On day 21 of my Final Fantasy Marathon, I finished my second playthrough of Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster. Today, I’m starting Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster.

As with the rest of the Pixel Remaster series, I’ve already completed the achievements for this game. Since there’s no different jobs or classes to try out and no game+, I will only be doing one playthrough of this game.

Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap

Unlike the previous three games in the series, there is no party selection screen when you start a new game. You don’t get to choose your party’s class, job, or name, though you can rename the characters by visiting Namingway at various point of the game.

The game opens with an extended cut scene. Five ships are flying in formation. A crewman announces they will arrive in Baron shortly.

The crew notes that the captain seems troubled and speculates that it is because of whatever it was that they just did. One crewman opines that killing innocent people to get the Crystals isn’t right.

Captain Cecil tells his men that the raid on Mysidia was necessary to ensure Baron’s prosperity because the Mysidians were a threat due to their possession and knowledge of the Crystals. Additionally, as soldiers of the Royal Air Force, they are sworn to obey the king.

Monsters attack

An attack by monsters interrupts their conversation. Cecil fights them off. One of the crew notes that they have been seeing more monsters than ever lately. Cecil wonders if it’s some kind of omen.

Cecil gets demoted

A man named Baigan praises Cecil for a job well done when he arrives at the castle. Cecil tells him that the Mysidians were completely defenseless.

Baigan scolds Cecil for pitying the Mysidians. When they get inside, Baigan tells Cecil to wait and then tattles to the King.

Baigan tells the King that he can’t trust Cecil anymore because he is questioning the King’s authority. They call Cecil in and he hands over the Water Crystal.

The King dismisses Cecil, but he questions the King about his intentions for the Crystals and tells him that his men are confused and displeased with their orders. The King wants to know if Cecil is questioning his command.

Cecil denies it, saying he just wants to know. The King isn’t buying it. He accuses Cecil of treachery and relieves him of command of the Red Wings.

The King commands Cecil to slay the phantom beast that plagues Mist Valley and deliver a bomb ring to the village of Mist. A man named Kain walks in and begs the King to reconsider Cecil’s demotion, saying Cecil has done nothing wrong.

The King tells Kain that if he’s so worried about his traitorous friend, he can join him on the mission. The pair leave the throne room.

Mission prep

Outside the throne room, Kain tells Cecil that surely the King will forgive them if they complete their mission. I finally get control of Cecil.

Castle Baron has 18 chests and two items in it, but parts of the castle are not accessible at this point. I talk to Kain, telling him that I mastered the dark sword on the King’s orders, but I did it to protect Baron, not to plunder.

I tell Kain I envy his path. Kain says he could have attained higher rank by becoming a dark knight. However, he wanted to be a dragoon because his father, who died when he was young, was a dragoon.

Rosa and Cid

As I explore the castle, I encounter Rosa. She expresses her concern about Cecil. Cecil tells her about his guilt at slaughtering the Mysidians.

Rosa tells Cecil she’ll come see him later. I also encounter Cid. Cid scolds me for worrying Rosa.

He is shocked that the King demoted me. Cid says that the King has been acting strangely lately. Cid says the King ordered him to build an airship for killing people.

When I get to Cecil’s room, the game prompts me to rest, so I do. Cecil lies awake, pondering what is wrong with the king, as he is coveting the Crystals as though possessed.

He says the King will do anything to get the Crystals, but Cecil can’t defy him. He questions how he could cross the man who raised him and Kain.

Rosa shows up and questions why Cecil is going on another mission so soon after returning from Mysidia. Cecil says what he did in Mysidia was awful, but he supposes it is his fate as a dark knight.

Cecil calls himself a coward for not defying the king. Rosa scolds Cecil for whining and says the man she loves isn’t a whiner.

Rosa leaves. Cecil remarks that as a dark knight he and Rosa can never truly be together.

Obligatory scroll

It isn’t a Final Fantasy game without a scroll to explain the story so far. The scroll starts by recapping what just happened.

It then explains that the invention of the airship made Baron powerful. Baron is using that power to collect the world’s crystals while monsters multiply and stir unrest.

Journey to Mist

The next morning, Kain and Cecil meet up and leave the castle. They both start at level 10. Kain is a Dragoon and Cecil is a Dark Knight, both classes that made an appearance as jobs in Final Fantasy III.

The Town of Baron has six chests and eight items, but like the castle, parts of it are not accessible, including the weapon and armor shop. I find a few items hidden in the town and purchase a few more at the item shop before leaving.

I encounter monsters outside of the town and get my first look at the active time battle system. In the previous Final Fantasy games, action in the game paused while you chose your battle commands.

In this one, a timer runs for each character. When the meter fills, you can select your command and the character immediately executes it.

Unlike in previous games, enemies also have their own timers and can attack while you are selecting commands. This forces you to have a plan in mind and execute your commands quickly, though you can adjust this feature in settings.

Mist Cave

The Mist Cave has four chests and no items. I get a rare Goblin drop, which is a fairly useless summon that Rydia can learn when she joins your party.

There are two other summons like this and their main function seems to be something to grind for. There is an achievement associated with getting all three, but I already have it from a previous playthrough and I’m not going to worry about getting them this time.

As we progress through the cave, we hear a voice warning us to turn back. I ignore the voice and press on.

The voice issues a second and a third warning and gives us one final chance to turn around. I ignore it again, and the mist in the cave gathers into the Mist Dragon, which attacks.

The gimmick of this battle is that the Mist Dragon will sometimes turn back into mist. If you attack it while in mist form, you can’t damage it and it retaliates with a special attack that hits the whole party.

As a result, the strategy is basically to attack and then stand around and wait for the Mist Dragon to turn back into a Dragon whenever it shifts to its mist form. The only challenge is that if you are unlucky with your timing, it may turn to mist right after you issue an attack command.

The battle is a bit tedious, but difficult to lose. After we kill the Mist Dragon, we exit the cave and walk to nearby Mist village.

Mist village

The village of Mist has four chests and three items, but there is no opportunity to collect them at this point. As soon as we step into the village, the bomb ring glows and then releases a bunch of bombs into the village.

The bombs destroy the village. Cecil is shocked that this is why the King sent them to Mist.

We hear a child calling for her mommy. We find a young girl who explains that her mother died because her mom’s dragon died.

Kain says the people of Mist must be summoners with the power to call forth monsters. Cecil says they are responsible for killing the girl’s mother.

The girl is understandably upset. Cecil explains that they didn’t know what would happen to her mother.

Kain speculates that the King’s plan was to kill all the summoners in the village. He says they will have to kill the girl too.

Cecil refuses to kill anyone else for the King. Kain claims he knew Cecil would say that and he is on Cecil’s side.

Kain says they will need the support of other nations if they are going to oppose Baron. He also says they need to get Rosa out of Baron.

Cecil decides they have to take the girl with them, but the girl refuses. When Cecil and Kain press the issue, she summons Titan.

Titan causes an earthquake, which causes an avalanche. Cecil wakes in the forest with the girl, but Kain is gone.

Cecil resolves to get the girl out and hopes that Kain is alive. Back on the overworld map, I see that the passage to Mist is blocked off by the avalanche, preventing me from returning to Baron the way I came.

Kaipo

I cross a desert and find an oasis town called Kaipo. When I enter the town, Cecil resolves to find a place for the girl to rest.

Cecil goes to the inn, and the innkeeper allows us to stay for free. Cecil asks the girl if she’s OK and tries to get her to tell him her name, but she doesn’t answer.

He apologizes for killing her mother and says he understands if she can’t forgive him. He asks if she will at least let him protect her.

The pair goes to sleep, but a General and his men show up in the middle of the night. The General says he is there to carry out the King’s orders to kill all the summoners from Mist.

He demands Cecil hand over the girl, but Cecil refuses. The General and three soldiers attack Cecil.

I focus my attacks on the General, and when I take him out, two soldiers go down with him, leaving just one more to finish off. After the battle, the girl asks if Cecil is OK.

He says that he is and that he won’t let anyone hurt the girl. The girl tells Cecil her name is Rydia.

Rydia joins the party. She is a level one Summoner. Her only magic is the chocobo summon spell, which is actually pretty powerful for this stage of the game, but she can’t cast it much with only 10 MP. I also have her learn the Goblin summon I got as a drop.

You give me fever

Talking to the people in the town, I learn that a young woman from Baron collapsed outside the town. She is resting in someone’s home.

I collect the town’s one item and go to find the girl, who turns out to be Rosa. The man tending her says she has desert fever.

He tells me I need a rare jewel called the Sand Ruby to cure her. The only place I can get one is in a cave where an antlion lives.

Underground Waterway

I learn from the townspeople that only royalty are allowed in the antlion’s den. Fortunately, Damcyan Castle lies to the north of Kaipo.

However, I must pass through the Underground Waterway to get there. There are 18 chests and no items in the waterway.

As Rydia gains levels, she learns both white and black magic spells. This is handy, because there’s a few enemies that are resistant to physical attacks and Cecil’s dark sword doesn’t work on the undead.

We encounter an old man on a bridge who recognizes Cecil as a Dark Knight and asks for his help. The man says he must get to Damcyan to rescue his daughter who was deceived by a wicked bard.

Cecil recognizes the man as Sage Tellah. Tellah says a giant monster lurks in the lake ahead and we must work together to defeat it.

Tellah joins the party. He is a level 20 Sage and can cast both white and black magic.

We’re saved!

I find an Iron Armlet in a chest and give it to Tellah. I arrive at another Final Fantasy staple introduced in this game: the save point.

Save points allow you to use tents or cottages to recover your party’s HP and MP and save the game. Presumably they added this feature to make the game’s larger dungeons less onerous.

Tellah lets us use his tent at the save point and tells Cecil that Rydia will be powerful with proper training. He also explains that his daughter eloped with a bard to Damcyan because Tellah refused to give his consent for them to marry.

Tellah asks Cecil why he is going to Damcyan. Cecil tells him about Rosa’s desert fever.

Underground Waterway part two

I leave the save point and continue into the waterway. I find an Ice Rod and a Feathered Cap in a chest that I give to Rydia.

I get a Shadowblade that goes to Cecil. When I reach the exit, I realize I missed three chests, so I go back for them.

They are hidden behind a waterfall and contain a Dry Ether, X-Potion, and Phoenix Down. I backtrack to the exit and leave the waterway.

Subterranean Lake

I save the game and use a tent before going the short distance north to another cave that holds a subterranean lake. Tellah says the monster is in the lake.

There are four chests and no items in the lake. When I get inside, Tellah says the monster is down a large waterfall, so we jump. I find a Hades Helm, Hades Gloves, and Hades Armor for Cecil.

Octomammoth

The monster in the lake is an octomammoth. There are no tricks to this fight. I just cast thunder spells at him and attack with Cecil until he dies.

Damcyan Castle

We walk through another waterfall to leave. Shortly after we get out of the cave, we see the Redwings attack Damcyan Castle.

The castle is a smoking ruin, but still contains 10 chests and three items. On the top floor, we find Anna lying on the floor surrounded by dead soldiers.

The spoony bard

A bard walks in and Tellah immediately blames him for Anna’s fate. Tellah attacks the bard.

During the fight, Tellah utters one of the game’s most iconic lines, “You spoony bard!” The bard begs for Tellah’s forgiveness, but he keeps attacking until Anna tells him to stop.

Anna tells Tellah that the bard is Edward, the prince of Damcyan. She asks for her father’s forgiveness for running away, but says she and Edward are in love.

Anna says she was on her way home to ask for Tellah’s consent when the Redwings attacked. Edward says the Red Wings were commanded by Golbez.

Cecil questions who Golbez is, given that he has never heard of him before. Edward doesn’t know, but says Golbez is unbelievably powerful.

Cecil asks why they attacked Damcyan and Edward says they wanted the Crystal. Edward’s parents and Anna protected him, shielding him from the enemy’s arrows.

Tellah is surprised Anna loves Edward enough to give up her own life. Anna asks her father to forgive her and tells Edward she loves him and then dies.

Tellah’s revenge

Tellah demands to know who Golbez is. Edward says all he knows is Golbez arrived in Baron one day and became the new leader of the Red Wings.

Edward starts to cry and Tellah scolds him, saying that won’t bring Anna back. Tellah vows to kill Golbez with his own hands.

Cecil protests that Tellah can’t possibly go alone. However, Tellah claims he doesn’t need anyone’s help and leaves in a huff.

A tough crowd

Edward continues to cry, and Rydia tells him to stop it because big boys don’t cry. She says she lost her mom, but she’s not going to cry anymore.

Edward tells her to leave him alone. He says he will stay by Anna’s side forever.

Cecil slaps Edward and tells him to start acting like the king of Damcyan for his people’s sake. Cecil then asks for Edward’s help.

He tells Edward about Rosa, and Edward agrees to help him get the Sand Ruby. He tells Cecil the Sand Ruby is in the Antlion Cave to the east.

Edward says we can reach the cave by using his hovercraft to cross the shallows. Edward joins the party. Though you’d think his job would be “Bard,” it actually appears to be level 5 Prince.

The game tries to put me immediately into the hovercraft. However, I get out and return to the castle to claim its loot, because that’s what Anna would want.

Damcyan loot

I find a second Feathered Cap, which goes to Edward and a crossbow that goes to nobody. I also found a Ruby Ring for Rydia.

Antlion’s Cave

I take Edward’s hovercraft to the Antlion Cave. It contains 13 chests and no items. I find Lamia’s Harp, which goes to Edward.

Edward has two special abilities, sing which mostly does nothing, but sometimes does something, depending on which weapon he is using. The Lamia’s harp has a chance of inflicting confusion on enemies.

His “Heal” ability tosses potions at the entire party, which can be useful, but can also deplete your supply of potions pretty fast. His attacks don’t do much damage.

We reach the place where the antlion lays its eggs. Edward assures us they are gentle creatures that don’t attack humans, right before the antlion attacks him.

We jump in to help. The Antlion has a counterattack that he uses whenever you hit him with physical damage.

As a result, I have Edward use his “sing” ability, even though it never accomplishes anything, because his weak attacks aren’t worth triggering the counterattack. Cecil does enough damage that it’s worth it, though after the fight it occurred to me that using his special attack might not have triggered the counter.

I have Rydia cast her Chocobo Summon to do about 150 damage per turn, which is pretty good for this stage of the game. We win the fight and collect the Sand Ruby.

Edward questions why the Antlion attacked. Cecil says monsters are growing in number and changing their behavior of late.

I use the emergency exit I found in a chest to warp out of the cave. We then hop back on the hovercraft and cross the shallows to return to Kaipo.

Kaipo part two

I return to Rosa and use the Sand Ruby to cure her of her desert fever. Rosa wakes and is thrilled to find Cecil alive.

Someone told her that Cecil had died in Mist. Cecil asks who Golbez is and Rosa tells him what we already know, that he’s the new captain of the Redwings.

She adds that the King has been behaving very strangely. Rosa thinks Golbez is manipulating the King to collect the Crystals for Golbez.

She thinks Golbez will go after the crystals in Damcyan, Fabul, and Troia next. Edward tells her that he already got the fire crystal.

Rosa concludes that Fabul will be his next target. Cecil tells Rosa to rest and assures her we will go to Fabul.

Edward says Fabul is blocked by thick ice. Rosa asks Rydia if she can cast Fire, and Rydia says no.

Rosa wants to come with us in spite of Cecil’s objection that she’s in no condition to make the journey. Rosa assures him she’ll be alright and promises not to be a burden.

Cecil agrees to let her join the party. Rosa is a level 10 White Mage.

Edward sees a ghost

That night, Edward goes out to play his harp by the water. A Sahagin attacks. The ghost of Anna appears during the fight.

Anna tells Edward he must fight and urges him to believe in himself. Edward wins the fight and speaks to Anna’s ghost.

She tells him she must leave this world for a better place. He begs her not to go. Anna tells him he must not let Golbez have the Crystals.

She urges Edward to fight for his people and then disappears. Edward vows to fight, but says he doesn’t know how to stop Golbez.

Mt. Hobbs

We hop back in the hovercraft and journey to Mt. Hobbs, which is near the Antlion Cave. It has five chests and no items.

As we were warned, we find the entrance to the mountain blocked by a sheet of ice. Rosa asks Rydia to try casting Fire, but Rydia refuses.

When Rosa presses the issue, Rydia says she hates fire. Cecil explains that Rydia’s village was destroyed by fire.

Rosa urges Rydia to be brave, as she is the only one who can melt the ice. She tells her they must reach Fabul or many lives may be lost.

Rydia casts the Fire spell, melting the ice. She also gains the ability to cast the spell during battle.

The party praises Rydia for her good work. We proceed to make our way up the mountain.

I get the Cockatrice summon as a drop from a fight. Either the RNG gods are smiling upon me, or they made these drops much less rare.

The mother of all bombs

Near the peak of the mountain, we encounter a lone fighter facing a horde of monsters. Edward recognizes him as one of Fabul’s monks.

The monk, whose name is Yang, defeats the lesser monsters, but as a Mom Bomb approaches, we decide we should help. The Mom Bomb initially looks like any other bomb.

However, as the fight progresses, she blows up and then explodes into three gray bombs and three bombs. The battle is pretty straightforward.

The main risk is getting KO’d by the bomb’s self-destruct attack. I attack with Yang, Cecil, and Edward.

Rosa and Rydia alternate between attacking and using their white magic to heal the party. We win the fight and Yang thanks us.

Fabul in danger

Yang explains that he came to the mountain to train with his men, but a swarm of beasts killed them all. We warn Yang that Fabul is in danger.

Yang says that the monks remaining at Fabul are all students. Fearing an imminent assault, he says he must go.

Cecil tells him we will go with him to Fabul and help fight Golbez. Yang declines, saying this matter doesn’t concern us, but we convince him that it does.

Yang joins the party. He is a level 10 Monk.

Battle of Fabul Castle

We arrive at the castle, which has seven chests and three items. We speak to the King. Yang tells him that Baron is about to attack and steal Fabul’s Crystal.

The King is suspicious of our party until Edward speaks up. He tells the King that Baron attacked Damcyan and took its Crystal, killing his family and his beloved in the process.

The King believes Edward and orders Yang to mobilize the men for battle. He then asks if Cecil and Edward will help defend Fabul.

I agree to help and Yang says we will join the forward guards by the main gate. Rosa and Rydia stay behind to help Fabul’s medic at the King’s request.

Our first opponent at the gates is two Baron Warriors and a Captain. I dispatch them easily.

However, when the Red Wings arrive to bomb the castle, we retreat into the castle. Next, we fight a Sahagin, Domovoi, and Leshy and again win easily.

However, we are quickly overwhelmed by enemies and fall back further into the castle. Our next battle is against a Captain and two Baron Warriors.

Again, another easy victory, followed by another retreat. We bolt the door and make our last stand at the throne room, but one of Yang’s men is actually a monster in disguise.

The fake monk unlocks the door, and a Gargoyle attacks. We defeat it and then face a Sahagin, Domovoi, and a Leshy.

We win that battle, but decide we are outnumbered and must withdraw to the vault where the Crystal is kept. However, enemies attack Edward before we can get there.

We fight off another Captain and two Baron Warriors and proceed to the vault. Much to our surprise, Kain walks in.

Et tu, Kain?

Cecil is elated to find Kain alive. The happy reunion doesn’t last, though. Kain attacks Cecil.

The one-on-one battle of Cecil vs. Kain is an unwinnable fight. Kain knocks Cecil down and as he goes in for the killing blow, Cecil asks if Golbez has poisoned his mind.

Yang attempts to stop Kain, and then Rosa and Rydia show up. Seeing Rosa stalls Kain and then Golbez shows up and asks why he hesitates.

Golbez blasts Yang and Edward out of the way and tells Kain to get the crystal, which he does. Rosa begs him to stop.

Golbez decides to kidnap Rosa since she is obviously important to Cecil. Kain tells Cecil he won’t be so lucky next time and leaves.

Aftermath

Rydia casts Cure on the fallen warriors. Yang bemoans his failure to protect the Crystal and Cecil grieves over Rosa’s kidnapping.

Rydia tells them we have to go help Rosa and get the Crystals back. Edward agrees and adds this is no time for moping.

Yang says we should rest and then make plans to rescue Rosa. I’m now free to move about the castle collecting its treasures.

I learn that the king was injured during the attack. I find a Demon Shield for Cecil. My party doesn’t need to rest, but it’s the only way to move the story forward, so I go to the inn.

Hatching a plan

We gather at the inn to make our plan. Cecil says we need an airship to take on Golbez, but Baron is the only kingdom that has them.

Yang suggests we go to Baron and steal one. Cecil says Baron’s navy is relatively weak, so sneaking in by water may be our best bet.

For that, we need a boat. Yang says the king will give us one. He asks who the dragoon was. Cecil tells him that his name is Kain and he was a friend until he changed.

The next morning, the King agrees to give us a ship and tells Yang to go with us. He also gives Cecil a dark sword called Deathbringer.

The King cautions Cecil that darkness can never prevail over true evil. The King tells us that Golbez must be stopped.

Before we set out on our rescue, I purchase some equipment upgrades at the shop in the castle. I also restock my supplies. I save outside the castle and quit at three hours and one minute in.