The blueprint to Square’s success (Final Fantasy IV Retrospective)

🛑 I’VE MOVED! Check out my new channel for retrospectives, reviews, and critiques here: www.youtube.com/channel/UC6D4FlECbW_1KT_Z472LukQ/f… I love this game so much it hurts. I hope that comes across in the video. 😂 This is my longest video so far, but it could have been infinitely longer. My first, rough draft would have been over six hours long in video form. You have no idea how much discipline it took for me to cut out that much content lol. I worked super hard on this video, and I hope it shows. If you have any questions or comments, let me know! And thanks for supporting me.

Like many out there, FFIV on the SNES was the first JRPG/video game RPG I got into at 7 years old. While I was an adept reader for my age, I was completely clueless how the game worked since I was exploring it completely on my own (without an older veteran's help nor a strategy guide). Shamefully I recall thinking the first time I got to the in-game menu screen, I thought I was fighting Dark Knight Cecil while looking at his portrait lmao. After grasping it I recall getting up to the first battle with Milon on Mt. Ordeals, and for some reason I was stuck there for weeks. In retrospect I have no idea why this specific battle was so tough, since it's always a total breeze now even compared to most boss battles in this game. Of course eventually, it all clicked and frankly helped shape the person I am to this day. For me it was not only where the series began, and not only it changed how I thought about video games completely, but by experiencing it at that age Final Fantasy IV drastically helped surpass the very limits of my imagination and creativity. Today I'm just happy to see this incredible piece of history had a similarly profound impact on many others out there. And all biases aside, this video was incredibly well done by the way.

This is a great look back at FFIV. You did a great job in communicating your love for this title. I'm gonna be that person to defend "Spoony". It's a very old (c. late 1800s) term for "foolish", especially foolishness coming from being overly sentimental. Tellah is mainly characterized by being very old, so it would make sense for him to use such an archaic word in this context. That being said, this deeper understanding of a seemingly random word comes after decades separated from when the game was originally translated, when this information would be much more obscure than it is now. Adding to that, Tellah doesn't really ever use any other archaic terminology, so we have no context for this word actually being appropriate. This really does read like a non English speaker looking up a word to mean "sentimentally foolish" without realizing the word fell out of use over 100 years prior. I feel like the line could still be salvaged while preserving the emotion of the scene by taking a hatchet to Tellah's translation and having him consistently using older, obscure vocabulary especially when he gets excited or emotional.

My very first Final Fantasy, the reason I LOVE RPGs! I will never forget the absolute tension I felt when defending Fabul. I'll never forget Cecil becoming a Paladin and fighting his darkness. I'll never forget the absolute elation I felt in finally defeating the Magus Sisters and Barbaricia! Also, Ill never forget the joy and sheer energy of Rydia returning to save you from certain DEATH with her own Mist Dragon!! Always, this game will forever be my favorite! Thankyou for your effort and attention to detail, wonderful Content! 😊

Could you please resume your SC2 series? I really love your content on that game and I just got into it. Your explanations and joy with which you explained every thing made me grind at it for the past days. I hope you'll grow more soon too! This game is a hidden treasure :D

A few years back I came across an interview with Uematsu (I forget where, but I occasionally see discussions from this float around the internet) in regards to when he had either completed or nearly completed the soundtrack to FFIV while exploring the capabilities of the Super Famicom's soundchip. Around this same time, Uematsu also got his hands on Actraiser. The symphonic quality of Actraiser's revolutionary soundtrack (by Yuzo Koshiro) completely blew Uematsu away, as the current work on FFIV simply did not come near the quality of Actraiser's soundtrack, and he had no idea the Super Famicom was even capable of such realistic-sounding instruments with such an emotionally-grabbing score. This completely freaked out Uematsu, to the point that he scrapped the entire soundtrack to FFIV and started over, bringing an entirely new level of quality to it that hadn't been there previously. So in a way, arguably some credit goes to Yuzo Koshiro for motivating/inspiring Uematsu to make FFIV's soundtrack that much better. Still, I really wish I could hear the original FFIV soundtrack... but from what I understand it was either never made public, or is simply lost to time.

such an incredible game! watching this makes me want to dust it off and play it again! ❤

I got this on the SNES when I was 14. I was completely swept away into this amazing adventure. Such great memories! 👍

Having Cecil loose darkness in his dark knight form was even more impactful than just leaving him with rather dull moveset. When you get to the pinnacle of Mt Ordeals, even in the SNES version, your reflection uses the darkness skill against you, but since you've never used it, you have no way to know that your opponent is using up his own HP to attack you, since you've never used the skill yourself. Add to that the translation there wasn't very good, and most people I knew playing the game at the time actually tried to kill Cecil rather than just defend against his attacks.

It's actually one of the first Final Fantasy heck FIRST RPG I ever played in general. I was playing the GBA at the time and was blown away by its story and the turned based battle system and level up system. Until my second was Pokemon like everyone else have at the time

Truly a gem that still holds up today from a story standpoint (newer translations at least!).

Great retrospective. I think you'll look back on this Final Fantasy series with quite some pride when all is said and done. I first came across FFIV on the Nintendo DS, and it was my first non-Pokemon command-style RPG. What was most striking at the time was the carefully and perfectly plotted narrative, as airtight and cohesive as a symphony. Other RPGs have had characters with greater psychological depth (such as Square's own FFVII) but IV will always stand as a nearly perfect narrative and the archetype for 16-bit JRPG classics to come (DQV, FFVI, Chrono Trigger).

Could not click fast enough. Excellent video. Excellent game. Excellent use of my time. (Also should have the title say the full 'Final Fantasy IV/4' so it's more easily searchable)

I remember playing this on SNES and it had my full attention from start to finish ❤

Fantastic video and epic retrospective (honestly, all of your retrospectives are beautiful)! I really really would watch an "Altercate cut" edition with all deleted scene :D

SO FLIPPING EXCITED. CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH!!! 🤩🤩🤩

12 year old me was blown away when Rydia shows up to stop Golbez from killing Cecil in the dwarf castle's crystal room.

Congratulations! It's your best video so far. I know the long videos are the hardest ones to make, but that's great quality content right here. I've always liked your videos and I was hoping for something like this one. I also hope we can have more of these. Congrats again and keep up the good job!

I've played Final Fantasy 1 and 2 years after I played 4, 7, and 8 and I really didn't even think about save points not being in the dungeons in 1 and 2 until you pointed it out. It's been a while, but I feel like it was basically impossible to reliably run away from fights in 1 and 2 and enemies would just stomp you if you weren't properly leveled so you just had to keep running in and out of dungeons to grind and heal until the enemies weren't a problem anymore. When the enemies aren't a problem anymore, you don't really need a save point.

I adore your analysis of the early FF games. Especially that you show so much love for the details within those games and take all of them as pieces of art by themselves.