Mine also! Never even heard of it until my older cousin lent it to me! I was young but knew it was translated wonky, did not ruin the story one bit! I was instantly hooked! Still one of my all time favorite snes games!
*Same. I used to rent the game in WEST COLUMBIA when another person(s) returned it and the other person(s) didn’t erase my save file. For some reason, I saved over their file and I wish I knew who it was so I could apologize to them. I’m so sorry I did that...*
Final Fantasy IV is my favorite game of all time. It was both my first RPG and the first video game story I ever truly cared about. When Kain betrayed Cecil at Fabul, I booed. When Cecil became a paladin, I cheered. When adult Rydia showed up to set Golbez straight, I was pleasantly surprised. When Edge was forced to put his parents out of their misery, I was empathetic and when the person responsible showed up soon after, I was enraged. A perfect 10/10 for me, then and now.
maybe a little harsh. I think its definitely worth playing. The translation is bad but not simons quest bad. The music/story/gameplay are all worth experiencing.
Yeah, but this is a full RPG where story is the main emphasis. You don't get a slap on the wrist for poor translation, you get incarcerated. It would be like Simon's Quest but the the d-pad controls rotated a quarter turn.
SNES drunk Exactly. You can still have the great music, story, and gameplay by playing literally any other version besides the NA SNES version. There's no reason to play that one.
I agree. I just beat this game and while the translation is a mess the story is still comprehensible. And if the original difficulty was supposedly harder, I'd hate to play that version because I was definitely good with the difficulty of the original American version. But I do wish the translation was done right though
Console RPG Fanatic : the version that came out in the US is a translation of the easy type version, aimed at younger players in Japan. The je2 version is a translation of the normal FFIV, which is of course harder than the easy type.
ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT. In my honest opinion, this FF2 Snes and FF3 Snes {I guess 4 and 6 in Japanese}, are the best FF games hands down. I am 33 years old and I find myself once a year spending the time about 1 or 2 months replying magical gems, rather then these new age BS games that only focus on graphics and are stale in other areas.
"You spoony bard" fits perfectly for the situation he and Tella's daughter are in. Spoony means 1. Silly, Foolish and 2. being sentimentally in love. Sp yeah, it's pretty apt.
This has long been considered the "easy type" version of the game in retro gaming communities even though it really isn't,. Instead, it's streamlined, the equivalent of a radio edit. As far as I know, the gameplay changes between the Japanese original and the U.S. SNES release are: * A lot of marginally useful items are removed or consolidated (Antodotes/etc. replaced with just Heals, which are basically cheap Remedies; consumable spell items just gone). While I miss Bacchus Wine and Lunar Curtains when playing the SNES version, losing them is IMO a fair trade for not constantly running out of inventory space thanks to Maiden Kisses and Coeurl Whiskers. Some chests have different contents as a result, but that seems like a wash. * Several marginally useful battle abilities are removed. The video mentions Cecil's Dark ability, and that and Palom's Bluff are the only two that are even situationally useful. Tellah's random cast, FuSoYa's underpowered regen, Porom's tears, Yang's charged attack, Edward's potion sharing, and more are pretty much useless. * Spells are learned at earlier levels in some cases. In Rydia's case this hardly matters since her summons are still superior. In Rosa's case it means that Float and Wall come a little earlier, and that's early enough that you can tackle the Summoned Monster and Sylph Caves as soon as they become available, even if you haven't been grinding at all. As a result, those caves can be harder since you're lower level all around (whereas in the original you have to grind to a higher level to learn Float, or just be ready to heal every few steps -- either way, pretty tedious). * I think that's it, actually. There are other rumored differences, like the game being easier in any meaningful way, but it's just not true. It's frustrating that the people who accuse the game of being easy also complain about abilities that have been removed. If they were worth keeping, wouldn't that imply that their removal makes the game harder, not easier? I've played both the U.S. SNES version and the fan-translated SFC version many times, and I like them both. I wish the SNES version was given a better translation, but otherwise I think the U.S. changes can be argued to have improved the game. If you play both, pay attention to how much more tedious grinding and inventory cleanup you have to do in the more "faithful" version. The actual meat of the game -- making meaningful decisions about purchases, equipment, exploration, and battle -- is just as good in the U.S. SNES version.
This is correct. You just missed one that I can think of, and it was that they made Edward's harps back-row weapons, which for some reason they weren't in the SFC version. The SNES is a streamlined version of the SFC version, and that's all. I don't know how or why this myth has persisted so long online. In actuality, the SNES version is much more difficult than the later PSP or GBA versions because they screwed up the ATB system in those ports.
Speaking of “Easy Type” the notorious winner of this tittle supposedly goes to “Final Fantasy Mystic Quest” which was meant to be a much much easier game for the west since Japan thought that their games were to hard for the U.S. 😂😂 (or so I heard)
@@maynorzapata8737 Well, they wanted to go with an easier one bc at the tine JRPG didnt sell well in the US. So, they thought a "starter" RPG would boost interest.
KN North I agree with you. At that time RPG’s were not much of a thing. Very sad since there are many excellent RPG’s that never made it overseas for either difficulty or perhaps due to lack of interest from the west. Regardless, I’m just glad that eventually RPG’s became popular in the west as well 👍🏼
This is in my top 3 Final Fantasy games, everyone's gotta try it. I gotta say: The graphics were pretty awesome at the time. It was one of our first peeks at MODE 7 GRAPHICS! Some of the dungeons are quite pretty with the mineshafts and rivers and vistas in the background; and damn some of the spells are really nice looking! I'll defend even the US version of this game to my last breath but, I agree, I've gotten the most enjoyment out of the GBA, PSP versions. (And an early emulated translation back in the day).. Anyways.. Great videos dude, keep up the good work!
Man as a kid playing on release I was so confused with Cecil doing the “dark” move in the intro, and than seeing unable to do it in game. The mount ordeals shit hits hard emotionally The soundtrack was so absurdly good for its time man... 🎼 🎵
FF4 is the game that made me want to become a game developer when I was a kid, I LOVED this game. English not being my first language, I was too busy trying to understand that I never noticed that the translation was bad. The "spoony bard" never bothered me because I just thought "oh that's an english expression that I'm not aware of".
It is! Spoony means 'foolishly amorous', or just like, "falls in love too commonly and too completely". It's an absolutely accurate thing to call Edward, really. I think the line is emblemic of the lack of trust people have in the translator, in that it's a totally suiting line that was dismissed as just more garbage instead of anyone looking up the word.
I hear the secret is to not read comments, but that would make for a different experience entirely for both of us now wouldn't it! Keep up the good work man.
Thanks, don't get me wrong, I never take things personally. But the sheer amount of stuff gets to be overwhelming at times. Especially when its a barrage of comments out of nowhere on a video that's 3 years old.
i honestly think none of those flaws take away from any of the enjoyment of an almost perfect game.. but then again that's coming from a guy who has a tattoo of dark knight cecil on his arm :)
This FF6, CT, and Ogre Battle were my favorite Snes rpgs when I was a kid and this always got brushed under the rug. In my opinion FF4s story line surpasses Ff6s as well as the soundrack (maybe tied, very close). I am 32 and still listen the OST and play some of the piano versions for my daughter to sleep. (Theme of love, Troian Beauty, Land of Summoners) I think she would have nightmares if I played the 4 fiends battle before bed. This game will be apart of me forever, Keep making great videos.
This and FF6 is my fav In the series,so emotional yet fun,i agree with you, the music make it sound like a big deal,Really great story and great game.thanks snesdrunk
Final Fantasy II on the SNES holds a special place for me. I still play it despite its bad translation. I got it for Christmas when I was 12 and made sure I kept it.
I have to disagree, Final Fantasy 2 is one of the greatest games of all time! It may be hard to explain to people that weren't alive or old enough to remember the early 90's but the graphics on this game were unseen at the time, playing it for the first time was truly an experience! Everything looked beautiful and the game was very immersive story wise (as good as reading a book). The music as you said is phenomenal, I would easily put it up against any of today's games. The remakes added flavor crap and an artificial difficulty, this game wasn't meant to be hard, and nobody really cared about that back then, it was just good... which was an uncommon trait. Cecil could still use "dark", it was a weapon ability. I would easily recommend this version to anyone and everyone, even over the PSP/3DS versions. Watching your video almost made me feel like you had never really played the game outside of a port, give it a chance.
This may sound like a convenient excuse, but I LOVE the bad english translation. Yeah, the rereleases are better games overall which holds true for the next two games (except the awful smart phone versions). But I still think FF4 SNES is great and would recommend it to my generation. Is it flawed? Most definitely and they have every right to be called out when present. I guess it doesn't ruin the experience for me despite being very aware of it. :)
The Side Quest Gamer It is kinda like the Megaman X4 dub, funny for the wrong reasons, I would pick the PSP or DS version anyday still. FF4 is a such Nostalgic game that I would enjoy in any version.
When I started really collecting SNES games this was one of the first games i found. It is rough around the edges and better ports are definitely out there, but i think the SNES port holds up pretty well despite that, just take yourself back to the early days of the SNES and think about how ambitious this game was. I also find silly translations and typos funny in these old games.
I really liked the Nintendo DS version. The additional components I thought were great and the complete graphical design I enjoyed. It also rewards multiple playthrough as you can access new abilities each time
The PSP version is beautiful, but the PSX port is the most accurate version. Retranslated, and without all the difficulty nerfs the SNES version had. It has the same graphics as the SNES version.
Playing this game back in the early-mid 90's was untouchable. I know people fanboy over Chrono trigger and FF6 now (rightfully so). This game was a game changer in its day. The music in this game is probably the best ever, Hans Zimmer (Gladiator) good. Its mix of medievil/space/alien setting and the ascension from Dark Knight to Paladin. It had feels of true desolation/hoplessness and how the party was going to overcome the bleak present.
FFIV has such amazing story and character elements to it, especially in the early parts. There are so many different kinds of characters -- young, old, brave, cowardly, rich, poor, strong, weak. There is a variety of relationships: romantic, father-daughter, siblings, best friends and rivals turned enemies, estranged father & brother, etc. The main character, Cecil, starts off having unerring faith in his king, to questioning his motives, to facing his past crimes and realizing he was on the wrong side all along. He takes Rydia under his protection, who cannot cast fire spells at first because of the trauma of her village burning down. There's Tellah, who is a respected and powerful mage, yet has a tragic weakness for being over-emotional (possibly a bit senile?) and throwing himself carelessly at his goals (lashing out at Edward who dotes after his daughter Anna, sacrificing himself in a vain attempt to thwart Golbez). On a basic level, some of these characters give us moments that rank among some of the best storytelling video games have ever offered -- if, perhaps, told a bit awkwardly through an early 16-bit medium. But I think this game deserves to be looked at a lot more favourably, and taken as an example of how to craft a quality RPG.
I started playing this a few weeks ago, the translation is bad but it really doesn’t detract from how awesome the game is as a whole. Also, I like how action packed it is. I don’t have the time to grind for levels, I just want to sit down and have fun
The word "spoony" definitely seems out of place, but it does make sense in context being it simply means he's foolish, or dim witted, or even "foolishly in love". Anyway, another good video, sir.
This game is very special to me. I played this a long time ago when I didn’t even know that games came from Japan 😂... I rented it from a generic video store for the weekend. (remember those days?) 😆! I fell in love with it and remember returning it to the video store and re-renting it over and over until I beat it. I eventually found out about the whole FF2 is really FF4 and finally had a chance to play the real one when I played it for the Game Boy Advanced... Amazing game easily ranked on my top 5 next to FF6 and Crono Trigger which is just godly status. Thanks for the video. You brought back very pleasant childhood memories...
The PSP version that comes bundled with The After Years is probably the best version of this game. Not only do you get FF4, but you also get After Years which I recommend playing (even though a lot of other people don't). I mean, it's FF4. The only thing better than FF4 is ... more FF4. lol. Sure, TAY has a lot of grind in it, but the boss rush at the end is fun. Also, the "Dark" Command? It sucked anyways. It did very little damage, and it drained your own HP. I'm not so sure it was removed for censor reasons (they could have just renamed it to 'wave' or something). I think it was removed because of how... bad... it was. You were better off just swinging away than using it.
The PSP version also has very beautiful sprite/pixel-art while going the direction that 6 did on Steam (least the default version without mods to make it much better).
This review has some good points, but ultimately draws the wrong conclusion and makes a bad recommendation. This game is *not only* worth playing in any form, it's a top 3 or 5 greatest RPG ever (I rank it #1 for the story, characters, and - of course - the soundtrack). At the time of its release, it was RPG magic... even with the flaws mentioned in the video. It didn't matter. I guess you had to be there in '91' or '92 playing this game to know what it felt like. This game single-handedly took RPG's out of the dark ages (literally) and made them into something so much more grander, epic, and emotionally compelling. You can't go wrong playing this game in any version, but I recommend the original 16 bit version (on any system).
@@Noah-wv4td Just because you're a glutton for endless hours of grinding doesn't make the US SNES version not worth playing for others that don't have the time to do all that nonsense.
@@Noah-wv4td 6 through 10 was the peak of the series for me. Not a garbage opinion just my opinion. And 6 was better all around then 4 not just story. I'd rank 4 as the 7th best in the series probably. It's not a terrible game by any means but not the best RPG of all time as it's not even a top game in the series.
I know it's an old video, but the 3D-versions of the game (DS, iOS, Android, PC) are also worth playing if you're interested. And I'm certainly gonna get the PSP-version
Final Fantasy II was the very first Final Fantasy i played.. Nostalgic! But yeah.. i liked the GBA version more. Rydia is my favorite character in the series, i use her name in a lot of other games too :)
I always thought it was weird how Rydia in the SNES translation just casually said that her mother died because the dragon died without expressing any real emotions. She sounds much more believable in the new translations, where it's made clear that she is actually _crying._
Everybody talks about how this game is "mediocre" and "riddled with issues".... but these people who say these things probably didn't play original Final Fantasy on NES when it was new..... and have no idea what a monumental leap Final Fantasy 2/4 was. When FF1 was the only other Final Fantasy game that had previously existed in North America, playing this was the biggest treat anybody could have asked for. As somebody who has been playing these games since day one, Final Fantasy 2 on the SNES remains my all time favourite in the entire series. Bar none. I hate the amount of hate that this game receives.... it's completely unwarranted. The only game that tops this in my personal "top 10 games of all time" list is Chrono Trigger.
I'm currently playing through this on my channel and you are right about the translation. One of the funnier bits was when Cecil introduces Tellah as "Edward's father" when he was really Edward's father-IN-LAW. Otherwise, you get this weird idea that something wasn't right in Tellah's family...lol.Even when I first played it back in the day it stuck out.
FF4 isn’t my favourite SNES RPG, but I still enjoy the original release. I agree that the translation isn’t very good, though I still get the gist of what’s going on.
Honestly, I couldn’t disagree more with this one. Final Fantasy II on the SNES is a masterpiece. I can’t even begin to say all the times I rented this at blockbuster growing up. I love your content even if we don’t agree on everything😊👍🏻
4 was the first rpg i was actually allowed to look at. any other game my family didnt want me being near for fear that i would delete their save. but at this point i was ... 8? so my uncle actually let me play it for a little while...i hold this one high for probably that reason. also soundtrack. great soundtrack.
You know, I gotta say back in the day when this was released on Super Nintendo it was a significant step up when compared to the original Final Fantasy. In North America, we had no idea that there were FF 2 - 3 so when we got this version it was released as Final Fantasy 2. And compared with how clunky and broken the original one was on the NES, this was incredible and really engaging. The battle system was cleaned up and much more efficient, the inventory system was fixed, and each of the characters in your party had individual dialogue that could "speak" amongst themselves and had more personality than a plank of wood like those of the original FF. Looking back on it, yes there were some problems that you pointed out, but it wasn't a bad game. I really enjoyed it and I still look back on it as one of my favorite RPGs of all time.
This game was just utter brilliance, even with the flaws. I will always cherich the memories of everything this game gave to me and my friends. I still love listening to the soundtrack and play the game once a year or so. Some of these Snes games truly makes me turn into someone who cannot be objective in any way when talking about them. Great review, you sir are stronger than I am, talking about a work of art in in a serious obective sense of it's place in video game history. I cast Cure 4 and Life 2 on all of you now while Nobuo Uematsu's theme of love is playing.
I think the Dev Room in the 3D remake had someone say they did their research on the word "spoony" (meaning overly emotional and sentimental, which face it, even into The After Years described Edward/Gilbert Christopher von Muir's lamentation over losing Anna), and what was initially considered "bad localization" was actually the correct term.
This was the first RPG I got on the SNES and ever played. It completely got me into the genre. This game will always be a favorite because of the nostalgia :)
Jesus, I am so tired of people talking trash about this game, in comparison to later iterations. It's really not as bad as you make it out, and this kind of nitpicking is as petty as it gets. The original SNES game is fantastic!
This was the first game I ever rented and I been hooked ever since. It amazes me that a 7 yr old would want to play and enjoy a game with this much reading. I guess it might help explain why I've been a bookworm my whole life
This is my most favourite RPG. Would’ve love to see a movie made from this. The most part I had the most frustrations with is getting Rydia’s other summon monsters like the goblin and bomb in which you gotta fight those monsters a ridiculous amount of times until it dropped the item for in which rydia could acquire to be able to summon. Great storyline in my opinion.
I love bad translations! It's really not that bad either, and you can still understand what's going on. Besides ignorance is bliss in this case. If you didn't know any of the parts were censored, then it wouldn't have made a difference. I played this after FF3/FF6, and I still enjoyed it. Great story, great music outweigh a few bad translations in my opinion.
Did you play it on SNES? It was. If you play any other version, it's one of the hardest FF games. If you play the DS version, it's hands down the most difficult FF game and one of the most difficult RPGs in general.
Dunno about the DS version, but I remember the GBA version of this game being nerfed EVEN FURTHER, lol. I came across Demon Wall in the GBA version and... it just... keeled over. Wasn't even a threat. I was like "whaaaat?"
GBA is a bit easier than most versions (they also had remakes of FF1, 2, 5, and 6). But they included extra content that was quite a bit more difficult. It's pretty extensively rebalanced. Either way, the original FF2 for SNES is still easier.
I never found the GBA's extra content to be hard... especially not after you got a couple of the characters' final (and very overpowered!) weapons. They're overpowered even for the "new" areas that were added in that optional dungeon, and don't even get me started on on Cecil's. I remember that thing just absolutely wrecking face without a sweat. But then that could be due to me being Lv99 with all the normal game's gear before going into the optional dungeon, that could be the reason why that optional dungeon was so cakewalk. But, optional dungeon aside, GBA's easier. By far.
It's still very fun to play and not broken due to the changes. I get the translation isn't the best but this was a very early SNES release and not much money was spent on localization for RPGs, which were still in the early stages of mainstream support, in those days. You could argue that it's thanks to games like FFII (4) on SNES, that later RPGs like FFIII(6), were far better off. And for many of us old folks it was a great improvement over FF1 for the NES, especially in the story. I guess I am just saying that it was fantastic compared to most of the RPGs that came before it like the early Dragon Quests on NES and the first FF. Now, its easy to look back and dismiss it for its shortcomings, but that's with the benefit of later games, which as I stated might not even have come this way had Square not at least taken a chance with FFIV. Love your channel!
I loved this game growing up as a kid, since back then most of us never knew about the Japanese versions. So I'd say once again this is a game that people like me who'd enjoy for nostalgia reasons
The censorship (removed references to religious imagery) was just how Nintendo rolled back then. Very very few Western releases escaped this, and we were lucky to get this in any form - especially as import-reliant Europeans who barely received a single Final Fantasy until the PlayStation generation.
I am thinking this can be explained by an entire division of the "localization team ( or something)" inside a company trying to prove their worth, about them doing "completely necessary work", to prove their expertise or how vital they are and their work. SO they censor everything, make really silly, unnecessary changes and so on. I mean, a faithful translation is less fun than reinventing every dialog, and a faithful translation is what patches do nowadays. Its disappointing, I would be surprised if this still happens nowadays.Its just a though, but kind of makes sense for me.
Personally I think the biggest surprise is that we got Breath of Fire II as candidly as we did. Soooooo much religious...everything. I mean hell the last boss is literally a priest who thinks he's God, and he actually calls himself God. The churches are churches, there's just so much there it baffles me to this day that we got it.
I enjoy your channel, and you're certainly welcome to think differently, but I've loved FF2 (FFIV) and consider it one of my favorites. I never even noticed any weirdness in the translation; I always got the point of what was going on. (Also, according to a quick Google search, "spoony" is an archaic phrase from ~1875 meaning "sentimentally or foolishly amorous", which seems an appropriate description for Edward, and appropriately dated for Tellah.) Just my thoughts. Thanks for an entertaining channel; just wanted to defend a personal favorite. (Also, holy crap, this was two years ago, and I'm a tad late to the party, huh? Obviously I'm newer to the channel.)
I have very fond memories of playing this game (the so-called "bad version") when I was 15. I remember renting it many times before buying my own used copy later. This wasn't my first RPG, however, it arguably was one of the first to really sell me on the RPG genre. I remember renting Final Fantasy I for the NES back when it first released. At the time, me and my sister were new to RPGs and neither of us really knew what we were doing, but I was still left with a favorable impression of the game. My sister never got passed the pirates in Final Fantasy I, so we never got the pirate ship to explore the world (about a decade later, I bought the cartridge and finished the game). Final Fantasy II (or IV) definitely sold me on the series for sure, even if I was playing it three years late in 1994. Final Fantasy III (VI) will always be my favorite, however.
This was my first RPG on SNES and it set the tone for storytelling and exploration. I still love the game. Definitely some nostalgia here, but I still enjoy it. Cheers.
This was my intro to the Final Fantasy series and what cemented me as an RPG fan. The music had me hooked from the first note, the characters had more depth and personality than what I had experienced before, and the story and world felt huge. I knew the translation was bad, but I could still follow along and understand the meaning of everything. I wouldn't go back to the SNES version today as I own the GBA, DS, and PSP versions, but I'm grateful for my playthrough of the original American version.
I've played this game a million times over, with only Chrono Trigger and A Link to the Past rivaling its total. So I know it REALLY well. So tell me...where in the hell in this game are you at 1:21? Can anyone tell me? Dark Knight Cecil ALONE fighting water enemies? That's impossible. Literally cannot happen at any point as far as I know. Rydia should be there, dead or alive.
It is the imperfection that makes it cool. The localization of FF IV Easy Type. They could have renamed things, and that was NOT a sword above Rosa when you go to rescue her it was an AXE in the US version it was a huge heavy ball (How is this have any less of a grotesque outcome than being sliced in 2 by an axe?) SNES drunk, they named the Bomb Ring to Package. And SPOONY BARD is special to the OG Players. I played FF IV DeJap and DeJap 10 year versions and the story is better in the 10 year version. :)
This was my first RPG and first Final Fantasy. I was introduced to it by a new neighbor at the time who was... an interesting character. I may have borrowed it from him, but I distinctly remember renting it from Blockbuster or a grocery store. It had a save that was at the end of the game, characters were in the level 60s, best equipment (sans Adamant armor), etc. I was blown away. Eventually, I got my own copy of the game. This game, rather than III/VI or VII, has the most nostalgia for me (though VII is pretty nostalgic).
The game is perfect in any version. U can get over 5% of the dialogue being a little quirky, and the graphics are just fine. It looked like a regular final fantasy game of the time... and you are 100% right about the great story. I still waiver between which one is better, 4 or6 and yes I know I'll get panned for that, but I am just a huge fan of 4, and the story most of all. Has kind of an empire strikes back feel to it with the journey of Cecil from dark knight to paladin and of course the golbez reveal... and shit, they go to the moon, with awesome music, so that's definitely STAR wars like, muthaphuckaaaaaaa!
I loved this game bro. I played through it again in like 2013. The part with the twins when your chasing the baddy. I don't want to spoil it but damn that part.
I still play the snes version regardless of it's flaws. It's the very first final fantasy game I got into and maybe it's just me but I tend to prefer the snes soundtracks for this game.
I never realized the game was so severely altered. That being said, I enjoyed the original SNES release as it is, so I really want to play one of these later versions to see just how much better it really is.
Yeah, I'm playing this right now and the thrust of the story is pretty clear to me and the antiquated bizarre language has a kind of charm. I'm certainly glad to hear this is the version that wastes the least amount of my time with grinding too.
I want to elaborate on some of the rare drop rates in this game of what I have discovered the past few days. Firstly, I'm playing the Chronicles version on an emulator which allows save-states. The chronicles version basically mirrors SNES version. The 1/64 drop rate for rare items is actually bogus and has been spread around for far too long. I always thought items were dropped via a lottery system after a battle was won. NOPE. After using save states to save before I attacked the final enemy with the final attack I started to notice some things. If I attacked with an exact amount of damage, let's say 1,245... I would get an item sometimes. If I reloaded the save state and attacked again, my character would attack with the same damage (1,245) and I would get the SAME item, every time if I kept reloading that save state. However... if I switched characters or attacked with a different weapon or spell for the final blow, let's say 3,468 damage... I might not get an item. OR, I might get a different item instead. I discovered though, as long as I reloaded the save state and attacked with 1,245 I would ALWAYS get the same item. At first I thought that was the key to getting rare drops, which it partly is. I tested some more and started reloading save states but switching to another character to attack, and then saving again within the battle if the number damage output didn't produce an item I wanted. Eventually I got a rare item. However... there's more to it than that. If the enemy attacks before YOU attack, it throws the number system off (behind the scenes) and moves it around (the tumble lock). This complicates things more and apparently from what I can guess, is that getting these rare items IS like a tumble-lock. Enemies attacking or taking a turn affects the drop mechanic as well as the number of damage your weapon or spell dispatches to the enemy on the final blow. If the numbers match up, you get the item you want. This shows that it's not a Random Drop rate that is decided at the end of the battle. It's decided on the final blow, the number of HP damage you inflict in congruence to the hidden tumble lock meter that is never displayed which is also manipulated when the enemy attacks. I feel that I did a horrible job explaining this and I still have more to learn about it. In wrap up. If you're playing on a pc, use save states within the battle. Save right before the enemy only needs one more strike to kill it. Strike the enemy and look at the damage number you do and take note of it. If it produces nothing or not an item you want, reload the save and switch to another character, save before you strike/attack and see if THAT produces the item you want. If not, let the enemy attack, save, and strike/attack for the final blow. Keep this process up until you get what you want. I got 3 pink tails in 50 mins using this method. This is MUCH faster than fighting an entire battle for an item when it's actually the tumble lock that produces the item. There is no 1/64. There never was. Thanks for reading.
CECIL HATES THE TRANSLATION。 I want the Snes version for the bad translation. My dad is a hockey fan so I showed him the Redwings joke. Your channel is awesome. I am just getting my first Snes so this channel is amazing because I can know what games to buy first
Now there are a lot of translation issues, for example - "I was to get Zemus!" but when Kluya says "Justice is not the only right in this world.. Someday, you will see... Go... Cecil..." It's my favorite delivery out of any of the ports or remakes.
this was the first final fantasy game I ever played and it's my favorite. I've only played 1,4,7, 8, 10 and 13. But 4 is my favorite. The story is amazing and super deep. The characters are all really fleshed out and seem very real. I love it so much. I've only played the SNES and DS versions but I didn't really notice any real change in difficulty. Definitely recommend this game on the SNES even with the bad translation.
Oh a video that strikes home. First RPG and I likely know more about it than my own life. Only things I had to correct - the monsters released in Rydia's villiage were actually just to kill off the Summoners because the "King" was afraid of their power. There was no crystal there. And I found the line about it looking like a beefed up NES game funny because (dunno if you left it out on purpose or not) it actually was. The game began development on the NES which is why its art style is VERY similar to FF3 on the NES much like how FF2 was a slightly upgraded but near identical FF1. Great vid though. Opinions on the difficulty and story though. When comparing translations of games in that era this likely ranked mid to slightly above average in all honesty. And the difficulty was actually based on the easymode version in Japan, though they did strip out a few more things from that. It was less about censorship and more about having zero faith in the Western audience to play these kinds of games. Hence why Mystic Quest was released here soon after. Cecil having a command skill was supposedly WAY too much for us to handle >_>
Best rpg every made on any system, including pc. I knew there was an easy and hard version, only the super famicom at that time had the hard version.. Regardless, FFIV is my personal favorite rpg of all time. At that time, I thought the translation was fine, not to bad. Alot better then that stinkin' Dragon Quest IV for the DS, seems like some kiddie A$$ dude translated it, absolutely horrific, NES 8-bit version absolutely destroy's it.
I really enjoy your videos, but a couple of critiques: 1. The best version of FF4 is the DS remake, not the PSP version. 2. The graphics didn't suffer from being rushed, the game originally started off as an NES game and was ported over during development. 3. You should check out Clyde Mandelin's writeup on FF4's script on Legends of Localization: legendsoflocalization.com/final-fantasy-iv/
Man I can agree that the SNES US release had some bad problems but I still think it's alright -- I mean, now that people can very easily access better versions or patches, they might as well, but for the time it was certainly a great game and the first real RPG i ever played, that started my love affair with the FF series and the genre as a whole. I still have personal love for the SNES (or, preferably, the SFC translated) version, due in part to those old choppy lovely right-between-nes-and-snes-which-are-the-two-best-consoles-of-all-time graphics, but mostly for that damn soundtrack. Nothing sounds like the SNES, nothing emulates that sound, and FF4's OST when that system was new was so absolutely mind-blowing and absorbing, and STILL is to me -- it's one of those soundstracks like Mario Galaxy or something that just make you go "whoa, damn. Like... *whoa*." I dunno. But yeah sure all the later versions are fine B)
The Wonderswan color version is also pretty great imo! But unfortunately we haven't even received a complete fantranslation for that one, only a combat text translation.
I don't know, I rather enjoyed it as it was, flaws and all. Of course, I first played this long when it first came out on Snes. Likely the combination of the story (even with bad translation) and a soundtrack that at the time, was absolutely amazing.
Poorly aged is a word that immediately comes to mind when I think of IV, especially the snes game but its also a strong part of me getting into the franchise so its hard for me to dislike it.
I love your stuff, but I think you're a bit off-base with this. The translation is kind of bad, but some of the other points aren't really true. Dark was removed to make it easier for western audiences. It's the same reason Tellah's Recall and the twins' Cry and Boast were taken out. Or Edward's salve. As for the difficulty, I think you're WAY off base. This is probably the toughest of the SNES FF games. It's unforgiving. Go back and visit the final boss again and see how Big Bang treats you. Yikes.
The point about the difficulty is strange to me. There's multiple publications out there that all say they deliberately made the NA version easier to make it more accessible, and when I played through it this summer it was definitely on the easy side. Maybe I got too used to BoF 2 and 7th Saga?
Hmm, I don't know. The Japanese Easytype version was DEFINITELY made simpler, but the US SNES release is mostly the same. The only real battle changes were in streamlining the battle commands (nixing Dark, etc) and removing a couple spells (Safe, Shell, etc) to my knowledge.
SNES drunk I was listening to a gaming podcast recently, I think it was either US Gamer's RPG podcast Axe of the Blood God or Retronauts, but I'm not totally sure, and they said the difficulty thing was a myth. Apparently they released an easy version of the game in Japan and a lot of people think that was released as FF2 in the us but that isn't actually the case. The same podcast also said that J2E basically did whatever they wanted with the translation and it's not accurate to the original Japanese at all. I have no idea how correct they are. Awesome video, great game.
Thanks Derek. The frustrating thing about this is that there's essentially no real way to find out any concrete hard evidence about stuff like this, outside of getting through to the actual development team at the time (good luck with that). And yeah I knew that about J2E's translation, that's why I said it may not be perfect, but I'll take that take over Woolsey's rushed mess.
Wow, you're the first person i've known to ever speak or know of HCBailey. He does such great work in his LP's that i'm glad someone else recognized it. Now if only more people recognized your work.
I have his voice stuck in my head for so many game quotes now. "But thao MUST!" "God Damn TEA!!!!!" "Lufia and the Temple of DOOOOOM!!!" He's really comes a long way over the years and he's got a great style of delivery.
Haha, the Lufia LP is exactly when I started watching him. His freaking out over rebuilding the bridge (*head desk*) still makes me laugh when I think about it.
The good thing about the PSP version is that it includes the After Years, which is kind of like a playable epilogue featuring the next generation of heroes growing up after Cecil and his friends. People rip on After Years a lot, but l actually kinda liked it. lt allowed me to stay in the world of FF4 a bit longer and see how everyone's doing after the original adventure ended. Sure it doesn't have the same magical epicness the original game had, but it's still good. And of course, there's the fact that the original game appears in its entirely, untainted by censorship.
I know the SNES version has problems but as my very first Final Fantasy game I can't help but like it and its cheesy translation, it reminds me a ton of a 70s Godzilla dub
First video I've disagreed with you on. I think the original SNES FFIV is most definitley worth playing. The story is one of the best in FF and it was my 2nd favorite FF game during my childhood. The translation and cut content don't take away from it imo
Well, If you like hard RPGs. I love the DS version but it's brutal. If you just want a not too challenging while not too easy RPG, just pick up the PSP version
I played the original Final Fantasy back in the eighties.But Final Fantasy 2 ( Final Fantasy 4 in Japan) is what got me into the fantasy game genre.If they ever make a three in one trilogy pack of the first three games.With remastered graphics. ( just an update no 3D like it's trying to be FF 7)If it got a console release for X box One I would get it. 😀
I always believe that the PSP release of FFIV is the BEST definitive version of FFIV ever made (outside of the 3D version because that version had too much significant changes). The PSP version is - if I may say - a big middle finger to how badly Nintendo of America treated the original SNES version back then. So, I don't think I will ever touch the original SNES version again, because Square has done an amazing job at making the PSP version.
This was the 1st rpg I ever played great game love it the translation never mattered to me lol.
Mine also! Never even heard of it until my older cousin lent it to me! I was young but knew it was translated wonky, did not ruin the story one bit! I was instantly hooked! Still one of my all time favorite snes games!
It wouldn’t be the same without that spoony bard! 😂
This was my first RPG too :)
*Same. I used to rent the game in WEST COLUMBIA when another person(s) returned it and the other person(s) didn’t erase my save file. For some reason, I saved over their file and I wish I knew who it was so I could apologize to them. I’m so sorry I did that...*
Translation really doesn’t effect the game at all it’s still understandable and that’s all that matters
Final Fantasy IV is my favorite game of all time. It was both my first RPG and the first video game story I ever truly cared about. When Kain betrayed Cecil at Fabul, I booed. When Cecil became a paladin, I cheered. When adult Rydia showed up to set Golbez straight, I was pleasantly surprised. When Edge was forced to put his parents out of their misery, I was empathetic and when the person responsible showed up soon after, I was enraged. A perfect 10/10 for me, then and now.
Thanks for the spoiler
@@EmeraldaKasim It came out in 92! 😂🤣😂
@@timothymiller5539 LMAO!
@@EmeraldaKasim Wait. Soylent Green is PEOPLE?!
my favorite game of all time all well. The soundtrack is fucking timeless
no game has more powerful nostalgia.
maybe a little harsh. I think its definitely worth playing. The translation is bad but not simons quest bad. The music/story/gameplay are all worth experiencing.
Yeah, but this is a full RPG where story is the main emphasis. You don't get a slap on the wrist for poor translation, you get incarcerated. It would be like Simon's Quest but the the d-pad controls rotated a quarter turn.
The whole point of the video is to point out that the translation is more than "a little off," it's terrible, so why suffer if you don't have to?
SNES drunk Exactly. You can still have the great music, story, and gameplay by playing literally any other version besides the NA SNES version. There's no reason to play that one.
I agree. I just beat this game and while the translation is a mess the story is still comprehensible. And if the original difficulty was supposedly harder, I'd hate to play that version because I was definitely good with the difficulty of the original American version. But I do wish the translation was done right though
Console RPG Fanatic : the version that came out in the US is a translation of the easy type version, aimed at younger players in Japan. The je2 version is a translation of the normal FFIV, which is of course harder than the easy type.
ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT.
In my honest opinion, this FF2 Snes and FF3 Snes {I guess 4 and 6 in Japanese}, are the best FF games hands down.
I am 33 years old and I find myself once a year spending the time about 1 or 2 months replying magical gems, rather then these new age BS games that only focus on graphics and are stale in other areas.
So true
Get off my lawn you darn kids!!
Agreed!!
Yessss, I love this one so much. Completed both half a dozen times
@Peter Kazavis those are fighting words lol
"You spoony bard" fits perfectly for the situation he and Tella's daughter are in. Spoony means 1. Silly, Foolish and 2. being sentimentally in love. Sp yeah, it's pretty apt.
This has long been considered the "easy type" version of the game in retro gaming communities even though it really isn't,. Instead, it's streamlined, the equivalent of a radio edit. As far as I know, the gameplay changes between the Japanese original and the U.S. SNES release are:
* A lot of marginally useful items are removed or consolidated (Antodotes/etc. replaced with just Heals, which are basically cheap Remedies; consumable spell items just gone). While I miss Bacchus Wine and Lunar Curtains when playing the SNES version, losing them is IMO a fair trade for not constantly running out of inventory space thanks to Maiden Kisses and Coeurl Whiskers. Some chests have different contents as a result, but that seems like a wash.
* Several marginally useful battle abilities are removed. The video mentions Cecil's Dark ability, and that and Palom's Bluff are the only two that are even situationally useful. Tellah's random cast, FuSoYa's underpowered regen, Porom's tears, Yang's charged attack, Edward's potion sharing, and more are pretty much useless.
* Spells are learned at earlier levels in some cases. In Rydia's case this hardly matters since her summons are still superior. In Rosa's case it means that Float and Wall come a little earlier, and that's early enough that you can tackle the Summoned Monster and Sylph Caves as soon as they become available, even if you haven't been grinding at all. As a result, those caves can be harder since you're lower level all around (whereas in the original you have to grind to a higher level to learn Float, or just be ready to heal every few steps -- either way, pretty tedious).
* I think that's it, actually. There are other rumored differences, like the game being easier in any meaningful way, but it's just not true. It's frustrating that the people who accuse the game of being easy also complain about abilities that have been removed. If they were worth keeping, wouldn't that imply that their removal makes the game harder, not easier?
I've played both the U.S. SNES version and the fan-translated SFC version many times, and I like them both. I wish the SNES version was given a better translation, but otherwise I think the U.S. changes can be argued to have improved the game. If you play both, pay attention to how much more tedious grinding and inventory cleanup you have to do in the more "faithful" version. The actual meat of the game -- making meaningful decisions about purchases, equipment, exploration, and battle -- is just as good in the U.S. SNES version.
This is correct. You just missed one that I can think of, and it was that they made Edward's harps back-row weapons, which for some reason they weren't in the SFC version. The SNES is a streamlined version of the SFC version, and that's all. I don't know how or why this myth has persisted so long online. In actuality, the SNES version is much more difficult than the later PSP or GBA versions because they screwed up the ATB system in those ports.
Speaking of “Easy Type” the notorious winner of this tittle supposedly goes to “Final Fantasy Mystic Quest” which was meant to be a much much easier game for the west since Japan thought that their games were to hard for the U.S. 😂😂 (or so I heard)
@@maynorzapata8737 Well, they wanted to go with an easier one bc at the tine JRPG didnt sell well in the US. So, they thought a "starter" RPG would boost interest.
KN North I agree with you. At that time RPG’s were not much of a thing. Very sad since there are many excellent RPG’s that never made it overseas for either difficulty or perhaps due to lack of interest from the west. Regardless, I’m just glad that eventually RPG’s became popular in the west as well 👍🏼
@@maynorzapata8737 For sure. That is why out Final Fantasy numbers got screwed up in the first place.
This is in my top 3 Final Fantasy games, everyone's gotta try it.
I gotta say: The graphics were pretty awesome at the time. It was one of our first peeks at MODE 7 GRAPHICS! Some of the dungeons are quite pretty with the mineshafts and rivers and vistas in the background; and damn some of the spells are really nice looking!
I'll defend even the US version of this game to my last breath but, I agree, I've gotten the most enjoyment out of the GBA, PSP versions. (And an early emulated translation back in the day)..
Anyways..
Great videos dude, keep up the good work!
I loved the couple caves where you could see the floor below, like Sylph Cave. Those were mind blowing to me at the time
Man as a kid playing on release I was so confused with Cecil doing the “dark” move in the intro, and than seeing unable to do it in game. The mount ordeals shit hits hard emotionally
The soundtrack was so absurdly good for its time man... 🎼 🎵
my favorite turn based RPG of all time. LOVED and played this game to death as a teen in 1992
game was atb
My fav also
Next level graphics. It was mind blowing.
Japan: "We need to simplify our RPGs to accommodate Western gamers."
Also Japan: "We need to simplify Western RPGs to accommodate Japanese gamers."
FF4 is the game that made me want to become a game developer when I was a kid, I LOVED this game. English not being my first language, I was too busy trying to understand that I never noticed that the translation was bad. The "spoony bard" never bothered me because I just thought "oh that's an english expression that I'm not aware of".
It is! Spoony means 'foolishly amorous', or just like, "falls in love too commonly and too completely". It's an absolutely accurate thing to call Edward, really.
I think the line is emblemic of the lack of trust people have in the translator, in that it's a totally suiting line that was dismissed as just more garbage instead of anyone looking up the word.
Did you ever become a game developer?
@@asdfgoogle Yes, been doing it for 17 years now.
This channel should be more popular than it is. It's quite good.
Thanks, but I don't know how the bigger channels don't go insane dealing with the scrutiny
I hear the secret is to not read comments, but that would make for a different experience entirely for both of us now wouldn't it! Keep up the good work man.
Agree. SNES drunk, don't think twice about the scrutiny just keep doing your thing.
Thanks, don't get me wrong, I never take things personally. But the sheer amount of stuff gets to be overwhelming at times. Especially when its a barrage of comments out of nowhere on a video that's 3 years old.
SNES drunk yeah, I feel FF5, 6 and Chrono Trigger outclass this game so badly. But yeah TH-cam comments can be a cesspool.
i honestly think none of those flaws take away from any of the enjoyment of an almost perfect game.. but then again that's coming from a guy who has a tattoo of dark knight cecil on his arm :)
That's cool
SNES drunk thanks 👍🏻
Sweet tattoo.
Darkmoon Seventy-Five thanks 👍🏻
I know your post is 6 months old... but -
Still kudos on the sick tattoo! Would love to see a pic!
This FF6, CT, and Ogre Battle were my favorite Snes rpgs when I was a kid and this always got brushed under the rug. In my opinion FF4s story line surpasses Ff6s as well as the soundrack (maybe tied, very close). I am 32 and still listen the OST and play some of the piano versions for my daughter to sleep. (Theme of love, Troian Beauty, Land of Summoners) I think she would have nightmares if I played the 4 fiends battle before bed. This game will be apart of me forever, Keep making great videos.
This and FF6 is my fav In the series,so emotional yet fun,i agree with you, the music make it sound like a big deal,Really great story and great game.thanks snesdrunk
Final Fantasy II on the SNES holds a special place for me. I still play it despite its bad translation. I got it for Christmas when I was 12 and made sure I kept it.
2:58 - And Thus, Noah The Spoony One Antwiler was born.
I have to disagree, Final Fantasy 2 is one of the greatest games of all time! It may be hard to explain to people that weren't alive or old enough to remember the early 90's but the graphics on this game were unseen at the time, playing it for the first time was truly an experience! Everything looked beautiful and the game was very immersive story wise (as good as reading a book). The music as you said is phenomenal, I would easily put it up against any of today's games. The remakes added flavor crap and an artificial difficulty, this game wasn't meant to be hard, and nobody really cared about that back then, it was just good... which was an uncommon trait. Cecil could still use "dark", it was a weapon ability. I would easily recommend this version to anyone and everyone, even over the PSP/3DS versions. Watching your video almost made me feel like you had never really played the game outside of a port, give it a chance.
I just bought it at a pawn shop and haven't played it yet I hope it's good I really love ff3 on snes and the original Breath of Fire
This may sound like a convenient excuse, but I LOVE the bad english translation. Yeah, the rereleases are better games overall which holds true for the next two games (except the awful smart phone versions). But I still think FF4 SNES is great and would recommend it to my generation. Is it flawed? Most definitely and they have every right to be called out when present. I guess it doesn't ruin the experience for me despite being very aware of it. :)
The Side Quest Gamer
It is kinda like the Megaman X4 dub, funny for the wrong reasons, I would pick the PSP or DS version anyday still.
FF4 is a such Nostalgic game that I would enjoy in any version.
When I started really collecting SNES games this was one of the first games i found. It is rough around the edges and better ports are definitely out there, but i think the SNES port holds up pretty well despite that, just take yourself back to the early days of the SNES and think about how ambitious this game was. I also find silly translations and typos funny in these old games.
I really liked the Nintendo DS version. The additional components I thought were great and the complete graphical design I enjoyed. It also rewards multiple playthrough as you can access new abilities each time
"No, not those Red Wings." Almost spit coffee all over my monitor.
I like the graphics in this over the later versions. PSP version looks too polished. Great games, one of the best in the series.
The PSP version is beautiful, but the PSX port is the most accurate version. Retranslated, and without all the difficulty nerfs the SNES version had. It has the same graphics as the SNES version.
Klonoa7H The PSX version is pretty much exactly like this.
How can a game look too polished, what the hell?
I like the GBA version. The graphics are enhanced, but still resembles the original style.
@@Fodimin Hello Human of the Past.
For Example, compare Final Fantasy VI on the Super Nintendo with the Version on Steam, it just looks wrong.
Playing this game back in the early-mid 90's was untouchable. I know people fanboy over Chrono trigger and FF6 now (rightfully so). This game was a game changer in its day. The music in this game is probably the best ever, Hans Zimmer (Gladiator) good. Its mix of medievil/space/alien setting and the ascension from Dark Knight to Paladin. It had feels of true desolation/hoplessness and how the party was going to overcome the bleak present.
FFIV has such amazing story and character elements to it, especially in the early parts. There are so many different kinds of characters -- young, old, brave, cowardly, rich, poor, strong, weak. There is a variety of relationships: romantic, father-daughter, siblings, best friends and rivals turned enemies, estranged father & brother, etc. The main character, Cecil, starts off having unerring faith in his king, to questioning his motives, to facing his past crimes and realizing he was on the wrong side all along. He takes Rydia under his protection, who cannot cast fire spells at first because of the trauma of her village burning down. There's Tellah, who is a respected and powerful mage, yet has a tragic weakness for being over-emotional (possibly a bit senile?) and throwing himself carelessly at his goals (lashing out at Edward who dotes after his daughter Anna, sacrificing himself in a vain attempt to thwart Golbez). On a basic level, some of these characters give us moments that rank among some of the best storytelling video games have ever offered -- if, perhaps, told a bit awkwardly through an early 16-bit medium. But I think this game deserves to be looked at a lot more favourably, and taken as an example of how to craft a quality RPG.
I started playing this a few weeks ago, the translation is bad but it really doesn’t detract from how awesome the game is as a whole. Also, I like how action packed it is. I don’t have the time to grind for levels, I just want to sit down and have fun
The word "spoony" definitely seems out of place, but it does make sense in context being it simply means he's foolish, or dim witted, or even "foolishly in love". Anyway, another good video, sir.
Got this for Xmas in 91. I was 15. Loved it and still do
This game is very special to me. I played this a long time ago when I didn’t even know that games came from Japan 😂... I rented it from a generic video store for the weekend. (remember those days?) 😆! I fell in love with it and remember returning it to the video store and re-renting it over and over until I beat it. I eventually found out about the whole FF2 is really FF4 and finally had a chance to play the real one when I played it for the Game Boy Advanced... Amazing game easily ranked on my top 5 next to FF6 and Crono Trigger which is just godly status. Thanks for the video. You brought back very pleasant childhood memories...
The PSP version that comes bundled with The After Years is probably the best version of this game. Not only do you get FF4, but you also get After Years which I recommend playing (even though a lot of other people don't). I mean, it's FF4. The only thing better than FF4 is ... more FF4. lol.
Sure, TAY has a lot of grind in it, but the boss rush at the end is fun.
Also, the "Dark" Command? It sucked anyways. It did very little damage, and it drained your own HP. I'm not so sure it was removed for censor reasons (they could have just renamed it to 'wave' or something). I think it was removed because of how... bad... it was. You were better off just swinging away than using it.
The PSP version also has very beautiful sprite/pixel-art while going the direction that 6 did on Steam (least the default version without mods to make it much better).
This review has some good points, but ultimately draws the wrong conclusion and makes a bad recommendation. This game is *not only* worth playing in any form, it's a top 3 or 5 greatest RPG ever (I rank it #1 for the story, characters, and - of course - the soundtrack).
At the time of its release, it was RPG magic... even with the flaws mentioned in the video. It didn't matter. I guess you had to be there in '91' or '92 playing this game to know what it felt like. This game single-handedly took RPG's out of the dark ages (literally) and made them into something so much more grander, epic, and emotionally compelling.
You can't go wrong playing this game in any version, but I recommend the original 16 bit version (on any system).
I didn't read your post before I typed mine out but it's very good to know there are people still out there that understand!!!
@@Noah-wv4td Just because you're a glutton for endless hours of grinding doesn't make the US SNES version not worth playing for others that don't have the time to do all that nonsense.
Ever? It's not even a top 5 in the series lol. 6>4
@@Noah-wv4td 6 through 10 was the peak of the series for me. Not a garbage opinion just my opinion. And 6 was better all around then 4 not just story. I'd rank 4 as the 7th best in the series probably. It's not a terrible game by any means but not the best RPG of all time as it's not even a top game in the series.
I know it's an old video, but the 3D-versions of the game (DS, iOS, Android, PC) are also worth playing if you're interested.
And I'm certainly gonna get the PSP-version
Final Fantasy II was the very first Final Fantasy i played.. Nostalgic! But yeah.. i liked the GBA version more.
Rydia is my favorite character in the series, i use her name in a lot of other games too :)
Same here. I prefer the GBA and PSP versions.
I always thought it was weird how Rydia in the SNES translation just casually said that her mother died because the dragon died without expressing any real emotions.
She sounds much more believable in the new translations, where it's made clear that she is actually _crying._
Everybody talks about how this game is "mediocre" and "riddled with issues".... but these people who say these things probably didn't play original Final Fantasy on NES when it was new..... and have no idea what a monumental leap Final Fantasy 2/4 was. When FF1 was the only other Final Fantasy game that had previously existed in North America, playing this was the biggest treat anybody could have asked for. As somebody who has been playing these games since day one, Final Fantasy 2 on the SNES remains my all time favourite in the entire series. Bar none. I hate the amount of hate that this game receives.... it's completely unwarranted. The only game that tops this in my personal "top 10 games of all time" list is Chrono Trigger.
I'm currently playing through this on my channel and you are right about the translation. One of the funnier bits was when Cecil introduces Tellah as "Edward's father" when he was really Edward's father-IN-LAW. Otherwise, you get this weird idea that something wasn't right in Tellah's family...lol.Even when I first played it back in the day it stuck out.
FF4 isn’t my favourite SNES RPG, but I still enjoy the original release. I agree that the translation isn’t very good, though I still get the gist of what’s going on.
This is such a good game !!! Beated this game about 15 times..
Honestly, I couldn’t disagree more with this one. Final Fantasy II on the SNES is a masterpiece. I can’t even begin to say all the times I rented this at blockbuster growing up. I love your content even if we don’t agree on everything😊👍🏻
Sad part is, its my favorite instalment in the series and my favorite game on the snes.
FF4 is a so nostalgic game to me.
4 was the first rpg i was actually allowed to look at. any other game my family didnt want me being near for fear that i would delete their save. but at this point i was ... 8? so my uncle actually let me play it for a little while...i hold this one high for probably that reason. also soundtrack. great soundtrack.
Decided to replay my childhood! 1 hour into this beautiful gem!
You know, I gotta say back in the day when this was released on Super Nintendo it was a significant step up when compared to the original Final Fantasy. In North America, we had no idea that there were FF 2 - 3 so when we got this version it was released as Final Fantasy 2. And compared with how clunky and broken the original one was on the NES, this was incredible and really engaging. The battle system was cleaned up and much more efficient, the inventory system was fixed, and each of the characters in your party had individual dialogue that could "speak" amongst themselves and had more personality than a plank of wood like those of the original FF. Looking back on it, yes there were some problems that you pointed out, but it wasn't a bad game. I really enjoyed it and I still look back on it as one of my favorite RPGs of all time.
This game was just utter brilliance, even with the flaws. I will always cherich the memories of everything this game gave to me and my friends. I still love listening to the soundtrack and play the game once a year or so. Some of these Snes games truly makes me turn into someone who cannot be objective in any way when talking about them. Great review, you sir are stronger than I am, talking about a work of art in in a serious obective sense of it's place in video game history.
I cast Cure 4 and Life 2 on all of you now while Nobuo Uematsu's theme of love is playing.
I think the Dev Room in the 3D remake had someone say they did their research on the word "spoony" (meaning overly emotional and sentimental, which face it, even into The After Years described Edward/Gilbert Christopher von Muir's lamentation over losing Anna), and what was initially considered "bad localization" was actually the correct term.
This was the first RPG I got on the SNES and ever played. It completely got me into the genre. This game will always be a favorite because of the nostalgia :)
Jesus, I am so tired of people talking trash about this game, in comparison to later iterations. It's really not as bad as you make it out, and this kind of nitpicking is as petty as it gets. The original SNES game is fantastic!
I still think it's worth playing. The translations isn't accurate but its at least understandable. The core of the game is fine.
This was the first game I ever rented and I been hooked ever since. It amazes me that a 7 yr old would want to play and enjoy a game with this much reading. I guess it might help explain why I've been a bookworm my whole life
This is my most favourite RPG. Would’ve love to see a movie made from this.
The most part I had the most frustrations with is getting Rydia’s other summon monsters like the goblin and bomb in which you gotta fight those monsters a ridiculous amount of times until it dropped the item for in which rydia could acquire to be able to summon. Great storyline in my opinion.
I love bad translations! It's really not that bad either, and you can still understand what's going on. Besides ignorance is bliss in this case. If you didn't know any of the parts were censored, then it wouldn't have made a difference. I played this after FF3/FF6, and I still enjoyed it. Great story, great music outweigh a few bad translations in my opinion.
You thought this game was easy?
Did you play it on SNES? It was. If you play any other version, it's one of the hardest FF games. If you play the DS version, it's hands down the most difficult FF game and one of the most difficult RPGs in general.
Dunno about the DS version, but I remember the GBA version of this game being nerfed EVEN FURTHER, lol. I came across Demon Wall in the GBA version and... it just... keeled over. Wasn't even a threat. I was like "whaaaat?"
GBA is a bit easier than most versions (they also had remakes of FF1, 2, 5, and 6). But they included extra content that was quite a bit more difficult. It's pretty extensively rebalanced. Either way, the original FF2 for SNES is still easier.
I never found the GBA's extra content to be hard... especially not after you got a couple of the characters' final (and very overpowered!) weapons. They're overpowered even for the "new" areas that were added in that optional dungeon, and don't even get me started on on Cecil's. I remember that thing just absolutely wrecking face without a sweat.
But then that could be due to me being Lv99 with all the normal game's gear before going into the optional dungeon, that could be the reason why that optional dungeon was so cakewalk.
But, optional dungeon aside, GBA's easier. By far.
Yeah I played the PSX version and I died way more than I did in any other Final Fantasy that I have played.
It's still very fun to play and not broken due to the changes. I get the translation isn't the best but this was a very early SNES release and not much money was spent on localization for RPGs, which were still in the early stages of mainstream support, in those days. You could argue that it's thanks to games like FFII (4) on SNES, that later RPGs like FFIII(6), were far better off. And for many of us old folks it was a great improvement over FF1 for the NES, especially in the story. I guess I am just saying that it was fantastic compared to most of the RPGs that came before it like the early Dragon Quests on NES and the first FF. Now, its easy to look back and dismiss it for its shortcomings, but that's with the benefit of later games, which as I stated might not even have come this way had Square not at least taken a chance with FFIV. Love your channel!
I loved this game growing up as a kid, since back then most of us never knew about the Japanese versions. So I'd say once again this is a game that people like me who'd enjoy for nostalgia reasons
This game blew my freaking mind in 6th grade
The censorship (removed references to religious imagery) was just how Nintendo rolled back then. Very very few Western releases escaped this, and we were lucky to get this in any form - especially as import-reliant Europeans who barely received a single Final Fantasy until the PlayStation generation.
It's weird because Actraiser and Soul Blazer seemed to do okay with references to God and death and all that. This got butchered to hell though
I am thinking this can be explained by an entire division of the "localization team ( or something)" inside a company trying to prove their worth, about them doing "completely necessary work", to prove their expertise or how vital they are and their work. SO they censor everything, make really silly, unnecessary changes and so on. I mean, a faithful translation is less fun than reinventing every dialog, and a faithful translation is what patches do nowadays. Its disappointing, I would be surprised if this still happens nowadays.Its just a though, but kind of makes sense for me.
Personally I think the biggest surprise is that we got Breath of Fire II as candidly as we did. Soooooo much religious...everything. I mean hell the last boss is literally a priest who thinks he's God, and he actually calls himself God. The churches are churches, there's just so much there it baffles me to this day that we got it.
If I ever play the SNES version, it's mainly out of nostalgia. Rented that game so many times as a kid.
I enjoy your channel, and you're certainly welcome to think differently, but I've loved FF2 (FFIV) and consider it one of my favorites. I never even noticed any weirdness in the translation; I always got the point of what was going on. (Also, according to a quick Google search, "spoony" is an archaic phrase from ~1875 meaning "sentimentally or foolishly amorous", which seems an appropriate description for Edward, and appropriately dated for Tellah.) Just my thoughts. Thanks for an entertaining channel; just wanted to defend a personal favorite. (Also, holy crap, this was two years ago, and I'm a tad late to the party, huh? Obviously I'm newer to the channel.)
I have very fond memories of playing this game (the so-called "bad version") when I was 15. I remember renting it many times before buying my own used copy later. This wasn't my first RPG, however, it arguably was one of the first to really sell me on the RPG genre. I remember renting Final Fantasy I for the NES back when it first released. At the time, me and my sister were new to RPGs and neither of us really knew what we were doing, but I was still left with a favorable impression of the game. My sister never got passed the pirates in Final Fantasy I, so we never got the pirate ship to explore the world (about a decade later, I bought the cartridge and finished the game). Final Fantasy II (or IV) definitely sold me on the series for sure, even if I was playing it three years late in 1994. Final Fantasy III (VI) will always be my favorite, however.
i love this game, literally cherished memories
This was my first RPG on SNES and it set the tone for storytelling and exploration. I still love the game. Definitely some nostalgia here, but I still enjoy it. Cheers.
This was my intro to the Final Fantasy series and what cemented me as an RPG fan. The music had me hooked from the first note, the characters had more depth and personality than what I had experienced before, and the story and world felt huge. I knew the translation was bad, but I could still follow along and understand the meaning of everything. I wouldn't go back to the SNES version today as I own the GBA, DS, and PSP versions, but I'm grateful for my playthrough of the original American version.
I've played this game a million times over, with only Chrono Trigger and A Link to the Past rivaling its total. So I know it REALLY well. So tell me...where in the hell in this game are you at 1:21? Can anyone tell me? Dark Knight Cecil ALONE fighting water enemies? That's impossible. Literally cannot happen at any point as far as I know. Rydia should be there, dead or alive.
Ha! good point! I cannot think of any way for that to happen either.
It is the imperfection that makes it cool. The localization of FF IV Easy Type. They could have renamed things, and that was NOT a sword above Rosa when you go to rescue her it was an AXE in the US version it was a huge heavy ball (How is this have any less of a grotesque outcome than being sliced in 2 by an axe?) SNES drunk, they named the Bomb Ring to Package. And SPOONY BARD is special to the OG Players. I played FF IV DeJap and DeJap 10 year versions and the story is better in the 10 year version. :)
For me this game is one of the greatest games on the snes, i fall in love with this Final Fantasy when i was a kid.
This was my first RPG and first Final Fantasy. I was introduced to it by a new neighbor at the time who was... an interesting character. I may have borrowed it from him, but I distinctly remember renting it from Blockbuster or a grocery store. It had a save that was at the end of the game, characters were in the level 60s, best equipment (sans Adamant armor), etc. I was blown away. Eventually, I got my own copy of the game. This game, rather than III/VI or VII, has the most nostalgia for me (though VII is pretty nostalgic).
The game is perfect in any version. U can get over 5% of the dialogue being a little quirky, and the graphics are just fine. It looked like a regular final fantasy game of the time... and you are 100% right about the great story. I still waiver between which one is better, 4 or6 and yes I know I'll get panned for that, but I am just a huge fan of 4, and the story most of all. Has kind of an empire strikes back feel to it with the journey of Cecil from dark knight to paladin and of course the golbez reveal... and shit, they go to the moon, with awesome music, so that's definitely STAR wars like, muthaphuckaaaaaaa!
I loved this game bro. I played through it again in like 2013. The part with the twins when your chasing the baddy. I don't want to spoil it but damn that part.
I still play the snes version regardless of it's flaws. It's the very first final fantasy game I got into and maybe it's just me but I tend to prefer the snes soundtracks for this game.
I never realized the game was so severely altered. That being said, I enjoyed the original SNES release as it is, so I really want to play one of these later versions to see just how much better it really is.
Yeah, I'm playing this right now and the thrust of the story is pretty clear to me and the antiquated bizarre language has a kind of charm. I'm certainly glad to hear this is the version that wastes the least amount of my time with grinding too.
1:49 "No, not those Red Wings"
That Evil Empire has already collapsed.
And we're all thankful for that
Great review, wish you could have been there when it came out though, playing ff1 then moving to this was amazing!!
This was back when SNES drunk didn’t care how the rest of your day went.
I want to elaborate on some of the rare drop rates in this game of what I have discovered the past few days. Firstly, I'm playing the Chronicles version on an emulator which allows save-states. The chronicles version basically mirrors SNES version.
The 1/64 drop rate for rare items is actually bogus and has been spread around for far too long. I always thought items were dropped via a lottery system after a battle was won. NOPE. After using save states to save before I attacked the final enemy with the final attack I started to notice some things. If I attacked with an exact amount of damage, let's say 1,245... I would get an item sometimes. If I reloaded the save state and attacked again, my character would attack with the same damage (1,245) and I would get the SAME item, every time if I kept reloading that save state. However... if I switched characters or attacked with a different weapon or spell for the final blow, let's say 3,468 damage... I might not get an item. OR, I might get a different item instead.
I discovered though, as long as I reloaded the save state and attacked with 1,245 I would ALWAYS get the same item. At first I thought that was the key to getting rare drops, which it partly is. I tested some more and started reloading save states but switching to another character to attack, and then saving again within the battle if the number damage output didn't produce an item I wanted. Eventually I got a rare item. However... there's more to it than that. If the enemy attacks before YOU attack, it throws the number system off (behind the scenes) and moves it around (the tumble lock). This complicates things more and apparently from what I can guess, is that getting these rare items IS like a tumble-lock. Enemies attacking or taking a turn affects the drop mechanic as well as the number of damage your weapon or spell dispatches to the enemy on the final blow. If the numbers match up, you get the item you want.
This shows that it's not a Random Drop rate that is decided at the end of the battle. It's decided on the final blow, the number of HP damage you inflict in congruence to the hidden tumble lock meter that is never displayed which is also manipulated when the enemy attacks.
I feel that I did a horrible job explaining this and I still have more to learn about it. In wrap up. If you're playing on a pc, use save states within the battle. Save right before the enemy only needs one more strike to kill it. Strike the enemy and look at the damage number you do and take note of it. If it produces nothing or not an item you want, reload the save and switch to another character, save before you strike/attack and see if THAT produces the item you want. If not, let the enemy attack, save, and strike/attack for the final blow. Keep this process up until you get what you want. I got 3 pink tails in 50 mins using this method.
This is MUCH faster than fighting an entire battle for an item when it's actually the tumble lock that produces the item. There is no 1/64. There never was. Thanks for reading.
CECIL HATES THE TRANSLATION。 I want the Snes version for the bad translation. My dad is a hockey fan so I showed him the Redwings joke. Your channel is awesome. I am just getting my first Snes so this channel is amazing because I can know what games to buy first
Now there are a lot of translation issues, for example - "I was to get Zemus!" but when Kluya says "Justice is not the only right in this world.. Someday, you will see... Go... Cecil..." It's my favorite delivery out of any of the ports or remakes.
this was the first final fantasy game I ever played and it's my favorite. I've only played 1,4,7, 8, 10 and 13. But 4 is my favorite. The story is amazing and super deep. The characters are all really fleshed out and seem very real. I love it so much. I've only played the SNES and DS versions but I didn't really notice any real change in difficulty. Definitely recommend this game on the SNES even with the bad translation.
You should play 6 and 9
Try12 it’s awesome
Echoing above, but especially 6.
Oh a video that strikes home. First RPG and I likely know more about it than my own life.
Only things I had to correct - the monsters released in Rydia's villiage were actually just to kill off the Summoners because the "King" was afraid of their power. There was no crystal there.
And I found the line about it looking like a beefed up NES game funny because (dunno if you left it out on purpose or not) it actually was. The game began development on the NES which is why its art style is VERY similar to FF3 on the NES much like how FF2 was a slightly upgraded but near identical FF1.
Great vid though. Opinions on the difficulty and story though. When comparing translations of games in that era this likely ranked mid to slightly above average in all honesty. And the difficulty was actually based on the easymode version in Japan, though they did strip out a few more things from that. It was less about censorship and more about having zero faith in the Western audience to play these kinds of games. Hence why Mystic Quest was released here soon after. Cecil having a command skill was supposedly WAY too much for us to handle >_>
Best rpg every made on any system, including pc.
I knew there was an easy and hard version, only the super famicom at that time had the hard version..
Regardless, FFIV is my personal favorite rpg of all time.
At that time, I thought the translation was fine, not to bad.
Alot better then that stinkin' Dragon Quest IV for the DS, seems like some kiddie A$$ dude translated it, absolutely horrific, NES 8-bit version absolutely destroy's it.
An absolute masterpiece.
I really enjoy your videos, but a couple of critiques:
1. The best version of FF4 is the DS remake, not the PSP version.
2. The graphics didn't suffer from being rushed, the game originally started off as an NES game and was ported over during development.
3. You should check out Clyde Mandelin's writeup on FF4's script on Legends of Localization: legendsoflocalization.com/final-fantasy-iv/
This game is a great introduction to jrpg's for younger players. It's a good game.
You spoony bard! Such a great line. Back in 1991, we didn't have all the other versions today and we still had a great time playing it.
Man I can agree that the SNES US release had some bad problems but I still think it's alright -- I mean, now that people can very easily access better versions or patches, they might as well, but for the time it was certainly a great game and the first real RPG i ever played, that started my love affair with the FF series and the genre as a whole. I still have personal love for the SNES (or, preferably, the SFC translated) version, due in part to those old choppy lovely right-between-nes-and-snes-which-are-the-two-best-consoles-of-all-time graphics, but mostly for that damn soundtrack. Nothing sounds like the SNES, nothing emulates that sound, and FF4's OST when that system was new was so absolutely mind-blowing and absorbing, and STILL is to me -- it's one of those soundstracks like Mario Galaxy or something that just make you go "whoa, damn. Like... *whoa*." I dunno.
But yeah sure all the later versions are fine B)
The Wonderswan color version is also pretty great imo! But unfortunately we haven't even received a complete fantranslation for that one, only a combat text translation.
I don't know, I rather enjoyed it as it was, flaws and all. Of course, I first played this long when it first came out on Snes. Likely the combination of the story (even with bad translation) and a soundtrack that at the time, was absolutely amazing.
Poorly aged is a word that immediately comes to mind when I think of IV, especially the snes game but its also a strong part of me getting into the franchise so its hard for me to dislike it.
the game may not be very good but I had fun with it playing it when I was 8 years old. It brings back so many memories.
I love your stuff, but I think you're a bit off-base with this. The translation is kind of bad, but some of the other points aren't really true. Dark was removed to make it easier for western audiences. It's the same reason Tellah's Recall and the twins' Cry and Boast were taken out. Or Edward's salve.
As for the difficulty, I think you're WAY off base. This is probably the toughest of the SNES FF games. It's unforgiving. Go back and visit the final boss again and see how Big Bang treats you. Yikes.
The point about the difficulty is strange to me. There's multiple publications out there that all say they deliberately made the NA version easier to make it more accessible, and when I played through it this summer it was definitely on the easy side. Maybe I got too used to BoF 2 and 7th Saga?
Hmm, I don't know. The Japanese Easytype version was DEFINITELY made simpler, but the US SNES release is mostly the same. The only real battle changes were in streamlining the battle commands (nixing Dark, etc) and removing a couple spells (Safe, Shell, etc) to my knowledge.
SNES drunk I was listening to a gaming podcast recently, I think it was either US Gamer's RPG podcast Axe of the Blood God or Retronauts, but I'm not totally sure, and they said the difficulty thing was a myth. Apparently they released an easy version of the game in Japan and a lot of people think that was released as FF2 in the us but that isn't actually the case. The same podcast also said that J2E basically did whatever they wanted with the translation and it's not accurate to the original Japanese at all. I have no idea how correct they are. Awesome video, great game.
Thanks Derek. The frustrating thing about this is that there's essentially no real way to find out any concrete hard evidence about stuff like this, outside of getting through to the actual development team at the time (good luck with that). And yeah I knew that about J2E's translation, that's why I said it may not be perfect, but I'll take that take over Woolsey's rushed mess.
I don't think Woolsey had anything to do with this game.
Wow, you're the first person i've known to ever speak or know of HCBailey. He does such great work in his LP's that i'm glad someone else recognized it. Now if only more people recognized your work.
Really? That guy's the best
I have his voice stuck in my head for so many game quotes now.
"But thao MUST!"
"God Damn TEA!!!!!"
"Lufia and the Temple of DOOOOOM!!!"
He's really comes a long way over the years and he's got a great style of delivery.
Haha, the Lufia LP is exactly when I started watching him. His freaking
out over rebuilding the bridge (*head desk*) still makes me laugh when I
think about it.
Such great comedy he has. If you haven't, check out some of his older stuff. It's amazing how much he's improved in speaking and not being nervous.
This game was awesome. Got it for Christmas when I was 12 along with the album Purple by STP.
The good thing about the PSP version is that it includes the After Years, which is kind of like a playable epilogue featuring the next generation of heroes growing up after Cecil and his friends. People rip on After Years a lot, but l actually kinda liked it. lt allowed me to stay in the world of FF4 a bit longer and see how everyone's doing after the original adventure ended. Sure it doesn't have the same magical epicness the original game had, but it's still good. And of course, there's the fact that the original game appears in its entirely, untainted by censorship.
I know the SNES version has problems but as my very first Final Fantasy game I can't help but like it and its cheesy translation, it reminds me a ton of a 70s Godzilla dub
First video I've disagreed with you on. I think the original SNES FFIV is most definitley worth playing. The story is one of the best in FF and it was my 2nd favorite FF game during my childhood. The translation and cut content don't take away from it imo
Final Fantasy II/IV is one of my favorite rpg's ever. I didn't mind anything you complained about. I would like to play the best version, though.
I will forever insist that the DS remake is by far the best version of this game.
Well, If you like hard RPGs. I love the DS version but it's brutal. If you just want a not too challenging while not too easy RPG, just pick up the PSP version
@@randominternetuser5872 I think the mobile and Steam ports of the DS remake added difficulty options.
I played the original Final Fantasy back in the eighties.But Final Fantasy 2 ( Final Fantasy 4 in Japan) is what got me into the fantasy game genre.If they ever make a three in one trilogy pack of the first three games.With remastered graphics. ( just an update no 3D like it's trying to be FF 7)If it got a console release for X box One I would get it. 😀
I always believe that the PSP release of FFIV is the BEST definitive version of FFIV ever made (outside of the 3D version because that version had too much significant changes). The PSP version is - if I may say - a big middle finger to how badly Nintendo of America treated the original SNES version back then. So, I don't think I will ever touch the original SNES version again, because Square has done an amazing job at making the PSP version.