Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is the 2nd WiiWare Role Playing Game for Nintendo’s Wii gaming console and hopefully we will see more. It is also a new way to play a game on the console as to see and play the full Final Fantasy IV: The After Years experience you must pay and download downloadable content with new characters and story lines to see the entire games story arc. This may turn off some people and others will see the value in returning to a game world they love and seeing it expand. Either way it is an interesting concept to see on the Nintendo Wii because the concept is far from a casual gaming experience as you can get.

The story takes place several years after the events in the incredible Final Fantasy IV when the son of Queen Rosa and King Cecil, Ceodore, has disobeyed his mothers wishes and enlists in the Red Wings Air Force in order to earn his knighthood. The Red Wings are assaulted by a swarm of monsters and Ceodore finds himself the sole survivor rescued by a wandering swordsman.

The additional character tales are known as Rydia’s Tale, Palom’s Tale, Porom’s Tale, The Lunarians’ Tale, Yang’s Tale, Edge’s Tale and Edward’s Tale. To play these you must purchase them for an additional 300 Nintendo Points (at this time) each, which is rather inexpensive compared to most downloadable content. You will be able to play any of the additional character tales in any order and the Crystals from a previous save game can be carried over after completing the main tale and other character tales.


Gameplay

The gameplay of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is basically the same as all of the 2D Final Fantasy games. This is not a bad thing though because with its Active Battle System, Band System and using the Moon the gameplay requires you to think a bit more during combat. The moon is important because during its different phases it will improve certain magic or combat abilities while weakening others. Spending some time reading the manual is actually a good thing when you buy this game and you can play the mini “how to play” tutorial to learn a few things plus as you play the game, several different characters will teach you how to perform certain tasks and abilities.


Graphics and Audio

Do not expect the games graphics to be on par with most games on the Wii. In fact do not expect them to be on par with any Nintendo console until the Super NES. 2D sprites are the best you will get here and the game is not even on par graphically to the recent Nintendo DS Final Fantasy games. But the graphics are not the biggest deal here it is the overall game and if you can play the game and just enjoy it, than the graphics will mean nothing to you other than a throwback to the classic days of Final Fantasy.

Just like the graphics the audio is of the classic gaming throwback variety and while it sounds good if repetitive audio and basic sound effects annoy you this is a good time to hit mute and play some music of your own. The music and audio is not that bad though and it brings back fond memories of nostalgic gaming.


Value

The value here can be misleading because the game is heavily based on you finishing it and purchasing new content to extend it with a new story/character. This is not new in games but it is new to the Wii platform. The value of “Final Fantasy IV: The After Years” is high if you will spend some Nintendo points and its average or low if you are not. This was a big risk for Square Enix since downloadable content is always hit and miss with gamers and the Nintendo Wii is the most economical of the big 3 gaming platforms.


Bottom Line

Well if you are a fan of the Final Fantasy games at all and are looking for a good single player RPG then look no further. But if you dislike the older Final Fantasy games and are not willing to buy new content to extend the game you should look elsewhere.