Final Fantasy IV

When Final Fantasy IV came out in 1991, it advanced JRPG storytelling by a great leap. Here Square fully committed for the first time to characters with their own motivations, betrayals, and redemption, instead of merely having the player lead a nameless party from one boss to the next. The main hero Cecil, a dark knight yearning to atone for his own deeds, underwent a transformation that game stories had until then scarcely known. On the Nintendo DS this classic returned in 2007 (in Europe 2008) in a completely reworked 3D form.

The DS version isn't a mere port but a full-fledged remake. The original two-dimensional graphics gave way to three-dimensional models, voice acting was added to key scenes, and the whole game received a new coat while preserving the original story and the music of Nobuo Uematsu. Square Enix also nudged the difficulty upward, so even players familiar with the old version ran into a fresh challenge.

The heart of the battles is the ATB system, Active Time Battle, which Final Fantasy IV introduced as the very first entry in the series. Battles don't play out purely turn by turn; instead, an action gauge fills in real time, so decision-making has pace and tension. Each of the many playable characters has a firmly defined role, from white and black magic to the summoner Rydia to the twins capable of joined spells, and the game deftly rotates them according to the drama of the story.

The DS remake also added a unique layer in the form of augments, abilities that can be assigned to characters and that unlock in part according to how you treat your companions. This gave veterans a reason to explore the game anew. The visual execution was among the best the DS saw in the genre, and it proved that a small screen can bear even an ambitious 3D RPG.

Final Fantasy IV is today rightly named one of the milestones on which the genre grew. The story of betrayal, sacrifice, and hope resonates even after decades, and the DS version delivers it in a form that respects the original spirit while speaking the language of the modern generation. It is a work that showed a game can move you as much as a film or a book.

Why play: A full-fledged 3D remake of the legendary JRPG that was the first to bring the ATB system and mature storytelling. A classic in a form that holds up to this day.