Near the end of last year, on the heels of its remake of Final Fantasy III, Square-Enix released a similar re-imagining of Final Fantasy IV in its native Japan; now, several months later, it will be bringing this game to America as well. Those who played Final Fantasy II on the SNES will recognize this as the same game; the story, involving four elemental crystals and a quest to slay a monstrous beast, is the same, and the Active Time Battle (ATB) system is preserved. This version, however, features full 3D graphics, voice-acted cutscenes, a more fleshed-out story presentation, and some bonus content new to the DS version. In addition, the score has been remixed by Nobuo Uematsu himself, and you can even battle friends in a local multiplayer mode. Final Fantasy IV is set for release in America on July 22, 2008, with a MSRP of $39.99.

I think this game’s appeal may be slightly less; America never saw a localization of the original Final Fantasy III, but this game was released here. Regardless, it looks like fun.