Episode 485: Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (Patreon)

Final Fantasy IV, the beloved genre-defining JRPG from Square Enix, has a direct sequel called The After Years. If you try to talk to FFIV fans about said sequel, however, they're likely to stick their fingers in their ears and hum the Red Wings theme until you go away.

Why is The After Years so looked down upon—even reviled? Maybe Nintendo's WiiWare was a poor marketplace for a chapter-based JRPG. Maybe The After Years' choppy, unbalanced gameplay is a poor follow-up to Final Fantasy's razor-sharp battles. Maybe its primitive feature phone graphics scared people off.

Or maybe… just maybe… The After Years doesn't deserve the mockery that Final Fantasy IV fans rain upon it.

Well, maybe not all the mockery. Just a little bit.

Decide for yourself as Nadia, Victor Hunter, and Ash Paulsen, a.k.a. gaming's sole defenders for The After Years, talk about what makes Cecil Harvey's second trip to the moon charming in its own aggravating way. If nothing else, it deserves respect for moulding Edward into a certifiable badass bard.

• 09:23 - Mysterious Girl (Mobile)
• 20:49 - The Battle for Life (Mobile)
• 29:57 - Red Wings (WiiWare)
• 41:09 - The Dreadful Fight (WiiWare)
• 55:21 - Fabul (WiiWare)
• 1:08:21 - Samba de Chocobo (WiiWare)
• 1:19:42 - The Lunarians (WiiWare)
• 1:30:58 - True Moon (Mobile)
• 1:37:46 - Ending 1 (Mobile)
• Closing - CG Trailer Theme (Mobile)

Edits by Greg Leahy. Art by Nick Wanserski.