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To the center of the moon, to the center of the series, and into the slog. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years takes a strange turn in its back half... a turn that isn't discussed very often because nobody really talks about The After Years. So, join us for the last few chapters of this wildly misguided game.

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An unloved sequel to a beloved game makes for some rough play, as the FF4 formula wears out its welcome.

While Takashi Tokita was working to update Final Fantasy IV for the Nintendo DS, he felt a longing to return to the Blue Planet and revisit the story of Cecil and the gang. What resulted was a strange plan: to release a sequel to an almost 20 year old game in episodic installments on Japanese mobile phones. By the time it arrived in America, nobody quite knew what to make of it, and neither do we.

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Picking up at Troia and the Tower of Zot, Gary and Kole conclude their discussion of the main game of Final Fantasy IV.

The next episode will cover the first several chapters of The After Years.

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It's a classic RPG that established many of the norms for a huge series. Does it hold up to modern scrutiny? This episode covers the generalities, and the events of the game up through Cecil's trial at Mt. Ordeals.

Final Fantasy IV was released in America for the SNES in 1991 as "Final Fantasy II", just a short year after the first Final Fantasy reached our shores. Timed to coincide with the release of a new system, it takes advantage of some of the new technologies that were freshly available at the time. The added scope was used to create a sweeping, narrative focused game that put broadly sketched characters and melodrama to the forefront. This decision came at the expense of some of the systems complexity of previous entries, marking Square's new priorities for RPGs as vehicles for story.

This first episode covers the portion of the game where Cecil, our main character, is working as a Dark Knight in the employ of Baron. Unsettled by his king's increasing militancy, Cecil abandons his kingdom after deciding he won't be a tool for further atrocities.

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• Episode 89: Final Fantasy IV, plus some big news | Retronauts

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty in this final extrasode.

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Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross talk about the final portion of Metal Gear Solid 2. Or do they?

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Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross do a postmodern postmortem on the first portion of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is a game that's been talked to death, but we try our best to bring our own perspective and approach to it. It's a sequel that Kojima never wanted to make. It's full of curveballs and "fuck you"s aimed at series fans. It has lots of ideas that are shockingly prescient. But, most of all, it's got some play issues that haven't aged super well.

This episode covers up through the encounter with Fat Man on the Big Shell.

Special thanks to Zachary Deane, this episode's executive producer.

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Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross read your responses to Nox.

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Recorded LIVE at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2013!

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross chase their orbs into the world of Nox.

It was marketed as EA's answer to Diablo, but it's categorically different. It introduces itself as a goofy and irreverent take on fantasy fiction, but then it plays it straight. After all of the feints, what you end up with is a profoundly strange action RPG.

Big thanks to Garrett for executive producing this episode!

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