1991 · Role-playing (RPG) · Super Famicom
The original Final Fantasy IV was altered in several regards to reduce the difficulty level for Final Fantasy IV Easy Type, a version exclusive to Japan. Various spells, abilities and items were removed or altered, shop prices were lowered, and other tweaks to make the game easy were put in place. Many enemies, attacks and items were renamed. It is often thought the original North American translation was a translation of Easy Type, but the translated version was developed before Easy Type, and the difficulty is reduced further in Easy Type than in the North American version. This led to speculation that Easy Type was based on the North American Final Fantasy II rather than vice versa. Another aspect Easy Type changed is some of the text, which was simplified to make it easier for younger Japanese players to read and to help bring the point of certain comments across more clearly. For example, when Palom clears the fire on Mt. Ordeals with his Blizzard spell and brags about it, Porom reminds him that the Elder of Mysidia taught them they should not be haughty. The word for "haughty" was replaced with the word for "arrogant", as "haughty" is not a common word in an average child's vocabulary.