Artwork from a sketch by Yoshitaka Amano

It’s the end of the year, and I intend to celebrate with a trip through the tale of the most unpleasant party member from the original Final Fantasy IV!  No, not the worst party member from the original game, the most unpleasant one.  Which is a spot that has much more competition, since I don’t think anyone seriously contends that Edward was anything other than terrible in the original.

On a more meta note, I will express a touch of regret that the last column for 2014 is of a rather undramatic part of the game’s narrative.  Not that I’m not still enjoying The After Years more than I expected to, since it adds a lot of depth to the characters that had previously been lacking.  Yes, it’s a rehash of the plot from the last game, which is less than ideal.  At the same time, it’s also a better overall game and seems to have a more impressive narrative flow, and the structure is a bit more fun.

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Artwork from a sketch by Yoshitaka Amano

There’s no place like home for the holidays, with the acceptable caveat that “home” can mean a variety of things other than “at the home of your parents.”  Sometimes your parents are pretty toxic people to be around.  Which, not coincidentally, is the subject of this next installment in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.  Or at least it’s related.  They occupy similar headspaces.  Look, doing segues on December 24th is difficult, especially when you’re working very far ahead.

One of the things that I do wish was a bit more common in these little vignettes was more character study work.  They’re quick and inconsequential, which is part of the point, and that’s all well and good.  At the same time, it’d be nice to get inside the characters’ heads a little bit more.  Most of the plot sequences are entirely given over to advancing the plot at a whipcrack pace, and the characters are all hurtling toward their destinations with little chance to bounce off of more than one or two other people.  Sort of a missed opportunity.

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Artwork from a sketch by Yoshitaka Amano

Once you’ve cleared the first of the tales, the game opens up a bit – there are six more tales available right away, each covering a different character who ties back into Final Fantasy IV.  Curiously, Ceodore is the only new party member to get billed as having his own tale, as all of the others feature characters from the first game, although Rydia, Palom, and Porom have all grown up quite a bit since their initial appearances.

And yes, there are more than seven altogether, but the point is that these events happen in a similar timeframe and don’t overlap with other characters in the same way that Ceodore’s tale does.  But let’s put that to one side for a moment; we’re still going to take these on in the order they’re presented and the order of their release.  I did think it was neat that the option for skipping between them existed, though, especially knowing that more unlock as you continue.

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Artwork from a sketch by Yoshitaka Amano

As much as it surprises me to say so – and it does surprise me quite a bit, let me tell you – I’ve been enjoying The After Years up to this point.  Sure, Ceodore’s only got the thinnest sketch of character motivation, but he’s not exactly alone in this fact, and the general feel is of events cascading quickly out of control while at the same time not feeling forced.  He’s lost a lot, possibly everything, but he still has the will to push through.

Of course, will doesn’t make monsters not attack you, and not too long after his dying order from his commander, he’s being accosted by beasts.  The first two are barely even relevant, but the third one has him on the ropes until someone mysteriously jumps into battle.  Someone with narrow features and a portrait that makes strong eye contact.  Someone with long blonde hair and a penchant for appearing dramatically.  Someone who is referred to as only “the Hooded Man,” despite the fact that his identity is immediately obvious to anyone familiar with the original game.

Do we have to pretend we don’t know him?  We… we do, don’t we.

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Artwork from a sketch by Yoshitaka Amano

So, let’s recap briefly.  Long after the original Final Fantasy IV release, Square decides to greenlight a remake of the game for the DS.  Seems straightforward enough.  But someone had an idea that tied into an experiment with episodic gaming.  What if there was a sequel, one that told a new story altogether?  What if players could download new installments as they came out, picking out individual episodes or watching the whole thing unfold at once?  What then?

Well, we don’t have to wonder; that’s what happened.  A new story was written, new characters created, and the episodes began coming out.  So here we are with the PSP version, which collections all of them into a single packaged form.  I mentioned back when I started the interquel between the two that I quite like the fact that rather than a straight sequel, this one puts quite a bit of distance between the events of the original and the events of the sequel; they’re connected by world and by several characters, but not by conflict.

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