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If you’ve played Final Fantasy IV, I don’t need to tell you that it’s one of the classic Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) of all time. With its deep combat system, memorable cast of characters, heartfelt story and charming graphics, it essentially pioneered the formula that most JRPGs still follow today. But after replaying the game recently, what struck me most about FF4 was that it took me 21 hours to beat, side quests and all.
Modern fans have become accustomed to the idea that JRPGs are huge, grandiose, bloated productions that can cost 100 hours of your life, or more. FF4 stands as a stark reminder that this doesn’t have to be the case. During my 21 hours with FF4, the game never dragged on or stayed welcome and left me feeling content rather than exhausted. I started to wonder: are modern JRPGs really better than their 90s brethren – or just longer?
Re-watching the classics
If you’ve never played FF4, it has an extremely straight-forward pitch: you play as Cecil, a dark knight in Baron’s kingdom. Defying a gruesome order from his king, he sets out on an adventure to pursue the magical crystals that protect the land. Along the way, he teams up with a delightful cast of characters, from the brooding dragoon Kain, to the eager summoner Rydia, to the cranky sage Tellah.
The gameplay should also be familiar to anyone who has played a Final Fantasy game in the last 30 years. You recruit a group of up to five characters and then fight hundreds of random battles to improve their attributes and skills. This is the game that pioneered FF’s signature Active Time Battle mode, where players have to think instead of just politely waiting for their next turn.
Final Fantasy on the NES is where the series was born, but FF4 is where it came of age.
I first played FF4 when I was in high school, and even then I was impressed with how modern it felt. My first taste of the series was the flashy, extravagant Final Fantasy VII, and I was concerned that FF4, with its simpler gameplay and 2D graphics, would seem primitive by comparison. Instead, I found a demanding combat system, engaging story, and some beautiful sprites. Final Fantasy on the NES is where the series was born, but FF4 is where it came of age.
A few weeks ago I picked up Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection on the PlayStation Vita, and played about six hours in one go. From the start I couldn’t believe how fast the game went. I didn’t have to go through a 30 minute cutscene before I got Cecil under control and started fighting enemies. Kain and Rydia had no tedious, overly lengthy introductions; they just joined the party and revealed more about their personalities along the way.
keep it short
After six hours in a modern JRPG, such as: Xenoblade Chronicles 3, you’re in luck if the story has made its way past the initial mountain of explanatory dialogue. After six hours in FF4 I had recruited a party, lost that game and recruited a whole new party to replace them. I had traveled halfway across the world map, first on foot and then by hovercraft. I had seen shocking story twists, full of redemption, betrayal and sacrifice. I had even talked to a great villain.
The game’s brisk pace continued through to the end, yet it never felt rushed. The story deserved its thrilling climax; each character was given a full arc; each dungeon challenged my combat skills. There were three major world maps to explore; there were plenty of optional missions to undertake. FF4 is packed with powerful equipment and hidden bosses, but you don’t need a walkthrough to find them. The game doesn’t have endless mountains of ‘content’. Instead, it has a generous – but limited – number of worthwhile adventures.
When the credits rolled and I saved my completed game file, I found that I had accumulated 21 hours of gameplay after completing the main story and most of the optional quests. This playtime would be considered incredibly stingy in a modern JRPG, but I couldn’t see how the game would have benefited from being longer. It accomplished everything it set out to do, both in terms of story and gameplay, without taking up months of my free time.
Compare and contrast with some modern JRPGs. According to HowLangToBeat, Persona 5 lasts between 98 and 113 hours; Stories of origin lasts between Yakuza: like a dragon lasts between 45 and 67 hours; Xenoblade Chronicles 3 lasts between 41 and 56 hours; 59 and 92 hours. It’s worth wondering how many of these hours are immersive cutscenes and thoughtful gameplay challenges, and how many are just repetitive level-grinding or expansive expositions.
While some game companies like to brag about how many hundreds of hours their games last, I’d say the length of a game isn’t that important. We remember the impact a game makes, not how long it took to beat. This is why, for example, The Witcher 2, with a running time of 35 hours, is probably just as good as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which can last 100 hours or more. The Witcher 3 has more to do, but The Witcher 2 tells a much tighter story.
While there is no universally perfect length for a JRPG, FF4 is an excellent reminder that less can be more. Given the choice between 20 hours of good stuff and 100 hours of fluff, which would you rather have?
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