Plot? What's a plot?

...And all these new-fangled graphics? Could it be? Is it really here? The... gulp... SNES?!

That's right, Final Fantasy IV is here in all it's 16-bit glory. As much as I enjoyed the first three Final Fantasy games, the SNES titles were the ones that started my love affair with Final Fantasy in the first place. Well, okay, VI was my first Final Fantasy love but IV was pretty awesome too.

Remember, in Final Fantasy land, 2 = 4

I remember, when I was a kid, seeing Final Fantasy Chronicles on the Sony Playstation played at a friend's house. That's a packaged remake of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV for those who don't know. Now, that may not seem too impressive now but it wasn't until I was in middle school that I had any console other than my Sega Genesis and in those days, the only games I really knew about were side-scrolling platformers. Anything more complicated than Sonic the Hedgehog was far beyond my comprehension. Aside from Pokemon Red for the Game Boy, I'd never even seen an RPG before.

I still loved plots though. Whenever I got a new game, the first thing I did was read the instruction manual which had plot summary, background information, character bios, I devoured it all. Hell, I can still recite the whole plot summary to every Ecco the Dolphin game if you really cared to ask, which, trust me, you don't. To think that a game could be plot-driven and that I could participate in a tale of knights, airships and magic crystals, it was all too much for my little brain to handle. I needed a Playstation with every fiber of my being. Alas, it was not to be and I thought all RPG's were lost to me (little did I know that gems such as Beyond Oasis, Phantasy Star 2/3/4, Shining Force, Shadowrun, etc. were right in front of my nose).

Now, I get to take back those lost childhood opportunities as I help Cecil to fight against the corrupt empire that used and betrayed him and finally finish my first taste of Role Playing goodness. Oh and this really must be said but, Final Fantasy Chronicles, probably the greatest compilation disk EVER MADE. Seriously, Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger on one disk with new FMV cutscenes? SquareSoft, you really did love us.

Game on!