Final Fantasy IV Wiki

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Final Fantasy IV is the fourth game in the Final Fantasy series. Originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the game has been subsequently re-released for the PlayStation, the WonderSwan Color, the Game Boy Advance, the Nintendo DS, the PlayStation Portable, iOS and Android.

It was originally released in North America as Final Fantasy II. This altered numbering system caused the game Final Fantasy VI to be numbered Final Fantasy II, leading to quite a bit of confusion when the PlayStation game Final Fantasy VII (which retained the number VII outside Japan) came out. A sequel, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, was released for Japanese mobile phones in February 2008. The sequel was released via WiiWare in the US on June 1, 2009, and is included in Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection for the PlayStation Portable.

Gameplay
Characters traverse an overworld to fulfill requirements of various quests, using towns to replenish strength, buy new equipment, and discover clues, all the while fighting monsters at random intervals. The game introduces the Active Time Battle (ATB) system to the series, which differs from previous Final Fantasy games in that players must give orders to their characters in real-time. The ATB system would reappear in the next five games in the series, as well as making appearances in other games produced by [http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Square_Co.,_Ltd. Square Co., Ltd.], including Chrono Trigger.

In battle, the player controls a party with up to five characters, making Final Fantasy IV the first and the only Final Fantasy in the main series where four party members is not the maximum capacity. Each character has certain strengths and weaknesses, including either spellcasting powers or other special abilities, based on their job. Like other Final Fantasy games, characters gain in abilities as they gain experience from battles. Magic is divided into four categories, which include White Magic, Black Magic, Rydia's Summon Magic ("Call" in the SNES version), and a special type of offensive and support magic used exclusively by Edge known as Ninjutsu.

Of note is the extensive use of "retort" attacks the enemies use; many enemies will immediately counterattack when attacked under certain conditions. Examples include the Behemoth, the Antlion, and the final boss. Dealing with these enemies requires a variety of strategies, including avoiding using attacks that trigger a counter, using disabling status effects to prevent counters, or using attacks that can kill the enemy in a single hit. This feature was not used as extensively in later Final Fantasy games.

Character shuffling was a major problem in Final Fantasy IV; the player could cycle through the entire party twice before having the ability to select the specific character one wanted to use. This shuffling was not necessarily caused by the ATB gauge; even with the character's gauge full, one might still need to cycle through the party twice before being able to use the character.

Spell casters, which account for eight of the twelve playable characters (Kain, Edward, Yang and Cid cannot use magic), gain magic spells at pre-programmed experience levels or fixed events in the story; for this reason Final Fantasy IV's ability development system is considered the simplest in the series. This makes it similar to the way spell casters gain spells in Dungeons & Dragons, as opposed to the purchasing of spells in the original Final Fantasy.

Unlike the original Final Fantasy, almost no time is needed to gain enough levels or experience to advance to the game's next area; the game is more evenly paced out so that the player can simply go to the next area as long as the party does not escape from the majority of random encounters. Another new addition to the series is save points, which has become a staple feature since.

Who is your Favorite Character? Cecil Harvey Kain Highwind Rydia Tellah Edward Chris von Muir Rosa Joanna Farell Yang Fang Leiden Palom Porom Cid Pollendina Edge Geraldine FuSoYa