much to say that I haven't talked about already. It's an easy game, it gives you set groups with fitting encounters, it combines mechanics with characters VERY well. The dungeon design came a long, long way, the places look like real dungeons now. And, while I don't care much for the Underground, that you have a three-world-structure is pretty neat. I assume it was amazing, back in the day, when you realized that there was a whole, second world down there.
Mechanically, the game does a lot of things very right, and it is extremely well balanced, it feels. Or maybe not, considering how easy it is.
That all said, this one probably stays my least favourite FF. I got more out of playing the three NES games, at least. If I need a simple game (which FF IV would also be), FF I is right there, and it's even simpler. FF II is mechanically more interesting, and FF III is just so joyfull, compared to the sad, dark story of IV.
I did enjoy playing it, and I can appreciate it a lot better now. Therefore, I'm very happy to have given it another shot. But, unlike the NES games, I'm not sure if I will come back to this one.
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Well, that's it. Thanks again for reading and commenting. I'll take a bit more of a break, and then will start with the SNES version of FF V. I'm very, very much looking forward to it, and have already made a plan for which classes to use for which character...which I'll just post now, because why not:
Bartz: Blue Mage → Dancer
Lenna: Knight → Summoner → Beastmaster
Galuf: Monk → Berserker(?) → Geomancer → Bard
Faris: Thief → Chemist
See you in one or two weeks!