THE PLOT:
It's been a year since Cecil and his friends saved the world. Many of the former companions are reuniting at Damcyan for a celebration of the successful reconstruction of the once-ruined castle. But the festivities are interrupted. Monsters have attacked a group of monks at a nearby mountain. More monsters are pouring out of the Sealed Cave. And the Tower of Babil, which a year previously was a villainous stronghold, is emitting an ominous glow...
CHARACTERS:
One of the pleasures of Final Fantasy IV: Interlude is that it allows players to catch up with the characters not long after the events of the main game. There are few surprises: Cecil and Rosa have gotten married; Yang remains devoted to his students even as he awaits a child; Palom and Porom are still getting up to mischief. But the characters remain likable and engaging, and much of the enjoyment of the game is in spending a little more time with them, before the generational shift of The After Years.
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| The plot confuses Cecil. He is not alone. |
GAMEPLAY:
Identical to Final Fantasy IV. A bit more deliberate grinding is required; the game is very short, and there's a distinct difficulty spike at the midpoint of it. If you tromp around the top level of the Sealed Cave a few times, darting out to save between battles, it doesn't take too long to level up enough to move forward... But it is an aggravation, just the same.
THOUGHTS:
Final Fantasy IV: Interlude is a trifle. It was created as value-added content for the PSP release of Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection - effectively acting as an enticement for people who already owned the base game and/or The After Years.
If you do already own the other, larger titles, then Interlude is absolutely not worth the purchase price. The entire campaign - grinding included - took me less than four hours to complete. I'm a bit compulsive about wanting to check every chamber of every map, so I'm fairly certain players with less completionist tendencies could polish it off in less than three hours. The story supposedly acts as a link between Final Fantasy IV and The After Years... but those links effectively amount to: (a) a certain character is pregnant, and has gone to the bad sitcom/soap opera school of refusing to tell anyone about it; (b) "There's more monsters!" ; and (c) a particularly vague introduction for a new villain. To call this expendable would be a compliment.
If you don't already have the other games, however, and opt for the PSP Collection (which I do recommend), then Interlude is a pleasant enough trifle. It's best looked at like one of those TV reunion movies made after a television series is canceled. No, it's not particularly meaningful or interesting, and the plot doesn't necessarily add up to anything... But it still has the feel of the original, the characters are still fun to spend time with, and it's short enough that there's no chance to become bored with it.
If it were ever sold individually, I would not recommend paying more than about $1.00 for Interlude. But taken strictly as a piece of value-added content, it's enjoyable. It's definitely not worth seeking out on its own, but neither is it worth skipping if you already have it.
Overall Rating: 4/10.
Preceded by: Final Fantasy IV
Sequel: Final Fantasy IV - The After Years
Previous Main Series Game: Final Fantasy IV
Next Main Series Game: Final Fantasy V
Previous Release: Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (not yet reviewed)
Next Release: Final Fantasy Type-0 (not yet reviewed)
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