I hope Final Fantasy IV can see this, because I'm doing it as hard as I can.
Last week, I cheerily reported on my ongoing affair with the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV, though I did have some reservations about the moon portion of the game, where I was currently stationed. This week, I committed the ultimate act of hate you can do to a game: sending it back to GameFly unfinished.
For bonus revenge points, I also watched the ending on YouTube.
I did have every intention of beating Final Fantasy IV, but the last dungeon of the game is such a slog that every time you take a step forward, it feels like two steps back. "Two steps back" in this case are the irritating random encounters, which require as much planning and strategy as a boss fight, but with about 10% of the payoff. I'll give credit to Final Fantasy IV's dungeon for having a save point--while it was there in the original, the DS version of III didn't even add one for the sake of convenience--but I never managed to reach that life-saving spot, even with my all of my characters at my ludicrously high levels.
And woe be to you if you happen upon one of the monster-trapped chests and don't immediately know the trick to beating whatever abomination pops up in front of your party. Having your game end in a single turn comes with that sick, empty feeling of time literally being stolen from your life.
I'm not asking for the game to be a pushover, but for the love of god, they should at least make the 30 hours I've invested in the damn thing seem relevant. One of the reasons both Resident Evil 4 and Half-Life 2 are great is that they make you feel like a total badass by the end of the game--but here I am in Final Fantasy IV, sheepishly running away from enemy encounters (and often getting my ass handed to me) at level 70. What do you, the folks at home think? Are frustrating final levels the ultimate test of your skills, or do they just make games outstay their respective welcomes? Discuss.
Related Links:
Gaming on a Train: Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV DS: Love, Hope and Betrayal For the Busy Commuter
Are You Buying Final Fantasy IV DS? Huh? Huh? Huh??
You Are A Baby and Games Don't Wanna Make You Cry