The Final Fantasy IV Retrospective

With Final Fantasy III selling over one million units in 1990, Hironobu Sakaguchi and his team were preparing to send off the Famicom while also embracing the new 16-bit Super Famicom. But with so many of the original team moving on to different projects, Final Fantasy IV would prove to be a new beginning for the series as well as a celebration of what it has built so far.

In this installment, we'll be examining Final Fantasy IV's development, themes, characters, influences, and symbolism, as well as how it would lay a new foundation for the series going forward. We will also be looking at how subsequent iterations have built upon the original and reimagined it for new generations.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:55 Part I - Coming to America
15:43 Part II - Ultimate Fantasy
25:37 Patreon
25:52 Part III - Final Fantasy IV
29:10 Character First
33:41 Aesthetics of Storytelling
50:18 New Console, New Combat, New Dungeons
1:01:40 The Party as People
1:09:02 Influences
1:21:25 Revelation & Resolution
1:43:35 Personal Thoughts
1:45:43 Part IV - Closing the Sequel Gap
1:50:55 Part V - The Proliferation of Final Fantasy IV
2:07:38 Part VI - Reception & Legacy
2:17:38 Epilogue & To Be Continued...

Sources:
6. Prince, Susan D. “Faded Glory.” Video Games. Sep 1983, p. 18-20, 77.
15. Sheff, David. Game Over. Random House, 1993. p. 190-191.
23. Nintendo Power. Jul-Aug 1989. p. 39-50.
26-28. DW 2-4
29-33. Nintendo Power. Mar–Oct 1990
35. Nintendo Power. Apr 1995. p. 9.
38. Final Fantasy Adventure
39. Captain N S2E7
50. Secret of Mana
54. Kohler, Chris. Final Fantasy V. Boss Fight Books, 2017. p. 48.
55. Parkin, Simon. The Never-ending Story. Jan 2018, Edge Magazine.
63. Drakkhen
64. Ys III
66. Genesis 4:1 – 18
68. Kohler. p. 79-80.
72. Final Fantasy IV Settei Shiryō-hen. NTT Publishing, 14 Jun 1991.
73. The Divine Comedy
74. Genesis 11:1 – 9
75-77. Stations 3, 7, 14
78. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
83. Laputa
86. Star Wars
87. The Empire Strikes Back
88. Return of the Jedi
89. Sanjuro
93. FFC manual
98. Famitsu 137
99. Famitsu 139
100. Famitsu 140/141
101. Famitsu 142
102. Famitsu 143
103. Famitsu 144
107. Nintendo Power. Jul 1991. p. 50.
108-109. Nintendo Power. Oct 1991. p. 71, 97
110. Nintendo Power. Nov 1991.
111. EGM Dec 1991
112. GamePro Mar 1992
114. EGM Aug 1991
118 -153. Nintendo Power. Jan 1992–Dec 1994.
161. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
162 .有価証券報告書1995年3月期 [Securities Report Fiscal Year Ended March 1995]. Square Enix. March 1995. p. 8.

[waderoberts]

The thing most people miss when discussing the character fakeout deaths in this game is that Palom, Porum, Yang, and Cid all give themselves to save their friends, thus they are rewarded with renewed life. This is in stark contrast to Tellah, who destroys himself out of desire for revenge.

[loganhayse]

The fact that Nobuo Uematsu felt that someone else had better music than him just makes me appreciate both of them even more. It's always humbling to hear someone whose considered an expert in his field give someone else praise while belittling his own.

[lauraharris]

So I've watched an embarrassing amount of FF4 perspectives, but this is by far the most detailed informative iteration ever. Very well written. I very much enjoyed thank you

[hentaispyder]

My Grandmother first introduced me to this game and gaming as a whole. with her passing away recently this brought a lot of tears. thank you for putting so much effort into this video. while not the best game, it has been my favorite FF for years.

[xamos]

I've enjoyed Final Fantasy for decades now but this one holds a very special place in my heart. My brother and I were never drawn into a game so intensely before this one. The story, the music, the sound effects, every little thing is engrained into me. This video puts many feelings into words I could never have done myself.

[doublestarships]

Thank God someone finally explained a lot of the religious influences in a video. It's amazing how many reviews or retrospects left out so much details of this game. Good job dude.

[trustytrest]

FF4 was my first ever RPG, and it still holds a place in my heart to this day. The simple core concept of the game, seeing a Dark Knight redeem himself and become a Paladin, is still effective and surprisingly uncommon to this day. Usually heroes are blank slates or already start out good, not being legitimately bad people who walk the path of redemption.

It says something that one of the only other games I can think where this happens is Deus Ex, the original where he defects from the evil gov't agency.

[rustyshackle]

This video is like finding the Holy Grail. I grew up with the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV as a fixture of my childhood. It's definitely not a perfect game, maybe even not one of the best FF games, but it will always be my personal favorite. Thank you so much!

[nrrork]

Put the Avenger sword on Kain and have Rydia cast Bio.

It'll kill the trap door before it even has a chance to take out a party member.

Plus, you gain a TON of levels in that dungeon.

[Zarggg]

The first segment, "Coming to America" could be a video essay in its own right. Well done.

[withbravado]

This is the best Final Fantasy 4 retrospective I’ve ever seen. Thank you for making this!

[StewNWT]

Also the music that plays during the ending for this game - esp when the red moon departs earth's orbit and off into space makes me cry. It is so fucking magical

[Twinstrumental]

It ends on a high note!! 😂 All 4 of these have been brilliant. If you want some music to toss in to part 5, 6 etc. feel free to use any of our covers!

[jmh]

All this time I thought FF's iconic character-centric storytelling started in IV as a natural consequence of having more cartridge size for loads of text and the staff having enough preestablished solid game mechanics that they could spend more time on writing a good story. But no, they actually needed a WSJ editor to tell them "make it more like this". That's wild.

There's a parallel universe out there in which Sakaguchi and Torishima never talked face to face, FFVII is an entirely different game that doesn't make people think about the cinematic potential of the medium and as a consequence storytelling in videogames as we know it didn't happen.

Amazing series. Really looking forward to future entries.

[chuckelator]

Final Fantasy IV is my favorite Final fantasy, and its in my top five games of all time...I love it so much..

[Awesmic]

Andrew Bluett, if I had to put anyone's face in the Mount Rushmore of Final Fantasy retrospectives, you're definitely one who deserves it, full stop.

These last 3 retrospectives - including this one - have me put in awe. From the meticulous research to the finely-tuned script to the articulate delivery of the narration, I could feel the passion and care put into this work with every chapter.

I can only imagine what a popcorn-worthy event the next two retrospectives are gonna be like. Keep up the phenomenal work, and stay encouraged.

[renav.]

an interesting point to make here about Cecil as a paladin fighting his Dark Knight self

it wasnt available in the original SNES version but in all other versions, as a Dark Knight Cecil's "Darkness" ability (only thing the D.K. uses in the first fight as a paladin) damages everything on screen and also damages the user.

So by not fighting, and by in fact HEALING himself, Cecil is not destroying the Dark Knight within; he's letting the Dark Knight destroy himself. That's the juxtaposition between the Dark Knight and the Paladin; the formers power comes from reckless decay, the latters from preservation and protection.

[MegamanNG]

This is what I have been waiting for. Been binging this so much that I yearn for this. I really am. Now the wait begins for number V aka my favorite FInal Fantasy game ever.

[drakeamendola]

This is not only one of the best documentaries I've seen covering the development, reception and impact of a Final Fantasy game (and YouTube has more than a few of those!) but also a fantastic piece of capital c Criticism in the classic sense. An absolutely engaging and entertaining watch!

[emeraldnoir]

The muiscal theme for the 4 fiends will always be a favorite of mine. It sets such a monterous tone for the for lords of the elements and the way the game uses it in the first battle against one is amazingly well done.

You get a normal boss theme, then defeat the creature as normal. but then.... You get a surprise attack from the now dead-form of the creature and that epic battle theme plays as the true battle begins. I love their theme.