Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Here we are again with another Final Fantasy port for the DS. Unlike Final Fantasy III, which was never released state-side, Final Fantasy IV has been released several times over the years. We just saw a GBA port a few years ago and now we have the definitive version on the DS. Much the like the revamped version of Final Fantasy III, Square Enix spent a lot of time on the graphics engine and other new additions to make this version shine above the rest.

Final Fantasy IV puts you in the role of the Dark Knight Cecil. Despite having such a grim job and title, Cecil isn't as evil as his job description entails. After leading Baron's elite military force -- the Red Wings -- into a village to confiscate a crystal shard, Cecil begins to question his King's motives for such action when he meets no defensive actions by the locals. Cecil must now start his journey for personal cleansing, self-realization, betrayal, and leave behind his dark past as he attempts to move forward and discover what is happening within the kingdom of Baron.

What's Hot
Final Fantasy IV is one of the most beloved entries of the franchise. Many will argue that Final Fantasy VI is the greatest of them all, but Final Fantasy IV is right up there with it. The reason Final Fantasy IV is so compelling is thanks to the wonderful story, strong characters, and portrayal of emotions. The game really makes you feel connected to the actions Cecil takes and even shares his deepest thoughts when you go to the main menu. By immersing you more into the life of the main character, the story hits home that much harder and pushes you to discover the dark events unfolding within the game itself because now it feels more personal. You can genuinely feel the sadness in Cecil's character in the early half of the game, and then feel the ambition and will of fire he carries with him in the second half.

Everything previously mentioned is only further strengthened by a wonder graphics engine. When Final Fantasy III hit the DS in 2006, many DS owners thought that was the graphical limit of the DS. Well, Square Enix has made Final Fantasy III look obsolete. Final Fantasy IV features one of the most remarkable graphic engines ever seen on the DS... thus far. Every character is wonderfully detailed and has minor textures that really add to the look of the game. Cecil's armor has tiny crevices below the chest, whereas Rydia's hair sways ever so slightly during battles. Little details like those make this handheld title feel like a console experience.

Also included in this rendition are wonderfully crafted cinematics and voice acting segments. Firstly, the cinematics are breathtaking and look amazing for a DS title. Even with a high level of compression to fit them onto a DS cart, these look amazing. Sure, they may not be at the level of Crisis Core for the PSP, but, nevertheless, these are powerful scenes and really help convey the emotion the title has to offer. Voice acting isn't something we have seen -- or should I say heard -- in many previous DS titles. Thankfully, the voice work found within the game is wonderfully done. Square Enix spent precious time perfecting it for the game, and it shows. The lipsynching is almost flawless and the voices -- for the most part -- match their characters perfectly. The only character that sounds out of place is Kain, but it's hardly anything that will ruin the experience.

Just like the voice acting, the music is superb. The music is a powerful emotion conveying masterpiece. The tracks from the original title are still used, but sound a lot more crisp and sharp coming from the audio system on the DS.


What's Not
There isn't a lot of fault in this newly released port, except for the fact it's just that: a port. We just saw Final Fantasy IV get released on the GBA in December of 2005. Not even three years have passed by and we already have a new revision of the title. Now, this isn't saying that the DS version isn't the definitive version of the two ports -- believe me it is -- but did we really need another release so soon? I know, this isn't a fault in the game itself, but for those who picked up the GBA version in 2005, you probably feel ripped off.

Even with an enhanced graphical engine, voiceovers, and CG, the game doesn't over much new content. If you played the original release, and then the GBA version, this won't offer you anything new in terms of content. The new additions might be worth the price of admission for some, but don't expect them to open your eyes to a new world you never saw before when going through the title.

Final Word
Final Fantasy IV is another DS masterpiece. The graphics, music, voiceovers, and CG are all wonderful additions and shows that the DS still has some power left under the hood. This is easily the best DS RPG available on the market and will be until Chrono Trigger hits this Fall. If you just recently played the GBA port, you don't have to rush out and pick this version up. If you are a die-hard fan of the series and want take the journey for another ride, then this is the best version available.