Final Fantasy IV: The After Years - A Sequel Ruined by Greed | Stiles' Series Synopsis
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ค. 2024
- An In-Depth look at Square's most infamous... but also somehow least talked about direct Final Fantasy sequel.
Table of Contents
00:00 - Intro
00:34 - Sequel Potential
05:23 - History/Development
11:05 - Presentation
16:17 - Structure
23:51 - Tales Breakdown
44:04 - Version Differences
47:27 - Conclusion
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Patreon: / stilesreviews
Twitter: / reviewstiles - เกม
I like how Ceodore has to be told who his parents are, and what their job classes are.
The table of contents in the description is a great idea! I feel like my long ass videos could benefit from that.
Howdy baldy. :3
Avalanche Reviews Oh man I retrospective channel I’ve not checked out! I’ve subbed, I’m looking forward to delving into stuff later! It is a good idea to have a contents like this I think too. Especially if you are watching and comparing multiple game videos
Yeah I stole it from some much better 'Tubers lol. I've actually done it on a couple previous videos too but I didn't ANNOUNCE it in the video.
Avalanche Reviews is fantastic, you should definitely watch his stuff.
Stiles' Reviews Yeh I watched some Retrospective stuff today. I’ve subscribed and followed on Twitter :-) Great stuff :-)
Ok, so I just finished it and for a game that I never had any desire to play, you sure held me on for the full 50min. The voice over was spot on and the amount of research and gameplay that went into this, is crazy. Very good stuff.
When you mentioned being one of the few people to review the after years as a full package, it reminded me of the only other person I know to have done this. Did you ever watch the RPG fanatic, way back in the day on youtube? He was doing really well, then lost his and tried to live in a van for a while. Before he stopped making content, he started a youtube mcn. Dude literally cut me my first youtube check. This all has nothing to do with the video, but I just got nostalgic. HA!
Oh my god, I DO remember the RPG Fanatic!! I used to watch him back in the day since he was one of the only people doing RPG content.. then he just stopped making content and I ended up forgetting about him. Small world! Another fun fact, I was almost the 'Final Fantasy Fanatic' way back when... I mean before I even knew about his channel, when I was making screen names for Gamespot and such lol.
That said, thank you so much for watching as usual and for your support on Patreon, I hope my content is worth the wait. The fact that you enjoyed the video despite not caring about the particular game means the world to me, it is, in my opinion, the best compliment a content creator can get. All of my favorite youtubers are ones that I could listen to talk about anything, even if I know nothing about the topic, so hearing that from someone else about my content made my day.
@@StilesReviews I love both your channels so much so this is fucking awesome to see you guys talk! Keep up the great work! Also u guys see rpg fanatic uploaded a couple months ago?
Thank you, that really means a lot to hear, and no i wasnt aware of the rpg fanatic uploading again, will have to take a look.
So that’s what happened to him. Now I feel sad :(
If I ever play FF4 and become a fan of it, I doubt I will ever play this.
Besides of the cameo battles, Gilgamesh is kinda a major key part in the multiverse theory. In the Japanese version of VIII his mistakes Squall for Bartz. Then in the crossover spin-offs it's the same Gilgamesh that many of the cast already have a connection towards.
Michael Lewis the JRPG King Woah that’s a really cool tidbit I never knew. (Squall being referred to as Bartz) I’m always keen to learn more FF trivia!
Eh.. I don't know. I always still just saw that as an easter egg, not a real connection. Gilgamesh from his first iteration was a joke character... so continuing those jokes by breaking the fourth wall isn't much of a stretch. To assume that Gilgamesh in FFV/VIII is the same one as the Hyper serious badass from FFXII stretches my imagination far too far.
@@StilesReviews It's explicitly made a real connection in Dissidia Duodecim. Gilgamesh, like all of the other fighters, makes an appearance in the game after traveling from his own world. (The whole conceit of Dissidia only works on the assumption that multiverse theory is canon to Final Fantasy as a whole.)
_Unlike_ the other Dissisia fighters though, he wasn't summoned to the setting by Cosmos or Chaos, he found his way there naturally after traveling through the Dimensional Rift.
@@zennistrad Unless we aknowledge that Dissidia itself is noncanon. If Dissidia is real and canon then we are making every story individual story in the FF canon worse by butchering multiple characters. (Emo Cloud, changing the relative power of multiple characters etc).
The story in the Dissida games is so bad. I love Duodecim, but certainly not for the story
That came out long after the after years and still several years after this video haha
Ugh, having to take 4 complete trips through the underground waterway between Kaipo and Damcyan Castle over the course of the game, and fighting an Octomammoth clone twice! Why doesn’t Damcyan Castle ever get its own port?
Edit: You have to make one trip and fight an Octomammoth clone in Porom’s tale, twice in Edward’s tale (and a partial trip in addition), and once in Kain’s tale (and fight the Octomammoth clone). It sucks because, while it would be fun to go through once or twice, it was one of the longest dungeons in the original game.
Edit 3: You’re right, Porom’s tale isn’t even really about Porom. In fact, when I made the original post, I initially wrote “Palom’s tale” as being one of the tales you take the underground waterway in, before I corrected myself.
Rydias my favorite woman of Final Fantasy, and thats saying allot, because there's allot of cool women in FF!!!
Rydia is pretty amazing haha. Thanks for watching and commenting
Such a great video and on a subject barely talked about by anyone! I was always curious about the After Years and you gave me all the information needed in this video, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and present it in a very well organized structure. (I also love your channel, I am so glad I checked out Final Fantasy IV videos to find you!)
Excellent work as always!
Great video. Actually sort of makes me want to play After years.
Thank you for the compliment. If it looks interesting to you then give it a try
I never got the notification for this, I’m five minutes in and I am saving the rest of this for tonight, great work as usual dude!
I think this is your best video yet! It’s really informative, and I especially like how you talk to the microphone on your own, as if you are presenting to a group of people (I find this really difficult on my own) There were also a lot of things I didn’t know about the original release of the product. I only own the ‘Complete Collection’ on PSP which I’m yet to delve into. Keep up the great work!
Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Totally took to heart your idea about the title banners by the way >> I think it turned out pretty awesome! Makes my content look that much closer to professional!
Stiles' Reviews Oh I’m glad I’ve had an impact. Keep up the great work :-)
I was just thinking about leaving a comment asking where you’ve been and how you’re doing! Glad to see you’re still hard at work making incredible, in-depth videos!
Thanks for being patient and sticking around! I am, indeed, still alive!
@@StilesReviews good! I am looking forward to your next video!
I recently picked up Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. While I am incredibly happy to be playing this game on current gen consoles with quality of life improvements (3x speed), I have to say, I'm quite disappointed at how poor the "remaster" is as a whole. It's the PC port with the PS1 soundtrack and upgraded character models. That's it. Nothing else was touched aside from adding the QoL enhancements.
But like I said, I'm just happy to finally be able to play FFVIII on my PS4. It's not horrible, just a let down compared to how well the FFVIi, IX, X, and XII ports were done.
@@ValbjornsRespite To be fair.. people keep saying this.. and yet it is exactly the same thing they did for FFVII's recent remaster, if anything they put MORE effort into the FFVIII remaster. The only real difference is that FFVIII with it's more realistic graphics style makes the lack of upgrade more apparent. I guess putting the 'remaster' moniker behind the title confused people, that's my guess anyway
You know, Stiles, I think you're onto something. Maybe it's just because I recently tried to play Final Fantasy VIII on PC (horrible experience) before the remaster was announced and haven't played VII and IX in forever until their respective ports came out, so I feel like nothing has changed.
I had always considered the graphics of VIII to be "jarring" compared to VII and IX. I'm not savvy on the technical part of things (I have no idea what 4:3 aspect ratio means), so the reality is, I have no idea what efforts were or weren't made.
That being said, I'm not going to let it deter me from enjoying the game. I've run into one bug, but it was a simple soundtrack one (loaded my game during the Dollet invasion and it was playing the MIDI track from PC). The updated character models are a HUGE improvement. I've been hyped for it for the longest time. We can actually tell Squall is the best looking guy there now.
Anyway, as always, it's awesome talking to you. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to comments.
@@ValbjornsRespite Of course, talking with people is one of my favorite parts of this whole youtube business. On that note, I won't pretend I'm a genius when it comes to the technical aspects of these ports either, in fact I felt the same as you (disapointed with the FFVIII Remaster) Until I had a conversation with another friend and fellow youtuber, Librascope. If you like my stuff, you'll probably love his as well. We use the same methodology to get to our points, but we almost come to opposite points, it's pretty hilarious lol. th-cam.com/channels/12xSer4ibbNgM5T9zcJMVA.html
Welp, I’ve gone from not caring about The After Years, to VERY not caring about The After Years. This was a behemoth of a video to be sure, but you kept it engaging throughout and the Table of Contents is a very neat idea for a video as comprehensive as this. Nice video!
I’m more of a Dragon Quest fan than a Final Fantasy fan, so I’m curious about how you think DQIV handles it’s “repeated beginnings” vignette structure (If you’ve played the game of course). I’d personally say that it does a much better job than what you described here.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting as usual. This has been a pretty common comment so far lol the, "I never cared about the After Years" bit. Glad a lot of people have given the video a shot anyway.
As for DQIV... I'mmm not huge into Dragon Quest. I keep trying but they tend not to grab me... though I think part of that is because I've insisted on playing them in order. I enjoy the first, hated the second and thought part 3 was just okay... and that's where I stopped. I've also dabbled in DQIX, but never got very far. I plan on picking up DQXI on switch, so maybe that will be the one to finally win me over.
Stiles' Reviews Those 3 are definitely the “old school” ones, hah. I’d definitely suggest you at least give IV &V a go. IV has fun (if kinda static) characters, and while V is kinda basic in gameplay, the story hits hard at points.
Great video! I think you really are the only person to cover this game, I just finished Pixel Remaster 4 & have started TAY 3D. I especially appreciated the attempt at containing the spoilers to the tales breakdown. but there seems like a pretty big spoiler in the footage at the conclusion specifically at 48:20 that well im kinda bummed to have spoiled. But accidents happen and this video was so good im subbing!
Thank you im glad you enjoyed it. I dont consider that part a spoiler really, but i know people have differing sensitivities to spoilers, some people cant even stand gameplay spoilers. I appreciate the support
Great review! I love this game alot, and have probably played through the 3D version 3 seperate times (lost data) and the PSP once. I had alot of fun playing through it each time. Sorry you didn't enjoy as much as me, but I can completely understand why.
Oh wow, yeah, looking at it like this, the game does a lot of the same from it's predecessor
I would've never noticed it since... well, I never really played the original game, so I started on The After Years, and well, to an 8 year old kid playing it as an episodic series on WiiWare it was awesome (I was considerably bad in games at that age so the game was definitely more challenging to me), and I will always love Kain's redemption (and he looks amazing to me as a holy dragoon, I wish there could be more of these on later games)
If anything, you made me feel more compelled to play the original game, since I love stories about redemption, and I'm glad you could open my eyes to the faults in this game.
Thank you for an in-depth review of both, I think I never really found reviews like these for these two games, even tho IV is regarded as amazing by many (I think it's overshadowed by VI, VII and IX tbh)
Also, what ever happened to FuSoYa? He's on the moon with Zeromus now right? It's been years since I last played but they're never mentioned again right?
Thanks for watching and for the in depth comment! I dont really recall Fusoyas fate either... i thought je sacrificed himself so Golbez could get away during his chapter? I honestly dont remember lol.
After watching a lets play of this game, I'd rather play FFX-2. It has some great voice acting and has fresh new ideas.
MAN you channel doesn't get enough views! Great review, glad to see someone finally break this game down and so thuroughly to boot. I only poked at the first chapter on WiiWare before going "Man this feels too recycled". Very interesting and...yeah I think I'd play the PSP one just for the awesome sprites if I ever did.
The sad thing is, looking at this video I was trying to think of how they could re-make this into something more functional and it...just doesn't quite work, does it? I'm a big fan of viginette-style storytelling but the fact that this is just a series of beginnings really is an issue. Sadly I think the best solution would be a completely new battle system. I could see this being far more enjoyable as an action RPG but I also don't like taking turn-based RPGs and making them into action RPGs and the final chapter actually DOES sound super cool as is.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting! The game would need some major changes to save itself.... Though that last dungeon I still really love.
I hated After Years. It felt like fanfiction to me. As a fan of FFIV, I enjoyed the events as I would fan service. Also, I feel like the combat and progression was boring as you stated in your review. Though, I do agree that the original IV was set up better than most FF games for a sequel. I just wish we would have gotten a better one.
As for your review, I enjoyed the organized structure a lot!
bro this is the best review ever, of the worst FF4 fanfic ever. I also love FF4 way too much, and played all 3 versions of TAY. You’re basically saying everything I’d like to say about it, although not addressing some of the Wiiware quirks- which is easily justified since it’s not really playable anymore. I’m always fascinated to find someone who played one- much less, MULTIPLE, versions of TAY. If I have to recommend it, I absolutely recommend the 3D version for the facial expressions in cutscenes and more cinematic bands. Great video!
I dont know why i didnt get this comment until now, but thank you very much for leaving one that was so in depth. Thanks for brightening my day!
Great review, if a bit long. I played this game on Steam and I absolutely loved it!
Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching and commenting
Awesome video thanks
yeah i can relate to that. I've played this game after some characters came up in the Final Fantasy TCG (Leonora, Harley...) and i didn't know them. So i played once again through FF4 (3DS / PC Port) and this... and ... yeah... okay...
41:28
are you fucking kidding me? i just got finished beating this game today and i'm genuinely pissed at how i missed being able to save golbez and the dolls over something the game never makes clear at any point. fucking hell
Yep... it's pretttty dumb. Thanks for watching and commenting! I hope you enjoyed the video!
Someone should turn this game into one starring me, my large family, my pet bat Fangs, and my beloved Edwin. There is somebody working on an RPG starring me and my family which you can check out on my playlist page.
Great review! Even though it may be a frustrating play I still plan to play it lol I love 4 and the opportunity to play as these characters again is too good to pass up.
Thank you and thank you for commenting! Also happy holidays, means a lot you are using your free time to watch my videos haha. Yeahs thats kind of my feeling on the game. I like it even though i shouldn't lol
@@StilesReviews I’m constantly on the look to eat up new content from final fantasy, whether it’s amazing or… other lol. So watching your video was fun! And no problem, happy holidays to you too!
Such a damned shame, too. FF4 is my favorite (yes, even over 7 and 10 which I love as well, but this was my first game ever). They could have done SO MUCH with this world and these characters and we got....This.
I miss the days when vision superseded profit.
Great video I have watched your ff 3 and chrono trigger ones do. Will you ever do the whole ff series or other ds game warriors of light. Have you played the psp dissidia games and the mobile games, brave exodus.
That's a shame. I guess I'm glad I never got this when it was on wiiware. I didn't know it was episodic.
I didnt play 4 by the time I played this, and it was my first FF soo... yeah, I freaking loved it and any new chapters on wiiware were really exciting and insta buys for me xD
The post game was kinda addicting for me as well, and I understand that bands should be stronger overall but i had lots of fun figuring them out.
I particularly prefer the wiiware art over the psp... psp art feels kinda strange, the characters look kinda fatty.
I also loved the diferent points of view for each character, but indeed... starting from scratch like 8 times is painful.
Imagine if they did another remake of this game, would they do the after years differently.
(also I just started TAF after I finished the 3d ff4 remake. I only finished the first episode thingy and did feel it was sort of lacking)
I wonder if someone could mod the lost bosses in floors in the last dungeon
Sooo... When's Final Fantasy 5?
Thank you I really enjoyed the video, I agree the game was grueling, I almost gave up
I want to play the Interlude. Its the only part I haven't played, yet...
Something funny. I had a talk with my boyfriend while I was playing the game (it was a gift from him), and one thing we agreed was how much missed potential the game had, because, I wanted to know more about the characters. For example, I wanted to know about tsukinowa and see how he bonded with the twins during his infiltration, and there were some interesting nods that were nice to see thanks to the episodic release, but, what hurt it was that we didn't have time to see the characters bond because there was too little time to get to know the new characters (the eblan four were the worst offenders in this regard, since you have them each on their own in their missions, and as such, instead of having the four developed through the whole chapter, you have the chapter being split into four, and that's the time they get.). It's a shame, because there were parts I genuinely liked, I loved seeing Palom back and his journey, the way the story with porom actually came full circle, and also, Golbez is a character that really makes you want to continue, his tale was a challenge, and it's a character that I wanted in my team, and the guy was reliable (unlike other characters at the start of the chapter, since no one was close to his level when I got to the final chapter, which forced me to grind a lot at the start to have the rest of the party do survive), and sometimes, you use the new characters because of their weight into a character you like, for example, I ended up with Leonora and Porom on the team because I liked Palom's journey, and they were key in it. (Also, I never really liked Rosa's character, and in this game, it was even worse, so, I only had two other candidates for white mage, and that made me end up liking a little bit more Porom, since I didn't like her attitude at the start, but I grew up to the idea that they complemented each other).
The game has a lot of flaws, but I'll admit, it's a guilty pleasure of mine, since, even though it has a lot of missed potential, it allowed me to revisit final fantasy 4 and see the characters again, and the nods to the original story when they weren't too on the nose, they really made me chuckle and say "Oh, this is what I think it is? Clever use of that element of worldbuilding from the original story. I like it.". I'll want to play it again someday, because the fact that you have so many characters allows for replayability, however, I'll only do the last chapter, I'll admit many of the others were really a slog to play, and the part that really gives a lot of replayability is when you have all the characters, so, that's in a sense a positive of being episodic, but, also a flaw that came with being episodic, I don't know
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with the game!
@@StilesReviews I should be the one thanking you for making the video. After all, I didn't know many things about this game before playing it, and didn't understand the reasons why they chose a game structure that hurt it so badly, but thanks to all you said about the context in which the game was made really made it a lot easier to understand. It was really interesting.
Thank you very much, hearing that really made my day.
I've been going through the final fantasy series starting from FFI and I've just gotten to IV, and I've been contemplating if I wanted to include after years in my series playthrough or not. After this I'm leaning towards no, but still not entirely sure.
If you love FFIV or FF in general its always better to form your own opinion. I like the game despite it being (IMO) bad
@@StilesReviews Just finished IV and I decided to give After Years a try. Found the fps in battles made me feel physically ill. That's too bad, I was gonna give it an honest try. Guess I'm going to youtube for it.
Im sorry to hear that.
Let me first say that I really like this game. Though, I feel like some things need to be said.
My critiques of After Years:
-The moon mechanic was a cool idea...if you couldn't just spam tents to bypass it entirely.
-The splitting up of chapters into individually bought DLCs. When this came out when I was a kid, I got the base game which lasted a few hours, then had to wait a month for my birthday to get the rest of it.
-With all the tales, you spend WAY too much of the game below level 40. You're starving to cast flare by the final dungeon. Also, kill those monk/guard/mage temporary characters, they only eat levels from the main characters, and that's gonna bite you in the rear once you get to the final dungeon.
-The number of times you have to go through the underground waterway dungeon.
-A lot of the plot points are "Hey, remember Final Fantasy IV?" Some of them are just the characters' children experiencing the same or similar events to their parents.
-This game somehow manages to have more rare drop grind than the DS version. All the tails (each tale has a tail, or you can farm them in the final dungeon), the random loot from challenge dungeons, Rydia's rare drop summons, the rare drops to save the dolls, etc. At least you could reliably manipulate RNG on the Wii version.
-Bands were also really cool. In the Steam version you learn them automatically like techs in Chrono Trigger...but watching playthroughs of other versions, no one uses them. Since there, you have to either read a guide or trial and error different commands together until something sticks.
-The Steam version. It definitely does NOT have "all the game's content from day one." There are no challenge dungeons, and half of the final dungeon is just gone, replaced with a couple floors littered with chests, containing weapons that used to be rewards from the depths throwback bosses. Sure there's a couple version exclusive superbosses in it, but that was the biggest letdown imo. Oh, and without challenge dungeons, all that gear is just in a shop too. And you're gonna be using Golbez at the start, 'cause a level 17 Edward isn't gonna hold his own, unlike him coming in at level 30 with all his challenge dungeon gear in other versions.
As I've heard it described and agree with: "This game has its flaws, but if you really loved FF4 and want more, you'll probably enjoy this."
I hate TH-cam. Press notifications bell and get no damn notifications! But that said. Freaking awesome to see you back. Nice video. Again agree with you with this one. Was keen for this when it came out. Then... Meh. Still haven't finished. Don't plan too either. They should have just left it tbh.
I just uploaded it late last night so you really didn't miss the launch, it hasn't even been 24 hours yet. That said, thanks as always for watching!
4 advance was my first FF and is still my favorite (even though I admit is far from being the BEST FF, 9 or 6 take that spot). I just finished after years for the first time, the individidual chapters were ...OK, but that final dungeon was a masterpiece. It gave me serious ff9 vibes with the cosmic theme and playing using a psp emulator made the grind really fast. As a diehard ff4 fan i had the same feellings as you did playing the game, specially about edwards development. Great vídeo
Thanks so much for watching and commenting! Glad you enjoyed it.
You deserve so many more views and subscribers wtf
Your content is so high quality and I know from personal experience it can be pretty disheartening to work on something and not have it make much of a splash
So I hope you keep it up! Your stuff is so good my dude
Thanks so much for watching and commenting. Of course i wish my channel were larger, but comments like this really help to keep my spirits up and keep me motivated, so seriously and genuinely, thank you.
@@StilesReviews Of course!
I don't know if you'd be interested but I have a little series called 'hot or not' where a friend and I talk about our favorite characters and whether or not they're hot
I try to throw in a lot of nostalgic stories or general thoughts on things too to keep it... kind of an editorial?? Just with dumb jokes
I've always wanted to do one on Final Fantasy but none of my friends really like the series
Would you be interested? ^^
I have been hesitant to do any collab projects because my upload schedule is slow as is and i am quite anxious about having another party having to rely on me to get something done. I really appreciate the offer, but for now i would have to decline. Feel free to add and message me on twitter though so i can keep in contact should something change.
@@StilesReviews I absolutely get that! No worries ^^
And I've got you
Have a good night and keep up the good work :)
I'm also stuck in that situation of being too much of a fan of FFIV and consequently being unable to dislike TAY despite it's serious flaws. It could have been really a great game if not for the episodic format. You adressed pretty much everything that bothered me when I played the game.
A couple of minor things I liked about the game that weren't mentioned in the video: 1- The kickass theme from the battle against The Misterious Girl, called "The Dispossessed Eidolons". I LOVE this music, it's even more jamming than the original boss theme. 2- The whole concept of what happened to Kain in Mt. Ordeals, with the dark version breaking through the mirror. In the original the game doesn't let you progress if you don't choose the right action and have Cecil just defend or use white magic when he faces his Dark Knight form, implying that he would have died to the Dark Knight if he didn't choose the "true paladin way of accepting your darkness". But with Kain, his dark side actually wanted to live on unbounded by his morals. I admit it's silly, but I like it.
@@youtubeemployeesarestupid3464 oh yeah, about the fight with the Dark Knight, I heard that in the SNES version (the US version) you can actually defeat him since all bosses HP are brought down significantly. That has something to do with the US version being a port of the Easy-type version or something. It wasn't intended though, afaik
Thanks square enix to make me hate the f*cking 3d graphics in all games. I swear, if you are a kid or a older kiddo, pls play this game in 2d versions.
As a huge fan of FFIV, I have to say that After Years was…okay. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either. It had a decent enough story. And I like how the devs tried to do something a little different than the generally linear storyline of the mainline games. I agree that the chapter system was not well fleshed out, since it made each chapter very linear and virtually eliminated any chance of exploration. The moon phase system was a cool idea that could have been implemented better. The band system, while at least seeming like a cool idea, didn’t really add anything to gameplay. But at least for nostalgia value, this game is worth it. By the way, I had the PSP version aka Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection
The fact this has so little views is absurd
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Just stumbled on your videos, after FINALLY playing FF4 complete edition on psp (I've owned the game for what? a few years now) its takes a while to get through my back catalogue lol. Even though I heard, and is now confirmed from you, that the after years is the weaker part of the story, I must say I'm thoroughly enjoying the base game. and this is coming from someone who didn't play final fantasy before 7 on the ps1, so the 16bit style is quite new to me. Its probably one of my favourites. I'll have to get round to playing FF6 soon... in a few years haha!
i loved the after years almost as much as iv which is my favorite game of all time i loved what they did with cecil in the first half of the final dungeon that being they turned him into what i always saw him as a useless dummy i loved the challenge dungeons i loved the cameo bosses i loved the grown up twins and the new characters especially leonora who yes i know isnt really new and i even loved the 3d remake that removed the challenge dungeons and cameo bosses but what i really loved about the after years was that golbez was playable and i was surprised how much i liked ceodore especially in comparison to his parents who are the only thing i dislike about iv
really the only thing i can say i dislike about the after years thats even more emphasized in the 3d remake of the after years is rydias model they turned my favorite character in all of fiction into some cheap looking hooker...
Im glad you enjoyed it so much. Definitely some interesting takes in your comment though lol
Currently playing through the game, not sure if I want to finish. The game was... alright though some of the tales were a hit or miss. The game didn't get interesting until the last few tales of the game. The final dungeon was attrocious for me, aggregiously long with encounter rates out the wazoo, the throwback bosses were alright. Some things in this game I enjoyed, most of it felt lazy though.
This game sounds... fuuuuuuuuun?
As someone who's not that big of a fan of FFIV (though I haven't played it in a long time) I was interested in The After Years back when it first released because it was a new 2D FF title, and a sequel to the first 2D FF I played through. I think I've played it before, but I have never played through it. And honestly, I still will eventually, but I'm definitely not looking forward to it, considering the two things I hate more in J-RPGs is needless repetition and braindead combat.
Anyway, good video as usual!
It has good moments...... in places
I know this is 4 years past, but still have my Wii version on my Wii and have played the PSP version last year. I do not think there was a way to make the story better after it moved from mobile (episodic). FF4 DS was the right diffuculty, maybe not for newer players but for someone that played FF2-US when it came out.
Did like the PSP for the extra bosses. Do not think I will ever play it again though.
I really appreciate the existence of the Complete Collection for the PSP. The story and writing of TAY just feels like cheesy fanfiction and an unnecessary sequel.
I do like the massive content in gameplay, and the amazing soundtrack, though.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is pretty much the Final Fantasy IV equivalent of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy.
I played the crap out of The After Years collecting the rarest armor and different colored dragon tails. It wasn’t worth it, but I was desperate for a 2d FF game.
It very sad what square did to final fantasy games. Really square? Greed yep
I just finished the game (3d version) and omg I feel miserable. I hated the final dungeon with every fiber of my being. Taking 10+ hours to finish ONE dungeon is ridiculous imo, and like that wasn't enough you still need to grind for some hours as the progression isn't smooth as before.
I love a good challenge, but the optional bosses felt like I was being cheated, so much so that I skipped Lunar Bahamut altogether when I found out that his prize wasn' t good enough for my party.
The other tales are all right although a bit sluggish sometimes, but I wouldnt ever replay this game just because of the last tale.
Yeah the last tale is crazy... I enjoy it even though i shouldn't lol. Anyone completing it is a triumphant feat.
Omg you're back yes!!! Great video worth the wait tbh.
Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it!
I liked TAY, but you're right it could have been even better.
I wanted one more, post game, chapter. There was a plot hole they left open....
Spoilers.
Zeromus is still alive. He roasted FuSoYa and Golbez escaped to the blue planet. In the game you fight and defeat creator, but Zeromus is still out there, being evil as he wants.
That wasn't a plot hole, it was a sequel hook. Golbez (if he survives the story) specifically is going to see what happened with all that in the ending. It's just that whatever they seemed to be setting up has yet to materialize and seems to have been dropped. Though given there was 17 years between the original release of IV and the After Years, and only 15 since the After Years maybe it will happen at some point after all. Square's kind of bad at this, the HD release of 10 and 10-2 had an audio drama in Japanese that was setting up a 10-3 which also has yet to actually come out.
@@bob1986 ha, point taken. I'll keep my hopes up then!
as a massive fan of ffiv, i did love the story and potential of after years. however whenever i played after years in 3d... damn, it was quite hard to like. i love the story, but damn is it lazy. how often do i have to walk through the water way?!
Interlude feels like a romhack tbh
Same feelings (ruined by greed). But the bosses are [=]. Make players some encyclopedia of mythical creatures (the outside/extra bosses).
- A high pressure item rarity (the dragon tails). Even if Pokémon games before X/Y had planned it.
- Collateral hypocrisy. It might be a sacrifice, though. But no excuse for the 3D remake (2015); since FFVI, FFVII just threw away the automatic levelling up for unused party members. S.E. should've given some practical parts for human wisdom and thrown away those silly and disturbing scenes.
- Again, throwing away BETTER changes. This made no sense, since the game was released after the FFIV remake. Even I've read the 2015 remake didn't recycle the FFIV 2008 features. Note, here are the cast that appear in the whole compilation's opening scenes:
= Rosa's praying ability is less successful, just 60%. It's just a bit worse than the 3D FFIV.
= The very last part just reduced Cecil into a stone wall, who stopped learning new spells. No excuse; it's a sequel. He's now in contests with a Black Mage who can endure attacks, too. When everything is unusable, the Paladin will also spend time curing his allies of negative effects.
- Kain is reduced to saving himself by jumping for a top tier party member. Ceodore is a little better with his wider magic options and supporting equipment. Kain can ONLY harden others' defences. And even if the Dragoon is tougher than Edge, both have to conserve their MPs with Single or Twin stars. All three have so many Bands, I'd use those that need less members to make them less vulnerable.
= Edward had to stop with the betting on failing or not with his support Bardsongs. At least, he has the three main boosts; Magic Defence (Elfin Bow), Speed (Hastemarch) and the defence (Guardian's Ballad),
- Palom and Porom are polar-opposites. Yeah, Palom can raise his magic power. Porom [her Praying] could've also toughened hers and others' magic defences by 1/4 = 25% more (this is my amount). And again, the higher rate of success in Rosa's...
= And it's after Final Fantasy V what could both Yang and Ursula do? Counter anytime when physically hit. Although, the Tiger and Cat claws could've had it, since some beasts counter by negative special effects.
= Leonora's efficiency was SLOWED down just for people to remember the "jack of all trades, master of none." This isn't for her HP at the highest Level. At least, there have been some magic swordsmen to protect her.
= I am good with the forgettable contents. Both Asura and Leviathan could've helped in retrieving Bahamut.
= I don't mind the augments, but some innate abilities like Fast-talking could've been given to several party members. There's also some equipment that SHOULD HAVE backed up one's maximum MP by 50%+. Other than that, the rare items substituted this mechanic - awesome! I know S.E. was maintaining storage.
+ So far, Rosa, Edge, Ceodore, Rydia, the other Moon human, Leonora, Yang, Ursula, Edward, even Palom, Porom have less severe hiccups compared to others. Again, this does not include any character that were not included in the opening credits.
I thought it was a decent game. Decent fan game, but decent.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, the Best Worst Final Fantasy game! :Rydia:
Not a bad descriptor at all lol
Currently playing through this for the first time and think it might be the worst Final Fantasy game I’ve ever touched. This is my 31st game I have beaten, and since final fantasy IV has only maybe the 20th best combat in the series I was absolutely dreading this. The worst story in the entire final fantasy series, no exaggeration.
You should have said you were going to spoil ever final fantasy sequel, 🙄
Im not getting what you mean. Im not sure if you are making a joke or actually saying that I spoiled the other FF sequels somehow
@@StilesReviews sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I have plans to eventually play crisis core, dirge of Cerberus, and X-2. Even the whole XIII trilogy. I’m just trying to go into these games as blind as I can so when u started talking about them I just tried to mute those parts and not pay attention. Good video tho, I just finished after years for psp and that final chapter almost drove me insane (so long, that last chapter is like half the game fr) but it was fun.
I loved the After Years and played the PSP version, which I treasure.
As someone that had played FF4 a countless amount of times, the nostalgia trip that it was was more than enough for me to make this sequel a very enjoyable experience, despite it's flaws.
Also, I must say, I actually liked the episodic format and having mini story arcs involving several of the old characters. I wouldn't be opposed to this format being used again for another old title. I'd give a lot for something new of this nature added to the FF6 universe.
I also very rarely subscribe to YTbers but did this time because this was a quality lenghty video in which a lot of effort was invested and as others have mentionned, you deserve the views.
Thanks so much for watching, commenting and subscribing! It takes a lot to sit through a video this long, especially when you don't necessarily agree with the stance the content creator made lol. I generally also love the sort of vignette storytelling style, and think it can be done very well (Mass Effect 2 does this, though not as obviously.. as does Legend of Mana, Valkyrie Profile... all games I love). I don't know what other FF games I'd like to see attempt it, but it's not a terrible storytelling device by design.
Thank you once again for the comment, can't stress that enough, it really made my night!
@@StilesReviews
I watched your SaGa FFA/FFL1-3 video before this one and was just glad to have found reviews and opinion pieces about these games.
I was just looking for content for the less known titles since I really don't need to hear any more about the well-known ones, all overcovered.
I'm not sure if you can get a lot of views with a niche like that but at least you'll have my interest. :x
@@karlcharron3350 Even the games that have been covered a lot, I feel tend to kind of... lack in terms of critical discourse, so not to shill for my content too much, but it still may be worth checking out the mainstream games I cover as well, as I tend to cover them in more detail/from another angle than many others do. Either way, thank you very much for giving my content a shot!
@@youtubeemployeesarestupid3464
Would have loved a continuation to FF6's story so much.
The After Years doesn't take anything away from the original, even if you didn't like it.
This makes zero sense to me. The only "copy and paste" parts of The After Years were the parts that were included to expand upon past ideas, or as a flashback style scene. Not to mention, one of the points of TAY was to show how history can repeat itself. The whole plot wasn't copy paste, much of it was new. The Creator and the Mysterious Girl offer entirely new parts of the plot and all the characters get fleshed out. Kain fights his inner darkness, Edward learns to be brave, etc. TAY expands on the original's ideas while adding its own. And even the gameplay gets a unique addition with the moon phase feature affecting which abilities are stronger or weaker in battle. I never understood the hate of most FF sequels/prequels because most of them give us a much-anticipated expansion of a story that we loved.
Thanks for watching and commenting even if you disagree. I cant really coear up my opinion any better than i did in the video. There wasnt enough new to hold my interest. Gameplay progression was nearly nonexistent, going through the same exact locations not just once but up to 5 times ovee was just ridiculous, most of the new character arcs werent interesting to me (though tjere were exceptions) and the moon phases and bands dont really do anything to enhance the experience. All imo of course
@@StilesReviews Fair enough, to each their own.
I am disappointed that final fantasy 4 interlude and the after years aren't included as part of the pixel remastered versions.
The whole point of the pixel remasters is to be close to the original versions, so i think it makes sense. None of thd games have any 'bonus content' from any version.
I know why Gilgamesh, the series staples like Chocobos, Bahumut, Odin, Shiva and many more mythology characters appear. Including the the name equipment, and character personalities are familiar alike in every game in the Final Fantasy series. Like Shin Megami Tensei. The multiverse is a thing. I pointed out, that the casts of characters are actually a form of reincarnation. Reincarnation is an important staple in rpgs and other media such as fantasy novels. The world of Final Fantasy and the cast of characters. Have been a part of reincarnation and legacy this whole time. From passing the torch from generation to generation. That is my theory here.
My favorite Final Fantasy IV character. I am more like in personality. Is Young Adult Rydia. I am shy, timid, creative, grateful, sometimes complain, blushing too, normally smart, young, brave, and passionate.
It doesn't seem you include the actual reason the director wanted the episodic format in the first place: It was similar to another game he had directed along with FF4, called Live A Live. A damn shame you don't give this gem the attention it clearly calls for within the context of this video.
I know about live a live and have played it.. i honestly didnt like it very much.. its a great idea but i hated the combat. With all the research i did i didnt see a single interview that said it was designed to mimic live a live, but hey, doesnt mean you are wrong, just means i missed it. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@StilesReviews Aww, shame. The combat in my opinion is so much more engaging than any Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger I've played. It's a bit different, though, and the game overall has its fair share of flaws.
Anyway, was a good video. Right now I'm playing through After Years myself. I quite like it, mainly in how the story plays out. The repetitive dungeons are kinda meh, but going through them with different parties is nice.
You need to get to 7. Best game ever made. Come at me!
On my way haha
@@StilesReviews I will be sure to post walls of text in the comments section of that video
They had to cater to a generation that can't read, do quick math, and follow directions without the game holding their hand.😂 Hopefully the company folds and indie companies get that money.
FF4 the after years is actually better than 4 itself. Its upgraded FF4 in all regards, idk what people expected when they heard direct sequel. If you hate the after years, you are not FF4 fan in general. Thats for all whiners.
That is an interesting take, I've never heard anyone defend the game so strongly. Glad you enjoyed ths game even though your opinion differs from mine.
@@SuperUkcats i Openly admit that I blocked people who were being purposefully hostile on my channel and making comparisons between commenters and real world tradgedies. I dont want that kind of thing in my community and have no intention or desire to be seen as 'trusted' if thats what people think trusted is. Feel free to spread the word xD
You were doing pretty good in reviewing this until your GD outburst at 35:30. Not appreciated. I stopped watching this video & disliked.
Oh Fuck, I'm sorry! In all seriousness, thanks for watching. If you are offended by cursing then yeah, my videos may not be for you despite the fact it is pretty rare compared to a lot of other channels.
@@StilesReviews Nothing personal. I do understand that a lot of work goes into making these videos, and I do appreciate those who cover retro games. Too often when I look up retro related things, people have to throw in something vulgar. In the past, I have overlooked it & liked the videos anyway. I've grown tired of it & I've also grown tired of having to watch these in secret just in case there was vulgarity in there. I've worked very hard to weed out vulgarity from my speech and from my life, and I don't need others thinking I support it. I'm merely making a statement about it and I can't in good conscience share these videos with others because so much of them are plagued with vulgarity, even if it's not much. If random people can start a trend of making vulgarity commonplace, then why can't I start a trend of eliminating it? If I only limit myself to 1 or 2 trusted channels that I can count on to not include anything vulgar, that kind of kills the fun in looking for this stuff in the first place. I don't always remember who's vulgar and who's not when I come across it, and I'm not about to make a list either. I'm not Santa Claus. I am truly impressed with people's creativity in illustrating & presenting content, but disappointed in the lack of creativity when it comes to the use of the English language. I don't pick on anyone in particular, so I hope you don't take this as a personal attack. I'm just making a general statement.
Hey, you've gotta do what is right for you!
@@EriknocTDW Jesus fucking Christ, okay Karen
@@ghaleon1103 Huh? Oh yeah? You're 5 months late to the party dude. It amazes me that there are actually people who get offended when they hear someone politely ask someone to use filter when they speak. I didn't call anyone any names. I didn't throw any insults out about anyone's mother, sister, or girlfriend. You're really getting worked up over something very mild. This is really nothing to pick a fight over. I suggest taking a few slow deep breaths, then get yourself a big bowl of ice cream and go watch a good clean comedy movie you haven't seen in a while. It's good for the soul. 🙂 Heeeyyyyy.... I know what my plans for the evening are now. I gonna go follow my own advice. See ya! 😁
I had the complete After Years series on my Wii that I downloaded from the virtual store. Still kicking myself for selling that Wii.