6-1-2009		2-18-2008	Mobile Phone (Japan)
	1-5-2009		1-5-2009

A New Moon Leads to a New Destiny

Many years have passed since the departure of the Lunarian Moon. Damycyan, Eblan, and the village of Mist have been rebuilt, and the world has returned to a state of peace. The kingdom of Baron is under the wise rule of King Cecil and Queen Rosa, who now have a son, Prince Ceodore.
However the Lunarian Moon has now reappeared in the sky - much closer to the planet than it was years ago - and the Castle of Baron is besieged by monsters. What will become of the world, and will the heroes be able to unravel the mysterious events befalling the blue planet they love so much?

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years was originally released for the NTT Docomo FOMA 903i series of phones, and later released for au EZ Web on May 15, 2008 and Yahoo! Keitai on November 4, 2008. It was released in similar fashion to that of Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII; in episodes. There was a total of 13 chapters released in Japan (9 chapters in the American version) from February 18th to December 24, 2008. Executive Producer, Takashi Tokita has stated "The game was released this way so that players would anticipate new chapters like an anime or manga series". He went on to say the game Live A Live was a big inspiration.
The game itself is very similar to the original Final Fantasy IV, in that it utilizes sprites, rather than the more rescent 3-D version of the game. Some of the game sprites are from the SNES and GBA versions, but there is quite a bit of new enemies and characters to go with.
The game utilizes the ATB battle system used in Final Fantasy IV, where there are up to five members fighting enemies, and the fastest go first. But this does not mean that it is the same game all over again. There are also introductions of new features to give the game a fresh new appeal.
The Band System allows certain characters in the party to perform attacks they could not do on their own. Cecil, for example, can use his Holy Blade attack, as long as Rosa is in the party too. These unique abilities can be either learned as the story goes along, or searched for by the player durring fights, and inputing the right commands.
The Moon Phase is a new system that effects both enemy and players physical and magical abilities. The phases of the moon shift when you rest in inns, tents, or cottages. If the affected command is strengthened, it will show in green, and if it is decreased it will show in red. This makes it more of a challenge for the player to progress the story. An example would be if the Moon was full, Black Magic becomes stronger, while physical attacks weaken.
The phase of the moon also affects what enemies will appear, and at what rarity the appear.

The music found in the game is just as wonderful as the original score, with some new additions and tweeks here and there. You find some familiarity of the SNES masterpiece, giving you the feel that you have in fact returned to the world you so fondly remember. The keeping of the basics of the score was, in my opinion, a rather wise descision for this fact alone. For those of us wanting a return to the world we love, it was a definite welcome to the ears. For the new players, it was just as much of a joy to hear these scores played.
In June of 2009, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years was released on WiiWare, in 9 chapters. The base game (consisting of the Prologue, Ceodore's Chapter, and Kain's Chapter) costs 800 points. The Gathering Chapter and both parts of the Final Chapter are also bundled together for 800 points. The other character chapters cost 300 each. It has become very popular among the American fans, who were worried they would not see this title. With the exclusion of the cell phone game Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII in America, there was wide speculation that we would also not see this title. Thankfully Square-Enix realized with this title, that we do want these games over here. This was definitely a great game to go through, and brought back fond memories of the original game. If you have extra points, this is surely a great title for you to get.

	4-19-2011		3-24-2011
	4-22-2011		4-22-2011

Released in 2011 on the PSP, The Complete Collection features a chapter bridging the gap between the two stories called Final Fantasy IV Interlude. It includes updated 2D graphics on par with those of the PSP Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II. The game also has a new opening FMV for The After Years, as well as the opening FMV from the DS version of Final Fantasy IV. The Complete Collection features data install and new cinematic scenes in Final Fantasy IV, such as Agart's volcano erupting and Leviathan's attack on the party's ship. Definitely this is a must have for this game, as well as The After Years. It is good to see them finally get a Mobile Phone game to a system here that everyone can enjoy.