Our trademark research was right on the money! Square Enix will release Final Fantasy IV: The After, a direct sequel to Final Fantasy IV, in North America under the name Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. The ESRB spilled the surprise rating Final Fantasy IV: The After Years for Wii with an E rating and gave this description.
This is a 2D role-playing game in which players embark on an adventure involving magical crystals and a mysterious kingdom. Players traverse across a field map or through dungeons and can enter into turn-based battles along the way. Players use a menu screen to select attacks or magic spells against tiny enemies (e.g., leopards, birds, knights, fish monsters, etc.) that blink and disappear when defeated. An item called “Bacchus Wine” is occasionally used to defeat enemies in battle.
Since all we have is a rating we don’t know if Final Fantasy IV: The After Years will be a retail release or if Square Enix will release the game in downloadable parts via WiiWare, similar to how the original mobile phone version was distributed in Japan.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years features Cecil, Rosa, and the entire cast of Final Fantasy IV years in the future. The story begins with their son Ceodore and introduces new characters like a brigade of ninjas under the command of Edge who is now the King of Eblan.
Update: These are some screens from the mobile phone release in Japan. Since the ESRB lists it as a 2D game chances are it’s going to have similar — if not the same visuals as the cell phone counterpart.
