Some spoilers here, I suppose I should warn, although I think we're past the statute of limitations for spoilers on a 20 year old game. Also, moderators, if you think this would be better in the "I just beat FFIV! Here is my review" thread (which it probably would be, in retrospect), feel free to move it.
I came to this forum seeking insight into the massive hype behind this game. Allow me to preface this by saying that I've been around Final Fantasy for a long time...I still have the FF1 strategy guide that Nintendo Power sent me as part of my subscription. That being said, I never owned/completed a Final Fantasy game until FF6 (overprotective mother...don't ask...), although I played decent chunks of the other two U.S. releases through friends, etc.
Anyway, I have recently begun an effort to play through my unfinished Final Fantasies. I completed 6 through 10 at the time of their release, and I've finished 1 through 4 in the past couple of months. 4 left me COMPLETELY underwhelmed, to the point where I found myself repeatedly wishing that the game would just hurry up and end. "Am I crazy?" I found myself wondering. "Why can I not enjoy this game that so many claim is their favorite?" I still don't have the answer to this question. Let me address a few of the supposed strengths of this game:
The story and characters in this game are a major step up from 1-3, that much is indisputable. Still, the presentation was so very....brief? I understand that this was the SNES era, and space limitations ruled the day, but it felt like I was getting the Cliff's Notes version of a good story. "Cecil is a dark knight who has to choose between his loyalty and his morals? That sounds like a cool premise!" And it is, but it never really felt like it was fleshed out. From the beginning, Cecil felt like a "good guy," despite his class text. There was never any doubt that he would choose the "good" path. Add in the fact that he became a paladin just a few hours into the game, and that whole story arc is pretty much resolved.
Everything else is pretty standard RPG/Fantasy cliche, except for the sweet moon part. Every other character in the game can be fully described in 2 sentences. Sure, they had personality and charm, and that's great, but hearing people say that this story is the "best" of the series leaves me scratching my head. It isn't better than your average book or movie that was released in '91, and it certainly isn't better than any average RPG released in the past 10-15 years.
As far as negatives go....the battle system, oh my, the battle system. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this the only FF where you have absolutely zero control over the customization of your party and their skills/abilities? One of the hallmarks of a good RPG to me is the ability to build up my characters in the way I see fit, and this game was sorely lacking in this department. I don't mind grinding levels in most RPGs (it comes with the territory, of course), but in this game is felt like such a chore. In FF5 (for comparison), I feel like I'm working toward unlocking some cool abilities, or mastering a class, etc. In this game, it feel like I'm just playing to get higher stats. Snoozefest.
I did appreciate the challenge (PSX version), but really, what does that really matter in an RPG? It's a genre that's designed around the notion that you can overcome any challenge through leveling if worse comes to worse. Most of the time, "challenge" = "repeat until you get lucky" in an RPG, anyway (as in, "I hope he doesn't cast Big Bang twice before I can heal!"). Of course, in a game that offers real choices in party/character building, you can overcome challenge with strategy. That's not really the case in this game.
Anyway, to conclude, it wasn't a terrible game, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't just blasted through 3 other similar JRPGs. Still, apart from nostalgia or a Citizen Kane-esque "it was innovative, look what it did for the genre!" claim, I can't imagine why anyone would include this among their favorite Final Fantasies.
I came to this forum seeking insight into the massive hype behind this game. Allow me to preface this by saying that I've been around Final Fantasy for a long time...I still have the FF1 strategy guide that Nintendo Power sent me as part of my subscription. That being said, I never owned/completed a Final Fantasy game until FF6 (overprotective mother...don't ask...), although I played decent chunks of the other two U.S. releases through friends, etc.
Anyway, I have recently begun an effort to play through my unfinished Final Fantasies. I completed 6 through 10 at the time of their release, and I've finished 1 through 4 in the past couple of months. 4 left me COMPLETELY underwhelmed, to the point where I found myself repeatedly wishing that the game would just hurry up and end. "Am I crazy?" I found myself wondering. "Why can I not enjoy this game that so many claim is their favorite?" I still don't have the answer to this question. Let me address a few of the supposed strengths of this game:
The story and characters in this game are a major step up from 1-3, that much is indisputable. Still, the presentation was so very....brief? I understand that this was the SNES era, and space limitations ruled the day, but it felt like I was getting the Cliff's Notes version of a good story. "Cecil is a dark knight who has to choose between his loyalty and his morals? That sounds like a cool premise!" And it is, but it never really felt like it was fleshed out. From the beginning, Cecil felt like a "good guy," despite his class text. There was never any doubt that he would choose the "good" path. Add in the fact that he became a paladin just a few hours into the game, and that whole story arc is pretty much resolved.
Everything else is pretty standard RPG/Fantasy cliche, except for the sweet moon part. Every other character in the game can be fully described in 2 sentences. Sure, they had personality and charm, and that's great, but hearing people say that this story is the "best" of the series leaves me scratching my head. It isn't better than your average book or movie that was released in '91, and it certainly isn't better than any average RPG released in the past 10-15 years.
As far as negatives go....the battle system, oh my, the battle system. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this the only FF where you have absolutely zero control over the customization of your party and their skills/abilities? One of the hallmarks of a good RPG to me is the ability to build up my characters in the way I see fit, and this game was sorely lacking in this department. I don't mind grinding levels in most RPGs (it comes with the territory, of course), but in this game is felt like such a chore. In FF5 (for comparison), I feel like I'm working toward unlocking some cool abilities, or mastering a class, etc. In this game, it feel like I'm just playing to get higher stats. Snoozefest.
I did appreciate the challenge (PSX version), but really, what does that really matter in an RPG? It's a genre that's designed around the notion that you can overcome any challenge through leveling if worse comes to worse. Most of the time, "challenge" = "repeat until you get lucky" in an RPG, anyway (as in, "I hope he doesn't cast Big Bang twice before I can heal!"). Of course, in a game that offers real choices in party/character building, you can overcome challenge with strategy. That's not really the case in this game.
Anyway, to conclude, it wasn't a terrible game, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't just blasted through 3 other similar JRPGs. Still, apart from nostalgia or a Citizen Kane-esque "it was innovative, look what it did for the genre!" claim, I can't imagine why anyone would include this among their favorite Final Fantasies.
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, who didnt love edge and his super ninja skills 
and Tellah for being a stubborn, yet wise man.
