Impressions: Final Fantasy IV The After Years
| Nayan R. |
The absolutely ludicrous title aside, I have a really hard time hating Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. Part of me wants to, not because of some nonsensical vendetta against FFIV’s canon, but more as a purveyor of value and of art, and an enemy of recycled, half-assed cash-ins. Alas, I am absolutely powerless against the scourge that is FFIV: The After Years. It’s simply awesome.
Set 17 years after the end of the events of Final Fantasy IV, the most interesting part of The After Years is its own development history. Developed by FFIII DS and FFIV DS veterans Matrix Software, the game was first developed for Japanese cell phones. The game was broken up into chapters, with the first being a free download, followed by subsequent chapters that were available for players to download after signing up for a subscription. For the benefit of the American audience, Matrix and Square-Enix decided to move the game, in all its parts, to the Nintendo Wii in the form of Wiiware downloads.
