History VideoGame / FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears

This page assumes that you played and completed ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', so beware of spoilers if you haven't.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Each of the tales have their respective character be the central protagonist.

* TitleDrop: The [[CombinationAttack Band]] Final Fantasy, which involves the original game's endgame team attacking a single enemy in ways [[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger Crono and the gang]] could only dream of and gaining some MP-wise costly healing on top of it. The original name for the attack was more of a StealthPun, since it used the Japanese words for "final" and "fantasy" for the name.

* DropTheHammer: Cid and Luca.

* BossBonanza: The final dungeon has 34 bosses in it, consisting of all the remaining bosses from the original game that had yet to make an appearance, and notable bosses from the other NES[=/=]SNES-era ''Final Fantasy'' installments. Needless to say this large number is found nowhere else in the game. It includes three {{Bonus Boss}}es guarding powerful weapons. The number was dropped to "only" 17 in iOS/Android/Steam versions, dropping all the bosses originating from the other games.

* BossRush: Taken to an absolutely insane degree in the final dungeon. It's a veritable Who's Who of the first six games, featuring in order, [[spoiler:about half the bosses from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', then you fight the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI Four Fiends]], then four bosses from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII Dark Crystal guardians from the World of Darkness]], then ''[[TheCameo Gilga]][[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV mesh]]'' and Atomos, and finally [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Ghost Train and Ultros]].]] It even throws in the classic bonus bosses Shinryu, Omega, and Ultima Weapon for good measure. Hell, even the ''characters'' start to get a little tired of it.

* CollectionSidequest: Various forms. Rydia's chapter has a minor variation in form of Kokkol Ore, which is used to make and upgrade your equipment at a blacksmith. There's also at least 2 game-spanning ones, one of them revolving around various colored tails that [[RandomDrop randomly drop]] (mainly from the aforementioned {{Bonus Boss}}es), but you can also trade a limited amount of Small Tails (with more common and ultimately useless [[IncrediblyLamePun Small Tales]] serving as fake-outs) you can find for a few of the colored tails of the color of your choice, which you can then ultimately trade for powerful accessories and armor: however, seeing as the only way to get a Rainbow Tail, which gives you the ever-important accessory which allows a character to break the damage limit, is to trade 2/3rds of the Small Tails you can collect for it, you can only really select from 1 extra tail of your choice. Edward's tale also features a limited version of this, where you can find and get Bronze and Silver Tails from enemies, which you can then trade towards Gold Tails. The other revolves around getting pieces of Adamantine, mainly from the end of the {{Bonus Dungeon}}s, which you can then use to trade them for pieces of the ultimate set of armor.

* {{Superboss}}: Each chapter has a rare and ridiculously powerful monster that only appears on given moon phases in a specific location. The same applies to the final chapter, and while they're still a good deal stronger than the common versions of the said monster, they don't really qualify as bosses anymore, if only because of the fact that the normal enemies fought in the same location are almost as tough. Instead, [[spoiler:the previous {{Bonus Boss}}es from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]'' make an appearance in the same way as they did in the original games: Omega wandering around one of the levels, Lord Dragon inside a treasure chest, Deathgaze as a random encounter who runs away a lot but keeps any damage sustained between fights, and Ultima Weapon being right on the player's path to the next floor, although he's not mandatory to fight like the rest aren't, unlike in the original game.]] The PSP version adds Lost Babil, a giant mecha that requires three different parties to fight it - one to attack the lower body, one to attack the upper body, and the third to attack the inner CPU. To access this fight, beat the game and then take the interdimensional elevator in the final chapter to the "???" area and pay Challengingway 500,000 Gil. This fight can be repeated indefinitely, so it's a good way to grind Silver Apples and Soma Drops.

* BonusBoss: Each chapter has a rare and ridiculously powerful monster that only appears on given moon phases in a specific location. The same applies to the final chapter, and while they're still a good deal stronger than the common versions of the said monster, they don't really qualify as bosses anymore, if only because of the fact that the normal enemies fought in the same location are almost as tough. Instead, [[spoiler:the previous {{Bonus Boss}}es from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]'' make an appearance in the same way as they did in the original games: Omega wandering around one of the levels, Lord Dragon inside a treasure chest, Deathgaze as a random encounter who runs away a lot but keeps any damage sustained between fights, and Ultima Weapon being right on the player's path to the next floor, although he's not mandatory to fight like the rest aren't, unlike in the original game.]] The PSP version adds Lost Babil, a giant mecha that requires three different parties to fight it - one to attack the lower body, one to attack the upper body, and the third to attack the inner CPU. To access this fight, beat the game and then take the interdimensional elevator in the final chapter to the "???" area and pay Challengingway 500,000 Gil. This fight can be repeated indefinitely, so it's a good way to grind Silver Apples and Soma Drops.

The game was originally released for cell phones in Japan, and was released on UsefulNotes/WiiWare June 1, 2009 in the US. The entire game cost 3700 Wii points total for 9 story segments (13 chapters in all). Following the success of the DS prequel in iOS / Android form, TAY got the same treatment, as in, it looks exactly as you'd expect the game to look as it if was on the DS. This version of the game came out in November 2013.

It, along with ''Final Fantasy IV'' proper, was released in the ''Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection'' on the PSP with [[EnhancedRemake enhanced spritework and audio]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and a cheaper overall price]] in March 2011 in Japan and April everywhere else. It was released again on iOS, this time using the 3D engine of the DS ''Final Fantasy IV'' remake in November 2013. This version was released on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} on May 12th, 2015.

* BagOfSpilling: The returning characters are all much lower leveled and with far less impressive equipment than they were at the end of the previous game. The only time it is justified is with Rydia's summons, as the eidolons have [[spoiler:been frozen in stone]] and can't be summoned, and with Edge, who has been selling Eblan's treasures to finance the kingdom's recovery, and [[{{Lampshaded}} lampshades]] his level loss, commenting on how he's let himself go.

** Edge and Tsukinowa's "Wild Moon" band. All it does is deliver a slightly-stronger-than-regular attack to every enemy, but it's cheap, fast, and does enough damage to clear out encounters of GoddamnBats quickly. It's incredibly useful for clearing out forced battles during the [[SpeedRun Time Attack]] BonusDungeon.

* CollectionSidequest: Various forms. Rydia's chapter has a minor variation in form of Kokkol Ore, which is used to make and upgrade your equipment at a blacksmith. There's also at least 2 game-spanning ones, one of them revolving around various colored tails that [[RandomlyDrops randomly drop]] (mainly from the aforementioned {{Bonus Boss}}es), but you can also trade a limited amount of Small Tails (with more common and ultimately useless [[IncrediblyLamePun Small Tales]] serving as fake-outs) you can find for a few of the colored tails of the color of your choice, which you can then ultimately trade for powerful accessories and armor: however, seeing as the only way to get a Rainbow Tail, which gives you the ever-important accessory which allows a character to break the damage limit, is to trade 2/3rds of the Small Tails you can collect for it, you can only really select from 1 extra tail of your choice. Edward's tale also features a limited version of this, where you can find and get Bronze and Silver Tails from enemies, which you can then trade towards Gold Tails. The other revolves around getting pieces of Adamantine, mainly from the end of the {{Bonus Dungeon}}s, which you can then use to trade them for pieces of the ultimate set of armor.

---> '''???:''' Can't you tell, you SpoonyBard?

** Depending on who is in the party for certain bosses in Subterrane, the player will be treated to special dialogue. When fighting [[spoiler:Cagnazzo or Scarmiglione with Palom and Porom in the party, they'll comment on having to fight them again. If Golbez is in the party against any of the Archfiends, they'll thank him for releasing them before passing on. Kain will also comment after battling Barbaccia. And if Yang, Rydia, Kain, Rosa, Cid, Palom, Porom, or Edward are in the party, they'll recognize the Dark Knight's armor prior to the start of the fight, as they've all seen Cecil when he was a Dark Knight]].

* ThePowerOfFamily: [[spoiler:If Cecil, Golbez, Rosa, and Cecodore are in your party when you battle the Dark Knight, Golbez takes a Dark Fang meant for his brother Cecil, [[{{Permadeath}} and would have died]] if not for his sister-in-law's healing magic. Later, when Cecil is KO'd, his son Cecodore tries fighting the Dark Knight and is about to be killed off by the same Dark Fang; but Cecil jumps in and takes the brunt of the blast, and miraculously revives to show the Dark Knight that the family bond between the four of them cannot be broken.]]

* ThePowerOfFamily: [[spoiler:If Cecil, Golbez, Rosa, and Cecodore are in your party when you battle the Dark Knight, Golbez takes a Dark Fang meant for his brother Cecil, and [[{{Permadeath}} and would have died]] if not for his sister-in-law's healing magic. Later, when Cecil is KO'd, his son Cecodore tries fighting the Dark Knight and is about to be killed off by the same Dark Fang; but Cecil jumps in and takes the brunt of the blast, and miraculously revives to show the Dark Knight that the family bond between the four of them cannot be broken.]]

* NoEndorHolocaust: The latter parts of the game seem to imply that [[spoiler:the worlds from Final Fantasies I-VI were all destroyed (hence their signature monsters appearing as "failed experiments")]], but other FF canon has made it pretty clear that no, this isn't exactly the case. They are just {{EasterEgg}}s.

* OneHitKill: Cockatrice is a ridiculously broken summon; it works on many of the monsters in the final dungeon. The trick, of course, is that it RandomlyDrops.

* RandomlyDrops: And how. As seen above, a good deal of the best equipment comes from killing a ton of enemies of specific type, either directly or indirectly. Thankfully, due to the simplistic nature of the game's RNG, the guaranteed methods of getting both the best enemy-dropped equipment and rare treasure from the end of the {{Bonus Dungeon}}s have already been figured out for both, latter of which getting almost vibes of UrbanLegendOfZelda: "OK to always get the rare equipment run to the guy who sends you there as soon as you can and then wait for a specific NPC to face downwards that only the top of her head is seen..."

* TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies: [[spoiler: The Creator lives and breathes this trope. It's plan to destroy the Blue Planet? It's all because humans didn't evolve to it's preference. Enslaving the Eidolons? Why, it's just a way to make the genocide faster and more efficient. As far as the Creator is concerned it's behavior is completely justified, as all other beings are inferior.]]

* SocialDarwinist: [[spoiler:The Creator and its servants, the Maenads.]]

* IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight: How Rydia can free the Eidolons. Beat them within an inch of their life; then ''stop'', and let them come to their senses. If you don't time it right, [[spoiler:they either die permanently or hit you with a mega-attack that kills you.]]