Final Fantasy IV: The After Years

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is a direct sequel to the classic Final Fantasy IV, which Square Enix originally released as an episodic series for Japanese mobile phones, a full year before the better-known WiiWare version. The story takes place seventeen years after the events of the fourth game and follows the son of the hero Cecil, as well as other characters from the original game, and is divided into several chapters, each focusing on a different pair or group of heroes and their own perspective on the unfolding events. Among the playable characters, both old familiar faces from the original Final Fantasy IV and entirely new ones gradually appear, further expanding the mythology of the world of the Blue Planet.

The gameplay remains faithful to the classic turn-based Active Time Battle combat system that made the series famous - players assemble a party, direct battles based on a filling time gauge, and progress through linear dungeons between towns. On the Java-based mobile phones of the time, both graphics and music had to be simplified compared to the later WiiWare version, yet the game managed to preserve its characteristic pixel-art style and melodies referencing the music of the original installment. The individual chapters also featured so-called moon phases, during which characters' abilities temporarily changed according to the phase of the moon, adding another layer of tactics to the established combat system.

Releasing the game episodically, chapter by chapter, was an unusual experiment at the time of mobile Final Fantasy IV: The After Years and showed that even major Japanese RPG series could look for new ways to distribute content through the phone. For fans of the series it remains a cherished continuation of a beloved story, and one of the few cases where a major console-style JRPG originated primarily on a mobile platform before spreading to game consoles. Its later ports to consoles and smartphones only confirmed that, even years later, the story had kept its fans.

Why play it: For fans of the Final Fantasy series who will appreciate a continuation of a beloved story that originated primarily on a mobile platform, before its later ports to consoles.