History YMMV / FinalFantasyIV

* AntiClimaxBoss: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] with Golbez, based on whatever version people are playing with:
** When you face him in the Dwarven Castle, Golbez puts up a pitiful showing -- despite the cool scripted sequence to start the battle where he wipes out your party members before [[spoiler:Rydia]] pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment to save Cecil, once the actual fight begins, Golbez has a simple attack pattern of Bio, Thundaga, and Fira, and around 3,000 HP. While he was likely made easy since the player will only have Cecil and [[spoiler:Rydia]] to start with, it's still rather pathetic that the two of them can likely kill him on their own in a single turn, plus you can have Kain survive his assassination with a well-timed jump. This only applies to the sprite-based versions; the 3D remake revamps him entirely for a proper battle.
** It's worth noting that this is most true for the ''newer'' sprite-based versions, where faster leveling and other adjustments ultimately make him a lot easier and allow you to overpower him. In the original, 1991 release, the leveling curve is not nearly so kind, and a first-time player is likely to stumble right into this after a grueling Calcabrina fight, and could have serious trouble... '''''unless''''' they've been thorough with treasure hunting, in which case they will have at least one Lunar Curtain. This grants you the Reflect status for a short time, and while it hardly lasts forever, it's very easy to put this on either Rydia or Cecil and witness the spectacle of Golbez defeating ''himself'', especially with his hard-hitting Bio.
** Ironically, it's the "easier" US SNES release of ''[=FF4=]'' where Golbez finally becomes the nightmare he was likely intended to be - Lunar Curtains were removed from that version, and it retains the original leveling curve, so you are left with an underequipped Rydia, a Cecil at whatever HP he had before paralysis, and only pure restoratives against a Golbez who will be much more like a LightningBruiser and can easily defeat the two of them in 2 or 3 spells (his Bio/Virus is particularly likely to one-shot Rydia from full HP), and is likely to KO anyone you try to bring up.

* AntiClimaxBoss: Basically [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] with Golbez, based on whatever version people are playing with:

** Some of the regular enemies can drop items that enable Rydia to summon them in battle. Although the drop rate for said items is lower than 1%, the Summons are severely outclassed by Rydia's regular arsenal. Special mention goes to the Goblin/Imp summon, which deals abysmal non-elemental damage to a single target; and [=FireBomb=] in the American SNES version, which is obtained from an enemy that only shows up as an uncommon encounter late in the game.
** The Dark Matter item can be stolen from [[FinalBoss Zeromus]]. In the DS version, it is the key to fighting the {{Superboss}} Proto-Babil during [[NewGamePlus the second playthrough]]; but in other versions, it does absolutely nothing.

* ThatOneAchievement: In the ''Pixel Remaster'', there are achievements for Rydia's hidden summons and exchanging the Pink Tail to the tail collector. In both cases, they all have a 1/64 chance of dropping. The Pink Tail is much more random, because the Flan Princesses are set to be the rarest encounter, and only in one room in the entire game.

* OlderThanTheyThink:
** Many elements and innovations that are accredited as originating in ''Final Fantasy IV'' actually first appeared in the two earlier installments in the series, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'', which were only officially released outside of Japan 13 and 15 years respectively after ''Final Fantasy IV'' on the SNES (as ''Final Fantasy II'').

** The game was a ''huge'' departure from the previous games at the time. The cast of playable characters is vast, their personalities are developed and unique and they will leave or join Cecil on his quest as their interests align, it was the introduction of the Active Time Battle system that greatly evolved the gameplay when turn-based combat was the norm for [=RPGs=], some bosses change their attack patterns and behaviors forcing the player to adapt, and the story is far deeper, the gameplay being driven by the plot instead of the player being free to wander the world. In short, this is when ''Final Fantasy'' [[GrowingTheBeard truly began to come into its own]]. Of course, the series has since surpassed this game in story, character, and gameplay complexity, so when you talk about ''IV'' today, you'll hear about how it has a boring battle system with little customization and flexibility, flat characters, and a straightforward and simple story. The game also has been hurt by its many localizations that unfortunately left out or didn't translate well the deeper aspects of its story and characters, especially the overarching message that "Justice is not the only right in this world", which signifies that forgiveness and redemption is the most important thing of all, even beyond law and order[[labelnote:Explanation]]In other words, the game explains that if following justice was the only correct thing to do, then Cecil, Kain, and Golbez should all be executed for their crimes, but it explains the worth of redemption and forgiveness by letting them live and make amends for their wrongs and do the same with other people; the principle is comparable to how many justice systems handle capital punishment even now[[/labelnote]], something rather deep for a 1991 game that [[ValuesResonance still holds true today]] but is often forgotten, lost, or dismissed when talking about this game.

* AntiClimaxBoss: When you face him in the Dwarven Castle, Golbez puts up a pitiful showing -- despite the cool scripted sequence to start the battle where he wipes out your party members before [[spoiler:Rydia]] pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment to save Cecil, once the actual fight begins, Golbez has a simple attack pattern of Bio, Thundaga, and Fira, and around 3,000 HP. While he was likely made easy since the player will only have Cecil and [[spoiler:Rydia]] to start with, it's still rather pathetic that the two of them can likely kill him on their own in a single turn, plus you can have Kain survive his assassination with a well-timed jump. This only applies to the sprite-based versions; the 3D remake revamps him entirely for a proper battle. It's worth noting that this is most true for the ''newer'' sprite-based versions, where faster leveling and other adjustments ultimately make him a lot easier and allow you to overpower him. In the original, 1991 release, the leveling curve is not nearly so kind, and a first-time player is likely to stumble right into this after a grueling Calcabrina fight, and could have serious trouble... '''''unless''''' they've been thorough with treasure hunting, in which case they will have at least one Lunar Curtain. This grants you the Reflect status for a short time, and while it hardly lasts forever, it's very easy to put this on either Rydia or Cecil and witness the spectacle of Golbez defeating ''himself'', especially with his hard-hitting Bio. Ironically, it's the "easier" US SNES release of ''[=FF4=]'' where Golbez finally becomes the nightmare he was likely intended to be - Lunar Curtains were removed from that version, and it retains the original leveling curve, so you are left with an underequiped Rydia, a Cecil at whatever HP he had before paralysis, and only pure restoratives against a Golbez who will be much more like a LightningBruiser and can easily defeat the two of them in 2 or 3 spells (his Bio/Virus is particularly likely to one-shot Rydia from full HP), and is likely to KO anyone you try to bring up.

** Kain Highwind. Part of the fandom views him as the ultimate MemeticBadass. Another part views him as a CreatorsPet whose only impact on the plot is to get mind-controlled and sabotage the heroes over nothing more than his jealousy over Rosa.

* BreatherBoss: The Magus Sisters follow a simple pattern: Sandy casts Reflect on Cindy, then Mindy uses offensive spells on Cindy to do major damage to the party. Problem is, all three sisters are vulnerable to Silence, and once affected their strategy crumbles, their threat level plummets. While this exploit would be okay for an early game boss, the Magus Sisters are sandwiched between the Dark Elf, which can be rendered [[GuideDangIt unwinnable]] if the player forgot to talk to Edward beforehand, and Barbariccia, who can be very annoying to fight due to her tornado form blocking every attack other than Kain's Jump.

** While 3D remake translation has been unanimously praised for its faithfulness to the original Japanese script over prior translations, its "flowery" approach to the text remains divisive, as several fans aren't fond of how it spices up the text style to make it very olden fantasy-like [[https://legendsoflocalization.com/which-final-fantasy-iv-translation-should-you-play/#final-fantasy-iv-ds as the 3D remake translation is actually a punched-up translation, and nobody talks like "ye-olden Shakespeare times" in the Japanese script]], others meanwhile don't mind because in spite of that it remains the most faithful official English translation to date and it's a relatively common practice in JRPG translations for better or for worse, or stand in a middle ground of not liking the "flowery" approach but still liking the translation for its faithfulness.
* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Even in versions that allows you to swap parties, the original ending party (Cecil, Rosa, Rydia, Kain, Edge) is mostly used. They provide a decent mix of power, speed, ability and healing. Edward might get swapped out for one of them in the GBA version due to [[MagikarpPower his explosive stat growth towards the game's conclusion]], but it's a rarity.

* DesignatedVillain: Well, Designated AntiHero at least. A major plot point of the game, and one of the most well-known things about it is Cecil giving up his dark past and repenting to become a Paladin. [[PunchClockVillain Except that he never seems at all dark or evil to the player.]] His only intentional evil act is at the beginning of the game (taking a Crystal by conquest), and his abhorrence of this act is what kicks off the plot. He's in a relationship with a White Wizard, and never seems to manifest any destructive thoughts or emotions before becoming a Paladin. The "Heel" part of his HeelFaceTurn arc all happens off-screen prior to the actual game, which makes his repentance somewhat less dramatic.

** Literal bats. They can come in groups up to six, are fast, all act at the same time on their turns, and use only one move; Bloodfeast. An attack that inflicts Sap, drains HP, and takes two seconds to complete the animation for. An omega-class annoyance, they are.

** In the SNES version, by casting Berserk on your melee fighters, you can cause the final boss to desync. This messes up the BigBad's attack pattern quite a bit, because the characters' turns queue up before his does. This can be commonly demonstrated in the Free Enterprise randomizer, and with enough luck, you can defeat him a lot easier than he originally would be.

** SNES version- Actions performed similar to the item duplication glitch can cause an underflow for a "blank item" that can be sold for several million gil, proof [[https://youtube.com/shorts/iRTa_p1gkCg here]].

* HypeBacklash: Of the six "Nintendo-era" ''Final Fantasy'' games, this one is the most heavily exposed and marketed -- it got a 3D remake, a sequel, both got ported to PSP with enhanced graphics, and the sequel got a 3D remake itself, while Cecil and Kain are pushed as iconic characters almost to the level of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Lightning]] sometimes. However, many feel the game has not aged very well and wonder why it gets so much attention from Square Enix when its fellow SNES titles, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', have much better gameplay and stories (the latter is more arguable in regards to ''V'', which opted for a much more simplistic and lighthearted story bordering on ExcusePlot territory), and prior to 2013 had nothing more to their names than their GBA ports (and when they did get modern ports, they had ''far'' less effort put into them).

** The Pixel Remaster is also considered this from fans, with many considering it ''the'' easiest version. The amount of EXP to gain per level was cut in half, making it much easier to grind to higher levels. In addition, some items had their cost reduced as well, meaning there was much less grinding overall. Plus, unlike the SNES and other versions, the player never seems to run out of arrows in battle, no matter how many times they're used to fight enemies with any bow. Thanks to this decrease in the equipment cost and increase in leveling speed, bosses are much easier to do away with unless one is actively skipping enemies, even with auto-battle turned on. Of particular note is the Demon Wall, a WakeUpCallBoss for the end-game, where it does require some strategy at moderate level gain, but can now be easily beaten in only a few turns at a moderate pace with the reduced XP per level threshold. Exclusive optional [=QoL=] enhancements and EXP/Gil Boosters make the game extra easier.

** Cid's only real attribute is his decent strength, which is still lower than Yang's or Kain's. His Study skill (which tells the HP of enemies) isn't that great either, and doesn't work on many bosses.
* MagnificentBastard: Rubicante is [[PlayingWithFire the Elemental Lord of Fire]] and one of Golbez's most powerful servants who always heals the party before each encounter so [[FairPlayVillain they can fight at their full potential]]. After he is defeated by the protagonists, Rubicante acknowledges Edge as a WorthyOpponent and learns the value of teamwork, and within the Giant of Babel he returns to attack the heroes together with the other Elemental Lords. In ''The After Years'', Rubicante's spirit returns to teach Edge his signature attack Inferno so he can defeat Ifrit. Within the True Moon he is forced to fight the heroes until he breaks free of the Creator's control and self-immolates, and fades away leaving [[BadassCape his cloak of flame]] for Edge to take as his own.

* MisBlamed:
** While "You spoony bard!" and the other quirks of the original SNES translation are often attributed to Ted Woolsey, in reality he had nothing to do with the game's English translation. Square's policy at the time was that all localisations had to be done by either the original development team or someone at Square Japan's offices, as they felt that relying on foreign translators would hurt the integrity of the localisation. Ironically, though, the bad reception of this game's translation led to Woolsey being hired to localise the remainder of Square's SNES-era games.

** The SNES translation turns the Fabul Monks' war cry into [[FunnyBruceLeeNoises "Achooo!"]], giving the unintended implication that the reason Golbez's forces were able to win so easily was because he happened to invade while the Monks were all suffering from colds or like they [[PepperSneeze were covered in pepper]].

** When fighting Dr. Lugae, he commands Barnabas to attack you, only for Barnabas to smack ''him'' instead. But what makes this scene even more humorous in the 3D versions is the fact that Barnabas swings his fist ''towards'' you but hits Lugae instead. It even received an {{Homage}} in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''.

** Rosa can't live down [[DamselInDistress getting sick and kidnapped]] and is often accused of having no trait other than being in love with Cecil even though she is just as vocal about the troubles in Baron and how to deal with the situation as the others when she's in the party, if one cares to pay attention to her actual dialogue. Early in the game, she even braves the desert after Cecil goes missing, which for the time was even unique. In total she is only kidnapped once and gets sick one, with her kidnapping being just after Golbez easily blew over Cecil, Yang, and Edward with no trouble, so it isn't like she alone was in trouble.

* NintendoHard: The original Japanese release and the [=DS=] version were hard enough that the version released for the SNES was substantially nerfed in difficulty (which was based on an 'easytype' version developed in conjunction released in Japan) This came as a [[SurpriseDifficulty nasty surprise]] to Western players who were only familiar with the reduced-difficulty English SNES release who then replayed the [=DS=] version. Mind you, even the reduced-difficulty English SNES release was still pretty difficult, just nowhere as much as the 3D remake's massive difficulty spike.

** The game was a ''huge'' departure from the previous games at the time. The cast of playable characters is vast, their personalities are developed and unique and they will leave or join Cecil on his quest as their interests align, it was the introduction of the Active Time Battle system which greatly evolved the gameplay when turn-based combat was the norm for [=RPGs=], there are bosses who change their attack patterns and behaviors forcing the player to adapt, and the story is far deeper, the gameplay being driven by the plot instead of the player being free to wander the world. In short, this is when ''Final Fantasy'' [[GrowingTheBeard truly began to come into its own]]. Of course, the series has since surpassed this game in story, character and gameplay complexity, so when you talk about ''IV'' today, you'll hear about how it has a boring battle system with little customization and flexibility, flat characters, and a straightforward and simple story. The game also has been hurt by its many localizations that unfortunately left out or didn't translate well the deeper aspects of its story and characters, especially the overarching message that "Justice is not the only right in this world", which signifies that forgiveness and redemption is the most important thing of all, even beyond law and order[[labelnote:Explanation]]In other words, the game explains that if following justice was the only correct thing to do, then Cecil, Kain, and Golbez should all be executed for their crimes, but it explains the worth of redemption and forgiveness by letting them live and make amends for their wrongs and do the same with other people; the principle is comparable to how many justice systems handle capital punishment even now[[/labelnote]], something rather deep for a 1991 game that [[ValuesResonance still holds true today]] but is often forgotten, lost, or dismissed when talking about this game.

** When Palom and Porom [[spoiler:turn themselves to stone, Tellah says that it can't be undone due to being petrified by their own will (despite Porom, as a White Mage, being unable to cast Break in-game). When the Giant of Babil awakens, they show up, perfectly fine and claiming that the Elder unpetrified them]].

** The king of Baron orders Cecil and Kain to deliver a package to the Village of Mist. During their journey, the heroes slay a dragon and, upon reaching their destination, find out that the package actually contained Bomb monsters that destroy the entire village. To make matters worse, it's also revealed that the dragon was the village's protector, and its death also ended the life of the person who was channeling it: the mother of a little girl, Rydia, who rightfully voices her hatred for the protagonist.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Various re-releases and ''The After Years'' tried to make Edward more useful, which mitigated the hate somewhat. Being subject to ''Final Fantasy''[='s=] most famous meme didn't hurt either. The ''Pixel Remaster'' version actually gave him a much-needed buff with his second harp, making him capable of matching Cecil's damage output from the back row.

* SelfImposedChallenge: Solo Cecil is the most difficult solo character challenge, due to his inability to multi-target enemies when he becomes a Paladin. His lack of utility is also problematic because unlike the other characters, he can't heal himself as effectively as other characters due to his strongest healing spell is Cura. Good luck once you get to the Sealed Cave, because Trap Doors have a OneHitKill ability called Dimension 9.
* SequelDifficultySpike: Remake Difficulty Spike in this case. The 3D remake is not only harder than the remake of ''FFIII'' (and all other versions of ''FFIV''), but is also one of the hardest games in the series. Enemies have more HP and better AI, attacks, and gain new counters to nearly everything. Several bosses were redesigned to be more challenging, and some were even made to specifically counter the strategy that players would have tried in the sprite-based releases. The difficulty can be mitigated a bit by the endgame with the new Augment system, which gives new abilities to improve the party's effectiveness, but they still have their work cut out for them especially with the {{Final Boss}} and {{Superboss}}. If you go play the 3D remake after the 2D versions (especially the easiest ''Pixel Remaster'' version), [[SurpriseDifficulty you'd better be prepared]].

** The Tower of Zot is difficult enough in and of itself, but this is horribly compounded by the player being stuck with the worst party [[note]]incidentally the same exact party you're stuck with in the above mentioned Magnetic Cave as well[[/note]] in the game. You have one good character (Cecil), one good but fragile character (Yang), one character who doesn't really do anything well (Cid), and Tellah. The latter has low MP and poor casting stats, making him borderline dead weight as either a White ''or'' Black Mage, let alone both at once. Add in common enemies with powerful full party attacks and the inability to leave via magic after entering and you're practically guaranteed a bad time.
** The Passage of the Eidolons/Cave of Summons, despite being optional, is one of the most (if not ''the'' most) frustrating levels in the game. The floor damages you when you walk over it, requiring the use of the spell Float to avoid it and thus making you waste MP. The enemies in the cave are incredibly overpowered for when you first get access, with one being the Arachne, a strong enemy that casts Earthquakes on the party and can easily kill them in a few hits without the use of Float. It also has many considerably confusing hidden paths and routes. Not only is it required to get all of Rydia's summons, but it's needed for the sidequest with Yang, and presents a lot of good items and experience for going.

** The 3D Remake, courtesy of Tom Slattery. The Eidolons were previously just "summons" but he wanted them to have a proper name like summons did in other titles, so he dug up "Eidolon" from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', and he also translated the Mysidian Legend to more clearly refer to the duality of Cecil and Golbez. Slattery was a fan of the game and the original plan was to just dump the translated text from the game's GBA release, but Slattery offered to redo the translation from scratch in order to be more faithful to the Japanese and give it more flair.

* AntiClimaxBoss:
** When you face him in the Dwarven Castle, Golbez puts up a pitiful showing -- despite the cool scripted sequence to start the battle where he wipes out your party members before [[spoiler:Rydia]] pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment to save Cecil, once the actual fight begins, Golbez has a simple attack pattern of Bio, Thundaga, and Fira, and around 3,000 HP. While he was likely made easy since the player will only have Cecil and [[spoiler:Rydia]] to start with, it's still rather pathetic that the two of them can likely kill him on their own in a single turn, plus you can have Kain survive his assassination with a well-timed jump. This only applies to the sprite-based versions; the 3D remake revamps him entirely for a proper battle.
** It's worth noting that this is most true for the ''newer'' sprite-based versions, where faster leveling and other adjustments ultimately make him a lot easier and allow you to overpower him. In the original, 1991 release, the leveling curve is not nearly so kind, and a first-time player is likely to stumble right into this after a grueling Calcabrina fight, and could have serious trouble... '''''unless''''' they've been thorough with treasure hunting, in which case they will have at least one Lunar Curtain. This grants you the Reflect status for a short time, and while it hardly lasts forever, it's very easy to put this on either Rydia or Cecil and witness the spectacle of Golbez defeating ''himself'', especially with his hard-hitting Bio. Ironically, it's the "easier" US SNES release of ''[=FF4=]'' where Golbez finally becomes the nightmare he was likely intended to be - Lunar Curtains were removed from that version, and it retains the original leveling curve, so you are left with an underequiped Rydia, a Cecil at whatever HP he had before paralysis, and only pure restoratives against a Golbez who will be much more like a LightningBruiser and can easily defeat the two of them in 2 or 3 spells (his Bio/Virus is particularly likely to one-shot Rydia from full HP), and is likely to KO anyone you try to bring up.

** The game was a ''huge'' departure from the previous games at the time. The cast of playable characters is vast, their personalities are developed and unique and they will leave or join Cecil on his quest as their interests align, it was the introduction of the Active Time Battle system when turn-based combat was the norm for [=RPGs=], there are bosses who change their attack patterns and behaviors forcing the player to adapt, and the story is far deeper, the gameplay being driven by the plot instead of the player being free to wander the world. In short, this is when ''Final Fantasy'' [[GrowingTheBeard truly began to come into its own]]. Of course, the series has since surpassed this game in story, character and gameplay complexity, so when you talk about ''IV'' today, you'll hear about how it has a boring battle system with little customization and flexibility, boring characters, and a straightforward and simple story.

* NintendoHard: The original Japanese release and the [=DS=] version were hard enough that the version released for the SNES was substantially nerfed in difficulty (this was also released in Japan as an 'easytype' version.) This came as a nasty surprise to Western players who were only familiar with the reduced-difficulty English SNES release who then replayed the [=DS=] version. Mind you, even the reduced-difficulty English SNES release was still pretty difficult.

** The Pixel Remaster is also considered this from fans, with several considering it ''the'' easiest version. The amount of EXP to gain per level was cut in half, making it much easier to grind to higher levels. In addition, some items had their cost reduced as well, meaning there was much less grinding overall. Plus, unlike the SNES and other versions, the player never seems to run out of arrows in battle, no matter how many times they're used to fight enemies with any bow. Thanks to this decrease in the equipment cost and increase in leveling speed, bosses are much easier to do away with unless one is actively skipping enemies, even with auto-battle turned on. Of particular note is the Demon Wall, a WakeUpCallBoss for the end-game, where it does require some strategy at moderate level gain, but can now be easily beaten in only a few turns at a moderate pace with the reduced XP per level threshold. Exclusive optional [=QoL=] enhancements and EXP/Gil Boosters make the game extra easier.

* SequelDifficultySpike: The 3D remake is not only harder than the remake of ''FFIII'' (and other versions of ''FFIV''), but is also one of the hardest games in the series. Enemies have more HP and better AI, attacks and counters. Several bosses were redesigned to be more challenging, and some were even made to specifically counter the strategy that players would have tried in the sprite-based releases. The difficulty can be mitigated a bit with the new Augment system, which gives new abilities to improve the party's effectiveness, but they still have their work cut out for them.

** The ''music'' also falls victim to this, after a fashion. It still sounds good even today, for sure, but in 1991 going from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9J91NDX_HI this]] to '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoKwx7BexFQ this]]''', from NES FM synth to near-perfect [[UsefulNotes/{{MOD}} MOD orchestration-sampling]], was absolutely revelatory. Its use in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBXVcXysdac#t=13s opening sequence]] alone, using volume control and broader instrumentation to make for a more effective lead-in before the orchestra hits, cemented the game's place in the zeitgeist of the time all by itself.

** Most of the text in the SNES translation comes off as narmy. Because Square's in-house translators in Japan couldn't use the words "die" or "kill", it led to some unintentionally hilarious dialogue as an unintentional consequence. One in particular is when Edge meets his [[spoiler:possessed]] parents in the Tower of Babil in the SNES version. "Come with us, Edge...to the Dark World!" If you've played ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', you can see how ridiculous this line is.

** Outside of very limited situations noted above, the Goblin/Imp summon is basically useless, and it has the same drop rate as things like extra ribbons or the other hidden summons. The only reason it shows up more frequently is because goblins are common foes in several areas. (That said, it is a decent offensive option if you get it early in the game, while Rydia is still a child.) The [=FireBomb=] in the American SNES version as well -- not a terribly common drop, from an enemy that only shows up as an uncommon encounter late in the game, and its problems are noted on the main page under UselessItem.
** The other optional Summons for Rydia that can only be found as drops in the game. Although the Goblin can be useful early in the game (where it can potentially drop), the others are all outclassed by her regular arsenal.

* JunkRare: Outside of very limited situations noted above, the Goblin/Imp summon is basically useless, and it has the same drop rate as things like extra ribbons or the other hidden summons. The only reason it shows up more frequently is because goblins are common foes in several areas. (That said, it is a decent offensive option if you get it early in the game, while Rydia is still a child.) The [=FireBomb=] in the American SNES version as well -- not a terribly common drop, from an enemy that only shows up as an uncommon encounter late in the game, and its problems are noted on the main page under UselessItem.

* GrowingTheBeard: Many fans consider the game to be the starting point of the franchise taking itself seriously with CharacterDevelopment and a fleshed out plot. While it's not as impressive decades later, but the game remains popular and recognized for what it did for the franchise in its time.

** As noted, Golbez when encountered in the Dwarf Castle ''can'' be this in certain versions of the game (specifically the original US SNES release). It's bad enough that you fight him right after the slugfest with the Calcabrina dolls, but the first part of the battle is treated as an in-game cutscene where Golbez summons a Shadow Dragon to kill everyone except Cecil, before [[BigDamnHeroes Rydia shows up]] and frees our hero from paralysis. That leaves you with just two out of five characters in fighting shape. Now, in later editions of the game (from the GBA onwards), this isn't as bad as it might seem because the leveling has been sped up and you're likely to have enough stats to survive the pounding. The 3D versions give Golbez a lot more HP, but it's still a similar fight overall. And this isn't factoring in the one-use items you get that can cause status effects - in particular, the Tower of Zot can give you a Lunar curtain, so if you use that and give a character Reflect for a bit, Golbez will largely kill himself on your shielded character. And even lacking that, Webs are plentiful, so slowing him to molasses is trivial. The original US SNES release, however, ''removes'' those items to make the game "simpler", while still featuring the original, unaltered leveling curve and stats. The end result is that the fight turns into a grueling race to get people up and beat down Golbez's HP bar while he relentlessly pounds you with amped-up -ra level spells and Virus/Bio (which is capable of taking most characters down from full HP) and your only real way to slow him down begins the fight face down on the floor.
*** Also, the fight can potentially be UnintentionallyUnwinnable. If Cecil is [=KOed=] at the start, Golbez will just kill the rest of the party, leading to a Game Over.

** Lodestone Cavern/Magnetic Cave: The cave has a certain effect where anyone who is using ''any'' gear that is made of metal will be completely paralyzed and unable to attack. To counteract this, you must equip gear that is non-magnetic. For Yang and Tellah, this is not a particularly big deal. For Cid, it can be annoying. For Cecil, it is crippling. His only real option for the dungeon is to equip a bow and arrow, a weapon he is not exactly proficient with. And non-metal gear tends to be inferior to metal gear as well, so the party is not running at full efficiency. And if you somehow miss talking to Edward before entering the dungeon, the dungeon's boss is unbeatable.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Though not accurate to the original Japanese script, "spoony" is a real word, meaning lovestruck or foolish. Thus, it's used accurately in relation to Edward's character.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Among the Elemental Archfiends, Barbariccia and Rubicante have more of a following than the other two. The former thanks to her [[EvilIsSexy sexiness]] and [[{{Stripperiffic}} outfit]], and the latter thanks to his NobleDemon tendencies. They even got to be playable in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyRecordKeeper'', getting that distinction before a fair chunk of the cast of ''The After Years''.

* GrowingTheBeard: Many fans consider the game to be the starting point of the franchise taking itself seriously with CharacterDevelopment and a fleshed out plot. SeinfeldIsUnfunny has sunk in over the years (see further down), but the game remains popular and recognized for what it did for the franchise in its time.
* HypeBacklash: Of the six "Nintendo-era" ''Final Fantasy'' games, this one is the most heavily exposed and marketed -- it got a 3D remake, a sequel, both got ported to PSP with enhanced graphics, and the sequel got a 3D remake itself, while Cecil and Kain are pushed as iconic characters almost to the level of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Lightning]] sometimes. However, many feel [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny the game has not aged very well]] and wonder why it gets so much attention from Square Enix when its fellow SNES titles, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', have much better gameplay and stories (the latter is more arguable in regards to ''V'', which opted for a much more simplistic and lighthearted story bordering on ExcusePlot territory), and prior to 2013 had nothing more to their names than their GBA ports (and when they did get modern ports, they had ''far'' less effort put into them).

* ObviousJudas: If it wasn't obvious enough that your having a full party meant Baigan wouldn't join you, recall his previous {{Jerkass}} behavior in the prologue, when he scoffed at Cecil's remorse over killing the Mysidians and readily badmouthed him to the king.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny:
** The game was a ''huge'' departure from the previous games at the time. The cast of playable characters is vast, their personalities are developed and unique and they will leave or join Cecil on his quest as their interests align, it was the introduction of the Active Time Battle system when turn-based combat was the norm for [=RPGs=], there are bosses who change their attack patterns and behaviors forcing the player to adapt, and the story is far deeper, the gameplay being driven by the plot instead of the player being free to wander the world. In short, this is when ''Final Fantasy'' [[GrowingTheBeard truly began to come into its own]]. Of course, the series has since surpassed this game in story, character and gameplay complexity, so when you talk about ''IV'' today, you'll hear about how it has a boring battle system with little customization and flexibility, boring characters, and a straightforward and simple story.
** The ''music'' also falls victim to this, after a fashion. It still sounds good even today, for sure, but in 1991 going from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9J91NDX_HI this]] to '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoKwx7BexFQ this]]''', from NES FM synth to near-perfect [[UsefulNotes/{{MOD}} MOD orchestration-sampling]], was absolutely revelatory. Its use in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBXVcXysdac#t=13s opening sequence]] alone, using volume control and broader instrumentation to make for a more effective lead-in before the orchestra hits, cemented the game's place in the zeitgeist of the time all by itself.

** The Behemoths get Maelstrom. You thought the Tornado spell, which [[HPToOne reduces HP to a single digit]], was bad news? Imagine that on your entire party all at once. Thankfully, it only uses this attack if you cast Holy or Meteor on it, but it's still a huge disadvantage.

** In the first Japanese and North American releases of the Game Boy Advance port, there is a random bug in which the game will semi-regularly give a character an extra turn immediately after they take a turn. It's similar to using Quick in later ''Final Fantasy'' games (which is frequently listed as a GameBreaker rightfully in those games), except it's free, present from the beginning, and anyone can use it rather than just those who put in the work with time magic. This takes the challenge out of pretty much all of the game. There was also another Game Breaker where the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity+1 Swords]] added to the game were well beyond what even the BonusBoss could handle -- most infamously, Abel's Lance (for Kain) could randomly cast a spell that instantly set an opponent to single-digit health. And ''nothing'' resisted it. While the game's translation is held in high regard, often seen as one of the better versions of the script, this version of ''FFIV'' itself is frequently derided as one worst of due to its easiness and bugs. The 1.1 Japanese and European versions corrected the "free turn" bug and are generally considered to be solid versions on the other hand, being identical to the PSP version of ''FFIV'' graphical changes aside.