What is the best version to play Final Fantasy IV?

[BinaryMessiah]

The current Pixel Remasters are usually the best modern way to play the game. If you haven't played them before I wouldn't worry to much about differences until you truly like the game and want to play it again.

 

[TotzOnGaming]

I can't speak for all versions but the ones I've played were the PSP, GBA, 3D Remake and the PS1. I lean more towards the PSP then the GBA the the 3D one. All are good though so you can't go wrong with either.

 

[McDoob]

Those of you who mention the PSX version are doing the rest of us a disservice by not also mentioning the excruciating loading times. Even with an emulator (and loading speed hacks) it feels like it takes a full minute to go into combat or the menu!

-McD

 

[MasterEn]

Those of you who mention the PSX version are doing the rest of us a disservice by not also mentioning the excruciating loading times. Even with an emulator (and loading speed hacks) it feels like it takes a full minute to go into combat or the menu!

-McD

i'm fairly certain most people know about the long load times. and the load times are mostly prominent for the opening logos, intro fmv, title screen and the save/load screen. the rest of the game flows at a pretty decent speed in comparison.

 

[Bakuma1997]

I will die defending the DS and PC versions, the PSP may have a new chapter, but the 3D remake add their own stuff without the extra chapters (That i played and consider mid)

 

[Denmdm]

I'll always prefer the PSP version over every other. The 3d remake is a different game, and it's also slow af and with horrible voice acting which I can't enjoy. The psp has glorious visuals since it's 2D and adds all the extra content u need. (Tho Interlude and The After Years are lame, imo)

WOOOO I look like a pessimist in this post dont mind meeee FFIV it's not rlly the best entry I can think of but if yall speak abt FF6 i'd be drooolingg

 

[McDoob]

i'm fairly certain most people know about the long load times. and the load times are mostly prominent for the opening logos, intro fmv, title screen and the save/load screen. the rest of the game flows at a pretty decent speed in comparison.

Well, maybe I'm thinking about Crono Trigger? That PSX release kind of killed all of them for me...

-McD

 

[MasterEn]

Well, maybe I'm thinking about Crono Trigger? That PSX release kind of killed all of them for me...

-McD

possibly. ff4 was originally meant to be a nes game, and was bumped up to the snes about 80% of the way through development. but that doesn't really explain the load times for any of the first 5 games and chrono trigger. they all have somewhat long load times. based on what i heard about in a video that i watched about the worst rpg ever made on the psx, it might just come down to not utilizing the system specs correctly. and discs are known for needing a moment to load, regardless of what the contents are; movies, games, pictures, music. and how the disc player is designed to work will greatly affect reading speed.

 

[Xdqwerty]

Another reposted analysis:

Steam version of FF4 3D remake has normal and hard difficulty to choose, DS original is ONLY hard so get PC port instead of emulating. 2D version of Final Fantasy 4 was heavily cut down in American SNES release, it's missing half the skills, but was made easier to compensate. The music also sounds really thin and sprites are small as they developed the game for 8-bit consoles. So stay away from original release of 4, compared to, say, 6 where original version is already good enough.

So for 4: ignore SNES, choose any later version depending on which you think looks better, but be wary of DS difficulty. 3D version on Steam is very good and can let you change from normal to hard on New Game+ after getting OP armors and it removes touchscreen gimmick summon and changes a few quest to accomodate. Highly reccomended!

 

[Leifang]

The current Pixel Remasters are usually the best modern way to play the game. If you haven't played them before I wouldn't worry to much about differences until you truly like the game and want to play it again.

TBH, I started with original SNES version after playing FF6 on ZSNES and enjoying it, but got turned off from 4 for a long while, so in this case, I'd pick ANY updated version over the original. Like yes, even obscure ones like Wonderwan port or mobile versions you can't get legally anymore.

Pixel Remasters, in general, miss bonus dungeons, and have major graphical and music changes, instead of GBA or PS1 being minor touch-ups and PSP having gorgeous high-res sprites and backgrounds... Also YMMV on how you like the mariachi band of the PR (personally, I love the trumpets).

This write-up seems to be very detailed:

Final Fantasy IV version differences

The original version of Final Fantasy IV has been subject to numerous changes throughout its various re-releases, such as alterations of the script, core mechanics, and overall difficulty. Some versions also have various new additions not present in the original release. The first iteration of...

finalfantasy.fandom.com

I agree with overall message that whatever version will work for first time, don't overthink it (I think OP settled on PSP then 3D, which are great picks), just pointing out that Final Fantasy II release of FF4 might be one of very few exceptions where the original localization was a very cut-down version (basically the entire gameplay has no challenge or variation, it's BORING), and can ruin the game. There are fan patches to fix it but if we got to the point of looking at that, there's no reason to avoid later releases.