Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light

The 4 Heroes of Light. Its funny how
a game so small, can pack so many
frustrations. 

Synopsis: 

     Having just turned 14, Brandt, the stories main protagonist, is sent to appear before the king and declare himself a man; as is customary in his village. Upon arriving at the castle our hero discovers that the king's daughter has been kidnapped by the Witch of the North and is being held in the Witch's castle. Venturing out, Brandt soon encounters Jusqua, a mysterious boy with silver hair who agrees to accompany him on his quest to retrieve the king's daughter. Making their way through a pitch black cave and eventually into the Witch's castle, it isn't long until the insufferable Princess Aire and her faithful guardian Yunita join the party and the gang engages in their first boss battle against the Witch of the North. After the battle, it is revealed that our rag-tag bunch of misfits are none other than the 4 Heroes of Light who are destined to save the world from the encroaching darkness.

Heroes gear up for their first boss
battle: The Witch of the North

     Developed by frequent FF partner Square Enix, Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is what happens when video game nostalgia meets modern technology. While including age-old elements such as classic-style leveling and the ability to equip armor and weapons, The 4 Heroes will be a game fans of the earliest FF incarnations might instantly fall in love with. However with its painfully dull story line, the need to talk to everyone in town before continuing with said story, and the fact that players should anticipate about 2 hours of level grinding between each adventure, most will opt to send the game back where it came from and play something more worth their time.

Brandt wearing
the Dark
Fencer Crown

     Not wanting to make an exact rip-off of the earlier FF's, developers have added the new Crown System, a job choosing interface in which players choose the roles for their characters by having them wear crowns acquired throughout the game. Each crown includes a special ability or talent, adding differentiation: the White Mage crown allows players to use less ability points when using white magic, while the Wayfarer crown allows players to use the ability "run away" to flee the battle. Crowns can then be "upgraded" by socketing them with gems obtained from battles. Once a crown has been fully socketed, a new ability becomes available. While the crown system is a well thought out idea, its not enough to entice gamers to keep pushing on and dealing with the game's many shortcomings.

Appearance:

Brandt wearing
the Merchant
Crown

     Despite so many things wrong with 4 Heroes, the game's graphics should receive nothing short of a standing ovation. Developed exclusively for the Nintendo DS, its obvious that Square Enix really took their time to bring the game to life, visually speaking that is. From the moment players look into the virtual world its impossible not to notice the unique and artistic look that Japanese artist Akihiko Yoshida has brought to the game. Cartoon enough to be whimsical, yet detailed enough to be imaginable, 4 Heroes really finds a nice balance to bring the game into the age bracket gray area. Both children newcomers and seasoned adult FF fans will be enticed by the game's appearance.

     Adding to the look of the game is the ever changing appearance of the characters. Each new crown brings an entirely new look to its wearer, breaking down the monotony of the story quite a bit. In addition, each item being equipped will also show up on the character in battle and while exploring. Players might find themselves opting to wear a slightly weaker item and dealing with the reduced stats, simply because it looks better.

Players will have to
choose between
equipment or healing
items. 

Game Play:

     Games like 4 Heroes are the reason DS insurance should exist: after perpetually running out of potions and getting slaughtered battle after battle, players wont think twice before throwing their handhelds at the wall. Each hero has a limited amount of room in their inventory to store belongings, while items currently being equipped continue to take up space. Also, spells such as Fire or Cure require the hero to hold a spell book, effectively reducing the space in one's inventory by however many spells they'd like to be able to use. This all combined makes for an extremely limited amount of space for potions and phoenix downs, making it highly likely that players will run out and eventually get slaughtered by monsters much stronger than their heroes. The only way around this almost certain outcome is for players to do hours of level grinding at the start of the game, and then again after each quest. However, even with stronger heroes, players still have only so much space for healing items, meaning every boss battle will have to be attempted many times before success.

The new AP System in
action. Not too well
thought out.

     By doing away with mana and introducing the new "AP System" developers have successfully brought us a title we will forever see in our nightmares. Characters can have up to five Ability Points, which are used to perform certain attacks or abilities in battle. After each turn one ability point is replenished, those looking to replenish ability points faster must opt to not attack for one turn and instead choose to "Boost". This causes the selected hero to go into a defensive state, taking less damage but also dishing out no damage for the turn and only gaining one extra ability point. Also, due to the AP system, players can not use abilities such as Cure outside of battle to restore health and must rely solely on potions while exploring or healing while in battle to maintain adequate HP levels.

     One neat feature for the game however is the ability to combine multiple heroes' attacks onto the same target to deal drastically more damage. However, this is a randomly occurring phenomenon that has nothing to do with the actions of the player -- who has no say in what opponent characters attack to begin with. Its almost as if developers introduced the idea, decided it made the game actually beatable, and therefore opted to only make it happen once in a great while.

Don't Change a Thing:

     Even when developed for systems like the DS, Final Fantasy games constantly remind us that they are the reigning champs of visual attraction in the virtual world. Players wont get bored with seeing their heroes' appearance constantly changing and improving and for some it might just be enough to continue playing.

The 4 Heroes off to save
the world and get on
our nerves.

Should Have Spent More Time On:

     With its many follies and headaches waiting to happen, 4 Heroes is nothing if not a bitter awakening to video game developers: just because it worked 15 years ago, doesn't mean its going to work today. By attempting to create a game so jam-packed with FF nerd nostalgia, Square Enix seems to have forgotten that the elements of a game that once passed as enjoyable have long since become outdated and annoying. If they're so intent on bring up blasts from the past they should stick to re-releasing the original FF's rather than trying to create a brand new title that will send geeks everywhere heading for the hills.

Just How Homo:

Some gaymers might
enjoy constantly
changing characters
outfits but not enough
to keep playing.

     Its hard to find any sort of allure with a game that delves into a cartoon-esque world. All male characters in the game resemble pale-skinned twinks rather than the muscly heroes gaymers are so fond of. While some gaymers might enjoy constantly equipping new items and crowns on their heroes to find the perfect look, more design satisfaction could be found from games like The Sims.

Own it or Rent it:

     While it is strongly suggested that players not waste their time and brain cells, those looking to get their hands on 4 Heroes are best off renting it. While most die-hard gamers have a special place in their heart for Final Fantasy titles, this is one that should definitely be overlooked. With attempts at the third quest nearing triple digits, players will be happy they didn't spend the extra money on owning a title that is better suited collecting dust on a store shelf. Final Fantasy developers had better do something to bring us back after this latest title, or we might have to change their abbreviation from FF to F-.