2.3.2 - Final Fantasy IV Easytype (USA: Final Fantasy II)
Description
This article is from the Final-Fantasy and other Square Soft Games FAQ, by nickzman@eskimo.com (Nick Zitzmann) with numerous contributions by others.
2.3.2 - Final Fantasy IV Easytype (USA: Final Fantasy II)
This is a version of Final Fantasy IV that was released exclusively for
American customers, but Square Co. Ltd also brought it out in Japan.
It's the same as FF IV, except that some of the more trivial and
nonimportant sub-plots and items were taken out of the game, and the
enemies toned down and special battle tactics removed.
Here's a quick summary of the changes in the Easytype version:
- The only battle tactics which survived in this game were the ones
which were absolutely essential for the characters to have, like Fight,
Item, Magic for magic users, Jump for Kain, Kick for Yang, etc.
- Prince Gilbert's name was changed to "Edward". A few other characters
have slightly different names, like Cain became "Kain," Fuusuuya became
"FuSoYa," etc. Because the letters L and R are monophones in the
Japanese language, Palom and Porom could have been called "Parom" and
"Polom," and it wouldn't have made a serious difference.
- The enemies have different names. Enemies also attack less often. All
enemies, including bosses, are much weaker & easier to defeat.
- Items that cure every condition in the original game are extremely
rare, and instead, the party had to carry different items to cure
different conditions (as in the SaGa games). These items were
consolidated into an easily available heal-all item in the Easytype
version.
- All character development & detail was taken out of the game, except
for that of Cecil's, who is the only "important" character to develop.
They still removed some of Cecil's background, though - the original
game hints to the player that Cecil and Rosa had been sleeping together
for a long time.
- The Programmer's Room that was hiding in the pub/cafe in the Dwarf
Castle in the original game was removed from the Easytype game.
- One of Rydia's calls, Cockatrice, has disappeared; as well as two of
the white magic spells Rosa could cast, Protect ("Armor") and Shell.
- The Beginner's School only appears in Baron in the original game. In
the Easytype game, the Beginner's Schools are located almost everywhere.
The USA version is also different from the Japanese game in several
ways:
- The original game had a strip dancer in Baron. While the Easytype
version still has this strip dancer, the dancer keeps her clothes on in
the American version.
- The "Cecil and Rosa kissing" sprite was edited so that they only
embrace, but do not kiss.
- The scythe that's above Rosa's head in the Tower of Zot was replaced
with a large, blunt instrument. (Apparently, killing people with scythes
was questionable, but killing people with bowling balls was not.)
- Lots of dialogue was censored, especially references to death. The
characters talk about sacrificing themselves, but they put in a very
subtle way, and do not mention the word "die" or "death" or even "kill"
once.
- The "Tower of Prayers" is the "Tower of Wishes" in the USA version.
Because of this, the Mysidians do not pray, they only wish for things to
come true.
- The "H'na Hon" or "pornography book" is (not mysteriously) missing
from the USA version.
- Other phrases that are "questionable" (in Nintendo's book, apparently)
were censored. For instance, "the color of blood" became "the color of
rubies".
- In the Japanese version of the game, Cecil and Kain were sent on a
mission to take a bomb to the area around Mist in order to slay some
monsters, not fully knowing its true intentions. In the USA version, the
bomb became a "Package" which Cecil and Kain were required to deliver to
Mist.
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