Final Fantasy IV, then and now
by Ross Miller 
{ May 10th 2007 at 1:25PM }
NeoGAF forum poster Speedpop produced four side-by-side shots of the new FFIV alongside its predecessor. Two of the four images are currently unavailable due to bandwidth issues (damn you, Image Shack!), so we've decided to host the collection below. The 16-year difference shows, and it looks like Square Enix is doing quite a bit to upgrade the title.
Gallery: Final Fantasy 4
[Via GameBrink; thanks, J]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kevin Little @ May 10th 2007 1:29PM
This is not so much about the development of Final Fantasy but that of video games in general. Wow, have all things progressed this much in the last 16 years.
http://www.ebizmba.com
Martin @ May 10th 2007 1:29PM
God I hope they keep the original music. This one is rock. Day one purchase for me.
JodyAnthony @ May 10th 2007 1:32PM
looks great! still working my way through ff3ds, but this will still be a day 1 purchase for me. it's crazy how different it looks though. I remember when those SNES graphics were top of the line, heh.
http://www.jodylovesnintendo.com
DVersion @ May 10th 2007 1:42PM
Wait...what's the difference? I don't know why everyone's so excited about this game. Wouldn't you rather like to see this game hit a home console (like, you know, the 360 or PS3, or even the PS2) with voice-acting and some decent god damn graphics? What's the point of bringing in a new dimension if your going to put it on the system that's least capable of bringing the game to a whole new realization. I want to see the world that the game designers imagined when they were thinking it up but were only limited to a handfull of bits, not some version where everything is pseudo-3D. oh well, maybe in 16 more years we'll see this game be remade for the PS1
samfish @ May 10th 2007 1:42PM
Looks like the gimp got out of his box in that picture...
Kent Houseman @ May 10th 2007 1:44PM
*Swoons*
kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 1:45PM
man, THis is just wrong
how is it even fair to compare FFIV on DS graphic with the Pokemon Diamond?
It's just not fair, joystiq.
Keif @ May 10th 2007 1:50PM
DVersion
1. it already is betetr then what PS1 could do. you should shut up now cause your fonboyness is showing.
2. Graphics can be good on any system as long as they are done well.
3. Im pretty sure a next gen console verison would totally destroy the game. You are only thinking about graphics, but not the other aspects. Giving these characters voices would be horrid. Its the same reason Why Link Hasnt gotten a voice. Voice acting can destroy retro games.
Just cause you can do something doesnt mean you should. Its called being pratical.
DVersion @ May 10th 2007 2:06PM
Keif
The point I was trying to make is that the only reason this is on the DS is because SE likes money. Re:1 there ain't no fanboyness here, the fanboys are the ones getting hard ons for these imeges.
RE:2 Admittedly for a system with such low graphics as the DS it's done pretty well. I enjoy hand drawn games like pheonix wright, EBA, Hotel Dusk etc... The FF franchise however is built partly upon it's graphics and it's visual worlds not to mention it's plethora of FMV cutscenes.
RE:3 I don't really understand this point. What's so good about giving a game a graphical update if it's not about the graphics? what other aspects can the DS give the game that other consoles can't give better?, other than gimmicky mini games or a menu system that's more annoying than usefull.
SE can make money on this...wait they will make money on this. Practicallity doesn't come into it.
Rose @ May 10th 2007 2:07PM
I'm excited.
And I agree with Keif. Voice acting can really take away from a good game.
Besides as far as I am concerned, I pay much more attention to the story when I have to read it.
Saxon @ May 10th 2007 2:09PM
"Looks like the gimp got out of his box in that picture..."
He's about the least intimidating death knight I've ever seen... and that includes FFX-2.
Theta @ May 10th 2007 2:17PM
"I enjoy hand drawn games like pheonix wright, EBA, Hotel Dusk etc... The FF franchise however is built partly upon it's graphics and it's visual worlds not to mention it's plethora of FMV cutscenes."
FMV cutscenes? But what about the other over half-a-dozen Final Fantasy games that had nothing do to with videos & polygon count and relied upon story telling, characters, and hand-drawn graphics instead? Oh wait, you're a fanboy who didn't know jack about video games until someone plopped down some 3D model in front of your face.
Please, SE is releasing assorted FF games as well as other/new IPs across multiple platforms. How does your criticism of SE that they're just money-whoring on the DS stand up now? Oh wait, it doesn't. Sit back down.
Keif @ May 10th 2007 2:23PM
DVersion your reply to my irst reason shows how you are a fanboy cause you think only an idiot fanboy woudl enjoy them.
and it goes without saying that updates to games have much about them then just graphics. and I doubt you will ever understand this. again Just cause the Ps3 could make the game look craploads better doesnt mean it should be done. people expect big things out of next gen games, they want bigger and prettier things. and get upset at anything less, likewise, theyd also bitch about how tehy dont like how they gave the charcters voices. and it would be rather sily to have ps3 game with huge production values to be text based. Look at the sony fans that said zelda was an outdated game cause of no voice acting, when that was a design choice and not a technical one.
thus the game is being put on a medium suited for it, on an audiance that would appreciate it.
I have all 3 next gen systems, and id still rather have it on ds, or have it not made at all, then for it to be made next gen, cause it would without a doubt be a shitfest.
Fatass of Kickassness @ May 10th 2007 2:26PM
I fully expect an FFIV remake within the next few years.
And lol at Kingofwale, who will use any excuse to bring up D/P. Hey Wale, did anyone even MENTION the game?
DVersion @ May 10th 2007 2:28PM
"Oh wait, you're a fanboy who didn't know jack about video games until someone plopped down some 3D model in front of your face"
Right, I guess that's why I played these games on the snes and really hated VII when that came out because the characters and story were just not that good.
While SE is releasing plenty of games on many platforms, the top sellers are going to the DS. how else could you explain Dragon quest 9?
I think that IV would hold up very well on a home console because the story, world, and characters hold up so well that they could be a great game, and on the plus, it would have amazing graphics like all those other games comming out.
Keif @ May 10th 2007 2:30PM
no, you are just pissy that its on a nintendo system.
cry some more
Fatass of Kickassness @ May 10th 2007 2:32PM
DVersion, I still don't see whats wrong with the game coming to DS, as long as it stays as enjoyable as the original was, it dosn't need 'decent god-damn graphics' (although based off the screens I've seen, those are quite decent graphics...)
required @ May 10th 2007 2:35PM
what do graphics have to do with nintendo (its mantra of visual fidelity being worthless and all)?
DVersion @ May 10th 2007 2:38PM
Keif, I did not say only idiots would enjoy this game, also If i did, I don't see how that would make me a fanboy? And another question, what am I a fan of? FFIV? is that a bad thing? I'm sure the game will sell well, I might even pick it up. I'm not going into Zelda because saying anything about that game would unleash a whole wave of more flames.
But to the voice acting, the last few ff games with VA have been just fine, they know what they're doing and although some things with the translations have been akward, you can't say you wouldn't love to hear a man angrily yell "You spoony bard!".
The DS was a good medium for FF3 because that game wasn't fleshed out enough to survive a transfer to a home console because the story and gameplay are pretty archaic, FFIV is a level above that.
Anonymous @ May 10th 2007 2:39PM
Why would SE change their business plan if it's working?
They can remake games for the DS, improve the graphics with probably the minimum cost out of any handheld/console system right now and people will still buy in the shedloads aswell as enjoy the game.
SE are a business first, they're all about making money - why remake the game for a hell of alot more money on the PS3/Xbox360 and for it not to sell aswell? That would just be stupid.
I'm sure SE would have had no intention of remaking the game for anything other than the DS anyway - if that wasnt available, they probably wouldn't have considered it.
Theta @ May 10th 2007 2:40PM
"I think that IV would hold up very well on a home console because the story, world, and characters hold up so well that they could be a great game, and on the plus, it would have amazing graphics like all those other games comming out."
Awesome, the wii it is.
I'm glad we could work things out and come to share a common viewpoint.
kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 2:40PM
@Fatass of Kickassness
yeah, sorry, I didn't look carefully, I looked at the picture and I thought they were comparing Pokemon with FFIV.
THAT WAS MY MISTAKE
but can you reall blame me? they do look VERY SMILIAR! DOn't believe me? check it out
http://i10.tinypic.com/4ktmjci.jpg
Geoffrey @ May 10th 2007 2:42PM
you can tell Dversion hasn't played a single final fantasy before 7, and it would be surprising if he played 7, 8 or 9. back when there were graphical limitations the writing was the main focus of the game, but as graphics got better, graphics became more of the focus, FFVII which was way more story driven than FFVIII FFIX or FFX was also the worse looking of them all. and heres a question for you, did you even play FFIII on the DS? the cut scenes on that game are quite immpressive.
just admit you are being a fanboy right now and that you are mad this remake is an nintendo exlusive
I'm sure that would go over better than trying to build an arguement based on a shotty foundation
Fatass of Kickassness @ May 10th 2007 2:47PM
They don't look remotely similar. And I'm not basing that off the pic, I'm basing that off of the copy of Diamond that I own.
While Diamond and Pearl don't look as good as they could, calling them 1999 graphics like you've been doing for about a month now is very inaccurate. At this point I'm beginning to doubt whether or not you've even seen more than still screenshots of the game.
Fatass of Kickassness @ May 10th 2007 2:49PM
Geoffrey, there was a single cutscene in FF3DS, and all it consisted of was Luneth falling down a hole.
Keif @ May 10th 2007 2:51PM
dont bother fatass, he doesnt get that a game can be good regaurdless of how it looks.
by his logic spiderman 3 for ps3 is better then spiderman 2 for ps2. when in reality its the exact opposite
DVersion @ May 10th 2007 2:53PM
Alright, i'm going to make a final statement on this. I own every console so I could get it on anything...even the 32X. I've got no problem with nintendo or any system, (well actually that's a lie because the PS3 ruined my christmas and i sent it in to sony and i havn't recieved a new one in five months.) People seem to be misunderstanding my point, I think that ffIV had a vision behined it but was limited to the technology that was at hand at the time. I would actually prefer it to be on the PS2, it has a wider audience that the DS and has graphics good enough for this needs. I really like final fantasy IV for it's plot and story, It was very dark and very well made. It would be awesome if this world and these characters were able to come to life in a fully visual enviroment that was able to emerse it's audience into the world that the designers invisioned.
Fatass of Kickassness @ May 10th 2007 2:54PM
I see your point, DVersion.
Also, did you just... up and send your PS3 to Sony? Because I know too many people who will just send their stuff to the company who made it, expecting to get a new one... you called them first, right?
kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 2:55PM
>by his logic spiderman 3 for ps3 is better then spiderman 2 for ps2. when in reality its the exact opposite
Spiderman 3 IS better than Spiderman 2. Is it good enough to be called "next gen"???
NOt in a million years.
but heck, did I even say Diamond isn't a good game? I was simply saying, having GBA's graphic on DS is unacceptable.
and we aren't even talking about pokemon here, I just simply made a mistake, that's all, and I apologized for it. :)
Keif @ May 10th 2007 3:01PM
no you are just being a troll king.
and spiderman is a pile of shit. while spiderman 2 was a good game and actually got good reviews.
its funny how every post you prove even further how stupid you are
DVersion @ May 10th 2007 3:02PM
Oh god no. i plugged it into my tv and it destroyed the inside of it. I called sony they said they'd look at it to see if they owed me a new tv. it took a few months for them to get back to me to say it wasn't there fault and that they'd send me a new one asap...still waiting.
Fatass of Kickassness @ May 10th 2007 3:05PM
Spiderman 3 does indeed suck.
Hahaha, go to IGN, check out the Wii version. Its 7 different kinds of terrible.
kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 3:07PM
@Keif
I'm a troll because I don't agree with what you say? Bravo, yeah, you got me. what a troll I am.
Are you honestly say SP2 is BETTER than SP3 on PS3?
SP3 on PS3 looks A LOT better, the city is twice as big...
but is it a good next gen game? Absolutely not. it doesn't mean it's not any better than SP2, it's just that we expect a lot more now that it's next gen machine.
But hey, why am I even explaining this to you? I don't agree with you automatically make me a troll, right?
sheppy @ May 10th 2007 3:08PM
Let me first say this. Despite the DS being ass for 3D, I am looking forward to many a characters suicidal tendacies IN 3D. All the characters were lemmings. But I do have to respond to this...
"you can tell Dversion hasn't played a single final fantasy before 7, and it would be surprising if he played 7, 8 or 9. back when there were graphical limitations the writing was the main focus of the game, but as graphics got better, graphics became more of the focus, FFVII which was way more story driven than FFVIII FFIX or FFX was also the worse looking of them all. and heres a question for you, did you even play FFIII on the DS? the cut scenes on that game are quite immpressive."
I know you meant FFVI in your comparison to the three on PSX so I won't jump this point. But I will ask you this, how long ago did you play the pre FFVII games? I'd been RPG gaming for years and years and years. Aside from PC, most RPG stories were rubbish. FFVII came along and actually made writing a focus for consoles. I mean, seriously. Go back, PLAY THE FUCKING GAMES AGAIN and try to tell me FFVI was the best written chapter. It may have had a better core story, but the writing? Rubbish. And frankly, I'm getting really tired of every Nintendo fantards excuse BEING harping on the graphics. No, graphics don't MAKE the game. But to say they don't add anything is just retarded. Let me show you something...
FFVI Advanced boss battle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZyO3-0zfkk&mode=related&search=
FFVIII Boss Battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zLFmn-kmfA
Now you're going to tell me that the enhanced graphics, animation cycles, particle effects, lighting effects, dynamic panning camera, and animated textures in the environment all make this a worse game? It's purely nostalgia guiding that arguement. You cannot tell me that, if given the chance, you wouldn't take the same treatment for FFVI. In a game that relies upon it's story telling ability and the necessity to drag you into that world, graphics are the very best asset they have. And admitting this point doesn't make someone a graphic whoring loser, just makes the wait for FFXIII, Eterna Sonata, Lost Odyssey, Culdcept Saga, FFXIII Versus, and White Knight Story even more special. KNOWING that they are pushing those boundaries, creating more immersive worlds, and doing so just because they can.
I'm frankly tired of people using the limitations of the past as a crutch to bash the present. Most of those RPGs people applaud as the greatest of all time from that era HAVE been beaten. And while I'm not saying 2D art should be ignored in RPGs nowadays (two words... Princess Crown), I'm just saying if someone says this would be much better served on a stronger console due to the consoles limitation, they aren't being graphics whore, just a realist.
DVersion @ May 10th 2007 3:10PM
i think Keif is a troll because he's just yelling and insulting other people and not really saying anything...I guess this comment's kinda trollish making my hypocritical..
IGNORE ME!
Fatass of Kickassness @ May 10th 2007 3:10PM
Thanks to sheppy my head hurts from being SLAMMED into a wall of text.
Keif @ May 10th 2007 3:12PM
uh no you are a troll because you want to try and turn this into a thread abhout how you hate pokemon, by doing a horrible job of pretending it was an honest mistake. the fact i dont agree with you isnt the case. but the fact you are an idiot doesnt help.
and as for spiderman, you are matching excatly what i said about it in my post, you think spiderman 3 is better becasue its graphics while teh underlying game is total shit.
while spiderman 2 was a good game with average graphics on top of it. making spiderman 2 a beter game cause its fun to play.
DVersion @ May 10th 2007 3:17PM
Thank you sheppy, well said.
sheppy @ May 10th 2007 3:15PM
"and spiderman is a pile of shit. while spiderman 2 was a good game and actually got good reviews."
Actually, I know I'll get bashed here but I thought the ONLY good 3D Spiderman game was on the original PSX. The movie games were all shit. First one lacked the variety and fun of the PSX original. Second one had a huge city but the same three missions and every battle was boring and bland. But that's all we had of Super Hero sandbox games so I'm more than certain THAT figured into the curve.
But since then, we have had not only Crackdown, but Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. We've had a taste of what a GOOD sandbox superhero game could be (although I'm not a fan of Crackdown) and now that we've had the taste of it done right, Spidermans formula looks dated, tragically pathetic, and ultimately rushed.
DVersion @ May 10th 2007 3:19PM
wait...wasn't the first spiderman game the one where you'd fly around while your webs grabbed onto the empty sky?
Keif @ May 10th 2007 3:19PM
but that wasnt even the point. its the fact that king thinks 3 is better then 2 purely because of graphics. spiderman 2 wsnt the best game ever, but id play it over 3 anyday
sheppy @ May 10th 2007 3:19PM
"Thanks to sheppy my head hurts from being SLAMMED into a wall of text."
What can I say? Someone says anybody who looks for better and better graphics is a graphic whore, I take umbridge to that. It's my JOB to make graphics look better and better. People base their careers on that very aspect. And at the end of the day, RPGs are interactive movies, so I say bring on the bigger and more epic battles, scenes, storylines. It beats the old days when PC games, to tell a story, gave you a 300 page novel you had to read before playing just so you understood what was going on.
kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 3:23PM
@Keif
Stop calling people 'trolls' for disagreeing with you.
and I said the graphic AND the fact the city is twice as big and much more crispier. While SP3 still maintain much of the gameplay of SP2.
sheppy @ May 10th 2007 3:25PM
"but that wasnt even the point. its the fact that king thinks 3 is better then 2 purely because of graphics. spiderman 2 wsnt the best game ever, but id play it over 3 anyday"
Look, Keif, I like you. And I feel sorry for you ever since Zim took your eyes and made you follow a squirrel. You luuuved him, you luuuuved him soo much. But Ima break it down for you.
kingofwales is a troll. He gets backed into a corner easily and makes outrageous claims. We both know Spiderman 3 was rushed garbage. And, incidently, the graphics don't look that much better. I personally thought Crackdown was a step backwards but Spiderman 3 is positively slumming it. So there is no point in pursuing an arguement you've won.
Keif @ May 10th 2007 3:26PM
"and I said the graphic AND the fact the city is twice as big and much more crispier"
wow you ARE stupid cause those 2 things are directly under the graphics catagory.
and spiderman 3 is acutally a step back from 2's gameplay.
Ill stop calling you a troll when yous stop troling though.
Muu @ May 10th 2007 3:39PM
Why in the hell would they want to remake this on a PS2/PS3/360? Makes no business sense, as dev costs will be lower on the DS, graphics which'd be considered archaic on a home console can be said as 'cutting edge' on a portable, plus you have a relatively large userbase which consists of the younger age group (who probably have never played the original), the adolescents (who'll warez all the games regardless, hence can be considered as nonexistent) 20somethings to 30somethings (who may play it for nostalgia) and the 40plusses (if there's a Sudoku minigame in FF4 they'll probably buy it too).
sheppy: I think you can attribute that to improvements in translations as well. I've never bothered to play through a U.S. version of a console RPG, mostly after seeing how atrocious the translations were for FF7 from the short PC version demo I downloaded many years back. Having played these in their original form I am still amazed that people picked this stuff up and called them classics.
kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 3:41PM
Here's a question. has anyone here OTHER than me, Actually PLAYED Spiderman 3 on PS3 other than myself?
Don't lie, I can easily ask you a detail in that game that only someone who played it can answer.
It's one thing to read blogs bashing it, but if you go back to 2-3 years ago and say. "Ok, this is the game on PS2", it will get better reviews than it did.
but the fact it's on PS3 and it's 07, that thing is unacceptable.
sheppy @ May 10th 2007 3:46PM
"Here's a question. has anyone here OTHER than me, Actually PLAYED Spiderman 3 on PS3 other than myself?"
Truthfully? Nope. Read some reviews, didn't take their word for it, DLed some videos. Talked to a friend who DID buy it and we've yet to disagree on a game, and he called it the greatest waste of $70 since the Nintendo Fuzion Tour. I'll borrow it eventually. But why waste money when someone I tend to agree with is telling me all the reviews are right?
kingofwale @ May 10th 2007 3:56PM
I've rented it (I didn't have to pay, but if you do, DON'T) Played less than a day and returned it the same day. It's crap, the reviews are right.
but it's still better than SP2. There are parts that's ok, some are better than ok other parts that just make you go "WTF ARE THEY THINKING"?
Webswing are cool, it got overhyped in Spidy 2 game because it was something never seen before.
It had the potential to be great, I guess the fact it rushed, probably made the score even worse.
Twist @ May 10th 2007 4:04PM
Why do they have to release gems like these on the stupid DS? This would be so much better on a home console.