Final Fantasy IV Advance | 
| From: Square Enix
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $13.00
You Save: $6.99 (35%)
New (31) Used (24) from $5.99
Rating:  53 reviews
Sales Rank: 2321
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Genre: role_playing_games
ESRB: Everyone 10+
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Game Boy Advance
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 5 x 4.7 x 0.9
MPN: 100730
Model: AGB P BZ4E
UPC: 045496736873
EAN: 0045496736873
ASIN: B000BI3SIC
Release Date: December 12, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Journey on land, on sea and in the air, exploring caves and mountains to recover stolen crystals | | • | Twelve different characters with new abilities, spells and items join and leave the party at different parts of the quest | | • | Explore 18 different towns and castles | | • | Collect dozens of magical spells and hundreds of weapons and items to help you on your quest | | • | All the astounding music, challenging adventures and interesting storyline that are the hallmarks of the Final Fantasy games |
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Product Description
Final Fantasy IV, the classic role-player, arrives on your GBA - with al lthe action, strategy and story that made it a hit! The kingdom of Baron is on a zealous quest to collect all the elemental crystals. The commander of its air force has been dismissed after questioning the king's motives. With the help of of wizards, warriors, and others, he sets out to stop the growing threat that is Baron -- and in the process, uncovers a far more dangerous enemy.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 48 more reviews...
 Final Fantasy IV, One of the Finest Fantasies ever! December 13, 2005
Sean (Aurora, Colorado)
70 out of 77 found this review helpful
While the more recent Final Fantasy games stick out in peoples mind, those who have been gaming for a long time will, no doubt, praise Final Fantasy IV as being the Final Fantasy that made the series what it is! Originally, it was released as Final Fantasy II in the United States in 1991. It later had another release on the Playstation in Final Fantasy Chronicles in 2001. Final Fantasy IV truly does define what Fantasy is, and it's nice to see that after fifteen years, the game is still a blast.
Cecil, a dark knight, is the leader of Castle Baron's airship fleet. As Castle Baron's motives become more warlike and disturbingly unjust, Cecil begins to question his morals. And when he brings about question to the King, he is stripped of his rank, and is ordered to deliver a package to a nearby village. Cecil doesn't suspect that what's happening to the kingdom could be real. He soon sets out to conquer whatever evil it is that has taken over his kingdom, as well as pursuing a more justified course in his life by ultimately giving up being the dark knight.
The story is a classic in the RPG world, said to be one of the best. It's full of memorable characters, and was the first Final Fantasy to incorporate a love story.
Aside from the story, the most memorable thing about Final Fantasy IV were the characters, bringing about some of the most well developed characters that had more than just a name, but a story of their own. The story is told in text on the screen just like any RPG. It has been updated from the original release of Final Fantasy II on the Super Nintendo. The text, for example, is more legible, and it is also a little bigger. This is perfect for the Gameboy Advance. Some backgrounds are also redrawn and made bigger for the GBA.
Those who played the original Final Fantasy II on the SNES will also notice changes in the battle system. Each character, for example, has a special attack. Cecil, for example, has the "Dark" technique which is fairly powerful. If you played Final Fantasy IV in the Final Fantasy Chronicles package, this is no surprise to you at all.
Final Fantasy IV was the first RPG to use the Active Time Battle System (ATB). When entering battle, all your characters have a gauge displayed below them. When it's full, they get to select a command and attack. The difference between this battle system and the original turn based is that your enemies can attack as you're selecting a command. This adds new challenge to the game, and Final Fantasy IV takes advantage of it by being one of the hardest RPGs you'll ever play. Battles do, however, come to a swift conclusion, despite how challening they are.
If you're new to the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy IV is not the first game you should play. Likewise, if you didn't play the Final Fantasy Chronicles version of Final Fantasy IV, you'll also find the game a little too challenging at first glance. This is simply because in Japan Final Fantasy IV had two versions. Easy Type and Hard Type. Easy Type was sent to the states as Final Fantasy II in 1991, and Hard Type was sent to the states as Final Fantasy IV in 2001 with the Final Fantasy Chronicles package. Easily enough, those who started with Final Fantasy VII will be amazed at how quickly Final Fantasy IV escalades into being what is widely considered one of the hardest RPGs ever made.
Graphically, Final Fantasy IV is right on par with GBA graphics. They look a lot better than they did on the SNES and the PSX. Places look a lot smoother, the backgrounds in combat are also incredible to look at. The enemies are about the same however, meaning they don't move, but rather flash when they do something. Despite that, the graphics are a fine update.
Where Final Fantasy IV truly shines is the music score. Branded as one of the best in the series, the music clearly captures the dramatic sequecences. Each character also has his or her own theme (a staple that would go into later Final Fantasy games as well). Final Fantasy IV has a captivating music score that any gamer will love.
It's nice to see Final Fantasy IV on the GBA, but the question has to be, why so long for the wait? The GBA isn't dead, but it certainly isn't lively anymore. It is better than waiting for a revamp on the Nintendo DS, though. Fans old and new alike will enjoy Final Fantasy IV on its new home.
The Good
+Classic RPG
+Compelling story
+Loveable characters
+Fantastic music score
+Good graphics
The Bad
-It's short. Ranging from 15-25 hours
-The game, for some gamers, will be overly difficult
Even better than the original! March 25, 2006
Shadow mage (Holodrum)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
I just bought this game last month, and have played all the way through it, including the unlockable side quests.
I'm not going to write much about the games story here, there are plenty of other reviews for that already. All I'm going to write about is the game itself.
Anyway, after playing all the way through the game, I have to say that I like it even more than the original. The script is much better, and the music sounds much better on the GBA.
One thing that I particularly liked about this game was all of the new unlockables! After beating the game, you unlock a new dungeon to explore, as well as a really cool music player! If you go down to extra and select "Music Player" in the main menu, you can listen to all of the tunes and melodies that you heard throughout the game! My personal favorites include, Hey Cid!, Rydia, Theme of love, Chocobo-chocobo, and Dancing Calcobrena.
The unlockable dungeon, Lunar ruins, is very cool! To fully unlock every room in the dungeon, you have to beat Zeromus once as each character. After that, you get to do some really cool extra tasks as each character! I wont spoil them for you, but just having them in the game highly increases the overall replay value of this game.
Now for the pros & cons of this remake...
Pros:
It's the same old game that you used to love, but with some cool upgrades and additions to game play.
New Quick Save feature allows you to save inside of dugeons and towns.
Some of the text from the old game has been fixed so now all of the magic spells aren't abreviated. Example: Meteo has been fixed to read Meteor.
Has new unlockable Music Player and side quest dungeon!
The music sounds much sharper on the GBA, you can really hear the seperate instruments playing in unison.
This version has the old, unedited script, which is far more convincing durring game play.
Cons:
Unlike Final Fantasy Chronicles, this game does not include Chrono Trigger.
They changed the sound effects for some of the moves, and changed the names of some of the moves. For example, Meteor doesnt make that screechy noise anymore, (which I thought sounded cool) and Nuke has been changed to Flare.
In battle, there seems to be a lag in reaction time when pressing down the buttons... (You press the button, but it takes a second to register the command.)
50/50:
None of the graphics have been upgraded, but if you're like me, that doesnt really matter.
If you're like me, and have already played Final Fantasy II for the snes or Final Fantasy Chronicles for the PSone, buy this game! It's well worth the price!
The classic comes back...advanced! December 14, 2005
The Junkyard Willie Fan (California)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
I've grow up playing the Final Fantasy series like Final Fantasy for the NES and Final Fantasy IV for the SNES (used to be Final Fantasy II in US) back when I was 8. That was 15 years ago! Those were the good days. I also play the Playstation version of Final Fantasy IV. It was okay, but at least it has some cool video clips. And when I play the Gameboy Advance version of Final Fantasy IV, I was full of joy and happiness since it has LOTS of new stuff. But what's new in the Gameboy Advance version? You can finally switch characters (that are alive) before the final dungeon, new bonus dungeons, better translation, new enemies, new equipments, a bonus dungeon after you beat the game, and much much more!
Also, Final Fantasy V Advance and Final Fantasy VI Advance are coming soon as well along with Tales Of Phantasia which was a Japanese only game for the SNES is now coming soon to Gameboy Advance! So what are you waiting for? Bring back the memories by picking up your copy of Final Fantasy IV Advance and check out all the changes, today!
 Disappointing remake December 20, 2005
Gregory Schlottbohm (Austin, TX USA)
10 out of 16 found this review helpful
Don't get me wrong, this game is by no means a disappointment, it just is not as good of a remake that I thought it would be. I'm not sure if the other reviewers who've posted before me are actually talking about this version of the game, or Final Fantasy IV in general.
Final Fantasy IV (when it came out as II here) was and has remained one of my favourite games of all time, even in comparison with some of the more recent games for the SNES/SFC, PS, and PS2. Over the years I have played through various versions of this game countless times, and have tried to get my hands on many versions of the game, even the original Japanese version for the Super Famicom. This version, however, has turned out to be somewhat disappointing (not in all ways, but certainly in some).
First of all, the sound is not that great (well, it is the Game Boy Advance, so it's about as good as it will get here). The music of this game is actually good for the system, but is still sub-par in comparison with the original (keep in mind the original came out in 1991...we're not talking highly-complex synthesised sounds here). The sound effects themselves also suffer in this remake. I might be more willing to let this slide if the sound and music had not been one of the most captivating qualities that kept me glued to my first play-throughs of the game. In 1991 the only games to compare to Final Fantasy IV (II here) were those for the original NES and the few first games to come out for the SNES, so this was a MAJOR leap in quality that seemed impossibly good for the time. Those that haven't played through the original FFIV/II might not care as much as the same technological leap in quality does not exist today.
Secondly, there is an unacceptable amount of lagging and system slow-down, especially at critical times such as battles where the fast pace of the original provided an exciting and enjoyable experience. Yes, the original had slowdown, too, but not at this level, and it did not detract noticeably from the overall playing experience. In FFIVA it actually gets frustrating at times, and does take some of the fun of playing the game out.
That being said this game is not entirely a negative experience. Many of the graphics have actually been updated, and the menu system has been updated some (positively). Some things have been magnified to better suit the small Game Boy screen. A bunch of new stuff, including a new dungeon, have been added to this one that did not appear in the original, even the ability to have characters in your party at the end of the game that were not possible beforehand. There is also a quicksave feature on this one that lets you make a save and quit the game anywhere outside of battle, and start back up exactly where you left off (this is nice when you have to stop playing immediately and you are not near a saving spot).
Most importantly, this game is based on the original FFIV Japanese game, not the American FFII. In Japan, when FFIV was released, there was a "Hardtype" and an "Easytype", where the Easytype was a simplified version of the Hardtype. Unfortunately, the American FFII was a stripped down version of the Easytype version (i.e., even more simplified from the Hardtype). Many of the items in the original were taken out, and the difficulty level was decreased significantly. The translation of the text was also horrendous. This version, like the PS remake, includes all of the items and abilities missing from the original American release, and fixes the terrible translation. However (and this is a big negative for me), the difficulty level on this one so far seems to be suspiciously easy. Some of the other reviewers have stated that this game is very difficult, and indeed the original and the PS remake are, but I think that that does not apply to this remake in particular as I am about halfway through this game so far and am blasting through it with almost no problem at all (I had some trouble with the PS remake...this is not nearly as difficult).
I'm still giving the game four stars just because it's Final Fantasy IV, and I love this game, even when it's not perfect. On top of that there is some new content that may warrant a playthrough by veteran players. I'm just baffled that, after all these years, a faithful remake of this game cannot be made. This game is almost 14 and 1/2 years old, and it's unbelievable that I have yet to see a remake that matches the original Final Fantasy IV in quality. The PS version came close (as part of Final Fantasy Chronicles), but that one had some issues with sound-effect quality and loading times. I had been under the impression that the GBA was designed to make faithful remakes of SNES/SFC games, and the fact that a first-generation game cannot be faithfully remade on this system is unbelievable. I've been playing this game on the Game Boy Player for the GameCube, and even that does not make the sound/music nor the playing experience as good as playing the original. If you do want to play Final Fantasy IV as it was meant to be, get the PS remake. It's not perfect, and does not have all of the added features that FFIVA has, but it is as close to a true translation of the Japanese FFIV that Americans have so far. If the sound and slowdown don't bother you as they do me, then this one will be good enough for you. I just hope that in the future we will have a faithful remake of this game that at least meets the quality of the original, or better yet exceeds it. Until then enjoy this game, as it is still the great Final Fantasy IV, and is outstanding even when not as good as the original.
After 15 Years, Bards are Still Spoony July 2, 2006
L. J Lewis (Collierville, TN United States)
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
Here is a blast of nostalgia for your Gameboy Advance. Final Fantasy IV Advance aka Final Fantasy II aka Final Fantasy IV Hard-Type is a treat for old-school RPG players. Back in its hayday, Final Fantasy IV was the gold standard for what an RPG should be. The first in a series of remakes of that wonderful streak that was the SNES Final Fantasies, Final Fantasy IV is back and better than ever.
The story is as good as it ever was. Final Fantasy 4 did what Final Fantasy 2 (Japanese numbering) tried to do: mixed a well developed story with memorable characters with good if simple gameplay. This is the story of Cecil the Dark Knight who renounces his loyalty to the corrupt kingdom of Baron. Baron has been making war against the other nations of the world to capture four elemental crystals. When his king commands him to kill the innocent, Cecil sets out on a quest to make things right that will take him around the world, to the center of the earth, and to the moon. As he unravels the mystery of who is really behind the actions of Baron, he is joined by a cast of over ten playable characters. Each of them has a reason to join the fight. Characterization may not seem much by today's standards, but this game was made in an age when Square believed less was more. You revealed a motive once and then you moved on instead of going over and over the same psychological problem again and again.
Unlike the Playstation port that had absolutely no upgrades beyond its retranslated script, FF4Advance has a few minor visual tweaks. Some of the game sprites seem to have been tweaked abit to have more definition and character portraits have been redrawn and put in the dialogue boxes to indicate who is speaking. Most of the new portraits are fairly close to the old ones, Edge's and Rydia's are actually an improvement, but the new one's for Rosa, Paladin Cecil, and Edward in particular aren't so nice to look at. There are also two new dungeons and the ability to tackle the final boss with any of the other (still living) playable characters than with the fixed party of five like in the original. All of these new features are very unobtrusive so you can take advantage of them if you'd like the extra challenge or ignore them altogether. Instead of using the script from the original release that contained numerous spelling and grammatical mistakes and was censored due to Nintendo of America's then extremely strict guidelines, FF4A contains a more accurate revamped version. Of course, the "You spoony bard" line has, thankfully, been left intact. It's a classic.
If not for one issue I'd say that this is undoubtedly the best version of the game available. Final Fantasy IV was a really hard game. FF4A is not that hard at all- at least early in the game. I don't know if the difficulty was scaled back because they thought that people didn't want to waste GBA battery life on hours of leveling up or because I've played this game many times before, but it just seemed too easy. Anyone whose played it when it first came out should remember at least super tough boss battle be it Baigan, the Magnus Sisters, Evil Wall or something else. This time through they where like a cake walk. Also it seems that the Active Time Battle is set up in such a way as it gives your party the advantage. Your party seems to regain their turns twice as fast as the enemy. About half-way through the game, that legendary difficulty starts creeping back and by the final trek to the core of the moon you'll be thankful for any break the game will give you.
Final Fantasy IV shows in this port that it stands the test of time. Instead of feeling hoary, old, and outdated, it feels just as much fun as it was fifteen years ago.
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