30 best Final Fantasy games

Best Final Fantasy Games #6 – Final Fantasy IV

Concerning pure evolution from one title to the next, Final Fantasy IV broke the mold for the better. Active time battle, characters with dedicated classes and skills wholly unique to them, a party of five characters; there was a stark upgrade in the quality of presentation on the SNES over the NES, and the team worked hard to push the system’s capabilities so early in the console’s lifecycle.

Setting up a multi-world universe was one of the smartest things about this game. Giving the player a shared space of a planet, altering its design with an underworld and shifting the feel of the game took a lot of guts, ultimately setting up for the series to explore this idea in bolder ways.

Cecil is an important protagonist for the franchise, as his path to overcome the darkness within himself is one that emboldens his progression as a character. The party itself is a loveable, complicated group of characters and their multi-faceted ways represented a breakthrough in the series’ storytelling.

Final Fantasy IV is what I consider a breakthrough for the series, representing the turning point of prestige RPG gameplay.