After months (years even) of delaying, I've finally started back into my long-delayed Final Fantasy marathon. I think I've been prompted by the excellent rhythm game, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call. And now since my PS4 is working again, I can actually get to the most recent entry too!
I had previously started playing Final Fantasy IV: The After Years via Dolphin, using the WiiWare version. However, it suffered from performance issues in certain parts (namely, whenever the "mysterious girl" showed up.) I managed to get a good bit done, but put it aside when I got stuck on a particular boss fight.
I didn't want to try the PSP version because I wanted to get as close to the original as possible. However, after seeing the PSP version of FFIV in a marathon, I decided to take the risk.
This time, I started with the later "installment" in the FFIV series, Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-. Coming off of my time with The After Years (TAY), I knew about what I was getting into - some plot rehash, revisiting old places, and maybe a few new actual developments. (Apologies for no pictures, by the time I thought to take screenshots, I was already done. However, I still have TAY to go!)
And what do you know, I was right? The story linked FFIV to TAY, but didn't really go anywhere in and of itself. Rosa "got sick" again, we explored a few familiar locations again, certain characters were useless again. It did show certain main character's children coming to be, such as Yang's daughter Ursula, and the announcement of Cecil and Rosa's kid (only at the very end.)
As it is shorter, the repeated events are not as obvious - the big example being the demon wall fought in the sealed cave (hence my title). Players are only allowed to go to certain areas, and the airships are even controlled by the AI to ensure this. Because of this, it feels chained to the events of the original game in a repetitive way, new characters and events notwithstanding.
Overall, a pretty short run, mostly satisfying for someone who's a strong fan of Final Fantasy and/or FFIV in particular. Nothing ground-breaking happens. It's definitely a just a bonus treat in the Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection.
(And it showed "Secretary-in-Training" Harley at King Edward, so it can't be all bad.)
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