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Know Your Final Fantasy IV Trivia. It Could Save Your Life.

Posted by Nadia Oxford

For such a seemingly primitive game, Final Fantasy IV is difficult to talk about. There are so many incarnations, I don't know who I'm going to offend if I let slip a "Final Fantasy II" instead of saying "Final Fantasy IV."

(My maternal grandmother has already written me out of the will. It's a goddamn shame; I really wanted that Donkey Kong doll.)

Back when the Internet had that new car smell and it still belonged to Trekkies instead of macro cats, there was a good deal of information to be found on the SNES version of Square-Enix's classic. Specifically, we discovered that "Final Fantasy II," henceforth referred to as Final Fantasy II US, was a dumbed-down Final Fantasy IV. Items were homogenised, character skills were missing (what, would a crowded command menu make us quiver in confused terror a second before our heads exploded?) and enemies were nerfed.

It was enough of a shock to learn that Square-Enix was holding out on Fantasies, but discovering that we had the version of the game that had been cut into small pieces for Japan's "special" players was especially insulting. It was a kick to our souls' asses.

So for years we scorned the fact that we'd been given Final Fantasy IV's "Easytpe". Or...had we?

Nope. Though some of the cuts and nerfs are similar, Final Fantasy II US is entirely its own game. In fact, the real Final Fantasy IV Easytype was spawned from Final Fantasy II US, but dumbed down further, if that's not too hard to believe.

For starters, the Ribbon accessory absorbs fire, ice and lightning in Easytype. That doesn't happen in Final Fantasy II. It sure as hell doesn't happen in Final Fantasy IV DS. Curse you, Red Dragons. Curse you.

You may also be alarmed by the image accompanying this blog post, which portrays Zeromus as some kind of space-bound pirate tumor. That is in fact the re-design he recieved for Easytype: he remained a lovable flesh-coloured anvil in Final Fantasy II US.

Ah, but you no doubt recognise Pirate Zeromus if you played Final Fantasy IV Advance. Pick up the game and meet him if you haven't had a chance. He's a charming (seething, hate-filled, drooling) lad.

Related Links:

Are You Buying Final Fantasy IV DS? Huh? Huh? Huh??
Gaming on a Train: Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV DS: Love, Hope and Betrayal for the Busy Commuter

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Posted Aug 19 2008, 07:53 PM

Filed under: nintendo ds, snes, japan, final fantasy iv ds, final fantasy ii us, easytype, zeromus, trivia, hardtype, nerfed

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