Naysaspace posted...
also, 4 can be pretty lousy in that it's very primitive compared to 5 and 6. not a whole lot of variation in the battles until late in the game. however, the map layout, towns, and especially castles are really well done.
I mean this is pretty accurate.
I'm actually in the middle of a playthrough and while I am enjoying it, FF4 suffers from overly tedious battles (the encounter rate *feels* ridiculously high), repetition of story elements (how many times are we going to have Kain turn against the party / X character was brainwashed), and an almost hilarious way to get rid of characters out of the party (Devs: "we need space for new party members, time for a self-sacrifice moment!")
But besides all that, it does have a decent story and likable characters. Also "you spoony bard!" I mean, come on. Excellent.