Official Final Fantasy IV DS thread: play the greatness.

[banpeikun]

Okay, Final Fantasy IV fans!! Let's hear it for the greatest Final Fantasy of the greatest era of console RPGs. If you don't agree, you needn't post in this thread.

There are mere HOURS LEFT before this game comes out!! Who else is getting this day one?

Here's the intro FMV:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/35763.html

[banpeikun]

Here's a side-by-side comparison (SNES and DS) that really brings back all those great memories:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/35773.html

[Alastor]

I'll be getting it when it comes out. I used to own the GBA version and never made it past the first 2-3 hrs. It wasn't a bad game, but I got that game when tons of DS games were coming out, so got distracted :-) This seems to be the definite FFIV version and can't wait to pick my copy up.

[banpeikun]

I got to the underground part on the GBA version, but got busy and put it down. Definately looking forward to this DS version. $10 GC with purchase at CC next week in case you missed it.

[defiance_17]

It looks great, but I'm still bitter about the lack of any substantial new content. I'll probably wait until the $20 point.

[freakyzeeky]

OMG, I'm so excited about this game... I NEED this game! :shock:

[SNAKE EYES EX]

DO WANT! Looks hawt..........OMG F yeah.

[crunchewy]

I've never played it, so the lack of additional content isn't a problem for me. I must admit, though, that I tried to play FFX on the PS2 and couldn't get into it, so I'm not sure if FFIV will be for me either. That game was a bore. I didn't find the story interesting, indeed pretty dumb, so it just made the game slower and it was already slow playing. However, I might have more patience for a DS FF game since I'd be playing it while on the bus/train, where I've got nothing better to do. :)

[banpeikun]

I personally think the story for FFIV/FFVI is better than the newer ones, but I haven't actually played FFX, so take that with a grain of salt. Then again, this is the FFIV thread, so bold statements are welcome here!!

[BlueLobstah]

While IV isn't my favorite in the series, it comes pretty close in second place behind VI.

I don't know if I'll be getting this when it comes out due to the Squeenix tax, but I will certainly pick it up at some point once it reaches the $15-$20 mark.

[JoeB1233]

While IV isn't my favorite in the series, it comes pretty close in second place behind VI.

I don't know if I'll be getting this when it comes out due to the Squeenix tax, but I will certainly pick it up at some point once it reaches the $15-$20 mark.

Haha, the Squ-enix tax. :)

I think I'm in a similar boat. I don't feel much like repurchasing a game I beat only three years ago on the GBA.

That would put me outside of Squ-enix's target audience. ;)

[Rei no Otaku]

I'll be there day 1 to pick this up. I'm a huge FFIV fan, and I know that no matter how many times they remake I'll be there to buy it...

[KhaosX]

FF3 remake went kind of sour for me. This one looks like it has potential.

[laaj]

From most of the reviews I read this game is going to be "hard". :whee: I hope that's true since FF3 DS was so easy.

[Alastor]

Sweet! Is there an ad or something I have to take to CC to get the $10 GC?

I got to the underground part on the GBA version, but got busy and put it down. Definately looking forward to this DS version. $10 GC with purchase at CC next week in case you missed it.

[banpeikun]

It should be advertised in the CC Sunday circular, and if the employee doesn't give it to you automatically, all you should have to do is to let them know you want the gift card.

[banpeikun]

Here's the link to the ads thread that lists the $10 GC at Circuit City (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190021) for Final Fantasy IV.

[bigl523]

Here's the link to the ads thread that lists the $10 GC at Circuit City (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190021) for Final Fantasy IV.

Sweet, I was looking for some place that was going to give me something extra for buying it :)

[rabbitt]

As much as I need an RPG for my DS, I'll wait until it drops in price. Asking $40 for a portable game (and a remake, no less) is just too much.

[defiance_17]

I've never played it, so the lack of additional content isn't a problem for me. I must admit, though, that I tried to play FFX on the PS2 and couldn't get into it, so I'm not sure if FFIV will be for me either. That game was a bore. I didn't find the story interesting, indeed pretty dumb, so it just made the game slower and it was already slow playing. However, I might have more patience for a DS FF game since I'd be playing it while on the bus/train, where I've got nothing better to do. :)
I honestly think X had the worst characters of any FF game, and arguably the worst story, too. In contrast, I'd say FFIV has some of the best characters of any video game ever. Not liking FFX doesn't necessarily mean you won't like FFIV.

[hohez]

I've played 4 at least once a year since it was released as 2 on snes. In the first few years it was much more than once a year, but as i've gotten older, I still take my time out once a year in June to play through it. This year I delayed it for this release and i will have it the first moment i can when it ships.

[Chacrana]

I want this game so bad right now... :(

Can't fuckin' wait.

[banpeikun]

yes!! only three more days!!

[freakyzeeky]

OMG!!! Tomorrow it's out! :whee:

[Scorch]

OMG!!! Tomorrow it's out! :whee:

Tomorrow? All GameCrazy stores got it this morning. I picked it up earlier.

While I do like the black case with the silver logo, both the instruction book and ds cart art are designed to look like the original cover (http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/787/787968/final-fantasy-iv-20070512030809539.jpg), which kinda sucks.. oh well.

[banpeikun]

Tomorrow? All GameCrazy stores got it this morning. I picked it up earlier.

While I do like the black case with the silver logo, both the instruction book and ds cart art are designed to look like the original cover (http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/787/787968/final-fantasy-iv-20070512030809539.jpg), which kinda sucks.. oh well.if you post pictures, you'll be elite

[Scorch]

if you post pictures, you'll be elite

mk but they're cell pics

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/7023/0721081920akt8.th.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0721081920akt8.jpg)
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/106/0721081921ayp2.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0721081921ayp2.jpg)
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/6522/0721081921byo8.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0721081921byo8.jpg)

[mcelfour]

i ordered from CC today for the $10 GC deal. It'll get here whenever it does. I'm excited, but also super busy.

Job hunting bites the big one.

[Scorch]

I've made it up to the Mist Dragon in the first cave (a whole like, what, 30 minutes into the game?) and thought I'd post some impressions, both good and bad. I didn't play the FF3 remake, so I don't know if these changes were also in that one or not.

- The voice acting is good. It's a lot better than I thought it would be.
- The difficulty hasn't just been raised, it's been ramped. In the cave, instead of fighting a rat and maybe two snakes, you now fight four snakes and two rats. It's pretty overwhelming, but luckily you level up fairly often. Potions are pretty hard to come across, so use them sparingly, which brings me to..
- Using potions in the battles is awesome. After you select the potion, you see little HP bars above your party's head, letting you know how far off from their max HP they are. It's a welcome addition, but it's almost an almost facepalm-obvious inclusion and I don't know how I survived without it before.
- The battle speed, by default, is way too slow. Thank god you can change it. I set mine to 2.
- The item menu at the bottom, during battles, tells you what the item does. I don't think it was like this in other versions. You either knew what the item did or you didn't. This is invaluable when you are trying to heal a sickness or something and you don't know what to use.. I can't tell you how many wasted items I used trying to heal random illnesses during battles before.

Overall, I am enjoying this version much more than any other version.

[Phryo88]

Mmm. I love that CC is giving a $10 gft card when you get this the first week. I think CC did this with TWEWY too. Looks like CC is combating the SE tax. :)

[banpeikun]

zomg mere hours away

[laaj]

- The difficulty hasn't just been raised, it's been ramped. In the cave, instead of fighting a rat and maybe two snakes, you now fight four snakes and two rats. It's pretty overwhelming, but luckily you level up fairly often. Potions are pretty hard to come across, so use them sparingly

I was going to wait until this hits low $20s or lower but everything you said is tempting me to take CC offer. Low numbers of potions won't affect me since I play as pack rat. Saving all the items during the game for the last boss and not selling any of my old equipment.

[Scorch]

I was going to wait until this hits low $20s or lower but everything you said is tempting me to take CC offer. Low numbers of potions won't affect me since I play as pack rat. Saving all the items during the game for the last boss and not selling any of my old equipment.

If you even remotely like the game, it's worth it. It's the same game you know and love, just.. challenging. And that's kinda staggering, because on every version I have played (SNES, PS1, GBA), I just tear through it.. I almost died three times in the mystic cave.. I'm embarassed for that. I did beat the dragon on the first try, but I walked out with like 30hp.

[Sideswiper]

Well I just ordered it off of Amazon (there's no CC near me).

This was the first Final Fantasy that I ever played... and probably the best of them all. Playing Final Fantasy III on DS was nice and all, but it simply made me long for the crazy plot of FFIV.

[StinkyCheese]

:whee:

[jennie25]

I've made it up to the Mist Dragon in the first cave (a whole like, what, 30 minutes into the game?) and thought I'd post some impressions, both good and bad. I didn't play the FF3 remake, so I don't know if these changes were also in that one or not.

- The voice acting is good. It's a lot better than I thought it would be.
- The difficulty hasn't just been raised, it's been ramped. In the cave, instead of fighting a rat and maybe two snakes, you now fight four snakes and two rats. It's pretty overwhelming, but luckily you level up fairly often. Potions are pretty hard to come across, so use them sparingly, which brings me to..
- Using potions in the battles is awesome. After you select the potion, you see little HP bars above your party's head, letting you know how far off from their max HP they are. It's a welcome addition, but it's almost an almost facepalm-obvious inclusion and I don't know how I survived without it before.
- The battle speed, by default, is way too slow. Thank god you can change it. I set mine to 2.
- The item menu at the bottom, during battles, tells you what the item does. I don't think it was like this in other versions. You either knew what the item did or you didn't. This is invaluable when you are trying to heal a sickness or something and you don't know what to use.. I can't tell you how many wasted items I used trying to heal random illnesses during battles before.

Overall, I am enjoying this version much more than any other version.

I only time in this game that my dialog/battle speed got changed (and will probably will remain true in this game) is when you have to fight that moving wall in the cave you can't use metallic weapons. God I can't wait for that pain in my ass! Fighting the magus sister's will also be a why me point too!

This is my favorite final fantasy though and I can't wait to get my hands on this

[gomer1andonly]

I may get a DS just for this game (and my backlog of DS games from sales). FF IV was the first FF game I played back on the SNES and not only is it my favorite FF game, its my favorite game period. Glad to see the difficulty raised for this version. Thanks for all the early impressions!!!

[daschrier]

Just picked it up at GS.

I love this game!

[Otherguy676]

I have to wait until tomorrow, but I am def looking forward to this. One of the best games of all time, storywise, its in the same vein as VI, VII, IX, XII. They all have similiar themes.

[-Sean]

AHHH. I have no moneys.

I NEED SOMETHING TO BARTER TO CIRCUIT CITY FOR THIS GAME (and giftcard)!

[homeland]

Got it this morning, but unfortanutely left my charger at work =\ owell. Probably won't play until I go back to work anyway.

[Poor2More]

I just picked it up from Gamestop, I am still admiring it in the plastic, I love the cover cause it represents Cecil as the Dark Knight and theme very well :)

[dabebop]

Ridiculous all the stores around my area are not getting, or should I say "start selling", the game until tomorrow. Either way I'm still stopping by CC to get it and the 10 dollar card to wooo.

[Zing]

This was definitely my favorite Final Fantasy. I still get sad thinking about the twins.

Although I am not sure I am craving to play it on the DS. Wasn't this just released on the GBA? What advantage does the touch or dual screen offer? A remake of a remake? Geez. Although, I do wish they would go back and redo the first game like this.

How does this compare in production quality to Final Fantasy 3 DS?

[freakyzeeky]

I just picked up the game... Now time to play it! 8-)

[pimpinc333]

This was definitely my favorite Final Fantasy. I still get sad thinking about the twins.

Although I am not sure I am craving to play it on the DS. Wasn't this just released on the GBA? What advantage does the touch or dual screen offer? A remake of a remake? Geez. Although, I do wish they would go back and redo the first game like this.

How does this compare in production quality to Final Fantasy 3 DS?

I just got it earlier and I popped it in for a sec. The graphics look off the hook for a DS game. I think it looks way better/cleaner then 3.

I can't wait to play this. I'll be a passenger on a 12 road trip to NH and I'll be playing FFIV most of the time 8-)

[banpeikun]

My circuit city said they wouldn't get it until tomorrow. BOO!!

[DJPUN]

the cover for this game looks amazing

silver on black

[Callandor]

Put about 3 hours in so far, and I am damn impressed. Music is great and brings back memories, graphics look good, and the voice-acting has been very good so far.

Challenge definitely seems a bit higher than before. The first room in the waterfall cave was torture until Rydia leveled up a bit more.

Also, here (http://ff4.wikidot.com/decant-ability) is a guide on how to get the augments in the game.

[freakyzeeky]

I JUST died in the Waterfall cave, and I forgot to save!!! :cry:
All the progress I made today... LOST! :'(

I totally forgot to save, it's my fault... but still! :bomb:

[mcelfour]

Yeah, CC.com emailed me that SE didn't get them the game as promised, and they can't ship just yet. Oh well, I guess I'll have to work on finishing FF3. :)

[jennie25]

This was definitely my favorite Final Fantasy. I still get sad thinking about the twins.

Although I am not sure I am craving to play it on the DS. Wasn't this just released on the GBA? What advantage does the touch or dual screen offer? A remake of a remake? Geez. Although, I do wish they would go back and redo the first game like this.

How does this compare in production quality to Final Fantasy 3 DS?

palom and porom, how they sacrificed so... I am not gonna cry but this game makes me sad at times :(

[slidecage]

graphics look just like FF3

since i already own FF 4 (also 5 and 6) On the gameboy advance.... there is no way in hell im paying 40 bucks for a remake

did rent this off gamefly today (hope to have it by saturday)

i might rent and play but i will never buy it till it falls to 9.99 a round thanksgiving just like FF 3 did

[defiance_17]

palom and porom, how they sacrificed so... I am not gonna cry but this game makes me sad at times :(
You don't remember the end of the game, do you?

[rapsodist]

I honestly think X had the worst characters of any FF game, and arguably the worst story, too. In contrast, I'd say FFIV has some of the best characters of any video game ever. Not liking FFX doesn't necessarily mean you won't like FFIV.

Totally agree with this. My devotion to J-RPGs was already waning by the time FFX rolled around but that game was the straw that broke the camel's back. The 16-bit FFs are the pinnacle of the series.

[Zing]

I was at my local game store today and witnessed them cracking open the freshly delivered UPS box containing this game. I decided not to even ask their price since I would probably have impulse bought it. I assume it is $40 or more.

[laaj]

i might rent and play but i will never buy it till it falls to 9.99 a round thanksgiving just like FF 3 did

You must mean next thanksgiving. There's no way it'll drop that low this year.

[Scorch]

I was at my local game store today and witnessed them cracking open the freshly delivered UPS box containing this game. I decided not to even ask their price since I would probably have impulse bought it. I assume it is $40 or more.

Yeah, it's $40.

Anyone else finding the difficulty in this game a beast? I'm not complaining, it gives me something to do, but my god.

I do like the Eidolon and all the mini games that come with it. This game is well worth the shelf tag, even though I've beaten all the incarnations so far. It'll be interesting to see the end of the game with the difficulty ramped up, given that I can't rearrange my team with everyone like I could in the GBA version.. I'm also dreading fighting the magnus sisters..

[Callandor]

Golbez sounds downright evil.

[slidecage]

You must mean next thanksgiving. There's no way it'll drop that low this year.

i think FF 3 fell to 10 bucks the same year it came out or 19.99 one or the other

[62t]

FF3 dropped to $19.99 during one of the holiday sale at TRU the year it came out

[homeland]

Well I just started, for those that played this before.. what is the time investment I should be expecting for the game?

[pimpinc333]

Placed a couple of hours into the game so far. I have a level a bit since the water cave was kicking my ass and Rydia and dieing all the time. About towards the end of the water cave now and so far everything about this game is amazing. It brings back a ton of old memories. I heart it :D

[Moxio]

I'm about 6.5 hrs into the game so far, just got to Baron and am about to find Cid. Not as hard as everyone is saying it is but very enjoyable.

[banpeikun]

FF3 dropped to $19.99 during one of the holiday sale at TRU the year it came outYeah, that was an amazing, one-day sale. People who missed it were kicking themselves.

[StinkyCheese]

I'm about 6.5 hrs into the game so far, just got to Baron and am about to find Cid. Not as hard as everyone is saying it is but very enjoyable.

Thats weird. i'm about 6.7 hours in and I'm still on the mountain becoming a paladin

[homeland]

5.5 hours in and just at mount hobs... same mt stinkycheese? I'm finding it not as hard as others have said too.. Though maybe I've leveled up higher than what I'm suppose to be at.. my parties levels are 22-cecil/22-rydia/17-edward/15-Rosa not sure if whose in the party is technically a spoiler but just incase I'm enjoying the game very much. I hope the Old guy comes back, the voice acting is great.... Edwards... not so much.

[Over easy]

Couldn't find a copy at CC yesterday. I guess I have to wait for the holidays again and hope for the best.

Meanwhile, I'll go back to my FFTA2.

[casuchanek]

If you order from circuitcity.com shipping is free and you get an emailed gift card. I did that Sunday and my game shipped today. Not as fast as finding it in the store but quicker than waiting and hoping for a deal in a few months.

[StinkyCheese]

I love how the song playlist not only gives song descriuptions, but advertises too. check out the chocobo chocobo theme. It says 'they're probabl6y of in some dungeon' :lol:

Finally reached baron, where moxio was at, at 8-something hours. Embarrasing...

[Moxio]

Woo airship. 8-)

[StinkyCheese]

Is it sad to want the airship just so I can fill in the map? i bet Moxio is lying. Hes still figuring out which slot the game goes into 8-)

[Moxio]

1st thing I did when I got the airship was just to fill out the map.

Off to Troia. 8-)

[Koggit]

This game is absolutely amazing.


Wanna know a secret?

I got FF2 (SNES) for my sixth birthday, played the hell out of it for two years, never beat it. :oops:

FF2 was actually a big part of me learning to read -- FF2 + Nintendo Power was my primary reading practice, outside of school.

But yeah... I totally haven't played this in ~15 years, so the story is only vaguely familiar. I'm loving it. I'm loving it hard.

[dabebop]

Well picked it up today at GS since I had a giftcard that bought it down to bascially 20 dollars, and now playing the hell out of it lol. Had a d'oh moment when after getting Rydia and trying to find that village in the middle of the desert I just went straight into the caves and from that point was murdered by the mobs.

You would think I would have found it, but I was walking around on the edges of the world area. Other than that it's all good.

[Dead of Knight]

How the hell is all this stuff being marked as a spoiler spoilers? The game is almost 20 years old.

Cecil is the main character! OMG

[Rei no Otaku]

Game is so good. Why can't SE make Final Fantasy games like this anymore?

[Jest]

Anyone have tips for defeating Cagnazzo? His Tsunami thing wiped out my entire party except for Cecil. I'm going to grind the sewers for now.

Also, the music is so good! The music from Mysidia sounds like music from somewhere in FFIX but I can't think of where. EDIT: I think its Vivi's theme :)

[mykevermin]

This 'un is definitely going to be harder than the previous iterations of the game.

I had one of those jellyfish lookin' fuckers in the Underground Waterway use reraise on three allies after I hit them with a thunder spell.

Like fuckin' 2-3 hours into the game, and they're throwin' out reraise!?!?!

Sweet.

[Draekon]

Anyone have tips for defeating Cagnazzo? His Tsunami thing wiped out my entire party except for Cecil. I'm going to grind the sewers for now.


When he is surrounded by water, cast thunder on him to get rid of it.






Man, I died last night trying to do something stupid in the back to back boss fight against Golbez and the dolls before him about ten hours into the game.

[Koggit]

I think the map and graphics update make the secrets less secretive. The passages are easier to see, and when your map's only at like 70% you know there's a hidden area... that part's sort of lame.

Everything else is awesome.

[Callandor]

Man, I died last night trying to do something stupid in the back to back boss fight against Golbez and the dolls before him about ten hours into the game.

Yeah, I got burned during the second part of that gauntlet. Didn't revive and heal fast enough. Hope no one valuable gets hit with Osmose.

Some changes I've noticed thus far:

- Cecil has been given some additional spells. I've noticed Protect and Shell so far.
- They jacked up the MP cost of the Mist Dragon to 35 and lowered Titan to 30 for Rydia
- The options for Bardsong as you character levels up actually become useful. At level 38, a character will get Hastemarch, which boosts the speed of all other characters while the song is being used.


Trying to decide how to assign Augments at this point, since the final party is nearly formed. Tellah's Fast Talk augment will be nice for Rydia!

[62t]

I think the map and graphics update make the secrets less secretive. The passages are easier to see, and when your map's only at like 70% you know there's a hidden area... that part's sort of lame.

Everything else is awesome.

there are still secret areas in castles/towns

[MSUHitman]

Gotta love Circuit City.

I go in last night around 8 p.m. after work and look around a bit, find 1 of 2 copies of FF IV left and go to the checkout. Only 1 register open (customer service full of people doing returns) and the clueless cashier had no clue on how to do the free giftcard (if the screen hadn't prompted I would of had to raise holy hell for it.)

She tries to find how to do it on the POS terminal, no clue. Buzzes for help, none available. Line of 6 other customers have formed behind me. She starts messing with the POS system, and she rings me out for 29.99 plus tax. I ask if there is $10 of the gift card and she says yes. It also shows up on the receipt.

So I got FF IV for $30, plus the $10 gift card which I'm using tonight to get the 3 Doors Down CD that's on sale for $10 since they don't have the new Video Games Live CD. Pretty sweet deal thanks to the messup.

[StinkyCheese]

Drak Elf cave just as much a pain as it used to be. Is it just me, or is Cecils magic horrible? It doesent heal half as much as Telllahs

[Draekon]

Drak Elf cave just as much a pain as it used to be. Is it just me, or is Cecils magic horrible? It doesent heal half as much as Telllahs

White Magic gets a boost from the Spirit Stat just like Black Magic does from Intelligence. Since Tellah is like god knows how old, they decided to give him inflated stats to cover for his lack of MP which is forever stuck at 90. He (Cecil) is pretty much more of a backup healer than a primary. Plus the first spell I remember on Tellah's list was Cura and note Cure, which I had mistaken it for some time. So that may also be part of the reason if you're not watching carefully enough.

[Moxio]

Well, I just got to the Tower of Zot, where Tellah kicks the bucket. :-?. Now that I have Kain and Rosa back in the party, time to go to the underworld!.

...


(so many spoilers...)

[banpeikun]

man, i can't believe i started playing fire emblem wii right before this came out. i haven't even opened it yet.

[dabebop]

Gotta love Circuit City.

I go in last night around 8 p.m. after work and look around a bit, find 1 of 2 copies of FF IV left and go to the checkout. Only 1 register open (customer service full of people doing returns) and the clueless cashier had no clue on how to do the free giftcard (if the screen hadn't prompted I would of had to raise holy hell for it.)

She tries to find how to do it on the POS terminal, no clue. Buzzes for help, none available. Line of 6 other customers have formed behind me. She starts messing with the POS system, and she rings me out for 29.99 plus tax. I ask if there is $10 of the gift card and she says yes. It also shows up on the receipt.

So I got FF IV for $30, plus the $10 gift card which I'm using tonight to get the 3 Doors Down CD that's on sale for $10 since they don't have the new Video Games Live CD. Pretty sweet deal thanks to the messup.

That is what happens when it's around closing time, and everyone is just butt tired from everything.

[StinkyCheese]

White Magic gets a boost from the Spirit Stat just like Black Magic does from Intelligence. Since Tellah is like god knows how old, they decided to give him inflated stats to cover for his lack of MP which is forever stuck at 90. He (Cecil) is pretty much more of a backup healer than a primary. Plus the first spell I remember on Tellah's list was Cura and note Cure, which I had mistaken it for some time. So that may also be part of the reason if you're not watching carefully enough.

I'm taking into account of their cura, not cure. I actually never use him as a healer, but in the dark elf cave, he becomes pretty much useless.

On a side note, Tellah sounds excactly like Grandpa from the Rugrats in the cutscenes

[mykevermin]

This 'un is definitely going to be harder than the previous iterations of the game.

I had one of those jellyfish lookin' fuckers in the Underground Waterway use reraise on three allies after I hit them with a thunder spell.

Like fuckin' 2-3 hours into the game, and they're throwin' out reraise!?!?!

Sweet.

On another note, it took me 4-5 tries to beat Scarmiglione. Jesus.

[Moxio]

Whoa, seriously? Dang.

[Rei no Otaku]

On another note, it took me 4-5 tries to beat Scarmiglione. Jesus.
Really? I don't think the game is anywhere near as hard as people are saying.

Speaking of Scarmiglione, because of that Hyadain video I can't hear the 4 Lords' boss music without hearing them singing the lyrics...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8vz186pjY0

[banpeikun]

FF IV has been nominated as a "best game" on Nintendo DS. Vote for it here (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155673)!!

[Koggit]

What was the trouble with Scarmiglione? I just did two twincasts, each cast doing ~2,700.

I agree that the game is much easier than its rep. My only death so far was to Mom Bomb, I was cocky and didn't defend, instant game over.

[GizmoGC]

Since I have not played FFII in 12 years...I was a little uneasy about playing it again since it apparently got its difficulty ramped up. However, I'm now 6.5 hours in and back in the town of Baron and its not really that hard at all.

[homeland]

uhh. I just made paladin, which is cool. but, I spent a few hours grinding up the twins and Cecil and now Cecil is a wimp again =\ .

[Moxio]

Cecil relevels fairly fast. Also he has compensated high HP.

[StinkyCheese]

So fucking annoying.I'm in the Tower of Zot, battled a bit, finished all floors up to the fifth, and I was killed by those ice dogs. I did the same thing again, but turned back after the fifth floor so I could buy some pheonix downs and use an inn, died right before the exit ;_;

[kainzero]

On another note, it took me 4-5 tries to beat Scarmiglione. Jesus.
hahah
i lost all my tents to that stupid namingway and i was too lazy to go back, so i barely beat him. lots of bluff + fire 2.

i died for the first time to cagnazzo. tsunami causes death, wtf. i guess it's not like the snes version, lit 3 kills him instantly...

and wow is this dark elf cave annoying. unlike the snes version, it takes forever to run! *sigh*

it's definitely harder but not so much. i only had problems in the beginning when you first get rydia, because it's hard to level her up when you get whirlwinded by those stupid worms =(

[Moxio]

Uh Kain you do realize that you need to take off all of your metal equipment right?

Also, cheese, hold off on the ice dogs until you get Cecil's Flame Sword.

[62t]

funny in this version only rosa can use bow and arrow

[kainzero]

yes i realize you're supposed to take off metal equipment

i'm just referring to the fact that you generally get hit 3-4 times when you run in FF4DS

but in FF2 SNES you get hit 0-2 times

it makes a big difference

[dabebop]

Man all you guys having trouble with Scarmiglione, but like all you really have to do, without getting a counter attack from him, was just use like Cura on him a bunch of times.

He is undead so the healing hurts him quite a bit.

[homeland]

Wasn't expecting what happened after the battle Cagnazzo ... does everyone die in this game!?

[Para]

I've never been one to get into the FF series.
After hearing all the positive reactions, though, I might buy this game.

[homeland]

I'm having a good time with the game. Never been able to finish a rpg before, but with it being on a portable system and the auto combat system its easy to grind and level up to a point where a noob like me can get through the game.

[kainzero]

worked my way through the dark elf and barbarracia or whatever. (valvalis!)

died quite a bit.
for one they took out dark elf's weakness to tornado / weak. =( two, everything hits harder. i had to shell just to keep tellah alive when he used dark breath. then he did it again. -_-;

valvalis has counter: lightning. two of them = party wiped out. great.

[darkcecil32]

Hmm...I wonder how much harder this is over the Super Famicom Japanese version as I remember that one being considerably harder than the US versions that I've played (Snes and PSone)...I've been dying to play this since release and it's driving me crazy that I can't.

I'll be buying a DS just for FF4 and Chrono Trigger...I love the fact that the DS has finally started getting the types of games I wanted it to get (classic SNES ports ^_^) and become a portable SNES at long last!

Ingenuity and innovation is great and all, but I want the classics, damn it! New games more often than not have ceased to amaze me.

[pimpinc333]

I'm about 7 Hours in and am a little stuck in Baron Castle ( I'm back there ). Anyone care to give me some advice? Look in spoiler if you'd like to help :D

Cagnazzo is kicking my ass. Twice he did. Now for my 3rd time i'm guessing just to keep lighting him up with Thunder2 and Thunder3. Yang and Cecil just attack and Girl Twin is my healer/user of Echo Herbs to get Silence off of Tellah and Boy Twin?

[Moxio]

Pepole who are having trouble keeping people like Rosa and Tellah alive, here's a tip: use Cover! Seriously that's one of the first things you should do in a boss fight.

[Moxio]

I'm about 7 Hours in and am a little stuck in Baron Castle ( I'm back there ). Anyone care to give me some advice? Look in spoiler if you'd like to help :D

Cagnazzo is kicking my ass. Twice he did. Now for my 3rd time i'm guessing just to keep lighting him up with Thunder2 and Thunder3. Yang and Cecil just attack and Girl Twin is my healer/user of Echo Herbs to get Silence off of Tellah and Boy Twin?

If you can keep him from using Tsunami, the fight should be cake. Just, yeah, Thundara/ga him when his water rises.

[Draekon]

Pepole who are having trouble keeping people like Rosa and Tellah alive, here's a tip: use Cover! Seriously that's one of the first things you should do in a boss fight.

Until you get the Draw Attacks augment and place it on Cecil. Then you can switch it with Cover and it works better and saves time.

[Moxio]

Draw Attacks is $ but you need to be careful. ;)

[dabebop]

I'm having a good time with the game. Never been able to finish a rpg before, but with it being on a portable system and the auto combat system its easy to grind and level up to a point where a noob like me can get through the game.

That and the fact that the DS has the "sleep" mode so you can jump in and out of games at anytime. Hopefully this can be universal for all portable gaming machines.

[Moxio]

Been putting some serious hours into this. I'm level ~45 and I'm in the underworld, past Rubicante and about to go to Sylph Cave.

[62t]

Hmm...I wonder how much harder this is over the Super Famicom Japanese version as I remember that one being considerably harder than the US versions that I've played (Snes and PSone)...I've been dying to play this since release and it's driving me crazy that I can't.

I'll be buying a DS just for FF4 and Chrono Trigger...I love the fact that the DS has finally started getting the types of games I wanted it to get (classic SNES ports ^_^) and become a portable SNES at long last!

Ingenuity and innovation is great and all, but I want the classics, damn it! New games more often than not have ceased to amaze me.

the PSone version is same as the Japanese SFC

[Inf^Shini]

I've died a couple times and I've put about 15 hours into the game, right at the part where you go to the Tower of Zot. I went to that abandoned castle before it, had an ambush opening one of the chests (blood lance), and got beat to a pulp immediately :/

Btw, is there any way to get the Members Writ without coughing up 100000 gil for it? And when do you obtain draw? I don't even know what it does though :-P

[Moxio]

I've died a couple times and I've put about 15 hours into the game, right at the part where you go to the Tower of Zot. I went to that abandoned castle before it, had an ambush opening one of the chests (blood lance), and got beat to a pulp immediately :/

Btw, is there any way to get the Members Writ without coughing up 100000 gil for it? And when do you obtain draw? I don't even know what it does though :-P

Ignore Member of the Writ for now. You get Draw later on, don't worry about it. As for the Eblan monsters, you've got to Break them.

[paddlefoot]

I'm about 7 Hours in and am a little stuck in Baron Castle ( I'm back there ). Anyone care to give me some advice? Look in spoiler if you'd like to help :D

Cagnazzo is kicking my ass. Twice he did. Now for my 3rd time i'm guessing just to keep lighting him up with Thunder2 and Thunder3. Yang and Cecil just attack and Girl Twin is my healer/user of Echo Herbs to get Silence off of Tellah and Boy Twin?

I beat him my first time without a problem, did the same things you did, the only difference could be when Cagnazzo goes into his shell. I have Yang use focus for a few rounds before attacking, and have Porom bluff before using thundara.

[pimpinc333]

I beat him my first time without a problem, did the same things you did, the only difference could be when Cagnazzo goes into his shell. I have Yang use focus for a few rounds before attacking, and have Porom bluff before using thundara.

Thanks. I'm about to try and beat him again right now.

[Moxio]

Prediction I'm making of a boss that will give countless CAG's trouble: Leviathan. Seriously, dude's next to impossible without the precise strategy.

[banpeikun]

I got 9999 on Rydia's mathemagical game! Yays.

[Inf^Shini]

Prediction I'm making of a boss that will give countless CAG's trouble: Leviathan. Seriously, dude's next to impossible without the precise strategy.
Heh, the Doctor is givng me a problem, so far he's the most annoying boss, Golbez didn't give me this much of a problem :/

My first time in the tower I went up against three fire dog things and they all scorched me before I could do anything, that was a nice welcome >.>

[Moxio]

The Doctor was indeed hard, it took me a couple tries to beat him. I tried using an Elixer then a couple Curagas on him, but I wasn't fast enough. I ended up wasting 2 on him.

[Draekon]

Prediction I'm making of a boss that will give countless CAG's trouble: Leviathan. Seriously, dude's next to impossible without the precise strategy.

Yeah, it took me a few tries for me when I attempted it earlier today. I was completely obliterated my first attempt without being able to do any damage.


Heh, the Doctor is givng me a problem, so far he's the most annoying boss, Golbez didn't give me this much of a problem :/

My first time in the tower I went up against three fire dog things and they all scorched me before I could do anything, that was a nice welcome >.>

I accidently killed myself when I went up against that boss because the effect wore off while I was 'healing' my party. After that I said fuck it and used an elixir and dual casted Curaga which easily finished him for me. And yeah, those Flamehounds were quite the welcome indeed.




Took me forever to run completely through Slyph Cave trying to find every little thing and get the maps 100%. My god.

[SuxoR]

I wanna get this game badly

Is it longer than 3?

[banpeikun]

The SNES version is about the same, hours-wise, but more story and less grinding. The DS version might have the same amount of grinding and more hours.

[Moxio]

Sylph Cave is indeed a bitch.

[marten]

Sylph Cave is indeed a bitch.

Indeed.

Starting on second playthrough now. Only because I forgot what sirens actually do...can't believe I wasted a day trying to fight pink puffs....grumble. Proceeded to get pissed and go beat Zeromus down.

[SuxoR]

Just picked it up at work and played it for a little bit on the bus ride home


The game is amazing the whole opening scene and the character's struggle is awesome
Can't wait to get further!

[slidecage]

some reason i just cant get into playing this game.... i want to but i just cant.... though i will keep playing probally since gamefly has nothing i want to rent

[banpeikun]

The encounter rate seems high. I was level 16-18 when I got to the octopus, and I killed it without healing.

[forgrim]

the octopus is one of the easier/easiest bosses. get to the bosses with the stupid counters, and you'll see hell.

[homeland]

Was making my way throught Zot and ran into the sisters before I saved... had a oh Shite moment, but they were fairly easy. I'm 20 hours into the game,taking my sweet time with the game but the grinding has definetly paid off, haven't had a truly difficult time yet.

[Inf^Shini]

so weird, i tend to get wiped out by the enemies who attack the group when they show up in groups of three. Some mages in the cavern on the moon that cast blizz,thund,fir-aga keep kicking my ass, Edge can't survive over 2 hits from them, 3 if I get lucky and they use a spell that his equipment halves AND I'm in the 60's level range :/

Slyph Cave and Eidolons + Asura/Leviathan bosses were a piece of cake though ;o

Asura is probably the easiest boss fight in the game!

Oh yea, I've KILLED OVER A THOUSAND JELLYS AND NO RAINBOW PUDDING TO SHOW FOR IT. DAMMIT.

[Sideswiper]

I started FFIV this weekend.

I got to the Fat Chocobo and proceeded to go insane. I did that mathemagical puzzle until I got 9999 three times and maxed out Whyt's stat.

The secret is to look at the numbers, immediately shut the DS, work out the problem, then open it back up.

Even knowing that, it took me a long time to get fast enough to reach 9999. You have to do it multiple times to max out the stat.

[banpeikun]

haha, they kept the spoony bard translation

[banpeikun]

Has anyone noticed a bug with Edward's Life's Anthem? Mine just continues to heal endlessly until all my characters have full health.

[dabebop]

I didn't see that as a bug, wasn't it he healed until he got hit or after a couple of turns went by?

Don't have him in my group since I'm pretty far into the game now lol.

[banpeikun]

seems pretty powerful. i didn't remember him being useful at all haha

[bigl523]

I started FFIV this weekend.

I got to the Fat Chocobo and proceeded to go insane. I did that mathemagical puzzle until I got 9999 three times and maxed out Whyt's stat.

The secret is to look at the numbers, immediately shut the DS, work out the problem, then open it back up.

Even knowing that, it took me a long time to get fast enough to reach 9999. You have to do it multiple times to max out the stat.

Thank you for this hint sir :D

[paddlefoot]

I started FFIV this weekend.

I got to the Fat Chocobo and proceeded to go insane. I did that mathemagical puzzle until I got 9999 three times and maxed out Whyt's stat.

The secret is to look at the numbers, immediately shut the DS, work out the problem, then open it back up.

Even knowing that, it took me a long time to get fast enough to reach 9999. You have to do it multiple times to max out the stat.

That's Cheating

And Absolutely Brilliant!!!

[Koggit]

Has anyone noticed a bug with Edward's Life's Anthem? Mine just continues to heal endlessly until all my characters have full health.

I didn't see that as a bug, wasn't it he healed until he got hit or after a couple of turns went by?

Don't have him in my group since I'm pretty far into the game now lol.

seems pretty powerful. i didn't remember him being useful at all haha

Edward was reworked for the DS (as were other chars/skills)... Bardsongs on DS are much better than Sing was on SNES.

[utopianmachine]

I've reached Golbez in the underworld and I need some help beating him. First I have to beat the dolls, and then immediately fight Golbez. He knocks out my whole party with the exception of Cecil, and it seems no attacks I do against him cause damage. Advice?

[Inf^Shini]

I've reached Golbez in the underworld and I need some help beating him. First I have to beat the dolls, and then immediately fight Golbez. He knocks out my whole party with the exception of Cecil, and it seems no attacks I do against him cause damage. Advice?
The dolls should be a breeze, I had no idea they ended up forming together til' my brother told me later on since they go down pretty fast.

The Golbez fight can be a pain at first since you will only have Cecil and Rydia after the rest of the party is taken out. You really only need Cecil, Rydia, and Rosa to beat Golbez. First off, while your whole party is still alive, have Rosa cast slow on Golbez, I only went through the fight once, so I don't know if regular attacks w/ no elemental affinity will cause Golbez to do Barrier Shift, since he is first off weak against Holy, and when Rydia pops in she casts Dragon which has holy element, and you don't want her healing Golbez, so don't attack til' she comes in.

The tricky part in the fight is reviving Rosa, you gotta time it so that one revives and the other heals her enough to survive the -ara spells that Golbez will throw at you. Cecil should have Libra, so once you get Rosa up and running, have her heal, Cecil use Libra on Golbez every time he uses Barrier Shift to see what his weakness is changed to, and have Rydia summon up the corresponding eidolon. That'll basically be the strategy throughout the fight.

[Sofa King Kool]

Just caved and bought this today. I'll give it a try when I'm done with this delicious sandwich.

[Draekon]

Pretty much finished the game. Slowly been grinding for tails and secret summons and then I'll go finish off the last boss. This is really taking a while. ~_~

[forgrim]

if its only ur first playthrough, then u'll have to grind some more for the optional bosses afterwards!

[utopianmachine]

The dolls should be a breeze, I had no idea they ended up forming together til' my brother told me later on since they go down pretty fast.

The Golbez fight can be a pain at first since you will only have Cecil and Rydia after the rest of the party is taken out. You really only need Cecil, Rydia, and Rosa to beat Golbez. First off, while your whole party is still alive, have Rosa cast slow on Golbez, I only went through the fight once, so I don't know if regular attacks w/ no elemental affinity will cause Golbez to do Barrier Shift, since he is first off weak against Holy, and when Rydia pops in she casts Dragon which has holy element, and you don't want her healing Golbez, so don't attack til' she comes in.

The tricky part in the fight is reviving Rosa, you gotta time it so that one revives and the other heals her enough to survive the -ara spells that Golbez will throw at you. Cecil should have Libra, so once you get Rosa up and running, have her heal, Cecil use Libra on Golbez every time he uses Barrier Shift to see what his weakness is changed to, and have Rydia summon up the corresponding eidolon. That'll basically be the strategy throughout the fight.

This was really really helpful. I had never before used Libra and known what it really did.

As for beating Golbez, luckily I was able to do it with just Cecil and Rydia. Cecil was busy casting Cura and Libra, while Rydia did all the summoning. A tense battle. Took me four tries to beat him.

Thanks a lot for your help. Finally I can move on in the game.

[Sofa King Kool]

My only Final Fantasy experience prior to this was FFX, so the battle system in this one is bothering me. The game's manual said that setting the battle mode to "wait" would give me ample time to chose my move, but I'm still being attacked while navigating the menu. I switched it back and forth from "active" to "wait" and it made no difference.

Not really understanding the purpose of the battle speeds either.

[dabebop]

My only Final Fantasy experience prior to this was FFX, so the battle system in this one is bothering me. The game's manual said that setting the battle mode to "wait" would give me ample time to chose my move, but I'm still being attacked while navigating the menu. I switched it back and forth from "active" to "wait" and it made no difference.

Not really understanding the purpose of the battle speeds either.

The Wait option only applies to when your choosing White or Black magic items. Other than that the battle just goes on normally. For battle speeds 6 is the slowest, and 1 is the fastest where the bar fills up very quickly and the whole battle moves fast, so you got to pay attention or you'll be wiped out.

[mykevermin]

Fucking Rainbow Puddings.

Fucking Rainbow Puddings.

Aargh. I'm ready to put this game down and pick up Mass Effect or Final Fantasy II instead.

[Draekon]

Fucking Rainbow Puddings.

Fucking Rainbow Puddings.

Aargh. I'm ready to put this game down and pick up Mass Effect or Final Fantasy II instead.

Well I got lucky and found Rainbow Pudding while I was playing normally somewhere along the line but didn't realise it until after an hour of grinding for it.

Now I'm working on Pink Tails. I think I've done at least 300 battles and managed to get 7 Rainbow Pudding, but not a single fucking Pink Tail and I need to get five of them! FIVE!

[mykevermin]

5!?!?! What in the devil for?

I finally got my rainbow pudding after exactly 99 battles.

Now I'm getting my ass handed to me in the Lair of the Father. So close to the end, I have about 12 augments, and little desire to have a second or third playthrough.

[Draekon]

Five becuase the final five characters can wear the armor the tail gets you and it's one of the best, if not the best armor. Also it carries over into New Game+.

The way things are going for me, I may give up part way. ~_~

[xtreme_Zr2]

Alright, GS coupon on this or TWEWY? I've been looking to pick this up but also heard great things about twewy.

[Sofa King Kool]

Alright, is there some key element to battling that I'm missing? I just started the game and I'm already hopelessly outmatched. I'm just wandering a beach right now, and basically, if I enter a battle, I'm dead. Seriously, I'm fucking dead before that stupid fucking gauge even fills! Am I doing something wrong? I must be, because right now, it's literally impossible to advance.

[Draekon]

Never had that problem. How far through the game are you and where are you specifically at or near?

[Sofa King Kool]

Never had that problem. How far through the game are you and where are you specifically at or near?


I just destroyed that town at the beginning. Woke up on a beach (or desert), Kain is gone, so is the girl.

[Draekon]

It's a beach you woke up on and you're suppose to head to the nearest town. The enemies there aren't too hard, but you should try and run from battles (R1) until you explore town (make sure to save before entering town though).

Enemies there are tough to solo, definitely.

[Sofa King Kool]

It's a beach you woke up on and you're suppose to head to the nearest town. The enemies there aren't too hard, but you should try and run from battles (R1) until you explore town (make sure to save before entering town though).

Enemies there are tough to solo, definitely.


I'll give it a try. (I didn't know I could run from battle #-o). Although, I only have one path to take. It leads me to a cave, where I end up being blocked by some stupid cat-man thing. Is there a town around there? I must've missed it completely.

[Draekon]

Ok, I remember where you are now. I was thinking you're a little further along in the game. Guess I was too tired to remember before, meh.


Anyways, you're in Kaipo Desert. There's a town in the dead center of it and you should head there. After the events in town you'll probably want to level that girl up to around level 10 before proceeding too and run for any Sand Worms you encounter (Rare giant worm enemies).

[Sofa King Kool]

Anyways, you're in Kaipo Desert. There's a town in the dead center of it and you should head there.


#-o

I was looking at the map thinking "Wow, there's a lot of space here. There must be something in the middle." But then I thought, "No, why would there be anything there?" So I never went to look. :rofl:

[Koggit]

Don't run from those worms! They give a ton of exp. Consider yourself lucky when you spawn one.

[utopianmachine]

The worms are great, but not if you're solo. I couldn't handle them until I had more than one party member.

[mykevermin]

Man, I'm at the point where I just need to do some grinding and then finish off the final boss.

But I'm just not feelin' it, man. I'm kinda done with the game, but I'm also right fuckin' there.

[Koggit]

You can't stop, it's not an option.

[Sofa King Kool]

Are there any more cut scenes similar to the one you see when you start up the game? Or is that the only one?

[mykevermin]

You can't stop, it's not an option.

Fair enough. Just beat it, sitting through the ending.

Same as it ever was (no CGI cutscenes thus far). Maybe, if I feel tempted to replay this in a few years, I'll use the new game plus option.

Great remake overall.

[forgrim]

yeah, there's no motivation for new game plus considering all that you open up is just some optional bosses...and you still have to go through the entire game to get to him

[Moxio]

Man, I'm at the point where I just need to do some grinding and then finish off the final boss.

But I'm just not feelin' it, man. I'm kinda done with the game, but I'm also right fuckin' there.

Welcome to my life; when it comes to me and RPGs, I just seem to get right to the final boss, think about grinding like crazy... then I never touch the game again. :|

[io]

Oh, man, I spent a week away from home for work with only dialup Internet and no cable - and just the DS for a gaming system. Needless to say I was able to put a lot of time into this game.

I was playing on the plane on the way home and I seem to be stuck though. I don't want to read too much spoilerage so if anyone has a quick tip I'd appreciate it. I've just gotten the Earth crystal:

Now I'm supposed to head underground somehow. I've run all over the place and can't seem to find any new places. I've uncovered the whole map, and explored that area in the lower left. The monsters are pretty tough there and I went through that castle and got all the chests. It seems there must be something else to do there as there is a cave only accessible by boat that I can't get to. The shallows lead back to that castle - so I'm assuming there's a way to get a boat from that castle? Thing is, I explored it pretty thoroughly and the monsters are pretty tough to keep running around without being sure that's what I'm supposed to do. Any ideas?

[paddlefoot]

Oh, man, I spent a week away from home for work with only dialup Internet and no cable - and just the DS for a gaming system. Needless to say I was able to put a lot of time into this game.

I was playing on the plane on the way home and I seem to be stuck though. I don't want to read too much spoilerage so if anyone has a quick tip I'd appreciate it. I've just gotten the Earth crystal:

Now I'm supposed to head underground somehow. I've run all over the place and can't seem to find any new places. I've uncovered the whole map, and explored that area in the lower left. The monsters are pretty tough there and I went through that castle and got all the chests. It seems there must be something else to do there as there is a cave only accessible by boat that I can't get to. The shallows lead back to that castle - so I'm assuming there's a way to get a boat from that castle? Thing is, I explored it pretty thoroughly and the monsters are pretty tough to keep running around without being sure that's what I'm supposed to do. Any ideas?


Kain should have brought an item with him when he returned to the party. The item needs to be used in one of the locations you haven't had a reason to visit to this point in the game. The characters may also give some tips in their thought bubble when you go to the menu screen (change characters, X i think, then go to the menu screen). io, I am sure you can figure out the rest ;)

[Sofa King Kool]

Now that I'm finally advancing, I'm really enjoying this. Glad I finally caved and bought a copy.

[io]

Kain should have brought an item with him when he returned to the party. The item needs to be used in one of the locations you haven't had a reason to visit to this point in the game. The characters may also give some tips in their thought bubble when you go to the menu screen (change characters, X i think, then go to the menu screen). io, I am sure you can figure out the rest ;)

Well, after not getting a response here for a day (I played last night before you posted) I had to resort to GameFAQs which I really didn't want to do for this gane. The thing is, I HAD visited that town WAY earlier so it would have taken ages for me to figure out I had to go back there again. I was fixated on that lower left continent because that's where the tough monsters were so I figured the next plot point would be there. Also, I never could figure out how to change characters except for once it happened automatically when Cecil got killed (then I was stuck as Cid for a long time). I guess I'll try that in the future if I'm stuck to see what they say. Cecil's "tip" was utterly useless (something like "we have to go underground, but where?").

In any case, after 2 attempts at the second boss (once you do go to the right place and end up in the Dwarven caslte) I gave up. I have no problem with the dolls/puppets, but Golbez is a pain in the ass. It's great that Rydia comes back but he just kills her instantly, so I'm stuck with a low HP Cecil and no one else. I'll try it again tonight.

[paddlefoot]

Well, after not getting a response here for a day (I played last night before you posted) I had to resort to GameFAQs which I really didn't want to do for this gane. The thing is, I HAD visited that town WAY earlier so it would have taken ages for me to figure out I had to go back there again. I was fixated on that lower left continent because that's where the tough monsters were so I figured the next plot point would be there. Also, I never could figure out how to change characters except for once it happened automatically when Cecil got killed (then I was stuck as Cid for a long time). I guess I'll try that in the future if I'm stuck to see what they say. Cecil's "tip" was utterly useless (something like "we have to go underground, but where?").

In any case, after 2 attempts at the second boss (once you do go to the right place and end up in the Dwarven caslte) I gave up. I have no problem with the dolls/puppets, but Golbez is a pain in the ass. It's great that Rydia comes back but he just kills her instantly, so I'm stuck with a low HP Cecil and no one else. I'll try it again tonight.

Sorry for not answering sooner io. I haven't looked at this thread for a while and when I saw it last night I was at a loss for words. This fight (for me), has always been tough. First, make sure Cecil comes out of the doll fight at close to 100% health. I don't know if you can do it now, but in the FFII SNES version you could time Kain's jump so he was in the air when Golbez summons his dragon. Don't know if you can do that now. FWIW I couldn't get that trick to work. I beat him by reversing roles. Start out by having Rydia heal Cecil. Then have Cecil heal both of them and intermittently use Libra to find Golbez's weak point. Rydia summons to appropriate monster and Cecil attacks when he can which a non-elemental based weapon when he isn't healing or casting Libra.

[Zing]

Alright, is there some key element to battling that I'm missing? I just started the game and I'm already hopelessly outmatched. I'm just wandering a beach right now, and basically, if I enter a battle, I'm dead. Seriously, I'm fucking dead before that stupid fucking gauge even fills! Am I doing something wrong? I must be, because right now, it's literally impossible to advance.
Is the DS version exponentially more difficult than the previous versions? I just started the GBA version and made it past the part you mention (which is like... 30 minutes into the game?) with absolutely zero grinding. I also ended up wandering the desert for a bit until I found the town, but I had no difficulty with the combats.

[dabebop]

Not exponentially but more challenging is more of the word.

[io]

Alright, I feel really stupid but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to change my charatcer so I can see what the others have to say. It changes for me on the rare times Cecil dies but the others live and then back again as they die and he lives. I see no way to change from the menu. Yeah, it's probably in the manual but I have the case put away somewhere.

By the way, I've progressed much further and got past what I thought was a near-impossible monster (the second form of Lugae - use a couple of elixirs - makes it go from one of the hardest to one of the easiest though he still managed to kill everyone but Cecil and Kain).

[Koggit]

It's just one of the buttons.. I forget which button but there aren't many to try. When you're on the overworld view, able to walk around, just try pressing each of the buttons a/b/x/y/l/r/select/start. It's totally one of them.

[io]

It's just one of the buttons.. I forget which button but there aren't many to try. When you're on the overworld view, able to walk around, just try pressing each of the buttons a/b/x/y/l/r/select/start. It's totally one of them.

It's just on the overworld? I have been trying it while in the menus because someone said you see the comments from the different people in there - thus I assumed you changed while in there. Though I swear I've tried every button while running around too. Maybe not though.

From a UI standpoint, I don't see why there isn't an option to change the "leader" on the "Party" screen. There's little icons for each char on the touch screen and touching them does absolutely nothing. You ought to be able to double tap them or something and have an indication of who the "leader" is. Odd choices...

[Koggit]

Yeah, I didn't even know you could change until about halfway through the game when I did it on accident.

[dabebop]

When your just walking around in where ever it is that you are, just hit the Y button and than you'll have your different character. After that just hit the X to bring up the menu and than you'll get the thought bubbles.

[slidecage]

Don't run from those worms! They give a ton of exp. Consider yourself lucky when you spawn one.

man my cat must be loaded with exp then : )

[Zing]

Yeah, I didn't even know you could change until about halfway through the game when I did it on accident.

I had no idea what you all were talking about until today when I accidentally changed my "leader". I am playing the GBA version on a Micro, and I was holding down the L shoulder button to change brightness. I was like, why is my character flickering through all the different members of my party? I thought it was a game bug. Then I realized what was happening.

[banpeikun]

After I discovered how to change leaders by accident, I started changing all the time to read their comments. Some of them are pretty funny.

[johnnypark]

A bit late to the game, but I just started FF4DS over the weekend after I finished Mario & Luigi 2 (there's a backlog item I'm glad to have out of the way!).

So far I'm enjoying it, but the pacing is a little strange to me. I've played the original so many times across 3 systems (SNES, PSX, GBA) that to a degree I feel I'm just going through the motions, though I'm enjoying the cinematics and more mature story-telling.

Does it stand on it's own as it goes on, or will a veteran player like myself always feel a little jaded and not quite as excited as I would have been if it hadn't already seen multiple iterations? I'm optimistic I will, but it is a concern.

[laaj]

Does it stand on it's own as it goes on, or will a veteran player like myself always feel a little jaded and not quite as excited as I would have been if it hadn't already seen multiple iterations? I'm optimistic I will, but it is a concern.

It could just be you. Some people like to watch movies and tv shows multiple times while some don't. I don't see why games would be any different.

[crunchewy]

If you have never played any version of FFIV, should I pick this up or the GBA version or some other version?

[johnnypark]

It could just be you. Some people like to watch movies and tv shows multiple times while some don't. I don't see why games would be any different.

I just killed the antlion and I'm starting to appreciate the subtleties that make this version stand out. I still think it's a few years too early, mainly due to FF4 Advance, but oh well.

The graphics look like a mix of FF7 and FF9, and the lighting in the cutscenes is wonderful.

[banpeikun]

i'm inspired to start playing again. i got my ass handed to me by the dark elf when i quit

[Halo05]

I need to finish this up.

I just entered the Giant of Babil and I'm pretty sure my guys are high enough to cruise through to the end. Then again, I ran into a Behemoth on the moon that almost killed my party.

[johnnypark]

I just got to Mysidia. Enjoying it more and more the further I get in!

The MomBomb wrecked me a few times. I'm liking the extra difficulty to the remake, it makes the game way more than just pressing 'confirm' over and over to attack. FF4 was always a bit more that way, though, due to the character class balancing, but they perfected that quality here.