North American roleplaying game fans got their fix with Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, and then… Final Fantasy VII. What’s the deal with that gap, you say? Well, it mostly has to do with the localization process that Square had used for the North American releases. The Japanese versions of Final Fantasy II and III were actually skipped in North America when the series was first being brought over, and V was also skipped, meaning IV became II and VI became III over here in order to maintain a sense of naming continuity. Still with us?
In any case, Final Fantasy IV, first known as II, arrived 25 years ago this week, on July 19, 1991. Thanks to a character-driven storyline and a new “active” battle system, it remains a fan favorite even today.
The game primarily follows the character Cecil, whose personal arc is a driving force within the story. He begins as captain of the Red Wings, though he begins to question his king’s motives following a series of violent attacks he is ordered to carry out. He eventually decides to atone for his sins by confronting the darkness within himself, enabling him to become a paladin.
Cecil is joined along his journey by his love interest Rosa, the young summoner Rydia, the bard Edward, the twins Palom and Porom, and the dragoon Kain, among others. Together they seek to reunite the mysterious crystals scattered throughout the land in order to put a stop to the evil plans of Golbez, who has been influencing the king’s actions and seeks to destroy the planet.
Besides the name change, Final Fantasy IV was heavily censored upon its release in North America, with all references to religion outright removed, to the point where the Tower of Prayers was renamed to the Tower of Wishes. Even though several characters very obviously die during the story, references to death as a concept were also removed.
The other problem that arose when Square brought this game to the US was the difficulty level. The developer actually made the game significantly easier in English than it had been in Japanese; this was because of how the Japanese FFII and FFIII hadn’t been released, and they had figured that IV would otherwise be too difficult for new fans.
Final Fantasy IV proved to be popular enough that it received a number of ports and remakes in the years since its first launch. It has seen ports to the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance, and was later remade with 3D graphics for the Nintendo DS handheld for its 20th anniversary. A sequel, The After Years, was also made, and follows the cast 17 years after the events of the original game.
