Definitely a step up in difficulty

[Veritas7Ax]

So very quick and important disclaimer here, I don't think the game is overall difficult. A lot of that is mitigated by the boosts and the abuse of quick and auto saves. That said, when COMPARED to the first three games in these remasters, FFIV is a huge difference. Once you get past say, the Antlion, every enemy starts hitting like an absolute truck. On top of that in the time it takes you to have your turn, it feels like the group of enemies get to hit you at least 2x each.

 

Even with boosts, the random enemies pose a higher challenge than the previous games, which were all a cakewalk, especially with boosts, with some small exceptions. This game really teaches the player to be absolutely on top of their healing, use Tents often, and be very deliberate with their battle decisions. Overall I dig it, even though it is a frustrating adjustment at times. For example, I'm at Eblan right now (and I'm using a guide for achievements so it's possible I'm in a place that I shouldn't be this early), and the Mad Ogres curbstomped my party into dust. Autosave removed the issue of losing progress, but yikes. Even just outside Eblan though, the stone lizard and fiery hound enemy group is tough. They seem to absolutely assault you with attacks before your first character can even move, and poor Tellah doesn't last long.

 

So again, I don't mind it too much, but definitely an adjustment after breezing through FFI-III

[KenobiEagle]

Yeah, IV definitely requires occasional level grinding, particularly after each time your party composition changes up.

[xKrAzY_8sx]

I agree, but at the endgame of 3 is where i started to struggle. The enemies hit like freight trains and had tons of health. Especially the minibosses guarding the final 4 chests in the realm of darkness area. But comparison though, I did struggle a lot less against the final boss, which also pissed me off that 4 minibosses would be miles harder than the final boss of the game.

[goroh16]

On 6/4/2023 at 2:16 AM, Veritas7Ax said:

 and the Mad Ogres curbstomped my party into dust. Autosave removed the issue of losing progress, but yikes. Even just outside Eblan though,

There's a treasure chest that gives you a hourglass item before you enter the area with the Mad Ogres. It freezes all three Ogres, making them unable to attack. Tellah's break or stone magic can one shot them.

 

On 7/11/2023 at 1:35 PM, KenobiEagle said:

Yeah, IV definitely requires occasional level grinding, particularly after each time your party composition changes up.

Not really you don't have to grind to beat it. If you keep moving while fighting every encounter your levels will be good enough to beat the game. And this is with the default setting with no boost.