The first SNES FF has a bit of a muted transition in some departments in the pixel remaster form thanks to squeenix sprucing up the prior entries a bit visually/a consistent level of treatment for the OST reworks. (Not a complaint of course even if I'm missing out on the excitment original players would have had) In other regards, though, the coat of polish given to the earlier entries still can't hide how signficant a step up this was- namely the battle system and story or story presentation, more to the point.
4 brings the arrival of one of the franchise's biggest contributions in the atb system. The most immediate impact of this, to me in this specific context coming off ffs 1 - 3, was the reworking of agility and turn order into something far more grokkable/pleasant to plan around. Now, when you tell a party member to do something, you can expect it to happen immediately (or relatively, in the cast of casting) vs having to wonder whether x move will land before or after a teammates ability or attack. Similarly, heal timing can be relied upon more easily- with the added risk management of casts being delayed so item based healing has more appeal in a pinch. You can also delay allied turns a second to respond to crucial enemy actions as quickly as possible or setup combinations of actions with teammates. And on top of all that, it just adds a feeling of speed and energy to the fights outside all the tactical possibilities.
That's not to say it was all a pleasant changeup though. The need to respond quickly can be gamed weirdly by just going in menus. (Although this can be disabled apparently? Not sure what the intended experience is here) That said, the player might want to keep it on intended or not as the UI is not set up to accommodate rapid information processing and decision making well at all. Your commands appear in the bottom left corner of the screen but the party member whose turn it is/turn order itself/health are all displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, so you have to glance all the way over sometimes to even know who youre giving a command to. Furthermore, enemy actions show up at the very top of the screen so if you ARE trying to base your actions or time them around what theyre doing, you need to look at third completely separate point. The game actually maximizes the amount of screen you need to take in at once for.... relatively few things you really need to even look at, which is just bizarre. It's a small quibble to be sure, but just felt it worth noting.
The progressions in combat don't stop at the atb introduction fortunately. Moreso than any prior FF, this game devises new and different strategic considerations from boss to boss and enemy to enemy. (At least, for a good chunk of them) Leveraging curative magic to fight undead is given increased prominence early on when, as a dark knight, Cecil can barely hurt them. Enemies can counterattack now, both generically and even selectively towards magic attacks or debuffs or physical attacks etc. and some of these counters are absolutely brutal- clearly not something the player is just supposed to tank/heal through- enabling the enemy design to demand more precise solutions than just setting your party on auto attack. A group boss battle sees one boss reviving the others if players prioritize incorrectly, another boss goes invulnerable thanks to a wind shield to all but your dragoon who must open up the shield for your party to attack, yet another repels or worse absorbs all attacks while his cape is open asking the player instead to actively utilize the ability of the atb system to let party members pick their moments, dangerous electrical enemies can be "reprogrammed" (ie Confused) with lightning damage to turn the tables, the list goes on and on. You can uncharitably call these fights and their solutions gimmicks, but its a definite progression from the series to date to see so many new ideas tried out across the encounters and it keeps the combat more fresh well into its endgame than prior entries have.
Which is needed coming off III, since the complete lack of any progression system whatsoever has made the naturally growing player investment in seeing their various builds come to life as the game goes on completely absent here. Stepping back from FFIII's true first try at a job system, FFIV sees each playable character in the story locked to a job as dictated by their position in the story. There's little new here too, as most/all? of these identities are built on jobs you could have chosen in III. A couple characters get pivotal job changes at specific story beats but otherwise everyone keeps those jobs all the way through.
While disappointing from a character customization and planning standpoint, it does feed into one of the other massive jumps forward FFIV makes for the franchise- building its character work and narrative moments on top of game mechanics themselves rather than just isolating them to cutscenes. There was the odd forced losing battle in FFII (and maybe the others? can't recall) but now a whole host of scenarios play out in the battle screen itself. The protagonists dramatic job change from dark knight to paladin doesn't happen in a menu or automatically- happens in a battle against himself where the player must very literally stop attacking and start defending to win, mirroring the change in philosophy such a job transition would actually accompany. When heroic sacrifices are made later, characters attempt to actively employ the game mechanic solutions to the problem- phoenix downs and a status remover- in logical fashion tying the two together more tightly. A powerful life ending spell for its user is available earlier in the game but cannot be cast with the characters mana pool, making the strain of the moment they do use it and take their life understandable not just at a narrative level but at a mechanical one.
This.... ludonarrative expressiveness? is the true triumph of the game's story to me. Yeah, the story gets more weight and detail than prior entries and yes the heroic sacrifices are better figured out here than FFII, since FFIV doesn't have a progression system that actively punishes getting characters later in the game and its departures aren't as telegraphed as II's "cursed" position 4. (Just about anyone short of Cecil is fair game for leaving the party) But honestly that stuff doesn't strike me as anywhere near as impactful. (And it's worth noting its heroic sacrifices will work against themselves with how much the game is willing to undo them too- not the last time this franchise will make this mistake!) Spoilers for the next review, but I even prefer the writing, pacing and actual story of 5- a game never really lifted up for it- more than 4 baseline. I'm just giving props where they're due here for recognizing the potential of the medium itself in telling these moments.
It was a tight fight overall in the end for me, between this and III, but the progression this does make for the franchise is just so substantial that even finding it a bigger step back in some ways than any entry to date has stepped back is not enough to keep it from taking the top spot. (Well, again, tell the next entry at least....)
4 brings the arrival of one of the franchise's biggest contributions in the atb system. The most immediate impact of this, to me in this specific context coming off ffs 1 - 3, was the reworking of agility and turn order into something far more grokkable/pleasant to plan around. Now, when you tell a party member to do something, you can expect it to happen immediately (or relatively, in the cast of casting) vs having to wonder whether x move will land before or after a teammates ability or attack. Similarly, heal timing can be relied upon more easily- with the added risk management of casts being delayed so item based healing has more appeal in a pinch. You can also delay allied turns a second to respond to crucial enemy actions as quickly as possible or setup combinations of actions with teammates. And on top of all that, it just adds a feeling of speed and energy to the fights outside all the tactical possibilities.
That's not to say it was all a pleasant changeup though. The need to respond quickly can be gamed weirdly by just going in menus. (Although this can be disabled apparently? Not sure what the intended experience is here) That said, the player might want to keep it on intended or not as the UI is not set up to accommodate rapid information processing and decision making well at all. Your commands appear in the bottom left corner of the screen but the party member whose turn it is/turn order itself/health are all displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, so you have to glance all the way over sometimes to even know who youre giving a command to. Furthermore, enemy actions show up at the very top of the screen so if you ARE trying to base your actions or time them around what theyre doing, you need to look at third completely separate point. The game actually maximizes the amount of screen you need to take in at once for.... relatively few things you really need to even look at, which is just bizarre. It's a small quibble to be sure, but just felt it worth noting.
The progressions in combat don't stop at the atb introduction fortunately. Moreso than any prior FF, this game devises new and different strategic considerations from boss to boss and enemy to enemy. (At least, for a good chunk of them) Leveraging curative magic to fight undead is given increased prominence early on when, as a dark knight, Cecil can barely hurt them. Enemies can counterattack now, both generically and even selectively towards magic attacks or debuffs or physical attacks etc. and some of these counters are absolutely brutal- clearly not something the player is just supposed to tank/heal through- enabling the enemy design to demand more precise solutions than just setting your party on auto attack. A group boss battle sees one boss reviving the others if players prioritize incorrectly, another boss goes invulnerable thanks to a wind shield to all but your dragoon who must open up the shield for your party to attack, yet another repels or worse absorbs all attacks while his cape is open asking the player instead to actively utilize the ability of the atb system to let party members pick their moments, dangerous electrical enemies can be "reprogrammed" (ie Confused) with lightning damage to turn the tables, the list goes on and on. You can uncharitably call these fights and their solutions gimmicks, but its a definite progression from the series to date to see so many new ideas tried out across the encounters and it keeps the combat more fresh well into its endgame than prior entries have.
Which is needed coming off III, since the complete lack of any progression system whatsoever has made the naturally growing player investment in seeing their various builds come to life as the game goes on completely absent here. Stepping back from FFIII's true first try at a job system, FFIV sees each playable character in the story locked to a job as dictated by their position in the story. There's little new here too, as most/all? of these identities are built on jobs you could have chosen in III. A couple characters get pivotal job changes at specific story beats but otherwise everyone keeps those jobs all the way through.
While disappointing from a character customization and planning standpoint, it does feed into one of the other massive jumps forward FFIV makes for the franchise- building its character work and narrative moments on top of game mechanics themselves rather than just isolating them to cutscenes. There was the odd forced losing battle in FFII (and maybe the others? can't recall) but now a whole host of scenarios play out in the battle screen itself. The protagonists dramatic job change from dark knight to paladin doesn't happen in a menu or automatically- happens in a battle against himself where the player must very literally stop attacking and start defending to win, mirroring the change in philosophy such a job transition would actually accompany. When heroic sacrifices are made later, characters attempt to actively employ the game mechanic solutions to the problem- phoenix downs and a status remover- in logical fashion tying the two together more tightly. A powerful life ending spell for its user is available earlier in the game but cannot be cast with the characters mana pool, making the strain of the moment they do use it and take their life understandable not just at a narrative level but at a mechanical one.
This.... ludonarrative expressiveness? is the true triumph of the game's story to me. Yeah, the story gets more weight and detail than prior entries and yes the heroic sacrifices are better figured out here than FFII, since FFIV doesn't have a progression system that actively punishes getting characters later in the game and its departures aren't as telegraphed as II's "cursed" position 4. (Just about anyone short of Cecil is fair game for leaving the party) But honestly that stuff doesn't strike me as anywhere near as impactful. (And it's worth noting its heroic sacrifices will work against themselves with how much the game is willing to undo them too- not the last time this franchise will make this mistake!) Spoilers for the next review, but I even prefer the writing, pacing and actual story of 5- a game never really lifted up for it- more than 4 baseline. I'm just giving props where they're due here for recognizing the potential of the medium itself in telling these moments.
It was a tight fight overall in the end for me, between this and III, but the progression this does make for the franchise is just so substantial that even finding it a bigger step back in some ways than any entry to date has stepped back is not enough to keep it from taking the top spot. (Well, again, tell the next entry at least....)