Final Fantasy IV (DS)

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It's been 17 years since a pre-Enix Square first brought the Japanese role-playing classic Final Fantasy IV to North American shores as the renamed Final Fantasy II. Now, nearly two decades and a handful of re-releases later, Final Fantasy IV is getting a massive makeover and returning to gamers once again, this time on the Nintendo DS. Whether you're waxing nostalgic over memories of late nights with Cecil, Cid, Kane and Rosa, or if you're a newcomer wondering just what all the fuss over this particular Final Fantasy game is about, then this is definitely a must-have for your DS library.

Final Fantasy IV tells the story of the Dark Knight (no, not that Dark Knight) Cecil, who serves as a loyal Captain in the King's elite Red Wings guard. Despite years of following the King's orders without hesitation, Cecil begins to have second thoughts after he's ordered to attack innocent villages to acquire their mystical elemental crystals. After questioning the King over the attacks, Cecil is stripped of his rank, ambushed in a surprise attack, and left for dead. What follows is an epic tale of magic, mystery, loss and redemption -- a little bit of everything you've come to expect from the Final Fantasy series.

Square Enix has never been one to skimp on presentation, and this game is no exception. Right from the pre-rendered opening cut scene (which admittedly looks very different from the rest of the game) you can tell that the developers planned to push the DS hardware to its limits. In an effort to update the look of Final Fantasy IV while still remaining true to the original experience, Square has blended the more realistic character designs of later FF titles with the more super-deformed style of the classic games, creating a sort of hybrid appearance. That's not to say the game looks bad by any means -- in fact, it's actually one of the best-looking games to ever come to the DS -- it just means that the visual styling might take a little getting used to for FF fans, old and new.

The graphics aren't the only part of the game that feels like a hybrid blend of old and new. Fans of the original FFIV will instantly feel right at home playing with the game's cast of characters and their unique character classes, special abilities and skills. Of course, you won't want to get too attached to any one character, as FFIV still has one of the highest character turnover rates of any Final Fantasy game. To get around this problem, and to mix things up a bit, the DS remake has added a new twist in the form of Augments.

Augments are one-shot items that the player can pick up from fallen enemies, departing teammates, or just from lying around the world of Baron. Using Augments, characters can learn abilities they may not otherwise be able to learn, including abilities usually reserved for other characters, such as Yang's Kick attack. Other Augments teach abilities new to Final Fantasy IV, like Counter. What makes Augments so interesting is that they open up a whole new level of character customization, and a new way to utilize your party to its fullest. By equipping characters with the right combination of Augments, you can dish out some massive damage to even the toughest bosses. On the flip side, though, if you don't make decent use of the Augments, the game will get ridiculously difficult towards the end.