Final Fantasy Iv Official Strategy Guide [Paperback]

Final Fantasy IV is a relatively simple game. It's even simplar if you've been through it before. But for those who haven't, this strategy guide can get you through much of the game with ease.

It begins by jumping right into the basics of the game. Final Fantasy IV is by no means a hard game to understand. So long as this isn't your first Final Fantasy, there's nothing here you probably don't already know. At least it's there, but much of its tips and basic explanations have been hammered into your head before. At least it doesn't spend too much time here as it goes into the characters. Each character has a bio and tells you about their starting stats. It'll also show you coverage of their abilities. Afterwards it talks about all the magic you can use as well as all the items, equipment, and armor. After all this preliminary stuff, we get to the walkthrough.

In the past, BradyGAMES has often used a step by step walkthrough, while explaining some of the more complicated stuff. The Final Fantasy IV guide doesn't do this (but at least it has a World Map which BradyGAMES is notorious for neglecting). There's nothing too complicated about the walkthrough. There are no story spoilers and each section begins by telling you what items you can find in an area as well as showing you all the maps for an area. If it's a dungeon it'll show you all the enemies encountered. All the items are pointed out on the maps, and it'll also show you on each map what you get for uncovering 100% of the map.

The walkthrough has an easy presentation and is easy to follow. Some of the boss strategies are not the best, however. Most of them are pretty good about offense. Telling you what to use to attack certain bosses, and their weaknesses. BradyGAMES still doesn't do a good job of preparing you with a good defense. It's hard to blame the guide for this as you'll probably be alright just knowing what to attack with.

Once all that is said and done, we get into the Bestiary. Which highlights all the stats of every enemy in the game. Telling you their weakness and what they'll drop and even the rate at which they drop it. The Bestiary doesn't present itself in alphabetical order. Rather it goes based on the enemy's assigned number. Which is basically the order in which you see them.

Afterwards there's an entire section dedicated to Whyt and teaching him abilities. There are also secrets, though it's only a page long. Much of what Final Fantasy IV has to offer is actually covered in the walkthrough. Many of the optional things you can do are noted in the walkthrough as they come up in the quest.

There's really no big reason to buy a guide for Final Fantasy IV. That doesn't make the guide bad. Or even useless. If this is your first time through Final Fantasy IV and you're confused on where to go or what to do next, this guide is pretty helpful. If you mastered Final Fantasy IV inside out beforehand, then picking up the guide for all the new content probably isn't worth your while.

It is well-known that Final Fantasy IV is one of the more difficult games to reach the DS. For those who don't already know, the game chronicles the adventure of Cecil and his party of stalwart friends in their quest to save the world by retrieving the crystals from the clutches of the evil nemesis, Golbez.

This BradyGames Guide is very useful for those who need anything from simple tips and strategies to a complete walkthrough of the game. It is packed with detailed information on the game including a very thorough bestiary, detailed stats on weapons, armor and other items, a description of spells and augments as well as data on all the playable characters in the game.

The Guide also contains complete maps of all the areas in the game (i.e. dungeons, towns, castles etc) and highlights where hidden treasures can be located. It also points out what items are available from the various shops within each town and makes suggestions as to what weapons, armor etc should be bought.

As a walkthrough, the Guide is very comprehensive. It provides concise instructions on what to do at each stage of the game without giving away the plot twists (and there are many plot twists in the game). The Guide also does a great job of identifying the major battles at each stage of the game and provides detailed information about each boss' stats and instructions on how best to defeat the boss. While the player is free to use a different attack strategy, the Guide does serve as a fallback if all else fails.

Lastly, the Guide also contains information on the secrets within the game itself such as secret boss battles, hidden areas and strategies on how to improve your Whyt (and earn extra costumes in the process).

In summary:

Pros
+ A thorough guide, packed with heaps of information and useful data.
+ Provides a clear walkthrough of the game without giving away the story and surprises in the plot.
+ The information is presented in a easy to read and understand format.
+ Contains maps, screen shots etc in full color making it easier for the player to relate the Guide to the game itself.
+ Identifies the secrets within the game which players may not be aware of.

Cons
- The font sizes of some of the text may be a little small, but it's manageable nonetheless.
- There may be too much information to pick up though not all of it is relevant for the game.
- There are a few errors within the Guide but nothing too significant. One I feel I should point out (without giving away too much) is to simply this: if you lose the Lustful Lali-Ho, it can be replaced with the Ninja Sutra :)

Overall, I feel that this Guide is a great companion to the game. It gives the player a lot of useful information and leaves it to him/her to decide how much help he/she wants. In short, it's an ideal resource for those who are new as well as veterans of this game and the series.

This a a fun, easy-to-use guide. The maps are nice and the monster descriptions are very helpful. Definitely recommended for someone who has not played the earlier version of this game.