Final Fantasy IV Advance

Final Fantasy IV Advance is a port of the WonderSwan Color remake of Final Fantasy IV with additional features, the biggest of which are the ability to choose your own party for the final dungeon and a huge semi-random post game dungeon. Unfortunately, the port seems to have been rushed, and as a result numerous bugs are present, especially in the first releases.

This version of the game served as the basis for all future ports, outside of the Nintendo DS and iOS versions, and for Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.

Sub-Pages#

Version DifferencesThat opening text up there isn't kidding: The original releases had even more bugs!

Unused Graphics#

To do: Dig into the compressed graphics some more.

Kain's unused casting animation from the SNES version is still present.

Only one of Anna's unused frames is still present. If paired with her other frame, which is used in Edward's battle at Kaipo, it would look like she was walking or her dress was billowing in the wind.

In the original game, whips have a two frame animation, with a coiled sprite for when Rydia swings it behind herself and an extended sprite for the actual strike. Only the coiled sprite is used in this version, but the extended sprite is still included with the whip graphics.

To do: There may be other cases of sprites having colors which are never used. The WSC remake merged the red and blue palettes from the original into one and duplicated a bunch of the sprites that were originally just palette swaps. The purple palette is still separate, but has enough variations from the red/blue palette that it also required its own sprites.

Blue and purple tossed dress sprites. Only the red sprite is used.

The unused tank frames were touched up...

...As was the white flag.

This battle BG was clearly intended to be used for town exteriors, but Edward's story battle in Kaipo still uses a night variation of the grassy field BG, and Rosa's trial in the Lunar Ruins uses the castle interior BG despite taking place outside.

To do: Golbez has KO, stone, toad, and pig portraits. No mini though, strangely. Also, all of the KO and stone portraits are stored as the full portraits used in dialogue, not just the cropped portion seen in the menu.

These large item and magic icons are found as a part of the dialogue font. Icons are never drawn using this font.

Likewise, these squished icons are found in one of the menu fonts, which is also never used to draw icons.

The hammer icon from the SNES version is still present and still unused. It can also be seen in the unused icon sets above.

These little HP and MP sprites were used in the windows in battle in the WSC version. They're stored with the rest of the battle numeral and status sprites, but aren't used in this version: MP uses standard text and HP is unlabeled.

There's actually a duplicate copy of the aforementioned battle graphics in the North American version; the only difference between them and the ones that are used is that the miss sprite is still in Japanese. This duplicate file was removed from the European version.

Unused Items#

The unused weapons from the SNES original are still present and descriptions have been written for them:

• Hand Axe - Common axe.
• Assassin's Dagger - Dagger that sometimes finishes enemy in one blow.
• None - none

An Assassin's Dagger is available in the Lunar Ruins, but it uses separate item data from the original.

The following items hint that one of the Lunar Ruins floors was originally intended to be more complex:

• Muddy Water - Black, muddy water.
• Raggedy Doll - Something an old man would have...

These items are "bad" counterparts to the Clear Water and Doll that must be obtained in the final version.

Unused Commands#

To do: See if this is actually functional, or just unused text.

• Dbl Mtr - Double Meteor. Likely originally intended to replace the Twin command when the Twin Stars are equipped on Porom and Palom.

Unused Text#

Save 4

Several strings mention a fourth save slot. The manual also shows four save slots, but the final game is limited to three saves.

Debug Menu#

Text strings exist for an extensive debug menu, offering much more than the debug room left in the game. Some of these are used, incorrectly, in the debug room. All of these strings were removed from the European version.

Map
Effects
Battle
Shop
Monsters
Characters
Events
Sound
Flags
Resume
Switch
Status
Clear SRAM

The menu's options.

SAVE

Clear SRAM?
Yes
No

Cleared SRAM.
Please reset.

SAVE 1
SAVE 2
SAVE 3
SAVE 4


Clear with START

SRAM clearing option.

NPC
PTN

Change character with up/down
Change pattern with left/right
Animation ON with A/OFF with B

DOWN 0

DOWN 1

UP 0

UP 1

LEFT 0

LEFT 1

RIGHT 0

RIGHT 1

Look down

OH 0

OH 1

DEAD

ETC 0

ETC 1

ETC 2

ETC 3

ETC 4

ETC 5

ETC 6

ETC 7

ETC 8

ETC 9

NPC pattern viewer.

Title

Square-Enix logo

Start from beginning

Opening 1

Cecil and Kain's Departure

Earth to Moon

Moon to Earth

Solar System

Telescope

Mysidian Legend

Credits

Sight

Event viewer.

Baron W

Baron D

Baron I

Mist W

Mist D

Kaipo W

Kaipo D

Kaipo I

Fabul WD

Fabul I

Mysidia W

Mysidia D

Mysidia I

Agart W

Agart D

Agart I

Mythril W

Mythril D

Mythril I

Troia W

Troia D

Troia I

Eblan Cave W

Eblan Cave D

Eblan Cave I

Dwarf W

Dwarf D

Dwarf I1

Dwarf I2

Tomra W

Tomra D

Tomra I1

Tomra I2

Land of Summons W

Land of Summons D

Land of Summons I1

Land of Summons I2

Kokkol's Smithy

Namingway

Membership Pass

Return with B

Shop list.

LV
HP
MAX HP
MP
MAX MP
EXP
Change Class
Status Effects
Show with S/Cancel with B

Character editor.

Change class?
Yes
No

Data will be reset if Cecil's
class is changed

Change Cecil's class.

Poison
Dark
Silence
Pig
Mini
Frog
Petrify
KO 
Float

ON

OFF

Set character status effects.

CECIL  

KAIN

ROSA

RYDIA

CID

TELLAH

EDWARD

YANG

PALOM

POROM

EDGE

FUSUYA

CECIL 2

RYDIA 2

GOLBEZ

MINI R

MINI G

MINI B

MINI P

FROG R

FROG G

FROG B

FROG P

PIG

OLD WOMAN B

OLD WOMAN P

OLD WOMAN R

GUARD B

GUARD P

GUARD R

SOLDIER B

SOLDIER P

SOLDIER R

ELDER B

ELDER P

ELDER R

WOMAN B

WOMAN P

WOMAN R

WHITE MAGE P

WHITE MAGE R

BLACK MAGE B

BLACK MAGE R

CHOCOBO Y

CHOCOBO R

CHOCOBO W

CHOCOBO B

ENGINEER B

ENGINEER P

ENGINEER R

KING B

KING P

KING R

OLD MAN B

OLD MAN P

OLD MAN R

CHILD B

CHILD P

CHILD R

GIRL B

GIRL P

GIRL R

DANCER B

DANCER P

DANCER R

DANCER1 B

DANCER1 P

DANCER1 R

BATHING SUIT B

BATHING SUIT P

BATHING SUIT R

BOY B

BOY P

BOY R

PRIEST B

PRIEST P

PRIEST R

MONK B

MONK P

MONK R

BEARDED MAN B

BEARDED MAN P

BEARDED MAN R

NAMINGWAY B

NAMINGWAY P

NAMINGWAY R

BOMB B

BOMB R

RYDIA'S MOM

SCHOLAR B

SCHOLAR P

SAILOR

TANK

CRYSTAL BLUE

FIRE

EXPLOSION 0

EXPLOSION 1

SPRAY

ANNA

STAR

SUMMON BEAST B

SUMMON BEAST P

SUMMON BEAST R

SMOKE GRAY

SMOKE RED

GOLBEZ ATC

COTTAGE

TENT

SYLPH



PP STONE

QUEEN

DWARF KING

LUCA

D SOLDIER B

D SOLDIER P

D SOLDIER R

ZEMUS

SANDY

CINDY

MINDY

ANTLION

LEVIATHAN

GOD OF SUMMONS

DARK ELF

Barbariccia

DOLL

HAND

LUGAE

RUBICANTE

OCTOPUS

SWORD

KATANA

LANCE

GUILLOTINE

ICE

SPIRAL

CRYSTAL B

CRYSTAL R

CRYSTAL Y

SMOKE B

SMOKE RED

SMOKE S

LEGEND S

FLAME 1

FLAME 2

BLIZZARD

LIGHT 1

LIGHT 2

LIGHT 1P

LIGHT 2P

HEART

FIRE P

ZZZ

MIST

SLEEP

P QUEEN

ZEMUS 2

THUNDER

DANCER'S FEET

Cecil Dark Knight

Kain

Rosa

Rydia child

Cid

Tellah

Edward

Yang

Palom

Porom

Edge

FuSuYa

Cecil Paladin

Rydia adult

Golbez 

Mini R

Mini G

Mini B

Mini P

Frog R

Frog G

Frog B

Frog P

Pig

Old Woman B

Old Woman P

Old Woman R

Guard B

Guard P

Guard R

Soldier B

Soldier P

Soldier R

Elder B

Elder P

Elder R

Woman B

Woman P

Woman R

White Mage P

White Mage R

Black Mage B

Black Mage R

Chocobo

Red Chocobo

White Chocobo

Black Chocobo

Engineer B

Engineer P

Engineer R

King B

King P

King R

Old Man B

Old Man P

Old Man R

Boy B

Boy P

Boy R

Girl B

Girl P

Girl R

Dancer B

Dancer P

Dancer R

Dancer Clothes B

Dancer Clothes P

Dancer Clothes R

Bathing Suit B

Bathing Suit P

Bathing Suit R

Man B

Man P

Man R

Priest B

Priest P

Priest R

Monk B

Monk P

Monk R

Bearded Man B

Bearded Man P

Bearded Man R

Namingway B

Namingway P

Namingway R

Bomb B

Bomb R

Rydia's Mom

Scholar B

Scholar P

Sailor

Tank

Crystal

Fire

Explosion

Explosion

Spray

Anna

Effects

Summon Beast B

Summon Beast P

Summon Beast R

Big Smoke

Big Smoke

Golbez Beam

Cottage

Tent

Sylph

Cagnazzo

Palom Porom stone

Queen  

Dwarf King

Luca

Dwarf Soldier B

Dwarf Soldier P

Dwarf Soldier R

Zemus  

Sandy

Cindy

Mindy

Antlion

Leviathan

King of Summons

Dark Elf

Barbariccia

Doll

Hand

Dr. Lugae

Rubicante

Octomammoth Legs

Sword  

Katana

Lance

Guillotine

Ice

Spiral

Crystal Blue

Crystal Red

Crystal Yellow

Smoke Blue

Smoke Red

Spray

Sword of Legend

Fire 1

Fire 2

Blizzard

Light 1

Light 2

Light 1 Pattern Change

Light 2 Pattern Change

Heart

Fire Pattern Change

Sleep

Mist

Sleep

Queen of Eblan

Zemus 2

Lightning

Dancer's Feet

Sprite viewer with two sets of strings, one more verbose than the other.

0123456789ABCDEF

Flag Number

Battle Invincible
Battle Number
Encount Monsters
Win Battle
No Encounters
Map Coordinates
Ignore Collision with A
World Map B Dash
Skip Events
Call Hovercraft

ON

OFF

M 000
X 000  MAX
Y 000  MAX

UP

RIGHT

DOWN 

LEFT

Hold down B and left/right for +5
Return to debug menu with START

Flag editor.

WonderSwan Color Leftovers#

Some strings left behind from the WSC remake. These strings were also removed from the European version.

WSC TRANSLATION

STING CO., LTD.

WSC version translation credits.

Y Button Settings

y1
y2
y3
y4

Settings menu for Y. In the WSC version, you could assign menus to Y and open them directly without having to open the main menu.

Demo Leftovers#

Thank you for playing!

This ends the demo. We hope you

purchase the game to fully

experience the fun!

Leftover strings from a demo version.

Japanese Leftovers#

Options exclusive to the Japanese version were translated. The options were removed from the European version, but the descriptions for kanji remain.

Set the use of kanji
characters in messages.

Use kanji characters in
messages.

Don't use kanji characters
in messages.

Kanji

Hiragana

Start game with hiragana.

Start game with kanji.

The strings for choosing whether or not to use kanji were translated into all available languages, but are obviously unneeded outside of the Japanese version.

Hiragana

Katakana

Alphabet

Namingway's options for hiragana, katakana, or Roman characters were also translated.

Lunar Ruins#

To do: Hack in the unused items, see if the event code is still set up to display these.

The lifeless tree looks deader than before...

The boy seems to be frightened by the man.

Text strings that would've been used when the Muddy Water and Raggedy Doll were used in place of the correct item. The latter string doesn't really fit in the final version of the game since the door the doll is needed for is engraved with a picture of a girl.

Debug Room#

The US/Australian version has a small debug room. Enter the following GameShark codes and load a save game to enter it:

7200E002 000C
8200E04E 015D
7200E002 000C
8200E3C4 0078
7200E002 000C
8200E3C8 0068

Upon loading, you will only be able to walk a small distance from the starting tile. Open and close the menu to correct this; the location window in the menu calls the debug room Search 349. The save point in the center of the room is not functional. There are six NPCs with debugging options - unfortunately, they use incorrect text strings, but with the exception of the dancer, each NPC only does one thing so this isn't really an issue.

Dancer#

The dancer controls your party and the event flags that are currently set. Choosing YES will set the party and event flags listed in the table, then advance to the next option. Choose NO after getting the party and flags you want.

Mysidian Elder#

Teleports the party to the Tower of Prayers. Cecil is always reset to his initial Paladin stats after this. Depending on which event flags are set, either the events when the Lunar Whale is raised or when the Cave of Trials opens will play out. From here, the Lunar Whale can be used to travel anywhere on the overworld, which allows for easy testing of various events when paired with the dancer's options.

Shopkeeper#

Sets all characters' equipment to whatever their strongest weapon and shield in the original game was, Glass Mask, Adamant Armor, and Crystal Ring. The weapon choices are usually good, but can be a bit odd - Rydia ends up with a Wind Spear in her left hand, for example. Cecil gets the Ragnarok and Crystal Shield regardless of what his current class is.

Characters with magic commands will also have those filled with all of that command's appropriate spells, even if they normally couldn't learn them.

Golbez#

Shows the ending sequence, starting with the Mysidian Legend displayed in front of the solar system.

FuSoYa#

Starts the Giant of Babel event.

White Mage#

Shows the ending sequence, starting with the Lunar Whale descending into the sea. No music is played until the telescope scene.

References#