I just recently borrowed a friends GBA copy of FFIV(U.S.), and I compared it to my JPN copy. There are some noticeable differences between the 2.
1) The language isn't english on the JPN copy. (Pretty goddamn obvious, but no biggie I know the story very well)
2) The U.S. version seems to suffer from lag when casting magic (battle) or accessing the menu.
3) The sound on the U.S. build is kinda bleh. I understand the DS/GBA doesn't have a good a sound chip as the SNES, but they could have reworked the bit rate to use the the system's sound chip to the fullest. Hell, Final Fantasy I & II had superb sound on the handheld.
I'm playing both right now at the same time, so if you can overlook the minor discrepencies for FFIV (U.S.) grab the sucker. Though I kinda find it a disappointment considering that Square Enix did such a half assed job on the port for the U.S. compared to my JPN copy. I don't suffer from any of the things in the U.S. build. The sound sounds decent, at least better than the U.S. I also realized the time they had to work with the system, they could have made sure it was a perfect port, if not a very good one. I know Square Enix puts out quality games, but more and more, I'm starting to drift towards the Enix made originals, i.e.; Dragon Quest VIII, Hanjuku Hero V, Grandia III, etc. Don't get me wrong, I have always like Squaresoft made games, but I feel there's cheese dickin' everyone on the amount of time they spend on their games now. I sincerely hope that Final Fantasy XII (including the next ports...ESPECIALLY VI) are better than their last 2 efforts (X and X-2). Yes, they were good games, but I want that hardcore, in-depth, old school RPG feel, ala DQ. I just wonder if they actually spend time an pay attention to the details to make the game as original as it can be to the predecessor. I have high hopes for FF XII. I've played the JPN demo and it looks very promising, they seem to be delivering that old school vibe albiet pretty visuals (I think they spend more time refining the female characters and making the males look homo than they do with the gameplay). Some of you may not feel me on this one, but thats okay, it's just merely my opinion. Maybe someone else has noticed this...who knows...
1) The language isn't english on the JPN copy. (Pretty goddamn obvious, but no biggie I know the story very well)
2) The U.S. version seems to suffer from lag when casting magic (battle) or accessing the menu.
3) The sound on the U.S. build is kinda bleh. I understand the DS/GBA doesn't have a good a sound chip as the SNES, but they could have reworked the bit rate to use the the system's sound chip to the fullest. Hell, Final Fantasy I & II had superb sound on the handheld.
I'm playing both right now at the same time, so if you can overlook the minor discrepencies for FFIV (U.S.) grab the sucker. Though I kinda find it a disappointment considering that Square Enix did such a half assed job on the port for the U.S. compared to my JPN copy. I don't suffer from any of the things in the U.S. build. The sound sounds decent, at least better than the U.S. I also realized the time they had to work with the system, they could have made sure it was a perfect port, if not a very good one. I know Square Enix puts out quality games, but more and more, I'm starting to drift towards the Enix made originals, i.e.; Dragon Quest VIII, Hanjuku Hero V, Grandia III, etc. Don't get me wrong, I have always like Squaresoft made games, but I feel there's cheese dickin' everyone on the amount of time they spend on their games now. I sincerely hope that Final Fantasy XII (including the next ports...ESPECIALLY VI) are better than their last 2 efforts (X and X-2). Yes, they were good games, but I want that hardcore, in-depth, old school RPG feel, ala DQ. I just wonder if they actually spend time an pay attention to the details to make the game as original as it can be to the predecessor. I have high hopes for FF XII. I've played the JPN demo and it looks very promising, they seem to be delivering that old school vibe albiet pretty visuals (I think they spend more time refining the female characters and making the males look homo than they do with the gameplay). Some of you may not feel me on this one, but thats okay, it's just merely my opinion. Maybe someone else has noticed this...who knows...
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