Final Fantasy IV: The After Years

Good wiiware download? I want a game that lasts a long time and is fun. Should I get it?

You mean the After Years?

I should be getting it sometime soon, I have some Wii points to spare.

Is it episodic or the full deal?

Originally Posted by Lord Golbez

You mean the After Years?

Yeah lol.

Episodic. 9 Episodes, the first at least is 800 points. If they all are, it'll be $72 for the game.

I'm downloading it today.

So has anybody else been playing this? I should first of all correct my above post. It has been announced that all but the final episode will only be 300 Wii Points, lowering the cost to $37.

Impressions, though: Wow. This is pretty much just a graphical hack with a new scenario. See also: This is like my fourth time playing through Final Fantasy IV, and seeing that Final Fantasy IV's gameplay has never been my favorite (I've always felt that IV was the first Final Fantasy that one could stand playing, and they only get better from there, till IX, and then X was kind of a mess, in some regards, as was XII), I'm a bit meh/UGH on this game. The other thing is the graphics. The cell phone, GBA style graphics spread out on a 51" screen is really an eye sore to look at, and this is coming from a guy who played Final Fantasy IV-VI's PSX versions on the same screen. They really could have stepped the graphics up like the PSP Final Fantasy I and II remakes, but instead they have completely called this one in. Hopefully it'll get less cookie cutter as the game goes on.

FFIV is like one of my favorite games ever (tied with DQIII for my favorite RPG), and I was excited about this for a while, but right now I'm skeptical. I hate the idea of episodic content, for the same reason I don't really like watching shows on TV: because I want to have the option of progressing through the story in one big burst, and taking a month or a few weeks off really hampers my enjoyment of it. So as much as I want to see what they can possibly do with an FFIV sequel, I think I'm going to wait until the full thing's out there, and try to remain spoiler-free in the process.

I'm also kind of hoping that in that time it'll go multi-platform (as doubtful as that probably is), because I'd much rather play it on something like the PSP, for the reasons you mentioned. Whose idea was it to port a cell phone game to a console in this day and age!?

Being the FFIV fan I am, I have to have this and every episode as soon as possible. I don't have that kind of patience.

The game is 800 points, along with the 300 points Rydia's Tale. The rest of the episodes are as follows.

Yangs Tale "The Master of Fabul" 7/6/09 = 300pts
Paloms Tale "The Mages Voyage" 7/6/09 = 300pts
Edges Tale "The Pulse of Babil" 7/6/09 = 300pts
Poroms Tale "The Vanished Lunar Whale" 8/3/09 = 300pts
Edwards Tale "Star Crossed Damcyan" 8/3/09 = 300pts
The Lunarians Tale "The Blue Planet That Was" 8/3/09 = 300pts
The Crystals "The Planet Eater" 9/7/09 = 800pts

All together the game will be 37 US dollars.

I'd say yes. It is worth it if you are a FF fan. The graphics aren't exactly great, but they're a hell of a lot better than the original FFIV.

^To clarify, the graphics are the same as the GBA port's.

And playing it some more tonight, I think I may have been a little harsh on it. It's gotten pretty good after the introduction. The encounter rate is hell, though.

Which looked a million times better than the original version.

Which would look like total crap on a bigger screen, don't forget.

I'm interested in this game, but I don't like the idea of having to pay for it in sections. Plus, if the cost in Wii points stays the same when/if it gets released in Europe (are there actually any plans for that, or has Square-Enix forgotten we exist again?), then I'll be paying the same for it as a full-fledged, brand new Wii game. I have a hard time believing a cell phone game is worth that much moeny. :/

What? New Wii games are more than 37 USD. It's more like a DS game.

This might sound strange to you, but America does not cover the entire world. Prices are different (read: higher) in England. Getting enough Wii points to download the entire game would cost about as much as a new Wii game would.

I heard it was garbage, as with most direct sequels to Final Fantasy titles.

"Most direct sequels"? Andross, apart from the junk surrounding FFVII and FFX-2, how many direct-sequel FFs are there?

Originally Posted by Tiroth

"Most direct sequels"? Andross, apart from the junk surrounding FFVII and FFX-2, how many direct-sequel FFs are there?

There was also that one DS spin-off for FFXII.

While you may be right in that FFVII's spin-offs and FFX-2 make up the majority of direct-sequel FFs, if they weren't particularly decent compared to their parent games, I don't see why we should expect this one to be any different.

Originally Posted by Andross

There was also that one DS spin-off for FFXII.

Revenant Wings? I'd forgotten about that one.

While you may be right in that FFVII's spin-offs and FFX-2 make up the majority of direct-sequel FFs, if they weren't particularly decent compared to their parent games, I don't see why we should expect this one to be any different.

I've never actually played the FFVII spin-offs (although Advent Children is fun, just not in the same way as the games), but I'll agree that FFX-2 was...somewhat less than enjoyable. I'm just hoping that The After Years will be different...but the more I hear about it, the less likely it seems. :/

Originally Posted by Tiroth

This might sound strange to you, but America does not cover the entire world. Prices are different (read: higher) in England. Getting enough Wii points to download the entire game would cost about as much as a new Wii game would.

Umm, no. 10 USD is 10 Wii points, is 7 pounds. So the whole game should cost about 25.9 pounds, or 37 USD. Which is a bit cheaper than a new DS game which runs at about 30 pounds. They are 40 USD in the USA. Wii games on the other hand cost 40 pounds new and 50 USD.

Yes, games are more expensive in England, but how exactly does that make this game the same price as a Wii game. 26 pounds < 40 pounds. It will cost you about the same as a new American DS game.

I spend quite a bit of time in Britain, and I'm not American, why the hell would I be surprised that America doesn't cover the entire world?

Back on topic.
More FF sequels include Legend of the Crystals. An Anime Sequel to FFV. Also I recommend Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII. I found that game to be fantastic.

Originally Posted by silver arrow

Umm, no. 10 USD is 10 Wii points, is 7 pounds. So the whole game should cost about 25.9 pounds, or 37 USD. Which is a bit cheaper than a new DS game which runs at about 30 pounds. They are 40 USD in the USA. Wii games on the other hand cost 40 pounds new and 50 USD.

Yes, games are more expensive in England, but how exactly does that make this game the same price as a Wii game. 26 pounds < 40 pounds. It will cost you about the same as a new American DS game.

LOL, no.

Wii games are about £15-30, and DS games are £10-25.