Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light

For everything the game does right, though, there's the pervasive, underlying whiff of a brand in crisis.

Less than ideal for RPG newcomers. Charm wins through, but you'll have to be v-e-r-y patient.

Final Fantasy The Four Heroes of Light is a nice addition to the ever growing collection of the franchise. While not deliberate enough in it's efforts to be a numbered entry, it still represents the series as a whole.

Naïve in looks but brutal in nature. Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light certainly isn't for the wide audience. Fan of the recent games in the series are likely to throw away their DS in frustration over defeat upon defeat. But it is sure to satisfy old-school Final Fantasy-fans, and the minimalistic approach is refreshing.

4 Heroes of Light is a JRPG fix. It looks alright and it plays alright and the baggage it carries is something you can either get past or despise depending on your attitude towards JRPGs.

While it's cute, has great music, has its fun moments, and introduces a great new job system with the crowns, the tediousness and lack of interest make it a subpar RPG.

So, maybe this isn't really a Final Fantasy game. It doesn't really matter, because 4 Heroes is supremely challenging and occasionally inventive - and what recent, successful Final Fantasy game can you really say that about?

Its back-to-basics approach strips away much of the pointless frippery of the modern JRPG without stripping out the satisfaction of playing them. The DS isn't short of absorbing RPGs, but 4 Heroes of Light is a worthwhile addition, particularly for anyone with fond memories of simpler, happier times for Japanese role-playing.

A great game for those who are nostalgic or meticulous or for large families.

If you like old-school JRPGs, flaws and all, you should enjoy this game.

Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light drops the cinematic look of the franchise for a much more traditional gameplay. It's an halfmade attempt however because many features are excessively out-of-date and players find theirselve struggling more against an unfriendly game-design than the monsters inhabiting the world of Brandt and his friends. With an excellent visual and art direction as its best feats, Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light is a JRPG which will appeal nostalgic players especially, but it is nowhere close to the quality provided by Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light delivers an RPG that has far more in common with early iterations of the Final Fantasy series than anything after V, and slips in a fair number of direct references to them.

Quotation forthcoming.

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light isn't glitchy or broken, but that's the highest compliment I can muster.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

FFT4HoL revives an old-school design with a new aesthetic, but which misguided aspects of that design come along with it will divide the line between appealing and off-putting to players.

It's a shame, because despite all of the rampant bad old-schooliness (I'm coining that phrase right here, right now), 4 Heroes of Light has some good qualities and I actually started enjoying it right about the midway point when you get your whole party together and the crown system kicks in full swing. The problem is that you have to slog through the first half to get there, and even then all the annoyances and frustrations are still lurking – they're just a little easier to ignore.

The story and dialogue aren't deep -- the play and art are the stars of the show -- but what little there is comes off as morally confused.