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F--k the Moon

Aug 25th, 2008

I hope Final Fantasy IV can see this, because I'm doing it as hard as I can.

Last week, I cheerily reported on my ongoing affair with the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV, though I did have some reservations about the moon portion of the game, where I was currently stationed.  This week, I committed the ultimate act of hate you can do to a game: sending it back to GameFly unfinished.

For bonus revenge points, I also watched the ending on YouTube.

I did have every intention of beating Final Fantasy IV, but the last dungeon of the game is such a slog that every time you take a step forward, it feels like two steps back. "Two steps back" in this case are the irritating random encounters, which require as much planning and strategy as a boss fight, but with about 10% of the payoff.  I'll give credit to Final Fantasy IV's dungeon for having a save point--while it was there in the original, the DS version of III didn't even add one for the sake of convenience--but I never managed to reach that life-saving spot, even with my all of my characters at my ludicrously high levels.

And woe be to you if you happen upon one of the monster-trapped chests and don't immediately know the trick to beating whatever abomination pops up in front of your party. Having your game end in a single turn comes with that sick, empty feeling of time literally being stolen from your life.

I'm not asking for the game to be a pushover, but for the love of god, they should at least make the 30 hours I've invested in the damn thing seem relevant. One of the reasons both Resident Evil 4 and Half-Life 2 are great is that they make you feel like a total badass by the end of the game--but here I am in Final Fantasy IV, sheepishly running away from enemy encounters (and often getting my ass handed to me) at level 70.  What do you, the folks at home think?  Are frustrating final levels the ultimate test of your skills, or do they just make games outstay their respective welcomes?  Discuss.

Related Links:

Gaming on a Train: Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV DS: Love, Hope and Betrayal For the Busy Commuter
Are You Buying Final Fantasy IV DS? Huh? Huh? Huh??
You Are A Baby and Games Don't Wanna Make You Cry

Comments ( 7 )

RPGs tend to get easier as you go these days. It's like they always expect you to be weaker than you are. I guess they tried not to do that in IV, but ended up on the other, more frustrating side of the spectrum. I never liked Final Fantasy IV upon hitting the moon, anyway.
Anonymous commented on Aug 25 08 at 6:42 pm
This is a problem I'm having with the Lost Odyssey DLC. My characters managed to hit level 99 while I was slogging through the dungeon, but even after that some of the enemies are still pretty difficult, and impossible if you don't know the little tricks to defeat them. The boss at the end of the dungeon is crazy too. The problem with RPGs, I think, is that their pacing (as far as playing them go, not cut scenes) kinda hinges on how much you've invested into the game. It's also kind of intangible how much more powerful you become after grabbing a few levels. Where as in a shooter, you'll always get that shotgun on level 6 and you'll always start kicking arse with it every time you re-play, the same as everyone else that plays the game.
Anonymous commented on Aug 25 08 at 10:57 pm
Personally I'm glad FF IV DS is tough. I haven't been having too much trouble on the moon though (all characters are over level 70 at this point). I did get my butt handed to me by that red dragony creature gaurding the crystal gloves though. Don't think I can beat him....though, it would take awhile, but I bet I could get him if I equip Cecil with Flame Armor and a Cursed Ring. Hmmm... :D
Anonymous commented on Aug 26 08 at 3:57 pm
The Red Dragon killed me instantly, and I toyed with the idea of going back to beat him. Then I decided that would be 30-40 minutes better spent on anything else.
bobservo commented on Aug 26 08 at 4:19 pm
I had the same complaint about the Playsation version. At least I know it's not just me.
Anonymous commented on Aug 26 08 at 11:53 pm
Sean--You're right, the Playstation version was insanely hard. I never finished it because Zeromus kept destroying me. When FF IV Advance came out, it was so much easier. Huh.
nadiaoxford commented on Aug 27 08 at 2:29 pm
I too gave up on the PSX version but found the GBA version tolerable :\
bobservo commented on Aug 27 08 at 9:13 pm

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