Summary
A recent discovery at a local game store left oneFinal Fantasyfan awestruck as they stumbled upon a brand-new, sealed copy ofFinal Fantasy 4Advanceon its shelves. Though the game itself is fairly easy to find online, discovering an unopened game as popular as aFinal Fantasytitle in a brick-and-mortar store would excite any prospective game collector.
The seriesmay have started its life on the NES, but developer Square Enix later ported some of the earlierFinal Fantasygames to the Game Boy Advance with some new features and additional endgame content for fans to enjoy after finishing the main story. The system also hadits own original entry in the series withFinal Fantasy Tactics,which took the series in a more tactical direction as opposed to the traditional active time battle mechanic the series was known for at the time.
The iconic status of the franchise and theimmense praise for the Game Boy Advance ports ofFinal Fantasyled Reddit user Salt-Entertainment91 to share their find of a sealed copy ofFinal Fantasy 4on the official GBA subreddit. The user shared two images of the front and back of the game’s case, which is sealed with protective plastic, implying that it is a brand-new, unopened copy, something incredibly rare for such high-profile games from older generations out in the wild.
Final Fantasy 4 On Game Boy Advance Is A Beloved Relic Of The Past
In the comments, the fan confirmed that they purchased the game for about $100, which is much more than a loose cartridge of the game goes for on eBay, but the plastic seal makes it much more valuable. Others in the comments stated that if the user were to hold onto it long enough, its value could increase even more, given how rare unopened games from that era can be.
Final Fantasy 4has had multiple re-releases throughout the years, including a full 3D remake that was released on the Nintendo DS and Steam that included an epilogue tying up some of the story’s loose ends. While this release was reviewed fairly well at launch,Square Enix unveiled theirFinal Fantasy Pixel Remasterslater, bringing the entire original series to modern hardware with updated visuals and mechanics.
In any case, the 2005 Game Boy Advance version ofFinal Fantasy 4is a rare relic of a bygone era for the franchise, which looks much different nowadays with its focus on action combat and cinematic storytelling. While the most recent entry,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth,retains some elements of the series' roots with its ATB mechanics,Final Fantasy 16fully embraced complete action gameplayand focused heavily on cinematic spectacles over traditional JRPG combat.
