I'll actually say this, from a video production standpoint, I love how each of your FF videos has a different running gag with them. Helps each of them stand out in their own way.
Cecil being a Dark Knight isn't the core issue, but the self-hatred and inner isolation he uses for strength in the first half of the game is (which makes it all the more appropriate he struggles with battles at first as a paladin because he has to draw strength from something else). I think there is a line of optional dialogue in the castle where it's revealed that Cecil became the class at the request of the king (who at that point we know wasn't entirely who we thought he still was). He admired someone else so much for raising him that he lost himself in that. This game is all about how intentions of characters, no matter how sincere, can still fall to striking lows if their emotions aren't aligned with their actions. Cecil leaned on duty to the point he gave up his self respect. Kain leaned on his friendship to the point he gave up resolving his unrequited love. Tella leaned on justice at the cost of his life etc. It's one of the few JRPGs that I think gives an uplifting story without downplaying the faults of the playable characters (or strengths in Rydias case); the flaws guide the narrative.
I always saw it as Cecil's love of his King and his Country overtaking his morals, prior to the bombing of Myst. Looking at other versions and translations, several of Baron's townsfolk have a legitimate fear of Cecil. Or...rather, the King's Dark Knight. A man who, in the OPENING CUTSCENE, led the Red Wings to massacre the innocent people of Mysidia on the King's Orders. He became a Dark Knight because the King requested it of him. He isolated himself, immersed himself in the codes, conduct, and methods of perhaps the most brutal and disturbing class in the entire FF franchise. One that literally THRIVES on pain, injury, and self-flagellation for power. All for the King. From the perspective of the townsfolk, meeting the reclusive Dark Knight who is only seen executing the King's Will is like meeting Darth Vader. The only reason for him to talk to you, to the general public, is if you angered the King somehow.
Personally the El Risitas, laugh when Leviathan, showed up was what made me crack up the most, but i do enjoy hearing the J.J cackle as well though i hope in the Final Fantasy 10, review, he just uses the Tidus, laugh for every tragic moment lol.
Final fantasy 3 was such a rough time that Johnny broke into someone's house just to escape it all. Love the new place. Probably should've asked for permission though.
So, fun fact; Zemus' Breath in fact will scan your characters infinitely UNLESS you use magic on it in which case it'll counter it. It's the opposite of the Zemus' Mind enemy that goes out of its way to fight you and will counter physical attacks (and magic) with defense buffs.
Best farming spot in the game, as any single party member can easily defeat them, and get massive exp as a result. Level 99 doesn’t help much with Zeromus, but the spot is there if you want to make use of it…
@@osurpless Yes and no. Zemus' Breath is free EXP, albeit a bit tedious, but Zemus' Mind will absolutely wreck you if you don't take it out as fast as possible. It also loves to use charm which at that point in the game is actually dangerous given the repertoire of spells Rydia and Rosa have, and the attack power Cecil, Edge and Kain have.
I am honored to know that you chose Namingway Edition for your play through for this video! I hope you enjoyed my work on it and when you get to FFVI you choose Ted Woolsey Uncensored Edition for it as well.
RodimusPrimal is the one who put together the version of Final Fantasy IV Johnny reviewed. Final Fantasy IV: Namingway Edition! Been a fan of your work for years. This makes me want to check out your latest version of Namingway Edition! :D
Final Fantasy IV fans who stream or make You Tube videos are no longer using the J2e Translations version. No more annoying references to Golbeze, The Four Emperors, or William Shattner! :)
This game’s final act is essentially: “Who’s been messing up everything? It’s been Zemus all along!” Simplistic repetitive story aside I can’t help but hold IV in high regard. I think there’s something of a simple charm to it. I’m also with you on the music, definitely some of Uematsu's finest work!
I wonder why they named his final form Zeromus. The name was never mentioned earlier, but when he transforms they treat the name change as some kind of revelation.
Golbez turning into a hand and stealing the crystal while Cecil and co do absolutely nothing is one of the most "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO SOMETHING!!" moments I've had in a video game or any other piece of fiction, really.
"FFIV 3D is hard, dude." "FFIV 3D is super hard." Everyone kept telling me that FFIV 3D is a super hard version.... So, I've only played the DS version of FFIV, and I can say.... yep, it's pretty hard.
Never played the 2D but the 3D was a blast never really had any troubles with difficulty. Now after years however was annoying but I would probably track that up to me not wanting to grind because I didn’t think the characters would all be used by the end.
At least he got to become a badass Paladin Knight, you can’t really complain about that, but even after gaining the form he still has to go through a lot of grief.
Johnny: “I don’t mean to keep harping on Scholars, I’m sure they are wonderful people.” Man, ENDWALKER isn’t even out yet and you’re already dissing Scholar mains XD
This game was so incredibly influential on my compositions. It's the very game that told me to write music! I'm very happy to see Johnny finally get to this gem of a game.
Healers do good damage with bows and weapons but they have to be equipped properly since characters have dominant hands in ff4 except edge since he's ambidextrous
Edge's throw command was also great... moreso if you managed to keep all the swords and spears instead of selling them off, and just chuck them at Zeromus in the end, although some specific ones dealt better damage than his ninja tools.
That was also a feature in FF2, for what it’s worth. Interesting to note however is that IIRC Leila is the only left-handed member of the whole team, and everyone else is right-handed.
My lord, the KING RAAAAAAMSEEEEEES bit at 18:45 absolutely murders me man, especially followed by Johnny's casual as fuck "Eh everyone's a critic, but it's enough to..." Johnny's humor is somehow so casual, but so over the top, one of my favorite bits in ANY of his reviews over the years. Bravo man.
Great to see how steadily and reliably you're making progress into this mammoth of a franchise. Must be rough work having an honest to god RPG marathon... there's so much to analyze and chew through with those types of games; really respecting your work here.
I’d say this is when the series truly became its own. I’m playing the DS version now, and it’s BRUTAL, but gotta love the game. Always enjoy a review in which Johnny really loves the game he’s playing, I feel he does his best work when he does. I can’t wait for the 6-10 reviews, I have a feeling he’s gonna really dig into those games.
DS version is rough, yeah. I used Slow or Spider’s Silk on like every encounter, and used Hold and Stop in later dungeons. Random encounters could be nasty.
The DS version was my first introduction to Final Fantasy and everything is just balls to the walls hard especially if you go after the postgame stuff. But it was fun though regardless.
@@enlongjones2394 Man remembering how the DS version made Dr.Lugae have the ability to reverse your healing and damage and has him spam healing on your party. Although you could use like 2 phoenix downs and kill him with those lol. Or the CPU countering every single attack you do to it with object 199 and killing you.
Meanwhile i'm sitting wondering why people think the DS version is so hard. Not trying to brag, but i recall having a more or less pleasant adventure with maybe a boss here and there giving me some trouble. Then again, i also didn't have had much trouble beating the DS version of 3.
Johnny, your comedic timing in your reviews is always 15 of 10. In every video, there's always one or two bits that I just have to hit that remind button to get the laugh a second time.
In actuality, the game you call "Final Fantasy Adventure" beat Mystic Quest Legend’s European release by a couple months. And we called THAT game "Mystic Quest". 🤪
@@jacobmonks3722 Tho, both “Mystic Quest” and “Mystic Quest Legend” were published (and localised into German and French) by the big N itself. And NoE would go on to do the same for roughly 70% of all Square Enix games released on Nintendo platforms in Europe for the foreseeable future: Mischief Makers Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Sword of Mana every GBA Final Fantasy port Children of Mana Dragon Quest IX Boom Street (aka Fortune Street) Dragon Quest IV Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 Bravely Default Bravely Second Octopath Traveler Dragon Quest Builders Dragon Quest XI S Dragon Quest Builders 2 Bravely Default 2 just to name a few
Ah Final Fantasy 4, still my favorite one to this day. And I will fully admit that that's just because of the nostalgia. This game will always hold a special place in my heart.
Yeah... at first it might be excused as him just not having any idea of the kind of threat he was up against, but the Leviathan attack and waking up on the shore of his greatest mistake to trudge through the gauntlet of everyone who hates his guts for all the right reasons was a clear indication that whatever gods this setting has had decided he still hadn’t suffered nearly enough yet.
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection for PSP is how I first experienced this game, and I understand the party restrictions in the original. Palom with his Meteor destroyed the endgame.
Maybe you overleveled Palom, though in After Years, you need to be as op as you can get because it’s seriously hard as balls in that last dungeon where you fight the creator, and i love it’s basically the Death Star, since they reference the scene where they say that isn’t no moon.
@@joshshrum2764 yeah, I admit I take all the cheese I can get. What is that, Samurais have coin toss? SCREW THE RULES, I HAVE MONEY! And I melt Ex-Death with nuclear money. What's that, Ragrarök gives characters an Ultima spell? You get an Ultima, You get an Ultima, EVERYONE GETS AN ULTIMA!! And then I nuked the shit out of Kefka.
You have no idea how much it warmed my heart to see you mention Mystic Quest -- which by all accounts was probably my first RPG growing up -- and I would've recommended a quick foray into it (which wouldn't be too hard seeing how it's as bare bones as you can get) just for the battle and boss themes alone.
Good Lord, with all the bad luck Cecil has throughout this game, it’s no wonder Mista has a intense grudge against the number 4. Really love how you inserted J.J’s laugh from Spiderman 2 every time the universe flips him off. XD Great review for a good FF entry!
You mentioning how you wish Golbez could have remained the sole villain reminds me of how I wish Kylo Ren had stayed the sole villain in the sequel trilogy. You know, like how The Last Jedi ended. I guess VI ends up doing something similar, but that's more of a twist.
The DS version is my preferred version of the game, not just for the reworked difficulty and additional gameplay implements like Augments, but even additional story content as well, including an *entire flashback sequence* that isn't included in any other version of the game, even the ones that came after (aside from maybe the PC version). Also the littid thought bubbles of what each party member is currently thinking at any given point in the story whenever you pause the menu, I love that touch. FFIV was a very informative experience for me as well, possibly the first game I was emotionally attached to. While I can recognize some of its faults, I'll never be able to condemn the game as a whole.
The thing that puts the DS version above the PSP version for me is the fact that the script was re-translated from the ground up, as opposed to continue the game of Telephone the SNES script has gone through into the modern day. I believe the same translator gave the same treatments to the GBA versions of V and VI.
@@StevenUlyssesPerhero yeah i much prefer the 3d versions script. the psp version was just the gba version which was a touched up version of the ps1 version.
@@shadowbladeace1651 the steam version adds a difficulty select. but i think all that really does is give you more exp and money so you level up faster so it feels not as hard.
@@megamike15 but that's the Steam Version: though, won't change the fact that the DS Version feels like a punishment especially if you played the SNES Version (for me, it was through emulation).
Couple of things Johnny: 1. Spells have a cast timer, but there's also a hidden formula where the more you use a spell, the lower the cast time gets. You won't see instant Meteos or similar but with enough use you can get them fast enough to cast while selecting your next command. 2. The Zemus' Breath mob is a straight scanner enemy. It only casts Scan/Libra against your party. However that info is stored so the later enemy Zemus' Mind can and will exploit any weakness found.
1. As... someone who has played the game many times over the years, modded it, and looked into its code... are you sure on that? This is the first I'm ever hearing of it. Where did you get that information?
OK, this is now the second video of yours that has popped up on my feed that I've watched and am thoroughly impressed with your production value, in depth dive into the game itself and your over all content choices. You sir get a follow. I'm excited to to keep watching what you put out.
@@hankforeman91 A good number of people? Both Johnny and Jared working on really good final fantasy retrospectives and they've both been doing reviews for well over a decade. I'm assuming there's some decent fandom overlap between the two channels. Besides, it's not a serious competition anyways lol
@@JetpackGamer456 Well, that’s fine. I was a fan of his work until a certain event occurred that pretty much broke my trust. I still don’t bother with Jared nowadays, but to those who still like the guy, good for you.
@@hankforeman91 I had a falling out with him too in the summer of '19, but the information that has come out about Heidi, the 2 accusers, and his own response have shown that it was not nearly as bad as it was initially made out to be. He's definitely a weird dude and I never wanted to know that much about his personal life, but he doesn't deserve to loose his job for what happened.
00:09:44 Ok, that joke was actually pretty good. *Fun fact:* Many people, to this day, misattribute the "Spoony Bard" quote to Ted Woolsey, when in reality, he had nothing to do with this game. He was the translator for Final Fantasy 6, not 4. Final Fantasy 4 was actually translated by one of the developers. She presumably knew enough English to translate the game herself, but it obviously wasn't perfect. Kudos for the dedication, though.
You’re channel doesn’t get enough love man, first video of yours I saw was big rigs: over the road racing and man it made me laugh and happy subscriber.. keep doing what ur doing man!
This was my first and favorite Final Fantasy game that I played and that was thanks to your LP of it. I've never really garnered interest in the FF series before but when I saw your LP of it, I was hooked. I wanted to play more to find out how the story plays out instead of waiting for the LP to finish lol. I had a real enjoyment from play 4, also I used your LP as a guide too when I got lost. Since then I have played some of the other final fantasy games in the series as well. Thank you for introducing me to the series!
15:20 I am matter I am antimatter I can see your past I can see your future I consume time And I will consume you I know Final Fantasy 4 came before Super Mario RPG, but this is what immediately springs to mind hearing this song. Its one of my all time favorite boss tracks 18:45 Also, nice Courage the Cowardly Dog reference
It honestly feels so satisfying to recognize all of the jokes and gags that originated from the old SBG playthrough of FF4 on PSP. I laughed my ass off at every single one of them.
Oh oh, the artist who did those Nintendo Power illustrations of the cast was Katsuya Terada! He's done alot of sick game art, including the amazing cover of the Super Famicom release of Prince of Persia!
I'm currently going through the FF games myself for the first time and have not experienced IV, so I figured "Alright I'll watch Johnny's video and just skip the story portion, it cant be that long only like 15 mins right?" *sees Skip to **34:00* "What the! Skip to 34:00! That's over half the video I cant watch." But it was a great and enjoyable video even skipping the story section, keep up the awesome work.
46:21 Yeah, I actually started with the DS version, so when it came to getting After Years, jumped straight to the Steam release of both. I love remakes and I'm a glutton for punishment. Well, you showed your deep love for the franchise, childhood, and this game. But that running laugh track was a great sign that the Rosa-tinted glasses were off and your review was critical when the game deserved it. And that resulted in a wonderful video Johnny. Absolutely stoked for FFV (my personal second favourite), and the wait will be worth it.
Great video as always, Johnny! This was my first Final Fantasy, beating the PSP version a few weeks ago, using your SGB play through as a guide! A great way to celebrate the game’s upcoming 30th anniversary this summer!
That's the thing. The z warriors can't ever truly die. Cecil really can't... Then again I also have a finger to point at rosa... USE YOUR MAGIC YOU lazy medic!
After watching the review over 6 times, I started playing the game on my new PSP, and have entered the Underworld. Now that I've been reminded that he remains bedridden for the most of the story, I'd like to talk about one character in particular. I LOVE Edward's arc in the story. While I do agree the others are a bit hard on him in the start, that actually makes his moment in Faibo even better. Nobody else gave him the time he needed, and he has assisted Cecil and Rosa as promised. Then, in the dead of night, he goes out alone to seek solace in the one thing that never hurt or judged him, his music. The song gives me chills for some reason, I could've seen myself tearing up if I was younger or had been through a breakup myself. It just clicks with me, and in that moment, I really feel for Edward. A man who's lost everyone he loves through no fault of his own, fighting to find new friends and purpose. That battle he has against the monster with Anna watching over him, encouraging him and giving him that purpose, that being to fight, but not for her. Rather, for his people who were unjustly slaughtered and for himself, to prove to himself that he can continue on. When he finds himself victorious and just screams with passion and fury just feels amazing to watch. Then his moment later in Traiga, fighting with his last bit of strength, not knowing if his idea will work but giving it a try anyway, not being able to walk two steps without collapsing, and playing that tune again. When the others come back to thank him, with Cecil and Yang giving him their upmost thanks and respect, and Tellah finally forgiving him and seeing what Anna saw in him before is just such a good moment, that I'm not even mad he doesn't return. A fantastic end to a great character. Thank you Johnny, for getting me interested in this game. It's proving to me one of my favorites, despite being my first (non-Pokémon) JRPG.
Thank you for addressing the fact that Zemus calls you, "Silly!" In the original SNES version! That's my favorite part of the translation and no one seems to ever bring that up! 😆
This is my favorite Final Fantasy, and nostalgia has a large part to do with it. It wasn't my first RPG -- that was Super Mario RPG. But going from a silly RPG like Mario to an epic tale like this, this left quite the first impression on me.
My first final fantasy that I finished was ff3 on the ds when I was like 13. Before that I had always seen my parents’ and their friends’ old ff2 (4), ff3 (6), and mystic quest carts for the SNES with one of them bottling it up from time to time. I always loved playing the beginning of ff3 (6) over and over again because I was 6 years old and they wouldn’t let me save lol. But I’ve been slowly going through the catalogue and when I saw that you’re marathoning the series I IMMEDIATELY subbed and I’m so excited to watch the rest of these!
At the send off i was expecting “Hey thanks for watching the whole thing! Now if you want more Somecallmejohnny I’ll be live on twitch at “this time!” And be playing final fantasy 14 so come on down and chat and stuff!” Or something like that xD
I remember the first time i played ff4,it was the gba version and i was so in love with it...unfortunately the copy i had was a used one that had its save battery died so i couldnt get further than when cecil becomes a paladin in Mt.Ordeal.thankfully i beat it on a new copy a few years after
I'll actually say this, from a video production standpoint, I love how each of your FF videos has a different running gag with them. Helps each of them stand out in their own way.
What’s FF1’s gag again? I know FF2’s was the forward and back and then FF3’s was the alcohol.
@@odysseysfortune537 I dont think it had one? Maybe that was the gag?
20:00
"You can FLY?!"
"No, jump good."
Love that episode.
ah yes that episode where Jack learns to jump good thanks to monkey boy and his tribe.
Ah yes that one samurai Jack episode where learns to jump good by monkey boy and his tribe. Love that jump good reference.
Cecil being a Dark Knight isn't the core issue, but the self-hatred and inner isolation he uses for strength in the first half of the game is (which makes it all the more appropriate he struggles with battles at first as a paladin because he has to draw strength from something else). I think there is a line of optional dialogue in the castle where it's revealed that Cecil became the class at the request of the king (who at that point we know wasn't entirely who we thought he still was). He admired someone else so much for raising him that he lost himself in that. This game is all about how intentions of characters, no matter how sincere, can still fall to striking lows if their emotions aren't aligned with their actions. Cecil leaned on duty to the point he gave up his self respect. Kain leaned on his friendship to the point he gave up resolving his unrequited love. Tella leaned on justice at the cost of his life etc. It's one of the few JRPGs that I think gives an uplifting story without downplaying the faults of the playable characters (or strengths in Rydias case); the flaws guide the narrative.
And the award for the best comment here goes to this guy
DANG, wonderful summary here sir
Until we get into FF6, this is so far the good ways to incising character development of the game.
I always saw it as Cecil's love of his King and his Country overtaking his morals, prior to the bombing of Myst.
Looking at other versions and translations, several of Baron's townsfolk have a legitimate fear of Cecil. Or...rather, the King's Dark Knight.
A man who, in the OPENING CUTSCENE, led the Red Wings to massacre the innocent people of Mysidia on the King's Orders.
He became a Dark Knight because the King requested it of him. He isolated himself, immersed himself in the codes, conduct, and methods of perhaps the most brutal and disturbing class in the entire FF franchise. One that literally THRIVES on pain, injury, and self-flagellation for power.
All for the King. From the perspective of the townsfolk, meeting the reclusive Dark Knight who is only seen executing the King's Will is like meeting Darth Vader. The only reason for him to talk to you, to the general public, is if you angered the King somehow.
@@justinsinger2505 more like longest
I now have the Jameson laugh playing in my head whenever I think of war crimes...
Well, better start breaking out the Omni Man memes.
Lmfaooo
🤣
*actually dying of laughter*
There's a comment that aged poorly.
The jameson laughs are very appreciated.
Very much so.
They give an undetermined amount of happiness.
Sometimes they work well like when a town is being bombed/destroyed but it's kind of overused after that.
They add a meta sense of humor that I wouldn't mind seeing in more reviews
...you serious?
Fun fact the music in Ff4 is taught in japanese music classes
Rosa's Love theme?
Really? I’m gonna need a citation there. If that’s true, that’s really cool
Theme of Love. You know it's something when Final Fantasy has a massive influence in Japanese culture.
Yep theme of love was for scool kids there
@@kingofthesharks that’s really cool. Nice to see Japan recognize video game ost as a legit medium for music.
I loved the J.J laugh running gag.
It really helps highlight just how much bad luck Cecil has in this game.
Personally the El Risitas, laugh when Leviathan, showed up was what made me crack up the most, but i do enjoy hearing the J.J cackle as well though i hope in the Final Fantasy 10, review, he just uses the Tidus, laugh for every tragic moment lol.
@@joshshrum2764 ....I love and hate this idea.
@@oblivious8868 Me too, also Kefka’s, laugh should be used in the Final Fantasy 6 review.
@@joshshrum2764 Why am I picturing for the FF6 review Kefka's laugh vs. Mark Hamil's Joker laugh? 😆
Final fantasy 3 was such a rough time that Johnny broke into someone's house just to escape it all.
Love the new place. Probably should've asked for permission though.
Remember in the Super Mario RPG review where he mentioned FF4 and said “that’s a review for another day”? Good times.
And now they have announced the remake for Mario Rpg. God I love happy coincidences
Final Fantasy IV: A series of unfortunate events.
Fake Out. It turned out it was okay all along....somehow
So, fun fact; Zemus' Breath in fact will scan your characters infinitely UNLESS you use magic on it in which case it'll counter it. It's the opposite of the Zemus' Mind enemy that goes out of its way to fight you and will counter physical attacks (and magic) with defense buffs.
Best farming spot in the game, as any single party member can easily defeat them, and get massive exp as a result.
Level 99 doesn’t help much with Zeromus, but the spot is there if you want to make use of it…
@@osurpless Yes and no. Zemus' Breath is free EXP, albeit a bit tedious, but Zemus' Mind will absolutely wreck you if you don't take it out as fast as possible. It also loves to use charm which at that point in the game is actually dangerous given the repertoire of spells Rydia and Rosa have, and the attack power Cecil, Edge and Kain have.
@@PerryMason123 Well yea, meant Breath only.
Quite common on the 3rd level of the Core, I believe.
@@osurpless True, true. I was thinking in a general sense
@@osurpless it's why they stripped him to one exp in 3d.
No, I wish I was kidding
I am honored to know that you chose Namingway Edition for your play through for this video! I hope you enjoyed my work on it and when you get to FFVI you choose Ted Woolsey Uncensored Edition for it as well.
RodimusPrimal is the one who put together the version of Final Fantasy IV Johnny reviewed. Final Fantasy IV: Namingway Edition! Been a fan of your work for years. This makes me want to check out your latest version of Namingway Edition! :D
Final Fantasy IV fans who stream or make You Tube videos are no longer using the J2e Translations version. No more annoying references to Golbeze, The Four Emperors, or William Shattner! :)
FF4: Also known as “Cecil can’t catch a break”
Especially if were throwing the after years in.
Cecil gets turned into a frog and all he hears is a laugh track.
"Everything's Sucky in Mysidia"
Rosa and rydia: god... damnit Cecil.
I never really noticed how much they screw up and fail until seeing this summary.
This game’s final act is essentially:
“Who’s been messing up everything? It’s been Zemus all along!”
Simplistic repetitive story aside I can’t help but hold IV in high regard. I think there’s something of a simple charm to it. I’m also with you on the music, definitely some of Uematsu's finest work!
I wonder why they named his final form Zeromus. The name was never mentioned earlier, but when he transforms they treat the name change as some kind of revelation.
Maybe it’s like a Megatron becoming Galvatron thing: Changing forms means you change your name too 😜😜😜😜😜😜😜😜
Ah, we’re already getting into Metal Gear level story recaps. Can’t wait to see FFVI finally be the one to beat out Sonic ‘06
Technically the Balan Wonderworld video did that
*Meanwhile FFXIV is just hovering menacingly in the distance*
@@chemistral4943 honestly, wouldn't be surprised FFXIV to be split at least ARR+HW / SB+ShB
That beast is BIG
VI’s story is pretty straightforward tho, so I don’t think the summary will be as long as this one.
IX’s on the other hand...
@@nospoiler he already said he’d do it one expansion at the time.
Golbez turning into a hand and stealing the crystal while Cecil and co do absolutely nothing is one of the most "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO SOMETHING!!" moments I've had in a video game or any other piece of fiction, really.
I love the J. Jameson laugh throughout the review. I can hear Matt laughing too.
If Matrix were here, he would laugh too.
Who's Matt?
"Does Square love Star Wars? I think they love Star Wars."
Final Fantasy XII: "Hold my giant ass beer mug!"
XII being Star Wars and also being the 20th anniversary game feels like the franchise came full circle.
Shouldn't that be, "Hold my Darth Vader mug."
@@TheInfectiousCadaver xiv is here for you then
of course why is there two soldiers named biggs and wedge in ff6?
Final Fantasy II: "Hold my entire plot"
One of my favourite games of all time, I'll never forget the first time Kain betrayed me. Or the second. Or the third. Or the--
Gohan is that you?
18:42 I love that you put Ramses Second Curse from Courage the Cowardly Dog into this! XD
The Man in Gauze, The Man in Gauze
RAAAMSEEEEES!!
Quick, get the baseball bat!
"WHAT'S YER OFFER?"
...if I only we had a chocobo laugh like courage xd
This came out much sooner than I expected
Agreed
This is what happens when Johnny actually enjoys his time with the game (unlike FF3).
I was expecting sometime next month
@@arios6443 and he has already beat it a number of times beyond a normal person would do.
It's his favorite tho
"FFIV 3D is hard, dude."
"FFIV 3D is super hard."
Everyone kept telling me that FFIV 3D is a super hard version....
So, I've only played the DS version of FFIV, and I can say....
yep, it's pretty hard.
"Cry" and "Slow": Are you sure about that?
@@FGj-xj7rd All you REALLY need to beat FFIV3D is Guard/Defend
Really? i mean i played ff 4 3d and i thought it was easier than my playthrough in the psp version.
Never played the 2D but the 3D was a blast never really had any troubles with difficulty. Now after years however was annoying but I would probably track that up to me not wanting to grind because I didn’t think the characters would all be used by the end.
It was my first introduction to 4........ Yeah......
Cecil Harvey in "The Shit I put up with!"
“The part of Cecil Harvey will now be played by Barret Wallace”
The tale of Cecil the jinx
Still not as unlucky as DQV's protagonist, but pretty damn close.
@@FletcherReedsRandomness I don’t think I’ve ever needed a fangame as much as I need Cecil Harvey played by Barret Wallace.
At least he got to become a badass Paladin Knight, you can’t really complain about that, but even after gaining the form he still has to go through a lot of grief.
Johnny: “I don’t mean to keep harping on Scholars, I’m sure they are wonderful people.”
Man, ENDWALKER isn’t even out yet and you’re already dissing Scholar mains XD
do hope they get a buff
Scholar mains have been made fun of for a while...Sage coming out just sealed the deal ;)
@@Darcnova1 why i mean they may be still be useful (note have not been play FF14 as of late and also what are they going to do after ENDWALKER)?
@@changsiah2 They definitely will be, it just makes it more fun to poke fun at SCH mains...it's all done out of love for our healy pals of course :P
@@Darcnova1 oh ok sorry anyways hype for ENDWALKER
This game was so incredibly influential on my compositions. It's the very game that told me to write music! I'm very happy to see Johnny finally get to this gem of a game.
I love that laugh track he uses, whenever the villains come to wreck the heroes' day 😆
Healers do good damage with bows and weapons but they have to be equipped properly since characters have dominant hands in ff4 except edge since he's ambidextrous
Yang is ambidextrous too, incidentally.
Edge's throw command was also great... moreso if you managed to keep all the swords and spears instead of selling them off, and just chuck them at Zeromus in the end, although some specific ones dealt better damage than his ninja tools.
That was also a feature in FF2, for what it’s worth. Interesting to note however is that IIRC Leila is the only left-handed member of the whole team, and everyone else is right-handed.
Yeah Palom and Kain are left-handed.
@@forestdragonwing7552 What? Really?
My lord, the KING RAAAAAAMSEEEEEES bit at 18:45 absolutely murders me man, especially followed by Johnny's casual as fuck "Eh everyone's a critic, but it's enough to..."
Johnny's humor is somehow so casual, but so over the top, one of my favorite bits in ANY of his reviews over the years. Bravo man.
Take a shot every time the mocking laugh track plays, you'll me more drunk than John was last episode.
That warning came way too late....
*Falls over, completely blasted.*
You’ll be so drunk you start hallucinating blue coins
@@roslynnerentas8939 You might wanna see a doctor about that...
Great to see how steadily and reliably you're making progress into this mammoth of a franchise.
Must be rough work having an honest to god RPG marathon... there's so much to analyze and chew through with those types of games; really respecting your work here.
I was expecting to hear Matt going:"JINX!" like he did in the let's play whenever something bad happened.
I’d say this is when the series truly became its own. I’m playing the DS version now, and it’s BRUTAL, but gotta love the game. Always enjoy a review in which Johnny really loves the game he’s playing, I feel he does his best work when he does. I can’t wait for the 6-10 reviews, I have a feeling he’s gonna really dig into those games.
On OG DS Hardware? Beacause if you are playing it on an emulator... Why dont you play the Steam release?
DS version is rough, yeah. I used Slow or Spider’s Silk on like every encounter, and used Hold and Stop in later dungeons. Random encounters could be nasty.
The DS version was my first introduction to Final Fantasy and everything is just balls to the walls hard especially if you go after the postgame stuff. But it was fun though regardless.
@@enlongjones2394 Man remembering how the DS version made Dr.Lugae have the ability to reverse your healing and damage and has him spam healing on your party. Although you could use like 2 phoenix downs and kill him with those lol. Or the CPU countering every single attack you do to it with object 199 and killing you.
Meanwhile i'm sitting wondering why people think the DS version is so hard. Not trying to brag, but i recall having a more or less pleasant adventure with maybe a boss here and there giving me some trouble. Then again, i also didn't have had much trouble beating the DS version of 3.
I love that cecil starts off as a level one Paladin it's like he's not only has to pay his Penance but also has to prove himself more
Oh my lord. The fucking laugh tracks used whenever the villains pull a trap or something have my sides hurt. LMFAOOO
Edge throwing Excalibur had me laughing so hard. Your comedic timing in this video was on point, Jameson laughs especially.
Johnny, your comedic timing in your reviews is always 15 of 10.
In every video, there's always one or two bits that I just have to hit that remind button to get the laugh a second time.
In actuality, the game you call "Final Fantasy Adventure" beat Mystic Quest Legend’s European release by a couple months.
And we called THAT game "Mystic Quest". 🤪
I love Square.
@@jacobmonks3722 Tho, both “Mystic Quest” and “Mystic Quest Legend” were published (and localised into German and French) by the big N itself.
And NoE would go on to do the same for roughly 70% of all Square Enix games released on Nintendo platforms in Europe for the foreseeable future:
Mischief Makers
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
Sword of Mana
every GBA Final Fantasy port
Children of Mana
Dragon Quest IX
Boom Street (aka Fortune Street)
Dragon Quest IV
Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2
Bravely Default
Bravely Second
Octopath Traveler
Dragon Quest Builders
Dragon Quest XI S
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Bravely Default 2
just to name a few
So what was Final Fantasy Mystic Quest called over there?
@@shadowbladeace1651 As DaneeBound said, Mystic Quest Legend.
@@shadowbladeace1651 "Mystic Quest Legend"
Ah Final Fantasy 4, still my favorite one to this day. And I will fully admit that that's just because of the nostalgia. This game will always hold a special place in my heart.
To quote Matt: "CECIL! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Good grief, Cecil really went through it, huh.
Yeah... at first it might be excused as him just not having any idea of the kind of threat he was up against, but the Leviathan attack and waking up on the shore of his greatest mistake to trudge through the gauntlet of everyone who hates his guts for all the right reasons was a clear indication that whatever gods this setting has had decided he still hadn’t suffered nearly enough yet.
Seeing the FLCL poster again gave me tons of flashbacks to your old videos.
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection for PSP is how I first experienced this game, and I understand the party restrictions in the original.
Palom with his Meteor destroyed the endgame.
i wish the PSP remake was on Steam :(
Maybe you overleveled Palom, though in After Years, you need to be as op as you can get because it’s seriously hard as balls in that last dungeon where you fight the creator, and i love it’s basically the Death Star, since they reference the scene where they say that isn’t no moon.
@@joshshrum2764 yeah, I admit I take all the cheese I can get.
What is that, Samurais have coin toss? SCREW THE RULES, I HAVE MONEY! And I melt Ex-Death with nuclear money.
What's that, Ragrarök gives characters an Ultima spell? You get an Ultima, You get an Ultima, EVERYONE GETS AN ULTIMA!! And then I nuked the shit out of Kefka.
ngl that fucking J Jonah Jameson laugh accompaning every unfortunate event has me continuously coming back to this review
Me too… instead of -you know- playing the games
Cecil Harvey stars in "The Sh*t I Put Up With"
Johnny: “Quite a hefty story.”
Final Fantasy VI: “Hold my magicite”
You have no idea how much it warmed my heart to see you mention Mystic Quest -- which by all accounts was probably my first RPG growing up -- and I would've recommended a quick foray into it (which wouldn't be too hard seeing how it's as bare bones as you can get) just for the battle and boss themes alone.
Good Lord, with all the bad luck Cecil has throughout this game, it’s no wonder Mista has a intense grudge against the number 4. Really love how you inserted J.J’s laugh from Spiderman 2 every time the universe flips him off. XD Great review for a good FF entry!
25:37 "It's Santa Claus! Santa's a moon person, I fuckin knew it."
That just really tickled my funny bone for some reason, love that line XD
Seeing those posters in the background reminds me of old Johnny when he was too lazy to change the batteries on the smoke detector.. good times
You mentioning how you wish Golbez could have remained the sole villain reminds me of how I wish Kylo Ren had stayed the sole villain in the sequel trilogy. You know, like how The Last Jedi ended.
I guess VI ends up doing something similar, but that's more of a twist.
The DS version is my preferred version of the game, not just for the reworked difficulty and additional gameplay implements like Augments, but even additional story content as well, including an *entire flashback sequence* that isn't included in any other version of the game, even the ones that came after (aside from maybe the PC version).
Also the littid thought bubbles of what each party member is currently thinking at any given point in the story whenever you pause the menu, I love that touch.
FFIV was a very informative experience for me as well, possibly the first game I was emotionally attached to. While I can recognize some of its faults, I'll never be able to condemn the game as a whole.
The thing that puts the DS version above the PSP version for me is the fact that the script was re-translated from the ground up, as opposed to continue the game of Telephone the SNES script has gone through into the modern day.
I believe the same translator gave the same treatments to the GBA versions of V and VI.
I tried the DS Version but the difficulty made me not enjoy it unfortunately 😞.
@@StevenUlyssesPerhero yeah i much prefer the 3d versions script. the psp version was just the gba version which was a touched up version of the ps1 version.
@@shadowbladeace1651 the steam version adds a difficulty select. but i think all that really does is give you more exp and money so you level up faster so it feels not as hard.
@@megamike15 but that's the Steam Version: though, won't change the fact that the DS Version feels like a punishment especially if you played the SNES Version (for me, it was through emulation).
Damn, JK Simmons got a lung workout this episode
He got lots of practice, laughing poor Pete out of the room.
@@oblivious8868Boy am I glad that JK is back as Jameson. I hope he's back in the next Spidey, whenever that comes.
cid jumping out the ship: *"Let's fucking GOOOOOO."*
"This is Cid, AND WELCOME TO JACKA-" *ded, except not really*
Why did I laugh so hard at this?
Couple of things Johnny:
1. Spells have a cast timer, but there's also a hidden formula where the more you use a spell, the lower the cast time gets. You won't see instant Meteos or similar but with enough use you can get them fast enough to cast while selecting your next command.
2. The Zemus' Breath mob is a straight scanner enemy. It only casts Scan/Libra against your party. However that info is stored so the later enemy Zemus' Mind can and will exploit any weakness found.
1. As... someone who has played the game many times over the years, modded it, and looked into its code... are you sure on that? This is the first I'm ever hearing of it. Where did you get that information?
4:48
And that's where Spoony got his name. Oh Noah, why'd you have to go the way you did...
He said it himself: He got Bipolar 2: The Quickening, and he sadly didn't recover.
OK, this is now the second video of yours that has popped up on my feed that I've watched and am thoroughly impressed with your production value, in depth dive into the game itself and your over all content choices. You sir get a follow. I'm excited to to keep watching what you put out.
You’re getting dangerously close to 06 👀
I have a gut feeling by the time we get to VII, it may be around the length as his 06 review, but for entirely different reasons.
19:03 "This castle is a creature of chaos. It may take many incarnations."
Love the edited jk simmons laughs throught the review. JJ Jameson will never die!
He didn’t follow one of the most important rules in Scott the Woz’s “How to review games” video, Johnny plugged the controller in
The race between Johnny and Jared to finish the marathon first grows more tense with every month.
Who gives a kweh about Jared!?
@@hankforeman91 A good number of people? Both Johnny and Jared working on really good final fantasy retrospectives and they've both been doing reviews for well over a decade. I'm assuming there's some decent fandom overlap between the two channels. Besides, it's not a serious competition anyways lol
@@JetpackGamer456 Well, that’s fine. I was a fan of his work until a certain event occurred that pretty much broke my trust. I still don’t bother with Jared nowadays, but to those who still like the guy, good for you.
@@hankforeman91 I had a falling out with him too in the summer of '19, but the information that has come out about Heidi, the 2 accusers, and his own response have shown that it was not nearly as bad as it was initially made out to be. He's definitely a weird dude and I never wanted to know that much about his personal life, but he doesn't deserve to loose his job for what happened.
@@JetpackGamer456 Fair enough.
00:09:44 Ok, that joke was actually pretty good.
*Fun fact:* Many people, to this day, misattribute the "Spoony Bard" quote to Ted Woolsey, when in reality, he had nothing to do with this game. He was the translator for Final Fantasy 6, not 4.
Final Fantasy 4 was actually translated by one of the developers. She presumably knew enough English to translate the game herself, but it obviously wasn't perfect. Kudos for the dedication, though.
I love the JK Simmons laughing whenever the Red Wings show up
WTF is with that PFP?
Kairi showing you the glock, you blind?
@@Super_Suchi Yeah fam, I can see that, but wow Kairi is such a meme.
You’re channel doesn’t get enough love man, first video of yours I saw was big rigs: over the road racing and man it made me laugh and happy subscriber.. keep doing what ur doing man!
Rydia was one of my fav Final Fantasy girls from the early Final Fantasy games.
This was my first and favorite Final Fantasy game that I played and that was thanks to your LP of it. I've never really garnered interest in the FF series before but when I saw your LP of it, I was hooked. I wanted to play more to find out how the story plays out instead of waiting for the LP to finish lol. I had a real enjoyment from play 4, also I used your LP as a guide too when I got lost. Since then I have played some of the other final fantasy games in the series as well. Thank you for introducing me to the series!
Cecil, you have done well to reach this crystalline chamber. I am your father, Jor-el~ I mean, Klu-ya.
15:20
I am matter
I am antimatter
I can see your past
I can see your future
I consume time
And I will consume you
I know Final Fantasy 4 came before Super Mario RPG, but this is what immediately springs to mind hearing this song. Its one of my all time favorite boss tracks
18:45 Also, nice Courage the Cowardly Dog reference
IT'S KING RAMSEY
Ah yes, The time has come for Johnny to review his first RPG
Paper mario the thousand year door was my 1st rpg
@@williamwhite1036 My first was Sonic Chronicles on DS.
It was quite rough.
This is my favorite marathon so far, keep up the fantastic work!!
It honestly feels so satisfying to recognize all of the jokes and gags that originated from the old SBG playthrough of FF4 on PSP. I laughed my ass off at every single one of them.
Oh oh, the artist who did those Nintendo Power illustrations of the cast was Katsuya Terada! He's done alot of sick game art, including the amazing cover of the Super Famicom release of Prince of Persia!
"Does Square like Star Wars, I think Square likes Star Wars."
You remember Birth By Sleep? Square FUCKING LOVES Star Wars.
Hell just wait for Final Fantasy IX where they quote Yoda directly.
Well, of COURSE, they do. Biggs and Wedge are the names of two characters you often see in Final Fantasy.
Square loves Star Wars AND Star Trek.
I JUST got Birth by Sleep. Haven't started it yet
Final Fantasy is Square's Star Wars. While Dragon Quest is Square's Star Trek.
I'm currently going through the FF games myself for the first time and have not experienced IV, so I figured "Alright I'll watch Johnny's video and just skip the story portion, it cant be that long only like 15 mins right?" *sees Skip to **34:00* "What the! Skip to 34:00! That's over half the video I cant watch." But it was a great and enjoyable video even skipping the story section, keep up the awesome work.
18:45 Nice Courage the Cowardly Dog
reference there
Damn, Johnny, you're cranking these out a mile a minute!
Every time I hear the laughing clip I think back to their LP with Matt yelling out “JINX!!” as Rydia. lol
Summoning the Giant Of Babil in Attack Mode.
"Fucking SEA GOD, really?"
46:21 Yeah, I actually started with the DS version, so when it came to getting After Years, jumped straight to the Steam release of both. I love remakes and I'm a glutton for punishment.
Well, you showed your deep love for the franchise, childhood, and this game. But that running laugh track was a great sign that the Rosa-tinted glasses were off and your review was critical when the game deserved it. And that resulted in a wonderful video Johnny. Absolutely stoked for FFV (my personal second favourite), and the wait will be worth it.
You were so close to beating the record Johnny
25:35 It's a lunar version of the Face on Mars!
Press here to skip ad 0:59
Great video as always, Johnny! This was my first Final Fantasy, beating the PSP version a few weeks ago, using your SGB play through as a guide! A great way to celebrate the game’s upcoming 30th anniversary this summer!
2022 is the franchise's 35th anniversary.
The sound track for FFIV is fucking incredible
My mans pumping these videos out faster than imaginable. Much appreciated!!!!!! Love all of these! Can't wait for you to get to IX/X
johnny: "these guys fuck up alot
Me: so like the z-warriors then
That's the thing. The z warriors can't ever truly die. Cecil really can't...
Then again I also have a finger to point at rosa...
USE YOUR MAGIC YOU lazy medic!
Kain is basically Vegeta so yeah.
Dude I love the editing in this video, the joke with the harp was my favorite
After watching the review over 6 times, I started playing the game on my new PSP, and have entered the Underworld. Now that I've been reminded that he remains bedridden for the most of the story, I'd like to talk about one character in particular.
I LOVE Edward's arc in the story. While I do agree the others are a bit hard on him in the start, that actually makes his moment in Faibo even better. Nobody else gave him the time he needed, and he has assisted Cecil and Rosa as promised. Then, in the dead of night, he goes out alone to seek solace in the one thing that never hurt or judged him, his music.
The song gives me chills for some reason, I could've seen myself tearing up if I was younger or had been through a breakup myself. It just clicks with me, and in that moment, I really feel for Edward. A man who's lost everyone he loves through no fault of his own, fighting to find new friends and purpose.
That battle he has against the monster with Anna watching over him, encouraging him and giving him that purpose, that being to fight, but not for her. Rather, for his people who were unjustly slaughtered and for himself, to prove to himself that he can continue on.
When he finds himself victorious and just screams with passion and fury just feels amazing to watch.
Then his moment later in Traiga, fighting with his last bit of strength, not knowing if his idea will work but giving it a try anyway, not being able to walk two steps without collapsing, and playing that tune again.
When the others come back to thank him, with Cecil and Yang giving him their upmost thanks and respect, and Tellah finally forgiving him and seeing what Anna saw in him before is just such a good moment, that I'm not even mad he doesn't return. A fantastic end to a great character. Thank you Johnny, for getting me interested in this game. It's proving to me one of my favorites, despite being my first (non-Pokémon) JRPG.
Thank you for addressing the fact that Zemus calls you, "Silly!" In the original SNES version! That's my favorite part of the translation and no one seems to ever bring that up! 😆
This is my favorite Final Fantasy, and nostalgia has a large part to do with it. It wasn't my first RPG -- that was Super Mario RPG. But going from a silly RPG like Mario to an epic tale like this, this left quite the first impression on me.
My first final fantasy that I finished was ff3 on the ds when I was like 13. Before that I had always seen my parents’ and their friends’ old ff2 (4), ff3 (6), and mystic quest carts for the SNES with one of them bottling it up from time to time. I always loved playing the beginning of ff3 (6) over and over again because I was 6 years old and they wouldn’t let me save lol. But I’ve been slowly going through the catalogue and when I saw that you’re marathoning the series I IMMEDIATELY subbed and I’m so excited to watch the rest of these!
At the send off i was expecting “Hey thanks for watching the whole thing! Now if you want more Somecallmejohnny I’ll be live on twitch at “this time!” And be playing final fantasy 14 so come on down and chat and stuff!” Or something like that xD
18:45 Never thought i’d hear a courage the cowardly dog reference in a somecallmejohnny video!!!
Honestly I'm impressed how fast you've gotten these out. I'd have thought by now youd only be on ff2 or somethin given the move and stuff
43:00 is that Ryuji saying yeet in the P5A dub?
I remember the first time i played ff4,it was the gba version and i was so in love with it...unfortunately the copy i had was a used one that had its save battery died so i couldnt get further than when cecil becomes a paladin in Mt.Ordeal.thankfully i beat it on a new copy a few years after
44:22 meanwhile i'm going "Wait wait wait, Chocobos can fly!? I thought they were essentially Ostriches, unable to fly but can run very fast
I can feel Johnny's passion in this video more than ever before. I can tell he loves this game. 🥰
Holy shorts dude. You pumped this one put fast. Now I have something cool to watch while on break!
Inching ever so closer to that damn hedgehog
FF7 will dethrone it, officially.
@@hush8469 Maybe even 6, too.
@@nooneinparticular5256 I absolutely think 6 is gonna be the one.
30:38
Of course Square likes Star Wars. That's why there always seems to be characters named Biggs & Wedge in their Final Fantasy games