E3 2009: Final Fantasy IV: The After Years Trailer Confirms Episodic Downloads

Square Enix has just published a new trailer for their WiiWare port of the cellphone follow up to Final Fantasy IV, cleverly titled "The After Years." Take a look.



*Groan* Well, call me spoiled, but in a day and age when we can download entire current gen games, can someone explain to me why Square Enix insisted on keeping this in episodic form? Wait, don't answer that. I know, more downloads = more money. But seriously.

The game looks nostalgically interesting, but I'm just not willing to shell out 9 different times to play one (retro) game. When/if the big SE decides it can behave civilly and put them all into one package, I will reconsider picking this up. Until then, someone please tell Square Enix what year it is.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is currently available for Nintendo Wii's WiiWare service in North America.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years Dated for North America

For those of you who have been waiting since 1991 to find out what happens to Cecil, Rosa, and the whole FFIV crew, your wait is almost over, as Square Enix has announced that it's cellphone-gone-WiiWare-port of Final Fantasy IV The After will be coming to North American waggle boxes early next month.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years follows Cecil Harvey and Rosa Farrell's son, Ceodore, 17 years after the events of the original title. It was released on Japanese cellphones early last year via subscription-based episodes.

It is still unclear if the North American version will be released as a single game, or in installments similar to the Japanese release. But since we're talking about this wonderful generation of "milk gamers for all they're worth," my guess would be that SE will drag it out over as many downloads as they can.

Don't you just love this gen?

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years will be available for Nintendo Wii via the WiiWare service starting on June 1, 2009.

[RPGamer]

Several Final Fantasy Titles Headed to Wii Download Services

During the Nintendo keynote address at GDC today, it was announced that Square Enix will again be bringing its powerhouse RPG series to the Nintendo Wii via the WiiWare and Virtual Console downloadable services.

For WiiWare, it was confirmed that Final Fantasy IV: The After Years will be hitting the service, as well as My Life as a Darklord: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, which is a sequel to My Life as a King.

It was also confirmed that the original Final Fantasy will be hitting the Virtual Console, with other titles in the series on their way.

I guess that's cool. Or something.
...Who am I kidding? I'm not downloading any of those. :|

Final Fantasy IV The After Headed to Wii?

Early last year, Square Enix began an episodic cell phone RPG based on the fan favorite Final Fantasy IV, known as Final Fantasy IV The After: Tsuki no Kikan (Return of the Moon). The game followed Cecil and Rosa's son roughly 17 years after the ending of the original title, and used the same 2D graphical style of the original SNES title.

Since Japanese cell phone titles are rarely, if ever, localized outside of Japan, I (along with many others) disregarded this as something we would never see.

According to the ESRB, however, Square Enix is planning a release of a Nintendo Wii title called Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. The ESRB describes it as a 2D turn-based RPG, so there is good reason to believe it to be a port of the cell phone title.

Currently, Square Enix has had no official comment on the listing, so it could really go either way, as an ESRB rating does not always guarantee a release (hi ASH). Thus, it will have to remain a RUMOR for the time being.

If the title were released, it is thought that it would likely be released via the WiiWare downloadable service, though whether it would retain its episodic format is anyone's guess.