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Final Fantasy IV vs Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Final Fantasy IV is an RPG JRPG game from Square (1991) while Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is an RPG game from Square Enix (2013).

Quick answer: Final Fantasy IV has the higher Metacritic, 85 to 83.

Final Fantasy IV

1991 · Square

7.5GamingPickz Score

$17.99

Steam: Very Positive

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

2013 · Square Enix

83Metacritic

What each one is

Final Fantasy IV is filed under RPG and JRPG. In contrast, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn under RPG.

Final Fantasy IV

The original FINAL FANTASY IV comes to life with completely new graphics and audio! A remodeled 2D take on the fourth game in the world-renowned FINAL FANTASY series! Enjoy the timeless story told through charming retro graphics.

Description from its Steam store page

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Final Fantasy XIV is a subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix. Directed and produced by Naoki Yoshida and released worldwide for PlayStation 3 and Windows in August 2013, it replaced the failed 2010 version, with subsequent support for PlayStation 4 in April 2014, macOS in July 2015, PlayStation 5 in May 2021, Xbox Series X/S in March 2024, and Nintendo Switch 2 in August 2026. Final Fantasy XIV is set in the fantasy region of Eorzea, five years after the devastating Seventh Umbral Calamity which ended the original version. In the Calamity, the elder primal Bahamut escaped from his prison, an ancient space station called Dalamud, unleashing an apocalypse across Eorzea. Through temporal magic, the player character of the original version escaped, reappearing at the start of A Realm Reborn. As Eorzea cements its recovery, the player must fend off a reignited invasion from the Garlean Empire.

Description from Wikipedia

Story, characters and reception

Final Fantasy IV
Plot

Setting Most of Final Fantasy IV takes place on Earth, also known as the Blue Planet, which consists of a surface world (or Overworld ), inhabited by humans, and an underground world (or Underworld), inhabited by the Dwarves . An artificial moon orbits the planet, upon which the Lunarians live. The Lunarians are a race of beings originally from a world which was destroyed, becoming the asteroid belt surrounding the Blue Planet, and are identified by a… (Wikipedia)

Characters

Main article: Characters of the Final Fantasy IV series Final Fantasy IV offers twelve playable characters, each with a unique, unchangeable character class . During the game, the player can have a total of five, or fewer, characters in the party at any given time. The main character, Cecil Harvey , is a dark knight and the captain of the Red Wings, an elite air force unit of the kingdom of Baron. (Wikipedia)

Reception

Reception The game received positive reviews upon release. Famitsu s panel of four reviewers gave it ratings of 9, 9, 10, and 8, adding up to an overall score of 36 out of 40, one of the highest scores it awarded to any game in 1991, second only to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past . In its November 1991 issue, Nintendo Power proclaimed it set a "new standard of excellence" for role-playing games. (Wikipedia)

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Plot

Setting See also: Final Fantasy XIV (2010 video game) § Synopsis Final Fantasy XIV is set on Hydaelyn, a fictional world of diverse environments across multiple continents, focused on the region of Eorzea. Eorzea features four prominent city-states : Gridania, in the heavily forested Black Shroud; Ul'dah, a trade-centric sultanate in arid Thanalan; Limsa Lominsa, a thalassocracy on the island of Vylbrand; and Ishgard, an isolationist theocracy in snowy,… (Wikipedia)

Characters

The player character is an Eorzean adventurer during the Seventh Umbral Era who joins one of the Grand Companies: Gridania's Order of the Twin Adder, under Elder Seedseer Kan-E-Senna; Ul'dah's Immortal Flames, under Flame General Raubahn Aldynn; and the Maelstrom of Limsa Lominsa under Admiral Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn. Their allies include Minfilia and her Scions of the Seventh Dawn, a rebuilt Sixth Astral Era organization uniting Louisoix's Circle of Knowing… (Wikipedia)

Reception

Reception In contrast to the original version, Final Fantasy XIV has earned a generally positive reception and robust sales numbers. Prior to release, both the game's press and fans were surprised by its quality and level of polish. IGN s Charles Onyett cited many specific improvements over aspects of the initial game and recognized that "it seems like Square's doing the right things to fix the many mistakes made with Final Fantasy XIV' s original… (Wikipedia)

At a glance

Final Fantasy IVFinal Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
GamingPickz Score7.5/10—
Steam ratingVery Positive (92%, 3,028)—
Critic aggregate85/10083/100
Price$17.99Unknown
Install size1 GB—
Steam DeckverifiedUntested
Released19912013
DeveloperSquareSquare Enix

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Final Fantasy IV vs Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, point by point

Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.

  1. Genre and premise

    Final Fantasy IVRPG JRPG game
    Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm RebornRPG game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    Final Fantasy IVRPG, JRPG, Exploration
    Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm RebornNo descriptive tags

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    Final Fantasy IV ✓Metacritic 85
    Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm RebornMetacritic 83

    Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.

  4. Content and scale

    Final Fantasy IV3,028 reviews · 2 add-ons · 1 GB
    Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn—

    Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.

  5. Price

    Final Fantasy IV$17.99
    Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm RebornUnknown

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

Final Fantasy IV takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.

Which to pick, by what you want

  • The better reviewed of the two: Final Fantasy IV (Metacritic 85)

Where they differ

Final Fantasy IV is also

RPGJRPGExplorationParty-Based RPG2DLore-Rich

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is also

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Final Fantasy IV is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 6 accessibility features for Final Fantasy IV and 0 for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

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Common questions

How different are Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn in scope?

Final Fantasy IV has drawn 3,028 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 1 GB. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn lists little scope data.

Is Final Fantasy IV or Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn better?

Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.

Which is cheaper, Final Fantasy IV or Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn?

One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.

Should I get Final Fantasy IV or Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn?

Final Fantasy IV has the higher Metacritic, 85 to 83. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.

Do you rank one above the other for a fee?

No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.

All comparisons

How we compare, and what we will not do

The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.

More on each