One born of a dragon
Bearing darkness and light,
Shall rise to the heavens
Over the still land.
The moon's light eternal
Brings a promise to Earth
With bounty and grace.
- The Legend of Mysidia (from the PSX version of Final Fantasy IV)

You play Cecil, the Dark Knight captain of the Red Wings, the aerial force of Baron, the strongest kingdom on the planet. You are on your way back home, after raiding the magical town of Mysidia to get its crystal. In between unexpected fights, your crew wonders why Baron would attack such a peaceful town; the wizards and mages didn't even resist. AS you try to ask the King about the purpose of the raid, he disses at your insubordination and fires you! However, you still have to accomplish one last mission: deliver a package to Mist, the village of summoners, magicians who invoke fierce beasts to help them in combat.

Before leaving, you spend one last night in your room, where your girlfriend Rosa pays you a visit. She's worried about you, but you don't want to open up to her... The next day, Kain the dragoon accompanies you in your quest.

And so you head northwest to the misty cave, the only road possible towards Mist. After defeating a fierce mist dragon, you finally reach the village and deliver your package... which consists of fire bombs that destroy the village! That is, everything and everyone but a little girl, whose mother was killed when you destroyed her dragon. He becomes violent and summons Titan, who destroys the village.

When you wake up, Kain has disappeared! However, the girl is still alive but wounded. After some wandering, you reach the oasis town of Kaipo, where you bring her to a hotel so she can rest. During the night, soldiers from Baron come to capture her, but you destroy them before they can. The girl, named Rydia, thanks you for saving her life and decides to join you in your quest.

As you walk around town, you encounter Rosa, who is sick with the Desert Fever, which can only be cured with the Sand Ruby. In other words, you have to go to the Kingdom of Damcyan, far to the north through perilous caves. As you enter them, you encounter an old mage, who joins your team. He is also going towards Damcyan because his daughter fled with a SPOONY bard. He does hope to reach Damcyan *in time*. In time for what? Is it just a bad premonition? Will the team be able to rescue Rosa? And why is Baron so obsessed with the various crystals of the world?

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics in this game are quite an improvement from the NES era. Overworld details (trees, mountains) are much smoother, water is flowing and not merely flashing, and characters have better-defined features - their heads are actually distinguishable from their bodies, as the colors are different. Enemies are beautifully drawn, albeit static as usual (unless you encounter a single flying enemy; you can see it float somehow).  Also, 3D effects are quite impressive for 1992. In one cave, you can actually see the floor below, and even the town you are trying to reach.

Sound: 10/10
Even after more than 20 years, this soundtrack is still one of my favourite of all times. The battle theme is very addictive, the Dreadful Fight does sound dreadful, the final battle theme is very epic and the dungeon music has a very mysterious feel to it. Only "downside": I think the Mysidia theme does not fit the mystical theme of the town.
A side note: since I played the (real) Final Fantasy III much later than Final Fantasy IV, I didn't get to notice how Uematsu used many of the NES tracks, like the Prelude, Melody of the Lute and the Battle theme.

Addictiveness: 9/10
Since there is more memory on the Super Nintendo, there is more room for more quests, and indeed there is! Getting all those summoned monsters, all those special weapons and searching all those pots for treasure will hook you.

Story: 10/10
A classical tale of the triumph of good over evil. However, it's very-well told. There are very interesting plot twists, Cecil's transformation is very captivating and all characters have something endearing about them. However, since the game was made in 1992, don't expect in-depth details about the characters' lives.

Depth: 10/10
Even though characters are not well developed, the story is. Square staffs have been able to dig deep to put together a masterpiece and have enough sidequests to make avid RPG players satisfied. However, on the SNES version, there are far fewer options - Tellah doesn't have his "recall", Rosa doesn't have "pray", Cecil doesn't have "dark" and the twins don't have special individual abilities.

Difficulty: 8/10
That rate only applies to the PSX version, which according to many is the "true" Final Fantasy IV. On the SNES, it would be 5 at most, since monsters (including the last boss) are much easier to kill. However, you do need to be over level 45 if you want a decent shot against the final boss, which can easily be done by fighting enemies that summon other enemies. Kill the invocation, and then wait for another to appear. Repeat as desired.

In conclusion, Final Fantasy II is a must for every RPG fan out here. The graphics and music are impressive for its time, and the story is complex without being complicated with very interesting plot twists

Nice review. It has good amounts of detail and it's pretty clear and easy to read. You could have put just a little more detail in explaining things, but it's still good. I also like the backstory you provided at the beginning. Good job!

TheFadedWarrior : I'm curious: how much more detail can I put without spoiling? That's a critic I get often (just stating facts; no offense meant)

janus : I usually hold back when reviewing the game's storyline. Normally I only state what happens in the beginning and, sometimes, up to the halfway mark if the story isn't that important. I think what you described at the beginning is good enough without spoiling too much.