Line #26 YMMV/FinalFantasyIV


1	* AluminumChristmasTrees: Though not accurate to the original Japanese script of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', "spoony" is a real word, meaning lovestruck or foolish. Thus, it's used accurately in relation to Edward's character.
2	* AntiClimaxBoss:
3	** 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.
4	** 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.
5	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
6	** Edward. Either he's loathed for his weakness in battle coupled with his angsty attitude, or he's liked for his spooniness and joining the characters despite being far from a warrior. The re-releases helped boost Edward's popularity by making him and his abilities much more useful, [[TookALevelInBadass to say nothing of the sequel]].
7	** 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.
8	** Cecil himself. Is his journey to redeem himself, becoming a Paladin, and [[spoiler:forgiving his brother Golbez]] interesting and compelling character development? Or is he a {{flat character}} for whom becoming a Paladin changes nothing but his outfit and [[spoiler:forgiving Golbez]] is a ForegoneConclusion given his willingness to forgive Kain time after time?
9	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
10	** In Kaipo, after rescuing Rosa with the Sand Ruby, Edward fights a Sahagin with [[SpiritAdvisor Anna]] convincing him to fight. Not only is this segment unusual compared to the rest of the game, it is never mentioned again.
11	** In Fabul, by talking to a Dancer, she turns out to be a monk in disguise. Even Cecil is dumbfounded by this scene by commenting "What the?"
12	* 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.
13	* BrokenBase:
14	** There's a split camp on whether Cecil was better off as a [[MagicKnight Paladin]] or should've remained a [[BlackKnight Dark Knight]]. Those who prefer the Dark Knight class claim its design is more badass compared to the more feminine Paladin look, and feel that it would've not only showcased DarkIsNotEvil but would've been a more compelling example of redemption by accepting and fighting your darkness rather than converting to the light and shedding it away. Likewise, those who are fine with the Paladin transition argue that Cecil remaining a Dark Knight would've just been cliche and point out that [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears the sequel]] actually does address the ramifications of Cecil rejecting his former dark powers. Both sides nonetheless agree that the game's overall aesop of "what matters is on the inside" (said by Rydia about Cecil during the ending) is a strong, compelling one.
15	** 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.
16	* 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.
17	* CompleteMonster: [[TheManBehindTheMan Zemus]], a {{Lunarian\|s}} who pushed for the [[TakeOverTheWorld conquest of Earth]], is a despicable, psychopathic supremacist. Put into a coma by his pacifistic people, Zemus uses his powers to [[TheCorrupter manipulate Golbez into becoming his pawn]], pushing Golbez into carrying out the genocide of humanity and creating a magical monstrosity to carry it out. Zemus also takes to stringing along the heroic Cecil Harvey's adoptive older brother into fighting his friend and also creates the four Archfiends all out of a desire to [[KillAllHumans wipe out mankind]], before empowering himself with his own hatred in his final fight against the heroes.
18	* DamselScrappy: Rosa, who spends the whole first half of the game in distress, gets this reception from some, even though she makes up for it in the game's second half as the WhiteMagicianGirl. Rosa potentially gets worse by the sequel, ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears The After Years]]'', as she now only exists as a DamselInDistress to give character development to "Ceodore! Cecil! Kain!" and spends one climax getting dragged around forcefully by [[spoiler:Dark Kain]].
19	* 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.
20	* DifficultySpike: Once you reach the Sealed Cave in the Underworld, you'll start running into many enemies that do heavy damage (plus numerous trap door monsters that one-shot you).
21	* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: As with many ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' entries, it's more loved for its memorable story and cast of characters than its gameplay.
22	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Among the Elemental Archfiends, Barbariccia and Rubicante have more of a following than the other two. The former thanks to her 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''.
23	* EvilIsCool:
24	** Golbez. Even though he was [[spoiler:brainwashed by the main villain and was a good guy all along]], he still has his fans and is often regarded as one of the better villains in the series. Golbez also eclipses the BigBad in popularity, as many feel that [[spoiler:Zemus]] is poorly developed and has too little presence in comparison.
25	** Rubicante is incredibly popular due to his role as a NobleDemon and his climactic boss fight.
26	* FandomRivalry: Fans of the 3D remake (DS, iOS, Android, and PC) vs. fans of the 2D versions (SNES, PSX, GBA, and PSP).
27	* FanficFuel:
28	** Rydia's upbringing in the Feymarch by Leviathan, Asura, and the other Eidolons is a popular subject in fanfiction, as [[YearInsideHourOutside the long stretch of time Rydia spends there]] is largely glossed over in both ''IV'' and ''The After Years''.
29	** Among Kain/Barbariccia shippers, it is very common for stories involving the two to delve into the psychology of their ambiguous relationship while working together under Golbez, usually running with a LovingAShadow-fueled MindGameShip (as explained [[Fanon/FinalFantasy here]]).
30	* FanNickname:
31	** Particularly for spin-offs where Cecil appears in both his Dark Knight and Paladin forms, he's referred to by the shorthands "Decil" and "Pecil" in either one.
32	** The game is occasionally called ''Film/DieHard'' among {{speedrun}}ners, due to the 64 stairway trick mentioned in the main article.
33	* FranchiseOriginalSin: While later ''Final Fantasy'' games would be criticized for their linearity and hand-holding, being little more than series of corridors herding the player along to the next cutscene, this trend is apparent as far back as here. Compared to the first three games, ''[=FF4=]'' contains few sections where objectives are unclear. In addition, many of the battles in this game are effectively cutscenes, in which the player has only to watch events play out. However, the novelty of the game's cinematic approach to RPG storytelling for its era, as well as its brisk pace compared to later entries, has prevented it from receiving the flak that some later ''FF''s would for doing similar things.
34	* GameBreaker: [[GameBreaker/FinalFantasy Here.]]
35	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Although it isn't as popular as ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Americans enjoyed ''Final Fantasy IV'' when it was brought to the U.S. in late 1991. It was one of the most popular [=RPGs=] that Creator/{{Square\|Enix}} made at the time.
36	* GoddamnedBats:
37	** 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.
38	** Also the Bog Toads in the Sylph Cave that just cast Toad over and over again. The 3D release makes them even worse by resetting the character's ATB bar when you get turned into or back from being a Toad, thus causing half your party on average to miss their turn as they transform. However, the Draw Attacks Augment can rectify that for you.
39	* GoodBadBugs:
40	** In the original SNES release, after the Dark Elf changes into his dragon form, he loses his ContractualBossImmunity to Weak/Tornado, which reduces the target's HP to [[HPToOne a single digit]]. All it took was Tellah casting this spell once, and having anyone else attack to beat him. This was removed in the 3D remake and the Pixel Remaster, but not the GBA or PSP versions.
41	** The original American release had one regarding the Sylph summon -- if Rydia's hit points were full, the recovery portion of the spell would restore her magic points instead. This became a go-to attack spell, as it would heal allies, damage enemies, and restore her magic all in one shot. This was corrected in later releases -- which surprised some people, as it was thought that this was all ''by design'', given that Sylph is a sidequest-reward summon involving traversing a difficult dungeon.
42	** Using the Warp spell to get back into the Dwarf Kingdom's Crystal Room, and claim the Dark Crystal there, would let you skip the Sealed Cave entirely (though you'd probably have to make up for the missed EXP and loot elsewhere). The "Crystal Room Warp Trick" was also removed from subsequent releases, starting with the GBA version.
43	** The item duplication trick was among the most infamous examples of all time. It is very simple to perform and allows you to make endless copies of any weapon or shield that can be equipped by a current member of your party. Aside from the obvious use of selling the extras for loads of cash, you can make limitless overpowered ammo for Edge's Throw ability.
44	** 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.
45	** The SNES/Super Famicom versions (and the versions of the game that are ports instead of remakes) features one regarding the Sneak/Steal command -- the game never flags if Edge has already successfully used the ability in question. Thus, the only limits to just how much Edge can steal from foes are the player's patience, the enemy's health, and the party's health. And proper use of Hold or Stop (which is listed under GameBreaker for a reason) all but eliminates the latter two issues. On top of that, since the inventory system allows for players to hold more than 99 of an item, [[note]]Each item stack could hold up to 99 individual units, with the hundredth starting a new stack, and the inventory has room for 46 stacks, so the effective item limit is 4554 of an item, assuming you don't abuse the Fat Chocobo to store some of those stacks[[/note]] Edge could steal way more than any other thief in ''Final Fantasy'' history, potentially becoming the greatest thief in video game history. This was eventually doubly removed as of the 3D remake -- the game flags when Steal succeeds, and items have a hard cap of 99 units.
46	** The Counter and Form Skip glitch. By casting Reflect on a party member and then casting an offensive spell on them, you can avoid enemy scripts that result in counterattacks from hitting them with a spell. This makes several enemies and boss fights much easier to deal with. However, the true power of this glitch comes from the fact that [[TurnsRed bosses transforming into their second forms]] is coded the same way as a counterattack. This means if you use a Reflected spell to reduce their first form's HP to zero, the boss dies right then and there, letting you skip the rest of the fight. This was fixed beginning with the 3D versions.
47	** 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]].
48	** SNES/SFC version- Almost all enemies have zero evasion because the evasion percentage in the RAM is overwritten by the defense stat. The only enemies this doesn't apply to are Cagnazzo and Barbariccia because their defense indices are a part of their attack sequences causing the evasion stat to be properly set, and enemies with 254 defense (Flans and Zemus' Malice) always have 99% evasion.
49	** Prior to the Pixel Remaster versions, it is possible to completely negate abilities that cause multiple status effects, such as Bad Breath, by having something that blocks one of the statuses. A Ruby Ring is all it takes to completely block Bad Breath.
50	* GoodBadTranslation:
51	** "You spoony bard!" appears in every English version of the game. Technically, it's not ''wrong'' ("spoony" means "foolish and/or lovesick"), but thanks to language marching on, it feels this way. [[note]]In the original Japanese, Edward says "It's not like that!" and Tellah replies "How could it not be?!"[[/note]]
52	---> "The bard ''was'' spoony. We checked!"\
53	--Tom Slattery, the guy who retranslated the game.
54	** Rydia is almost certainly a mistranslation of [[JapaneseRanguage Lydia]] though nobody complains.
55	* 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, the game remains popular and recognized for what it did for the franchise in its time.
56	* 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).
57	* ItsEasySoItSucks:
58	** 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 {{Superboss}} 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.
59	** 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.
60	* ItWasHisSled:
61	** Cecil becomes a Paladin. The remakes incorporate his transformation into their openings! The 3D remake takes it further still by including Paladin Cecil in the character guide at the start of the manual, explicitly explaining that Cecil will overcome a trial to turn to the side of good.
62	** Golbez is [[spoiler:Cecil's brother]]. ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' makes it the central plot point of Cecil's story arc, and ''The After Years'' of course brings it up, too.
63	** Kain betrays the party. Even if it [[BrainwashedAndCrazy wasn't of his own free will]], it is ''still'' one of the [[NeverLiveItDown most known things about him]], behind his [[MemeticBadass badassery]] and [[AllLoveIsUnrequited feelings for Rosa]]. Notably, [[SelfDeprecation Square is not above poking fun at this themselves]], as seen in NeverLiveItDown below.
64	** Rydia didn't die, she returns after an age-up as a full-fledged Summoner. It's probably the first thing you'll learn about her. [[LateArrivalSpoiler Even the CGI opening in the DS/Steam versions show her in her adult appearance.]]
65	* JunkRare:
66	** 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.
67	** 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.
68	* LowTierLetdown:
69	** Tellah gets ''weaker'' every time he levels up, and when he rejoins your party, his MP pool is fixed at 90 points, which gets annoying since Ethers are uncommon and he has access to high-level BlackMagic spells (Firaga, Tornado, Bio, etc.) about a fourth of the game in (the Firaga/Thundaga/Blizzaga spells are 30 MP alone). [[SquishyWizard His health is also pathetically low]], as a [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration reference]] to [[OldMaster his old age]].
70	** 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.
71	* 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.
72	* MemeticBadass: In some circles ([[https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Forum:Kain_Highwind_Facts for example]]), Kain is seen as the ''Final Fantasy'' version of Creator/ChuckNorris.
73	* MemeticMutation:
74	** Tellah's ''crushing'' insult to Edward, "You spoony bard!", has become so popular that subsequent translations have kept the line; and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', and even Creator/{{Capcom}}'s ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' have included references to it as well.
75	** On the other side of the ocean, Japanese fans have clung to Golbez's "Iidesutomo!", said as he [[spoiler:dualcasts Meteor with Fusoya]]. It was a bonus voice for his EX Burst in ''Dissidia''.
76	* MisBlamed:
77	** 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.
78	** And likewise, many things that were added to the script in later re-releases (like the 3D remake) weren't new additions; they were actually just restoring cut-content. (The SNES version had roughly 25% of the script written for the game, due to text size constraints.)
79	* {{Narm}}:
80	** [[NarmCharm On the one hand]], the original SNES release gave us "You spoony bard!" (which [[TropeNamers spawned]] [[QuirkyBard its own trope here]] [[Administrivia/FormerTropeNamer for a time]]). On the other hand, when Tellah uses Meteor against Golbez, his reaction is the entirely out-of-character "[[TotallyRadical No way]]!"
81	** The KO status being "[[NeverSayDie Swooned]]" in the SNES translation. Apparently, being grievously hurt makes you faint in ecstasy.
82	** 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]].
83	** 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 something like ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', you can see how ridiculous this line is.
84	** The slide whistle sound effect when Scarmiglione falls off Mt. Ordeals.
85	* NarmCharm:
86	** "You spoony bard!" It's become an AscendedMeme -- Square Enix has not only kept the line in future remakes, but has ''intentionally'' put it into other games as well.
87	** 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''.
88	* NeverLiveItDown:
89	** No, people who've only skimmed the wiki, Kain is ''not'' the poster boy for HeelFaceRevolvingDoor. He only changes sides twice, and both times it's because Golbez takes control of his mind; when Kain is his own person, he's consistently good. [[SelfDeprecation Even Square Enix won't let him live it down]] -- one of his cards in the TCG has the effect of him changing control between players when the opponent plays a Dark-elemental character.
90	*** This even went meta come ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012]]'': [[spoiler:Kain's plot arc sets up him as a traitor to the Warriors of Cosmos early on, only to go against the player's expectations and [[WhatYouAreInTheDark show how hard Kain has been working from the shadows to aid and protect his allies]]. Even his "betrayals" were done to save most of the original ''Dissidia''[='s=] heroes from a FateWorseThanDeath.]]
91	** 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.
92	* NightmareRetardant: In the 3D remake, Zeromus’ first form looks like a ball of yarn with a demon mask on the front.
93	* 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.
94	* 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.
95	* OlderThanTheyThink:
96	** 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'').
97	* OnceOriginalNowCommon:
98	** 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.
99	** 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 [[Platform/{{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.
100	** It was one of the first [=RPGs=] to have an opening cutscene that explained the game's backstory. Back in 1991, it was ground-breaking, but since then, it's now commonplace for [=RPGs=] to have one.
101	* OnlyTheAuthorCanSaveThemNow:
102	** 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]].
103	** When Golbez's Shadow Dragon makes the party "swoon" one by one, until Cecil is left... and then [[spoiler:Rydia shows up [[DeusExMachina completely out of nowhere]] [[BigDamnHeroes to save Cecil's backside]]]].
104	** At the end of the game, Cecil's party is curb-stomped by the FinalBoss in a cutscene. Against all odds, they regain their strength because [[spoiler:the secondary characters manage to [[ThePowerOfFriendship revive them by prayer]]]].
105	* PlayerPunch:
106	** The game ''begins'' with a player punch. A small town is raided and attacked... ''by the protagonist and his army''! Granted, the protagonist isn't feeling all that happy about following this order, but that doesn't lessen the impact it has.
107	** 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.
108	** You find Edge's parents in the Tower of Babel, and they're happy to see him! ...Only for it to be revealed that they've been turned into mindless monsters. But then they do regain their senses! ...And quickly dispatch of themselves. Edge's anguish is extremely palpable.
109	* 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.
110	* ScrappyMechanic: [[ScrappyMechanic/FinalFantasy Here.]]
111	* 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.
112	* 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.
113	* SignatureSong: "Battle 2", possibly one of the most iconic songs in the entire ''Final Fantasy'' franchise. On top of being one of the most recognizable ''Final Fantasy'' boss themes, it has been rearranged at least 10 times and appeared in at least five different games, including ''VideoGame/ItadakiStreet'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', and ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy''.
114	* SpecialEffectFailure: The 3D versions of the game may have characters attack their allies, notably Barnabas attacking Dr. Lugae. In this particular case, he literally swings ''right at you''... but Dr. Lugae takes damage. This actually makes the moment [[NarmCharm even]] ''[[NarmCharm more]]'' [[NarmCharm funny]].
115	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong:
116	** The refrain of the Red Wings' theme sounds like part of the ending credits theme to the ''Star Wars'' films. Furthermore, Rosa's theme sounds like the main theme of ''Summer of 42''.
117	** Fittingly, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkx3KcO7TCs Golbez's theme]] sounds like [[Franchise/StarWars the Imperial March]] fed through a classical orchestra.
118	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceGN5ySHQe8 "Melody of Lute"]] sounds almost exactly like Bach's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElZSAGxUxA8 "Well-Tempered Clavier: Prelude No. 1"]].
119	** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5zbL5o1zj4 airship theme]] sounds like [[https://youtu.be/rvuteGIuAbc?t=6 "Bastian's Happy Flight"]] from ''Film/TheNeverendingStory''.
120	** The stripper's dances in Baron and Kaipo sound kinda similar to Khachaturian's Sabre Dance, albeit short.
121	* 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.
122	* ThatOneAttack:
123	** [[spoiler:Zeromus]] has an attack called Big Bang, dealing huge damage and causing continuous HP loss for any party member that manages to survive. It's the majority of his offense, but it's all he needs.
124	** Bad Breath inflicts ''several'' disabling status effects on its victims at once. Getting hit by it can leave the party helpless.
125	*** However, in this game Bad Breath can be blocked entirely just by having protection against any one of the statuses it inflicts. Got a Ruby Ring (which only resists Pig)? The Malboros are sitting ducks. It wasn't until ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII VIII]]'' that Malboros became "run on sight." In ''Pixel Remaster'', this is no longer the case, because it now functions properly.
126	** 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. Except in the 3D versions, where it can potentially counter any magic with it, including attempts to status it that fail.
127	* ThatOneBoss:
128	** The Demon Wall. For the time you fight it, it's incredibly hard, since it has a ton of HP. But, by far, it's best known for its "Crush" move. If it gets too close, it starts using this move exclusively, which is a [[OneHitKill One-Hit KO]] on a party member. Many a Solo Character Run has come to an end because of this wall.
129	** Golbez at the Dwarven 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 [[note]]if Cecil was killed by a Calca or Brina kamikaze attack at the end of the fight, you have a short window to toss a Phoenix Down before Golbez paralyzes and subsequently wipes the party[[/note]]. That leaves you with just two out of five characters in fighting shape.
130	** The SNES version has stripped out many of the spellcasting items for the sake of simplicity; to your detriment, this includes status spell items like Lunar Curtains (which cast Reflect) and Webs (which cast Slow), and they're for advanced White Magic spells which Cecil can't cast, so your first turns had best be spent getting Rosa off the floor before he and Rydia join her there, and with Golbez' powerful second-tier Black Magic spells (especially Virus/Bio), that is easier said than done.
131	** The DS version has those items back... but Golbez' HP has been considerably inflated, and he swapped out the second-tier Black Magic for ''third-tier Black Magic'', meaning you better use those items to stall for time while he's feeding you Firagas all day long.
132	* ThatOneLevel:
133	** 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 [[note]]In the 3D version, Cecil gets sword-like shards that replicate elemental attacks, but they are markedly inferior to any sword he can hope to wield[[/note]]. 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.
134	** 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.
135	** 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.
136	* UnderusedGameMechanic: You only ever ride a Black Chocobo once, to reach the Lodestone Cavern.
137	* {{Woolseyism}}:
138	** The item that Cecil delivers to Mist is called the Bomb Ring in the original game. While that would have fit (with some editing) in the original English translation, Cecil comes off as a bit stupid when he doesn't realize what a Bomb Ring will do when it gets to its destination. The original SNES release renames the item "Package", which makes its purpose vague and emphasizes the idea that Cecil has been demoted, that he's gone from an airship captain to a delivery boy. Slattery similarly did not keep the original Japanese name -- he went with a flowery MeaningfulName of the Carnelian Signet (carnelian being a bright red stone, with the additional meaning of "strength to conquer one's enemies"), keeping the nefarious implications but in a less obvious manner.
139	** This is the first English appearance of the recurring summons Ramuh and Ifrit. While those names would have fit just fine in the five-character limits for spells, the translators renamed them Indra and Jinn -- Indra is an ancient Vedic deity of thunderstorms, and the mythological Ifrit is a member of the Jinn, a more general name for a type of demon or spirit.
140	** The Devil Road that connects Mysidia and Baron was renamed Serpent's Road, not removing the religious outright but making them more of a GeniusBonus.
141	** The Japanese names of Palom and Porom's Twincast spells were Mini Meteor and Mini Flare. The SNES version renamed them Comet (perfectly fitting the idea of a smaller Meteor spell) and, since the Black Magic spell Flare was renamed Nuke, the Twincast spell was retained as Flare. Later versions would rename Flare to Pyro and eventually Pyroblast, but Comet was kept.
142	** Some weapon and armor names were shortened but kept their intended meaning -- the Blood Sword and Blood Spear became Drain, the Break Blade became Medusa, Yoichi's Bow and Arrows became Samurai, the Genji equipment set also became Samurai, and so on.
143	** The Lunar Subterrane boss Tidal Leviathan could not fit in the text box due to the eight-letter character limit in the North American SNES version. The in-house translators decided on Ogopogo, from Canadian mythology, which works quite well as a parallel to Leviathan. Its name was kept in subsequent retranslations and the remake, and even lent itself to Square USA's newsletter, the "Ogopogo Examiner", for a time!
144	** 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.
145	** The Project II fan translation names the summons Espers, to be more consistent with the RPGE translation of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' and the official Woolsey version of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''.
146	** Bahamut's cave in the original Japanese was "Cave of the Phantom Beast God". The original version went with "Cave Bahamut" (and "Cave of Bahamut" in following versions) to make it more obvious what lurks here, and the 3D remake went with the more flowery "Lair of the Father" to tie into Bahamut's title as the father of the Eidolons.
147	** The recurring item ''[[https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Whisperweed hisohisou]]''--a plant which can transmit sounds--debuts here, and poses a unique challenge for translators as usual due to the [[BilingualBonus Japanese pun]] in its name, which combines ''hisohiso'' (onomatopoeia for whispering) with ''-sou'' (a suffix used to denote plant names). Starting with the SNES original, most English translations changed this into a completely different item called a "Twin Harp" (a pair of harps that can transmit sound from one to another), which was a clever enough solution considering you never actually get to see the item in Cecil's inventory. For the 3D remake, Slattery retained the item's original nature as a plant and translated its name as "Whisperweed", cleverly replacing the wordplay of the original with AlliterativeName.

Context YMMV / FinalFantasyIV