Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is a role-playing game for the Nintendo DS, created by Matrix Software and released by Square Enix. It’s a spin-off of the main Final Fantasy series, first coming out in Japan in 2009, then in North America and Europe in October 2010. The story centers on four young people traveling across their world to lift a terrible curse that has fallen on their home.

In battle, enemies appear at random, and the turn-based combat system harks back to the early Final Fantasy games on the Famicom, but replaces traditional magic points with a “Boost” command. A job system called the “Crown System” lets players choose abilities based on the headgear their character wears. Crowns, weapons, and armor can all be upgraded by adding jewels. Up to four players can team up in a cooperative multiplayer mode to fight enemies together. After each battle, everyone earns battle points, and players can also earn these points passively while in co-op mode. At the end of a co-op session, the game shows how many points were earned, and players can trade them in for prizes once they reach certain thresholds.

The plot begins in the city of Horne, where a 14-year-old boy named Brandt must present himself to the king as a rite of passage into adulthood. When he arrives, the king is distressed and sends him to rescue Princess Aire from the Witch of the North, Louhi. Brandt’s friend Jusqua and the princess’s bodyguard Yunita join him, and together they save Aire and defeat Louhi. But upon returning to Horne, they find everyone turned to stone by the witch’s curse, and the king has vanished.

While Brandt and Yunita try to restore the townspeople, Jusqua flees with Aire to the city of Liberte. In the desert, Brandt and Yunita meet a man named Krinjh, who helps them find the Merkmal to reach Guera, the kingdom of magic. King Guera asks them to slay the Sand Demon, who turns out to be a girl named Ariadne—and Krinjh disappears with her. Meanwhile, Aire meets a fairy named Lilibelle, who reveals a hidden treasure in Liberte that transforms Aire into a cat. Leaving Jusqua behind, Aire finds Brandt, who has parted ways with Yunita, and the two head to Arbor forest. There, the Queen’s distrust of humans turns Brandt into a plant. With help from a mouse named Torte, Aire obtains an Animal Staff that turns Brandt into a dog.