https://patreon.com/ludiscere
Tweets by ludiscere
hello everyone! this is a very long video. i spent 9 months working on this, and i really hope you like it.
chapters:
Introduction: 0:00
History + version differences: 2:55
Opening + Baron: 13:31
Mist + Kaipo: 23:32
Underground Waterway: 38:29
Damcyan: 44:30
Mt. Hobs + Fabul: 54:40
Mysidia + Mt. Ordeals: 1:08:26
Cecil character analysis: 1:18:04
Return to Baron: 1:29:27
Palom and Porom character analysis: 1:33:51
‘Troian Beauty’ +: Troia 1:41:16
Edward character analysis: 1:47:00
‘Golbez, Clad in Darkness’ + Tower of Zot: 1:56:07
Rosa character analysis: 2:10:59
Agart + Underworld: 2:20:46
Dwarven Castle: 2:29:54
Rydia character analysis: 2:38:08
Tower of Babil: 2:49:11
‘Main Theme of FFIV’ + Eblan: 3:04:03
Return to Tower of Babil: 3:10:36
Four Fiends analysis: 3:13:32
Edge character analysis: 3:28:07
Sealed Cave: 3:34:24
Sylph Cave + Sylph summon analysis: 3:40:03
Feymarch: 3:48:12
Asura summon analysis: 3:56:14
Sidequests + Lunar Whale: 4:00:31
Moon: 4:08:59
Giant of Babil: 4:22:28
Golbez character analysis: 4:29:08
Return to Moon + Augments: 4:40:58
‘Red Wings’ + Lunar Subterrane: 4:46:25
Final boss: 4:52:06
Ending: 5:01:13
Kain character analysis: 5:09:08
Theme analysis: 5:20:38
Conclusion: 5:26:22
Thanks: 5:33:26
as sojiro would say, hoo boy. that’s a lot of timestamps.
links:
music i refer to in the golbez’s theme bit:
my FFIII video timestamped to ‘main theme’ discussion:
best ffiv version posts:
https://www.gamesradar.com/best-ways-play-final-fantasy/
https://www.vg247.com/the-best-version-of-every-final-fantasy-game
tokita interview:
https://eu.finalfantasy.com/topics/296
sakaguchi interview:
legends of localisation:
https://legendsoflocalization.com/final-fantasy-iv/
rydia maturity post:
footage i used from other videos (thank you!):
also, pretty much every definition is from wiktionary. i love that site.
if you’re here looking for something else i said would be here, and it isn’t, please leave a comment and let me know so i can sort it out for you.
i’d like to say a huge thanks to my best pal Joe, who has done all the art for my channel from its inception, from the old logo to the new black mage logo, all the old intros and outros, and also the incredible art for my Patreon tiers! he is an immensely talented artist and an absolute legend so check him out:
Tweets by SteakJoe
https://instagram.com/steakjoeart
i’d also really like to thank HotCyder for his excellent work on the thumbnail! this one is my favourite yet. he’s the goat. if you want to check him out, you can find him on both YouTube and Twitter:
https://youtube.com/user/HotCyderable
Tweets by HotCyder
i think that’s it! thanks everyone. hope you enjoy the video 🙂
– alastair x
33 Comments
I’ve been a huge fan of your FF retrospective and have been excitedly waiting for the next since FF4 is one of my favs in the series. When I saw the video was 5 hours long I audibly clapped. Thank you very much for this and I hope you continue the excellent work.
This gave me a whole new appreciation for Final Fantasy IV. Adored this.
What a fantastic video diving into an amazing game.
I'm sticking to Cecil is turned to a pig cause Cecil is a cop though!
Amazing video
Just finished. Great stuff! Really enjoyed the end. It really is stuck in a strange place in the series.
goes off about kains second betrayal for 10 minutes 3/4 of the way through a 5 hour documentary "not sure about this bit to be honest" lol
Not me bellowing with laughter at 3:11:10 😂😂😂. That sound cue was EVERYTHING lmao
Final Fantasy IV is one of my favorite games. i greatly appreciate the amount of depth in this video. i look forward to hearing your thoughts on FFV and VI.
Just finished watching the whole video… and I loved it. Even though I look at this game through my nostalgia lenses 'cause I played it for the first time over 20 years ago, I think every criticism you discuss is well-justified. This is not just a review or mere rumination… it's basically a dissertation on FFIV LOL Can't wait for your videos on V and especially VI (which is my favourite FF). Also, I'm super impressed by the vocabulary you use in this video. English is not my native language but I consider myself pretty fluent. Then I started watching this video… and you kept on slapping me in my face with C2-level English for 5 and a half hours 😀 It was… well, kinda refreshing LOL
Wouldn’t specifically 3 faces with 3 matching dispositions typically indicated by being locked in 3 different expressions be Janus? Or am I remembering that myth wrong?
is it just me or do the pixel remaster sprites look less detailed than the original sprites?
if you are asking for a description of the paladin in D&D, here it goes: the paladin in that game is defined by 3 class features, those are, lay on hands, divine smite, and, aura of protection, here's what each of these does: lay on hands you get at level 1 and its basically free healing without expending a spell, divine smite is unsurprisingly a special attack, it deals somewhere between double and triple damage than a regular attack, and lastly altho definatly not least, at level 6 the paladin gains aura of protection, which is a bonus to magic resistance for half of the party, 24/7, just by being alive, that bonus, literally requires a bard to use up a resource,to give to a single member of the party, only once, and that version is still worth it btw (also the 2 bonuses stack with eachother)
For the engagement
I'm pretty surprised to find someone who prefers the 3D version. I've always preferred the original's pacing, and find the 3D version to just be so painfully slow when it comes to story and gameplay. Still a good game, but the 2D game just feels so snappy and fast.
Came here from Adam Millard's channel — watched this on a whim and then went back and watched the whole series! Now I can't wait for the next one!
Just had to poke in after the Golbez analysis with the name origin. You had almost all of the pieces but seemed to have missed the final connection (which is part of why I don’t like the retranslating of the Mysidian legend). That particular fly was born from the body of a demon that died and fell into a cave there. The demon took the form of a dragon and the original swarms birthed from its intestines much like Zemus explicitly references when he renames Theodore.
Part of that ties in with the dragon imagery in the story and how it relates to the red moon. Bahamut holding court there implies that the eidolons are not entirely of earth (which after years plays off of poorly) and Kluya as a benevolent entity who graces mankind with knowledge and power also plays into the nature of dragons in myth which makes the original translation ambiguous because both the Lunar Whale and Cecil can fulfill the prophecy in their own ways. The 3DS translation feels too much like it’s trying to explicitly spell out both parts of the prophecy instead of letting one set of verses apply to both (even when it is probably the best version of the game to date otherwise).
Aside from that bit I’ve really enjoyed the video so far and I’m looking forward to the end (apologies if my comments overlap something that comes up later, just wanted to get all the thoughts out now). I’ve learned some neat new details and I can’t wait for you to dive into 6 (which has over time and replays displaced 4 as my favorite FF but only just). Keep up the great work and Merry Christmas.
Oh this…this is BEAUTIFUL. 😭😍 FF4 was my first game ever, along a
with Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days so I've been eagerly awaiting this one. Your hard work will not be wasted my friend- this will accompany to sleep for many a night. Genuinely, thank you. Merry Christmas/holidays to you and yours!
I never looked at the gang pressuring Cecil to forgive his brother at the end but considering it would be their last time seeing one another that he should at the very least say his final goodbye but hearing another opinion I do see more in the scene than before 💪🏽 amazing work
This is such a peculiar game, in that it has so many glaringly obvious flaws but it's very hard to dislike. I think a lot of it comes down to the script being thin, which means it's dumber moments don't drag on for too long, and the overall playthrough length being pretty short. If FFIV was as long as the PS1 FFs, it's shortcomings would become unbearable.
You mention stuff like the Zeromus fight being underwhelming because it's just a mix of single target attacks/AOE attacks/counters like every other enemy, and I broadly agree, but with development being as it was (There are rumors that it was once envisioned as an NES game) I don't think they could have done much more than that. Those things are…pretty much all they had programmed for use in a climactic endurance test. The fact that Zeromus has (IIRC) three behavior changes in the fight makes him one of the more complex bosses by measure of code length, which really says a lot about the other fights in the game. But that's part of the appeal of FFIV (and FFIII) for me, I like seeing how these battle designers deal with the limitations of the era. I think V is when they really hit the ground running with boss design.
I heavily disagree with the idea that FFIV had the best story of any videogame upon release. Ultima VI and MOTHER were released before it and both have stories that are better by miles.
This was quite the monolith! While I agree largely with some of the ideas you present. I would have wanted to hear some of your ideas about how these loose story threads could be tightened up. Characterization via olden times is always a tricky business. You noted something near the end that Cecil is the sun and the other characters revolve around him. Yet at the same time you said he was a great character. This implies that the other characters mostly needed to be less… as Tokita says, eccentric, for Cecil to shine brighter.
My favorite character is Tellah, personally. No other character has so much gameplay/story synthesis. As you noted his stats weaken as he "levels up" implying age, his static MP prevents him from using Meteo, and when he finally does he's using it on the back of already using 80 MP (Firaga, Blizzaga, Bio), leading to his death from over-exertion. He loses himself in hatred, realizes it, but can't let his hate go in the end, even as he recognizes it as his fatal flaw. I find that to be an interesting character point personally.
As for Tellah's attack having no effect, I entirely disagree. It's something you didn't note in the battle with Golbez in the original. He has only 20000 HP in the next fight with him in the Dwarven Castle, in the 3D version he has only exactly 9999 HP. Implying to me that he was still reeling from Tellah's Meteo.
As for Rydia, I do agree that more could have been done with her. But 1991 and all that… my headcanon for Leviathan's attack is much the same as yours, to keep the last Summoner safe from Golbez. As for her aging up, it made sense to me, it explains why she forgot White Magic and how her Summoning skills improved dramatically in the time (you also provided an excellent myth reference for it). I personally don't see much sexist overtones though that lets the characters "down" per se, as your only "complete" characters were Cecil, Golbez, Edward, Palom and Porom (who I'd argue are only seen that way because of their brief role). You seem to have quite the high expectations for character development, entirely fair, but the time period should be taken into account
I'd argue that incredibly deep characters are not necessary to tell an intriguing narrative. Does it help? Absolutely, but some may feel that it can hurt if not handled in the right way. FFVI handles most characters with an incredible amount of care that even the lechery of Edgar is offset beautifully by his fraternal bond and sense of responsibility for his land and the lives of his people. Gau, the wild boy's tragic backstory is incredibly memorable, Locke is a wonderfully written psychological mess who I adore for that reason, and so on.
While a truly admirable written analysis, I… ironically, am left wanting to hear more about how you would have fixed some of the issues that you put forth, as in some cases I do agree they were issues that need touched up (Rydia's forced to learn Fire, Yang's role in the plot, the ridiculous fake-outs) but some I felt were a bit overblown. (Rydia's rejoining, Rosa's purpose, Kain's distastefulness, Zeromus' impact as a final boss, etc.)
One thing I am surprised that wasn't mentioned was the Final Fantasy IV Settei Shiryou Hen, which has some excellent background info. on many of the characters (though some may now be retconned). The language used, especially in regard to spells, feels more mechanical and scientific than one may expect.
It is a shame you didn't take to The After Years. It was written by Tokita Takashi after all, but I do admit that the format may not be too appealing. I think it has some interesting narrative hooks. I especially like how it handled Palom and Porom, along with Ceodore and Kain.
3:59:14 always figured that it is a crossover with Amaterasu
This is EXACTLY what I look for in a longform analysis of video games. What a treat! I cannot wait for the next iteration in this series, spectacular work! 🙂
Your research was impeccable. Drawing on so many diverse sources for the most minor of details really made all the difference to understanding the game. Everything the writers might have put in, everything they meant to put in, everything they most certainly should have put in – you put it all together. Well done. Impressive. Bravo.
I'm gonna defend the use of damage tiles and float for a second here.
First, on encounter systems real quick, rpg's fall in to one of two categories: attrition or "all-in". In "all-in" systems, you use everything you have every fight, with resources refilled at the end. This means surviving a dungeon is fight-to-fight, with each fight capable of ending a run. In attrition systems, you have limited resources for the entire dungeon, and need to ration them out per fight. Rarely will a single fight be enough to end a run, but the combined nature of the fights may end a run if you can't finish all the encounters before a rest/refill point.
FFIV uses attrition style.
Needing to use float to go over the various tiles is a way of forcing the player to ration resources. It can be MP by using float on occasion (MP that's valuable due to tough monsters and needing to use it on heals), or it can be HP by just going through them (maybe you have more potions than MP to spend). By forcing you to need to ration and use resources even outside the battles, it interweaves with the combat resource usage by resource management taking place outside of battles as well as in. And with how maze-like those areas are, it makes the battles that much more dangerous and more likely you'll run out of resources by the end because there are two things draining them (tiles and combat) instead of just one like usual. It gives these caves a heightened sense of intensity and danger.
My favorite of all time! I still have it as FFII on SNES from childhood. FF1, FF4, FF7, were the biggest catalyst for the series that just launched it to absurd heights.
my first ff game i played in GBA, got me glued to the handheld game for months
I have a copy of FFIV DS sitting in my drawer that I may have gotten 30 hours into. I've got a neverending backlog of games I want to complete but this video just moved IV up on my list 🙂.
I will do my best not to comment everytime I have thought. I'm at the Tower of Zot part and other than for my own listening pleasure I'm no music sevant, educator, and more "heathen" when it comes to the terminology. However, as I mentioned before I played this game as a 7 year old, I "roughly" know 'Tocatta and Fugue' because of Golbez, because of FFIV, not because of Dracula, nor embarassingly because of Bach. I remember my ex's daughter was mentioning the "dracula" song one day and I said oh you mean "Tocatta and Fugue", they looked at me crazy and asked how I do I know that. Salute FFIV! lol
5:34:44 how did he know they were in danger, Did ever consider him being a bard a useless thing?
The feeling when I've been thinking of getting back on RPGs because I played Yakuza 7 Like a Dragon revitalized my love for rpgs after what felt like a really long time since I've enjoyed turn based rpgs.
Then youtube algorithym be recommending me one of my favourite FFs and best of all, best of all being a long analytical/retrospective videos which are my favourites things to binge on youtube.
Perfect timing, thank you Ludiscere.
I wish they remastered/ported the GBA version of the game with its additions since the Pixel Remasters Collection won't have that content.
4:29:00 Just about everyone I know kills the defender node and just heals as needed since the attack node does fixed 1/10 damage every round
I would love to have the original full script.
There's also a myth about the rabbit on the moon in the Aztec mythology