The 4 Heroes of Light: classical

The first thing that should be pointed out about Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is that it’s not very Final Fantasy-y. It’s a good, unique game — one that I’ve been enjoying thoroughly on my subway rides — but it plays more like a standalone title.

And, yep, you have a limited inventory — but there’s nothing wrong with that.

It’s also a remarkably challenging game — but there’s nothing wrong with that.

It’s an enjoyable RPG to be taken on its own merits, but not a game you should expect to be like any other Final Fantasy game.

The story: You’re 14, and it’s time to test your mettle. You’re tasked with rescuing the King Horne’s daughter from the Witch of the North. No sooner do you do that than you find everyone in the Kingdom of Horne has been frozen, petrified. You’ve got to do something about it … Adventure time!

I’m simplifying, but that’s how the story gets rolling. As it unfolds, you’ll find it plenty involving. The dialog is pretty snappy, and there are a few solid jokes in here, too.

The visuals: The art direction in 4 Heroes is just wonderful. It’s a gorgeous game (except the dungeon sections, which are kind of boring). The characters, the monsters and the cities all pop to life. It’s got a cartoonish look, in a way — a sort of almost-cel shading. Of course, that bright, cartoonish look masks the evil challenges the game has in store.

The gameplay: Did I mention that this game is hard? It is. It is, in fact, sometimes brutal. But players should view it as a challenge, because it’s one of the few times when I can say if you’re endlessly being defeated by a certain boss or a certain section, you aren’t playing the game right. You need to manage your inventory system very carefully, line up the order of your team very carefully, and manage your spells very carefully. Hell, sometimes just changing your lineup (which character attacks first) turns the tide very quickly. I know this because for a while I wasn’t playing the game right.

This is also the first time we’ve ever seen a combat system of this type in a Final Fantasy game. You can’t choose your target (which sounds insane, but bear with me, targeting is done away with to help streamline the fights). Instead, attacks affect enemies in the front, or the back, or the strongest, or the weakest, etc. You have to choose the attack that will best suit your purpose in the fight.

The audio: The music in the game is very grand, ethereal and … sorta ambient. It doesn’t beat you over the head, it’s simply there to amplify the experience. I only really felt annoyed when one of my characters fell within 5-ish points of death and the droning technoy ‘death music’ started playing. I just hate techno.

Final thoughts: Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is a good, satisfying game. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking ‘oh hey, another FF game,’ because it’s really not another FF game. It is its own animal. Enjoy it for what it is.

Final Grade: B+

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is rated E10+ and is available for the Nintendo DS.

ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2JlfnF7kGlmaW1fm7avrctmnZqmpJbAunnToZxmbF2dsrO7xKxkqJ5dobaotNNmmqWZo6i2pK3LaA%3D%3D