Disclaimer: I'm sorry to take the same route so many other reviewers took with this game, but it greases up past memories and they proved to be intoxicatingly potent. So if you were looking for a review that wasn't written like a schoolboy discussing a long lost crush, well… look elsewhere!

Though it may be hard to imagine now, especially for younger gamers, there was a time when the Japanese style RPG was not a common staple in the market, back in the Super Nintendo and portions of the PlayStation nineties. You couldn't count on them to be top sellers, let alone continue to occupy space on the shelves of your favorite gaming store for very long after their release. Even games that received warm welcomes from the press still only found homes with the niche crowd. It was during this time that I, for reasons long forgotten, borrowed what was once known as Final Fantasy II for the Super Nintendo. Before this game my RPG experience was essentially zero. But once the thrilling tale of deceit, love, failure and redemption transferred from the TV to my brain, I knew that this genre had something to offer beyond a simple visceral affair. Emotional weight, superior storytelling and a book-like performance was first experienced here by not only myself, but an entire generation of gamers. This is the videogame equivalent of a classic piece of literature or a classic film - a defining moment in gaming culture.

There should be no surprise in your demeanor when I go on to state that this was one game I was eagerly waiting for. Taking up the mantle of Final Fantasy IV Advance, this remake of the improperly numbered Final Fantasy II spit-shines the dirt off a game that long ago lost its lust, while tacking on some welcome additions. If you have trouble putting up with archaic 2D graphics, a straightforward story or games labeled "old school," there is nothing here to convince you otherwise; FFIV pulls no punches when it comes to what its experience is all about. Long time fans will love the slightly upgraded trip down memory lane, as will 2D RPG veterans who, for whatever reason, just didn't get a chance to play it the other two times it made the trip around the gaming block.

That's right, this game has made two appearances on consoles already - the original release on the Super Nintendo in 1992, followed by the 1999 Playstation U.S. and Europe re-releases in the Final Fantasy Chronicles/Anthology collections, respectively. While the PlayStation versions saw a handful of enhancements, this is the first re-release that can be considered a remake that saw a release outside of Japan. From graphical upgrades and remixed music to a fresh localization and additional content, Square-Enix and their old partners Nintendo held little back when it came to this version, none of which I found to damper my experience one bit.

Before we discuss what has been made new, let's talk about what has been left alone. The gameplay remains essentially the same, as players lead a party of up to five characters via an overworld map to save the world from a super villain, trudging through varied dungeons and random battles, issuing commands in said battles via menus and so forth; all the RPG bases are covered. The Active Battle System, a Final Fantasy staple, debuted in this game's original release, which allows enemies to attack without having to wait for the player to issue their commands. If you have ever played a Final Fantasy game, or any Japanese style RPG, the learning curve here is a flat line; non-existent, you see. Alright, time to bring in the new!

If there ever was a game in need of a graphical upgrade, Final Fantasy II was it. At one time the graphics were great, especially the Mode 7 quasi-3D effects during airship travel, but the bland backgrounds and textureless character models during battles hardly can compete with Square's (and Enix's) later offerings on the same system, let alone on the Game Boy Advance. Though none of the upgrades found here can be considered huge, they address the two eyesores I mentioned above. The flat, minimal backgrounds have been replaced with vivid, detailed ones that look wonderful on the bright Micro and DS Lite screens. Each one has its own effect, such as the raised tiles of a castle walkway to the cracked earth of a mountain pass. Character models no longer have their body parts bleeding into themselves during battles; now they have a greater sense of definition thanks to improved use of shadows and a bigger color palette. Talk bubbles now showcase facial artwork for the main characters, adding another personal touch to their words.

An odd problem does crop up with the upgraded character graphics - for some reason, especially during spells and special skills, battles fall victim to slowdown. For a game that ran flawlessly on early nineties' technology to chug on a Game Boy Advance is a bit of a head-scratcher. If you reside in Europe though, you can ignore this problem, as the version you can buy had it resolved before release.

The upgrade that surprised me the most has to be in the musical department. I have never heard a soundtrack as captivating and astounding in a Game Boy Advance game as I found here. I usually turn the volume down soon after booting them up, but this was one of the few times I turned it up to 11. Each song comes out clear as day, each instrument echoes in impressive individuality; Nobuo Uematsu's soundtrack trumps not only nearly every GBA game out there but many DS games as well. Heck, I would take this soundtrack over the poor excuse for music found in the Xbox 360 RPG Enchanted Arms!

Final Fantasy IV's story revolves around an airship squad captain named Cecil. His once peaceful liege, ruler of the kingdom of Baron, has now become a power hungry tyrant bent on collecting all the world's protective crystals. When he asks the King about his intentions, he is ousted from his position as a traitor. His best friend Kain begs for the king to reconsider, just to be removed from his duties as leader of the Dragoons, another powerful faction of the Baron military. In an odd change of heart, the King decided to give Kain and Cecil one chance to prove their loyalty to his rule, a move that sets the entire game in motion. Saying any more would ruin many of the surprises this game has in store if you have yet to play it, as there a far more twists here than you may expect from a Super Nintendo game.

Regardless of whether or not you have played it before, thank your lucky stars that those in charge of putting this remake out also gave the original localization a complete overhaul, because the impressive story was once lost under a lackluster script. At the time I had no idea how the original script translation suffered, as I had nothing to compare it to - but that is no longer the case. Though it has become the thing of legend, the original Resident Evil's voiceovers is a great example, as the script was cheesy (this is where the classic "spoony bard" line comes from), a bit robotic and riddled with errors, along with being on the wrong end of harsh censorship rules imposed by Nintendo. No longer is that the case, as this fresh localization injects additional vigor and emotion into the script. The flow of dialogue has greatly improved and each character can be more easily identified by their words alone. That's not all the new localization has done, as it has also reinserted many of the story and gameplay elements once censored and removed. Characters' skills once removed, such as Cecil's DarkWave power, have been returned, death and Judeo-Christian references have been reinstated and certain story elements originally left out have been worked back in. Very little of the original localization is left untouched, giving the story that 'new game smell.'

If the new localization wasn't enough, this remake boasts quite a few new additions only found here. The end of the game has been extended, as there are now two new dungeons, the Cave of Trails and the 50 floor deep Lunar Ruins. Here you will find not only new items, enemies and bosses, but the Lunar Ruins also has new story segments that further flesh out each of the main characters! Both of these are seamlessly worked into the original fabric and will be near impossible remove in any other re-releases/remakes that Square-Enix may plan in the future.

The only glaring complaint I have About Final Fantasy IV Advance is that now I can hardly contain my anticipation for the remakes of Final Fantasy V (coming on November 6th) and VI (coming out sometime next year). Not much of a complaint, huh? What can I say? I can't stop gushing about the wondrous work Square-Enix and Nintendo put into bringing this classic game out of the dust and back into the limelight where it belongs. In a culture that demands state-of-the-art graphics, storytelling and gameplay, it is refreshing to take a dip back in time and find that a game which helped develop my current tastes and opinions still holds its own. Thank you Square-Enix and thank you Nintendo.

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).