Final Fantasy IV version differences

The following is a list of version differences between the various ports of Final Fantasy IV. Throughout the various releases of the game, it has been subject to alterations to the game script, overall difficulty, item and spell system, and the abilities of the player characters. Some versions also have various new additions not present in the original release.

North American/Easytype Release
The following changes apply to the Easytype Version and the North American release of the game. Changes exclusive to either version are noted as well.


 * The magic spells Protect, Shell, and Dispel were removed, as well as Rydia's Bomb, Cockatrice, Imp and Mage summons. Enemies who incorporated these spells into their attack scripts had them replaced with other actions, such as Asura.
 * Removal/replacement of curative items. In the original game, almost every status ailment (such as Petrification and Poison) had a corresponding item used to cure it (Golden Needle and Antidote respectively). These individual items were removed and replaced with the item Remedy, which cured all status ailments. Remedies were extremely rare and expensive in the original version, but were made far more common and affordable in the North American release. Other items, such as Ether, which were extremely rare in the original game, were far more common as well.
 * Removal of attack items. The original game featured a wide assortment of magical items which could be used in battle to replicate the effects of a number of magic spells, such as a "Red Fang" to cast Fire, or "Spider's Silk" to cast Slow. All of these items were removed, though Cecil can be seen using two of them in the game's opening sequence, even in versions where they can't be found during the game itself. The original also contained an item called Dark Matter, which Edge could steal from Zeromus in the final battle. This item greatly reduced the damage done by Zeromus' Big Bang attack but it was removed as well.
 * Removal of some abilities, such as Cecil's Dark Wave. Tellah's Recall, Edward's Heal Rosa's Pray, Yang's Power and Gird, Palom's Bluff, Porom's Cry, and Fusoya's Regen, are the full abilities removed. Notably, although Cecil cannot use the Dark Wave ability himself, his doppelganger still uses the attack in their battle.
 * Various item costs were decreased.
 * There were a number of monsters in the original game (such as Barbariccia) who could only be harmed using a specific sequence of attacks, or only at specific times. Most of these special requirements were either removed or scaled back. Also, in the original version, monsters located more than two rows away from the party during battle received only 1/2 damage from physical attacks, this was also removed. Monsters in general also tended to take less damage and inflict more damage to the party in the original release.

Easytype Only Changes

 * The Ribbon absorbs elemental attacks as well as nullifying status ailments,.
 * Zeromus had a different sprite.

North American Only Changes

 * Removal of religious imagery, such as "Holy" being renamed "White". The Tower of Prayers in Mysidia is renamed the Tower of Wishes, and Rosa's "Pray" command is simply dropped from the game.
 * Graphic and textual edits to remove references to death and violence, partially to adhere to Nintendo's family friendly content guidelines. References to death and suicide in the original script were eliminated in the original North American translation, and key sequences were graphically edited. In one cutscene in the Japanese version, Rosa is rescued at the last moment from being executed by a giant scythe. In the North American version, the scythe was replaced with a giant metal ball.
 * Altered item and attack names, changed to reflect their usage. The item Phoenix Down, for instance, which was used for reviving wounded/unconscious characters, was renamed Life, the item Remedy, which cured a variety of status ailments, was renamed Heal, and the item Potion which restored a character's Hit points, was renamed Cure. Similarly, each summon magic attack consisted of both a monster name and an attack name in the Japanese version (for example, the summon spell Leviathan performed the attack Tsunami); in the original English translation, the attack name was omitted.
 * Removal of the Developer's Room, a secret room in the dwarf castle where sprites representing the development team appear. This room was basically an easter egg where the player could converse (and, in some cases, battle) the representations of the game's programmers.
 * A Simplified script, leading to some very poor translations. A number of subplots, most notably an ongoing story about Kain's background and relationship to his father, are removed. Some parts of the script are also simply nonsensical, such as Yang's karate cries being translated as "Achoo!".

PlayStation
The PlayStation re-release is mostly identical to the original version of Final Fantasy IV. Some minor tweaks introduced in Final Fantasy IV Easytype have been left in, but these are so rare that the average gamer could very easily play through the entire game and never notice them. The most notable changes are as follows:


 * The ability to "run" in dungeons and towns by holding the Cancel button
 * The ability to perform a "memo" save anywhere on the world map. This save would remain active in the PlayStation's RAM until it was overwritten by another such save, or the power was turned off or interrupted.
 * For the North American and European releases, an entirely rewritten translation which addressed most of the discrepancies between the original game and the SNES Final Fantasy II.

WonderSwan Color
The WonderSwan Color version of Final Fantasy IV lacked the FMVs of the PlayStation version, and had the following changes:


 * Decreased screen resolution, and lower-quality music and sound effects to meet the specifications of the device.
 * A number of minor graphical enhancements to character sprites and backgrounds by providing additional details and color shading. The original character portraits were replaced with new, smaller portraits.
 * Certain boss sprites were changed to those featured in the Japanese Easytype version of the Super Famicom game.

Gameboy Advance
The following are the changes in the Gameboy Advance release. The GBA release restored most of the content removed from the original North American and Easytype releases, and had the following additions/restorations:


 * Graphics from the WonderSwan Color version with more improvements, especially with battle backgrounds, and enhanced music and sound effects from the WonderSwan Color version
 * Portraits in text boxes for player characters and Golbez.
 * The Active Time Battle bar appears in the battle menu.
 * All special abilities, items and spells removed from the original North American release are restored. Their original names are also restored.
 * The ability to switch party members; this ability is gained once the Giant of Bab-il is defeated. Players may choose to change members with Cid, Edward, Palom, Porom or Yang. Players can change party members as often as they like, but Cecil must remain in the party at all times. The cinematic scene before the fight with Zeromus changes slightly depending on who is and is not in the party.
 * The Developer's Room has been restored.
 * The "Cave of Trials" on Mt. Ordeals, containing monsters from various late-game dungeons with new bosses, each of which leaves behind a powerful new weapon for one of the above five characters.
 * The 50-floor Lunar Ruins that opens up after the defeat of Zeromus. Within this dungeon there is a unique trial for each of the still-playable characters, and each trial is located after exploring ten randomly generated floors with powerful new enemies. New weapons, armor and items for each character can also be obtained inside.
 * Changes to enemy attack scripts, increasing the difficulty of many enemies and bosses.
 * An in-game bestiary and unlockable music player
 * A quicksave function that allows saving at any time outside a battle (quicksaves are deleted after loading).

Some minor bugs were introduced into the game, such as the following:


 * Party members' turns being skipped and randomly being given two or more turns in a row straight for a single character. For instance, Edge might attack a monster, and once he has, he'll instantly be given another chance to act without waiting for his time gauge to fill up.
 * Some jerkiness while flying airships, more so when going left and right than up and down), and during menu navigation in and out of battle. The latter makes it less effective to select spells or weapons during fast-paced Active Mode battles.
 * Some very minor "artistic license" was taken with the soundtrack (the Tower of Babil and Sylph Cave/Summoned Monster Cave themes each have one altered note).
 * Minor lag during boss battles

Nintendo DS
The following is a list of changes to the DS release. The game was a whole was given a graphical overhaul to 3D, and included changes to incorporate the DS touch screen, increase the difficulty and add a new ability system. The specific changes are as follows:


 * The party switching system from the GBA version is gone, as well as the new equipment and dungeons.
 * The new augment system allows characters to learn special abilities in addition to their own innate ones. These abilities can be exchanged with the character's current abilities at any time outside of battle. Characters can learn abilities from former party members (as well as bosses and NPCs) that can be arranged to be used in battle.
 * Stat increases decrease sharply after Level 70 for all characters. Stat boosts for Level 71 and on are affected by which augments the character is equipped with. With enough patience and the right combination of augments, all characters in the final party can achieve 99 in all stats.
 * A number of new spells (seen in previous games like Final Fantasy XII) accessed via Twin Magic or the Recall ability such as Bravery, Faith and Bubble. Some spells like Slow, Protect and Shell can now be group-casted to affect multiple enemies.
 * Equipment options have been changed. Rosa is now the only character who can equip bows, Cecil can equip new elemental knives found in Troia, and Edge cannot equip Claws.
 * A retranslated script incorporating many concepts originally left out, such as Zemus' desire for the Lunarians to populate Earth, and Kain's desire to live up to his father's legacy as a Dragoon.
 * A handful of new events, including a flashback to when Cecil was born, and how Golbez fell under Zemus' control.
 * Various new cinematic sequences with voice-overs. A full CG intro with rendered character models is also added.
 * The ability to walk and fly airships in eight directions, as well as through use of the touch screen.
 * The new summon Whyt replaces Rydia in battle and acts automatically, based on abilities you set it prior to battle. It has infinite MP and will act for approximately 3 turns before dismissing itself.
 * The Fat Chocobo gives access to five minigames used to increase Whyt's stats, as well as an option to battle your Whyt with a friend's, customize its appearance using the DS touch screen, and change its battle behavior. The Fat Chocobo also lets you listen to the music player, watch previously seen cutscenes and view the bestiary.
 * The Fat Chocobo no longer holds items, as the inventory space limit has been removed.
 * Many of the bosses and enemies are much more difficult. In general, enemy HP is increased, new attack patterns are added, enemies do more damage, and they attack in greater numbers. Perhaps to compensate, status spells like Stop and Hold are more effective, and a large majority of enemies and bosses are vulnerable to Slow.
 * An altered loot system, with items dropped and Stolen from enemies changed.
 * The player is now incapible of changing the characters' names, as voice acting makes this impossible. Namingway, now unable to change the main cast's names, changes HIS name throughout the game as you interact with him in various scenes in towns and dungeons. Namingway's misadventures form a game-arcing subquest as the player assists him in finding new meaning to his life and he changes his name to fit his situation.
 * There is a minimap on the bottom screen, given by Namingway. Exploring 100% of the dungeon floor the map is displaying results in free items. Exploring 100% of all maps in the game rewards the player with a rare augment ability.
 * The ATB Gauge gains a second red bar indicating the time between selecting an action and the action being performed.
 * Upon entering the menus in the World Map or in towns, a word bubble appears over the character on screen - whoever is at the "head" of the party, reflecting their thoughts and feelings.
 * Various abilities have been changed. Yang's Power is replaced with Focus, Porom's Cry lowers enemy defenses, Fusoya's Regen is now Bless which restores MP instead of HP, and so forth.
 * Various spell changes. Several spells have altered power or MP costs. Rydia's summons in particular are more powerful than before.
 * Two optional superbosses, Geryon and Proto-Babil.
 * A "New Game Plus" feature.