There's a certain greatness about this game that draws me back to play it again and again. After all, Final Fantasy IV is the stuff of RPG legend. In America, people knew it as Final Fantasy II (I shouldn't have to explain this to you guys ). It put emphasis on the story instead of the gameplay, taking away the usual "name your characters and make them whatever job class you want" style of gameplay in I and III, locking the characters in specific jobs and and roles in the plot. It follows the story of Cecil Harvey, a story of redemption that many RPG fans today all know and love. A reason for that is the fact that there were characters set in stone, complete with names, personalities and special abilities. People fell in love with the summoner, Rydia, the dark and mysterious dragoon, Kain, Cecil's White Mage girlfriend, Rosa, among others. The story was also complex for its time, and still is worth playing through today. For many, this was the JRPG to play during the SNES era before being overshadowed by the more ambitious Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. For some, this was the best Final Fantasy game in the series.

That being said, developer Square Enix (once Squaresoft) is seemingly trying to keep this game alive for as long as possible, making several ports, a mobile phone and WiiWare episodic direct sequel The After Years, and even a DS remake with updated 3D graphics, voice acting, cutscenes, sidequests, and more. However, this didn't seem to stop them from making yet another retelling of the Final Fantasy IV story, this time taking it back to its roots with updated 2D sprite graphics while using the updated soundtrack from the DS remake and adding FMVs. The game also includes the special features of the FFIV: Advance port, including the Lunar Ruins dungeon and being able to switch characters like Palom and Porom and Edward back into the party.
But, another addition is that instead of just giving you the original game, the game also includes the direct sequel, The After Years, as well as a bridge story set between the two games called Final Fantasy IV: Interlude, making what seems to be three games total.

Now, I think it's very clear that Final Fantasy IV is a great game. You don't need my review to know how excellent the first Final Fantasy installment on the SNES is, as professional reviewers have given it critical acclaim and I've also already given it some high praise in the last few paragraphs. But, just to recap, Final Fantasy IV revolutionized the RPG genre as we know it because of its gripping story, amazing soundtrack, and fun and large cast of memorable and lovable characters.
Everything in the Complete Collection release of Final Fantasy IV is the same. All the locations of those hidden chests, all the dungeons, and all the bosses, they're how you should remember it. No new augment systems or changes to classic bosses, just good old Final Fantasy IV with an updated soundtrack and graphics. The updated graphics are very nice and they're sort of a marriage of the old and the new. Heck, you can even listen to the original soundtrack of the game instead of the updated version if it pleases you. I played with the updated soundtrack the whole time, but knowing that the choice is there is always a very comforting thought.
I probably should have listened to the original soundtrack when I played the original game though, because Interlude and After Years uses the same soundtrack. So it might be a bit tiring to hear the same tracks after a while if you're playing straight through the three parts of the collection. Only The After Years uses three to five new tracks, but that doesn't seem like enough for me, so I was a bit disappointed at the fact that most of the music for the rest of the compilation is virtually the same. Since that was how After Years was made, reusing graphics and sound for the nostalgia factor, it might be unjust to criticize that aspect, but I think most people who played The After Years haven't played the original in quite sometime, making the soundtrack more appealing.

Interlude, the brand new part of the game, with a never before seen plot, tells the story of what happened between the two games. Despite this, Interlude was the most underwhelming and weak part of the collection. It was extremely short and it gave very little insight on what happened during that time. One could pretty much skip it and still very much enjoy the After Years with little to no confusion.

I won't spend all day reviewing both Final Fantasy IV and The After Years but I will point out some things about the latter. While for the most part, the original game is spot on and great, the After Years falls short of its predecessor's fame and greatness. It's still worth playing in my opinion, however, you do have to be patient for this game. The game is pretty difficult compared to today's RPGs but that isn't where players have to endure. The problem about The After Years is that the game was previously released in episodes. This makes the story, while certainly interesting and fun to experience, very disconnected and sometimes tiring to watch. It's also a bit annoying to constantly backtrack to the same places just because you're using different characters. For example, the waterway that you had to go to before fighting the Mist Dragon in the original game is revisited more than three times in The After Years, and by then even a big fan of the original like me would be tempted to just put it down for a few days just because of that. Also, the game reuses many of the original's bosses, or a variation of them, which, again, if you played the original a while ago and then played the direct sequel, then it wouldn't be as bad. But, on a compilation, you're bound to play the original game before playing the direct sequel, especially if you're a newcomer to the world of Final Fantasy IV, let alone JRPGs or Final Fantasy. Because of that, you'll be bored by the fact that you literally just played a game with the same bosses, and a case of dejà vu will ensue. Though, I guess with the new Band system(similar to Chrono Trigger's Dual and Triple Tech system), and the Phases of the Moon system, there is a fresh spin on the classic bosses.
Yet another problem with the episodic nature of the game is the way the save files are handled in the game. I've never played the WiiWare or mobile phone version of the After Years, but I'll assume that the separate storylines of each character are saved in separate save files that can be used for later stories. I'm not sure if it's the same for those releases, but in the PSP version, the save files are a hassle. Once you clear a story, you can save the clear file and keep it for later stories, and retain your leveling, equipment, spells, and items. However, without much clarification from the game, my naive self thought it was alright to save over the first story clear data and it would automatically carry the stuff over to the next stories. But obviously this wasn't true, and to my horror I had to replay the first story all over again.
It might seem like I should've known better, but then again, why couldn't they just make it so that the save files do carry over without making more than 12 save files? It seems completely unnecessary.

But, the game does get better by the end, and while it uses famous bosses from I, II, III, V, and VI at the final stretch, this is because The After Years is an homage of sorts to the old days with the 2D NES and SNES Final Fantasy games, and this was a blast to play. If you're feeling confident, you could even take a stab at good old Shinryu, Omega, and Ultima Weapon from V and VI, respectively. And while the plot of the game is a bit disconnected, it's a lot of fun to see how the characters have fared after a couple years. I enjoyed seeing grown up versions of characters, as well as new ones, and seeing how their relationships from the original game had become. For example, Edward is now a complete boss (both figuratively and literally) and I was especially surprised at how different Palom and Porom looked (Pink hair?) But overall, the game did satisfy me in that I could see how everyone fared after ten years or so, and it was especially refreshing to play a traditional RPG.

So, in conclusion, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection will not disappoint fans of the game wanting yet another excuse to play this game. Also, people who have been wanting to try The After Years but don't want to bother downloading all the episodes individually on WiiWare will definitely consider buying this game (That was the main reason I bought it xD). While there are a few problems, I do recommend buying this game if you want to play an updated Final Fantasy IV but not the somewhat different DS remake.

Graphics: B+
A fresh new way to look at a classic JRPG, the 2D sprites look great and everything is how it should be in the game. Menus in game are pretty much the same as before.

Sound: A
You can't go wrong with Uematsu's acclaimed score. The only reason I didn't give an A+ is because there wasn't enough original music for the After Years. I'm assuming the original music written wasn't by him, too.

Story: A (FFIV)/ B+ (TAY)
The original game's story changed the way RPGs work today. Should I say more? The sequel's story is fun and enjoyable, but falls short.

Gameplay: A
The original game's Active Time Battle system revolutionized the RPG genre and the series, and bosses are fun and challenging. The After Years' new systems and gimmicks put a new spin on things. The difficulty will satisfy seasoned gamers and fans, but may turn away some newcomers wanting to give the series or the game a try.

Overall Score: B+
It wasn't A material because of the flaws of the compilation, and those were actually the Collection's big selling points. Playing through the games unlock bonus material, like artwork and music to listen to in a player, but other than that there isn't that much more to do. The bonus dungeons could give some extra playing time.

Any questions or objections? Sound off in the comments!