/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.5540995]

Why is there so much debate surrounding what version to play of this game?

[Anonymous No.5541008]

>>5540995
It's a Final Fantasy game, so there's always going to be shitflinging about the best version. FF4 in particular has major differences between versions, from the localized SNES version removing features from the original Japanese release, to the DS remake changing so much that it's incomparable with the original. Then you have a generation gap that divides people who only played a particular version, and of course each side will advocate for the one they played despite not having played them all.

[Anonymous No.5541063]

>>5540995
They made the US snes version super easy because they thought american player were just obese crybabies that wanted to waste their youth in front of colorful videogames that offered no challenge whatsoever.

[Anonymous No.5541118]

>>5540995
I tried it this morning on my SNES and thought it was ridiculous. The fuck is up with this encounter rate?

[Anonymous No.5541123]

>>5540995
This genre is the most puzzling. It's almost as if people like these games except the part you get to play.

[Anonymous No.5541127]

>>5540995
>Most complete collection
>Bonus dungeons
>Good translation
>Best graphics
>Best music
>Bugs fixed
>Easy as fuck to emulate with PPSSPP

Why play any other version?

[Anonymous No.5541154]

Reminder that the FFIII 3D remake was absolute dogshit and even the NES version was more pleasing to the eyes.

[Anonymous No.5541257]

>>5541154
This. However Final Fantasy and FF II are just as good as FF IV on PSP in terms of presentation.

[Anonymous No.5541262]

because if you want a better balanced game you go with the DS version, if you want a better looking game pick any 2D version

[Anonymous No.5541271]

The best version is the one where Edward is op (GBA)

[Anonymous No.5541394]

Because many casual Internet zoomers are under the mistaken impression that 4chan is just a signup-less alternative to Reddit.

Just play the original fucking game. There's an English PS1 port that's good enough.

[Anonymous No.5541420]

>>5541154
Except it's the superior version in every way except graphics?

[Anonymous No.5541426]

>>5541394
>"Just play the original fucking game."
>j2e translation
>loadingstation 1 port
Is this bait or are you actually not very bright?

[Anonymous No.5541435]

>>5541426
>j2e

Sure it's a shit translation, but I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that anyone asking about which version of FF4 to play probably doesn't read moonrunes. I would sooner recommend the J2E patch or PS1 port than the NoA butchered release we received for SNES. This is about as close a compromise as English speakers are going to get to playing the game in its original form.

The PS1 port didn't have load times aside from the initial memory card load. You can use the memo save feature to save scum around dungeons without having to wait.

[Anonymous No.5541452]

>>5541435
Again, you said play the original game, yet are still talking about games that aren't the original game.
Also Namingway edition exists if you're too autistic for the original localization, far better than the 9gag tier J2E script.

[Anonymous No.5541520]

>>5541154
I really like the look of the remake, I'm just not crazy about the rebalance of less enemies at a time. Overall I think both versions are good.

[Anonymous No.5541610]

>>5541452
I second that. Namingway Edition is my preferred way to play the original game. Then the DS/Steam version for a hard version with added content.

[Anonymous No.5541647]

>>5540995
Because Square autistically redoes this game on every console and handheld.

[Anonymous No.5541665]

>>5541610
I've been playing the DS version lately since the original was one of my favourite games as a kid, and I'm really having a hard time getting into it. The graphic style is awful to me, and at times it seems piss easy, but then at others it's disproportionately hard. I do however like the dungeon mapping and bonuses, and the shitty voice acting is pretty amusing.

[Anonymous No.5541836]

>>5541127
If I recall, it's also dumbed-down significantly from the original Japan SNES version's difficulty.

[Anonymous No.5542096]

>>5541008
I'd say it depends on your tastes. If you have lower standards (eg you probably play through tons of JRPGs and love them all) then you'll probably prefer the GBA and PSP versions for the bonus content and other superficial shit. Otherwise the best version is probably a slightly modded version of the SNES or Famicom editions (which translation you prefer being a matter of taste). The "DS Remake" which is also the Steam/mobile version is also good in its own way but kind of a different game. (Personally I find the UI on the Steam version so fucking terrible its unplayable, but some people don't seem to mind).

[Anonymous No.5542115]

>>5540995
Because Square was made up of idiots at the time who completely forgot that we had RPGs on the NES, so they thought we needed a completely different version.

And after that every single port is completely different some way, both good and bad. It's similar with FFVI, there's just less ports.

[Anonymous No.5542403]

>>5541452
not that guy but here's the thing

The original US release of the game admittedly has some issues. These problems are somewhat overplayed as the game is not nearly as dumbed-down as people think. It's not like having to cure Frog status with Maiden Kiss is some kind of major fucking challenge. Some of J items like Moonveils and Bacchus wines are very cool and make a huge difference when you're playing aggressively, but in that case you should really just play FF4FE which will be a superior experience. For a casual story-filled playthrough they aren't a big deal and make inventory management a huge hassle.

The translation definitely has issues but I'm not sure any version of the game really has sparkling dialogue so this is substantially a matter of taste.

Far and away the biggest issues with the original game from a modern perspective are present in both versions of the game: slow walk speed and a UI that is, while better than FF1 and most NES-era games, still archaic by modern standards. You can't inspect items to see their stats, you can't scroll backwards in the text window, there's no "optimize equipment" and so on.

If you insist on the authentic experience, feel free to play it. Meanwhile, it's 2019, hacks exist to solve many of the game's shortcomings while still allowing you to see the original artwork, animations, and gameplay systems in their original form.

[Anonymous No.5542425]

>>5540995
SNES version has the best resolution and soundtrack, but cuts gameplay features from various characters to make the game easier. Its translation is also divisive, being really inaccurate though also very charming.
GBA has the cut gameplay features and a more accurate translation (which is good or bad depending on your opinion on the SNES version), but has shittier colors/music, and while there are patches that try to restore the music it's still not quite as good.
The 3D versions are extremely different as a whole, as you could probably guess by it being a from-the-ground-up remake instead of a port.

[Anonymous No.5542428]

>>5540995
Because this is the internet. Enough said, really.

[Anonymous No.5542521]

>>5542425
>has shittier colors/music
I'd say the animations are also lackluster

[Anonymous No.5542631]

>>5542403

I grew up with FF2US. The amount of cut and dumbed down content is definitely not overstated. When Chronicles was released in my late teenage years, it became my go-to version for many reasons. In addition to some enemies having incredibly useful steals, the overall balance of the game felt much more solid and rewarding, especially during the Lunar Subterrane crawl. Not to mention Adamant Armor farming actually becomes feasible with the aid of restored items.

>inventory management
This was never an issue. Every iteration of the game has the Fat Chocobo as a long-term depository. Granted, he does offer you a limited number of item slots, but it's an incredibly high limit that you're not likely to encounter.

>translation is a matter of taste
NoA censorship and hacked up ROM storage effectively slaughtered the original US script. I would hardly call this a matter of taste.

[Anonymous No.5542820]

>>5542631
>I grew up with FF2US.
So did I. In fact I made my own patch to restore the J-item drop tables to FF4FE (which might be in the official version now I haven't played that in 6 months). I'm well aware of almost all the details of all the changes between the versions of the game. The status cures (gold-pin, maidkiss, etc.) do nothing but make the game more tedious. Gold/Silver Apples and SomaDrops make no difference unless you're speedrunning. The low-tier elemental attack items are almost mostly useless. Most of the dummied abilities suck and are never worth using, and the exceptions are only rarely useful (Yang's BuildUp, Palom's Bluff, and Cecil's DarkWave)

If you're really serious about unlocking the full potential of Final Fantasy IV, you should really just play through any version of the SNES game just to get the story, and then play the Free Enterprise randomizer and play aggressively. The boss and item randomization along with being able to disable encounters really gives you lots of situations where you can make creative use of all the various J-Items (except the status cures, those are even more useless with random encounters turned off).

But that's all advanced play. If anything the US version is harder in some respects because you lack overpowered items like HourGlasses.
> the overall balance of the game felt much more solid and rewarding, especially during the Lunar Subterrane crawl.
How so?
> Not to mention Adamant Armor farming actually becomes feasible with the aid of restored items.
Not really the point, Adamant Armor shouldn't be in play during someone's first playthrough which is my point.
>NoA censorship
Oh no there's a ball instead of a scythe, Holy is called White, and C&R hug instead of kiss.

[Anonymous No.5542978]

>>5542820
>The low-tier elemental attack items are almost mostly useless.
No they aren't. Those deal damage based on a percentage of the user's max HP. Meaning tanks like Cecil can chuck them at enemies for a considerable amount of damage. This is a really decisive tactic after you get Edge and can farm these items from stealing.

>How so?
Uh, because it was actually a challenge to survive harder enemies.

>Oh no there's a ball instead of a scythe, Holy is called White, and C&R hug instead of kiss.
There's a lot more than that. Go read up on the cuttingroomfloor article if you really need a breakdown.

I don't know why you're so insistent on downplaying version differences. It just seems like you're arguing for the sake of arguing.

>randomizers
Not really my thing. I'm happy with my maxed out Chronicles save file. If I ever feel the need to replay the game in the future, I may attempt a self-imposed challenge instead.