FFIV DS
Final Fantasy IV. Easily my favorite of the series, pretty much the only one I'll admit to liking nowadays. But this remake is a major disappointment for me.
I'm going to get this off my chest first. I think the localization for this remake, though authentic and archaic, blows. The Gameboy Advance version fixed all of the major translation problems from the flaky SNES version just fine. DS version threw the script out the window and Shakespeare'd it with amateur effort. I appreciate that they were trying to make it closer to the Japanese version, but they throw their efforts out of the water when they add the silly ancedotes like, "out of the frying pan and into the fire." Blew me away when Yang, martial artist and one of the more ancient characters, uttered that phrase. I only accept those type of lines from Cid and Edge (it's their character). "You spoony bard!" was kept plainly for novelty factor but, let's face it, it looks pretty awkward compared to the rest of the stuff in the game.
Extras are pretty blah too. GBA version got it right. The Lunar Trials were interesting side-stories that actually added character development to the crew. Training Whyt to be stronger than your party in raw stats gets nauseating in the long run (especially since Rydia can top it easily as far as usefulness goes). It's a good novelty for the DS' touch screen but it's nothing more than a cheap thrill. The dueling mode with Whyt is also pretty lack-luster, making the effort to train him much less interesting. Best exclusives included in this version are the theater mode, music mode, and maybe New Game+. That's not saying much.
Difficulty being boosted is also a minus in my book. Not for the newer difficultly setting (I like a challenge) but because it makes the game longer than it needs to be. It's like Square wanted to slow the battles for longer playtime. Kinda like FFXII. Wish they treated this more like Chrono Trigger with the bonuses, making it feel more worth it to take that New Game+. I only really see the need to start this game over for the Silver Apples and Augments (which I didn't care much for to begin with).
I do like the cinematic movies in the game, but I'm pretty bummed that the voices were a hit-and-miss for the most part. Greatest examples that I could think of were Cecil's dad, the twins, Tellah, and Rubicante. They also cut out Golbez's amputated arm scene from the older versions. Instead, he just gets up and takes the crystal once the heroes turn their back on him (great going, Cecil). Acting was good most of the time but Edge, Cid, and Tellah sound flaky like they didn't quite grasp their characters in time. Still kinda flat delivery from Square; should have hired another voice director.
All in all, it's a good game but not one worth raving about. Best for people who have never played it before. I still prefer imagining voices and pixels myself. Much more quicker.
I'm going to get this off my chest first. I think the localization for this remake, though authentic and archaic, blows. The Gameboy Advance version fixed all of the major translation problems from the flaky SNES version just fine. DS version threw the script out the window and Shakespeare'd it with amateur effort. I appreciate that they were trying to make it closer to the Japanese version, but they throw their efforts out of the water when they add the silly ancedotes like, "out of the frying pan and into the fire." Blew me away when Yang, martial artist and one of the more ancient characters, uttered that phrase. I only accept those type of lines from Cid and Edge (it's their character). "You spoony bard!" was kept plainly for novelty factor but, let's face it, it looks pretty awkward compared to the rest of the stuff in the game.
Extras are pretty blah too. GBA version got it right. The Lunar Trials were interesting side-stories that actually added character development to the crew. Training Whyt to be stronger than your party in raw stats gets nauseating in the long run (especially since Rydia can top it easily as far as usefulness goes). It's a good novelty for the DS' touch screen but it's nothing more than a cheap thrill. The dueling mode with Whyt is also pretty lack-luster, making the effort to train him much less interesting. Best exclusives included in this version are the theater mode, music mode, and maybe New Game+. That's not saying much.
Difficulty being boosted is also a minus in my book. Not for the newer difficultly setting (I like a challenge) but because it makes the game longer than it needs to be. It's like Square wanted to slow the battles for longer playtime. Kinda like FFXII. Wish they treated this more like Chrono Trigger with the bonuses, making it feel more worth it to take that New Game+. I only really see the need to start this game over for the Silver Apples and Augments (which I didn't care much for to begin with).
I do like the cinematic movies in the game, but I'm pretty bummed that the voices were a hit-and-miss for the most part. Greatest examples that I could think of were Cecil's dad, the twins, Tellah, and Rubicante. They also cut out Golbez's amputated arm scene from the older versions. Instead, he just gets up and takes the crystal once the heroes turn their back on him (great going, Cecil). Acting was good most of the time but Edge, Cid, and Tellah sound flaky like they didn't quite grasp their characters in time. Still kinda flat delivery from Square; should have hired another voice director.
All in all, it's a good game but not one worth raving about. Best for people who have never played it before. I still prefer imagining voices and pixels myself. Much more quicker.