Final Fantasy IV : The After Years Final Fantasy IV : The After Years is a sequel to " Final Fantasy IV " , originally released for Japanese mobile phones on February 18 , 2008 . The game was originally released for the NTT Docomo FOMA 903i series of phones , and later released for au EZ Web on May 15th , 2008 , and Yahoo ! Keitai on November 4th , 2008 . Like the earlier cellphone game " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " , the game was released in an episodic format , with a series of thirteen chapter s ( or nine tales on the Wii ) from February 18th to December 24th , 2008 . Executive Producer Takashi Tokita has stated the game was released this way so that players would anticipate new chapters like an anime or manga series , and cited the game " " as an inspiration . The game ' s feel remained similar to " Final Fantasy IV " , with sprites being used rather than 3D graphics . The game has been released as WiiWare in nine chapters . The base game ( consisting of the Prologue , Ceodore ' s Chapter , and Kain ' s Chapter ) costs 800 points . The Gathering Chapter and both parts of the Final Chapter are bundled together for 800 points . The other character chapters cost 300 each . On December 13th , 2010 , Square Enix announced " Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection " coming to the PlayStation Portable in Japan in Spring 2011 , which includes remakes of both " Final Fantasy IV " and " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " and a new scenario to connect the stories called " Final Fantasy IV - Interlude - " . On September 2013 in the Tokyo Game Show it was announced Square Enix is giving " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " a full 3D remake in the vein of " Final Fantasy IV " for Nintendo DS . " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " was released November 2013 for iOS and Android . The 3D remake was released on Steam for PC on May 12th , 2015 . The story of " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " is set seventeen years after " Final Fantasy IV " , and focuses on the arrival of a second moon . Gameplay . " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " uses Active - Time Battle . There are five characters in a party , and many elements from the " Final Fantasy IV " battle system are added , along with some new features . Physical and magical attacks of both players and enemies are affected by the moon phase . There are four phases which change when the player sleeps at an inn , uses either a or , or 30 minutes of game time passes . For example , during a full moon weapon attack power decreases , while Black Magic ' s power increases . This can force players to create new battle strategies , though the moon phases also affect enemies . When a command ' s power is decreased , the command will be shown in red . When a command is enhanced by a moon phase it is shown in green . Moon phase also affects which monsters can appear and with what rarity . The Band system is new for " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " . Certain abilities that cost MP can be used with certain party members . For example , Cecil can execute Holy Blade when Rosa is in the party . Each character needs to do a specific ability to make the Band ability happen . Some Bands are learned as the story progresses , but the player can learn others only by " searching " for them during battle and inputting the correct commands . Story . Prologue : Return of the Moon . Seventeen years have passed since Cecil and his allies defeated Zemus on the Red Moon , and the world has returned to a state of peace . Ceodore , Cecil and Rosa ' s son , is an apprentice to the airship fleet Red Wings , struggling with the expectations and obligations of being born with sacred blood . While returning from an expedition to obtain Ceodore ' s Proof of Knighthood , the Red Wings , captained by the gruff Biggs , and his second - in - command , Wedge , is attacked by a swarm of monsters . Noticing flames rising from town of Baron ' s direction , the fleet attempts to return . The monsters besiege the Baron Castle from an unknown source and as Cecil and Rosa fight the horde to defend their kingdom , they determine the monsters are attacking from above . Skyward , Cecil and Rosa witness the arrival of a new moon . Ceodore ' s Tale : Last of the Red Wings . Questioning what the second moon could mean , Cecil continues to battle alongside Rosa , and is joined by Cid . The group battles their way to the castle ' s ramparts , when Cecil , sure that Baron will fall , orders Cid to take Rosa and retreat . As Cid and Rosa reluctantly agree , Cecil witnesses the Eidolon descend from the moon carrying a Mysterious Girl resembling Rydia . Cecil questions her identity , only to be attacked and defeated by Bahamut . Meanwhile , the Red Wings fleet is damaged , Edge and the dwarves witness a strange occurrence involving the Tower of Babil , and the Mysterious Girl enters the Eidolons ' realm of Feymarch to claim the powers of and . The Red Wing fleet crash - lands and Ceodore , the sole survivor , resolves to carry out Captain Biggs ' s final order : to return to Baron . Accosted by monsters , a Hooded Man garbed in robes rescues him , and the two set out for Mysidia , where Porom helps them reach Baron by way of the Devil ' s Road . They find the kingdom is safe , though the soldiers are acting strangely and refuse to let Ceodore into Baron Castle . Infiltrating the castle through the waterway , Ceodore finds Cid ' s airship missing and concludes the castle ' s inhabitants have been supplanted by monster impostors , while the Hooded Man briefly encounters " Cecil " . The two leave the castle and travel through Mist Cave , chased by the impostor soldiers on the king ' s orders . As the two prepare to traverse the mountains east of Mist Village in hopes of losing their pursuers , the Hooded Man reveals he is searching for a former Dragoon of Baron , vowing to defeat him even at the cost of his own life . Rydia ' s Tale : The Eidolons Shackled . Years ago Edge assisted in the rebuilding of Mist , which also received help from Cecil of Baron and Yang of Fabul . Edge had turned to selling Eblan ' s royal treasures to help fund the reconstruction . Rydia attended Ceodore ' s birth and before the Mysterious Girl arrived in the Feymarch , Rydia was visiting its Eidolons , but was confronted by Asura who had expressly forbidden Rydia from returning , stating she belonged with her own kind . Following the Mysterious Girl ' s attack , Rydia finds the Eidolons petrified . She discovers she is unable to call upon them for aid , and is cornered by monsters while attempting to return to the Underworld , only to be rescued by Luca , daughter of the Dwarven King Giott and Cid ' s apprentice . They return to the Dwarven Castle aboard the airship " Falcon " , and witness the Red Wings airship fleet arrive . Within the castle , they find the Mysterious Girl has claimed three of the Dark Crystals , with only the one kept in the Sealed Cavern remaining . With Giott ' s permission Rydia and Luca set out for the Sealed Cavern and though they recover the final Dark Crystal , the Mysterious Girl appears and defeats them . She taunts Rydia , destroys Calca and Brina , and takes the Dark Crystal . Rydia and Luca flee the Underworld aboard the " Falcon " and retreat to Agart for repairs . They enter a cave and find some of the material they need to fix the " Falcon " and scrap Calca and Brina for the remaining parts ( in an alternate scene , if the player found a Mythril Nut , Mythril Spring , and Mythril Bolt , the " Falcon " will be completely fixed and Calca and Brina are repaired ) . Shortly after finishing the repairs , the Eidolon Titan attacks them , but a man clothed in dark armor and a black mantle appears and defeats the phantom creature . The Man in Black boards the " Falcon " and urges the pair to travel to the Tower of Babil before history repeats itself . Yang ' s Tale : The Master of Fabul . Yang is training three monks of Fabul . His daughter , Ursula , enters the castle and pleads with him to train her , but he refuses . She goes to Mt . Hobs to train on her own , where she witnesses the Red Wings approaching Fabul . After being attacked by a Mother Bomb and rescued by her father , the pair returns to Fabul where they find the Red Wings attempting to steal the . The Red Wings are being led by Kain Highwind , who claims to be acting of his own free will . Following a battle with Yang and his daughter , Kain retrieves the Crystal and departs . Yang and Ursula venture to Baron with the help of three monks , but during their voyage they get stuck on an uncharted island and must find fuel for . Yang and Ursula are separated within a dark forest and the three monks traveling with them are attacked by an Adamantoise , which barely takes any damage from their attacks . Ursula attempts to rescue them but cannot win . Yang reunites with Ursula , and they band together to defeat the turtle . After they find the fuel for the boat , Yang tells Ursula she has understood something more important than pure strength and allows her to train with him , but asks Ursula to no longer address him as " father " , and instead call him " master . " They board the ship and resume their course to Baron , but on the way the vessel is swallowed up by Leviathan ' s whirlpool . Palom ' s Tale : The Mage ' s Voyage . Palom , vowing to follow in the footsteps of the Great Sage , Tellah , had set out for Troia where he trains the young priestess Leonora in the arts of Black Magic . When the Mysterious Girl attacks the city to obtain its Crystal , Leonora opens an underground passageway for them to escape . Palom and Leonora capture a black chocobo and travel to the Lodestone Cavern . They battle the Dark Elf , but it is defeated by the Eidolon Shiva . Confronted by the Mysterious Girl , Palom takes the Crystal and tells Leonora to flee while he petrifies himself , preventing the Mysterious Girl from taking the Crystal . When the Mysterious Girl threatens to shatter Palom ' s body to obtain the Crystal , Leonora attempts to fight her off . Palom recovers , and it is revealed Leonora was the girl Palom was flirting with during the ending of " Final Fantasy IV " . They band together , but are defeated by Shiva . The Mysterious Girl steals the Crystal and vanishes . Meanwhile , on Mount Ordeals , Porom has encountered Kain and senses something has happened to Palom . Edge ' s Tale : The Pulse of Babil . The members of The Eblan Four — a group of Ninja under Edge ' s command , have witnessed and survived the attacks lead by Kain and the Mysterious Girl : Gekkou was entrenched with Yang ' s monks , Zangetsu was with the dwarves , Izayoi was disguised as a Troian priestess , and Tsukinowa was among the mages of Mysidia . Edge sets out to infiltrate the Tower of Babil where the Eblan Four appear one by one to assist him . They travel to the peak where they find the Mysterious Girl . Though unable to defeat her and the summoned Ifrit , Edge refuses to submit and the team dives out of the tower , and land safely aboard the " Falcon ' s " deck . Edge reunites with Rydia and recognizes the Man in Black . Porom ' s Tale : The Vanished Lunar Whale . During Palom and Porom ' s childhood the two attended magic lessons with the Elder of Mysidia . One day , Palom cut class and tried to impress a group of girls , including a young Leonora . When found and confronted by the Elder , Palom revealed his desire to follow in Tellah ' s footsteps , and the Elder agreed to let him follow his dream . During present time Palom and Porom travel to Kaipo where Palom visits the Tellah ' s grave and the pair ventures into the Underground Waterway where Porom witnesses how strong Palom has become . Years ago , Palom and Porom went on a trip to visit Rydia ferried by Cid and his airship because the Devil ' s Road was closed . Palom asked Rydia to take him into the Land of Eidolons to learn about summoning magic . They visited the dwarves and Luca tagged along . but Rydia had to turn back when she was forbidden entry to the Land of Eidolons . Returning to the present , Porom is praying and senses her brother has arrived safely in Troia . She discusses her desires to become independent when the Elder asks why she did not accompany him , but they are interrupted when he senses a disruption . They find the mages of Mysidia gathering near the Sea of Mysidia as the " Lunar Whale " rises up out of a whirlpool , floating towards the second moon . Needing the skills of a Dragoon , Porom sets out for Mt . Ordeals with a Black and White Mage to track down Kain . Atop Mount Ordeals , they find the tomb of Cecil ' s father , Kluya , and hear his spirit speak of his sons . They locate Kain and , after explaining the situation and having a brief disagreement , set out to Mysidia together and find it under attack by the Mysterious Girl . Kain , wishing to travel to Baron , leaves the Elder and Porom to defend the town . The two battle the Mysterious Girl ( who summons Ramuh ) and are defeated , with the Elder injured . Kain reappears with the Crystal , offering it to the Mysterious Girl in exchange for his service and a chance to see Cecil . The Mysterious Girl agrees and vanishes , and Kain leaps away , ignoring Porom . Edward ' s Tale : Star - Crossed Damcyan . Damcyan has been rebuilt . King Edward ' s secretary , Harley , goes off to investigate a disturbance but doesn ' t return . Edward and three soldiers go out to look for her and when they find her the party returns to Damcyan . Damcyan is surrounded by the Red Wings and Edward and Harley go through the cave to Kaipo , but Harley falls ill to the Desert Fever . During the night , the spirits of Anna and Tellah visit Edward . Tellah tells Edward Anna wants him to ask what his heart wants , possibly meaning he should find a new partner . Edward fetches a sand pearl from the Antlion ' s Den to cure Harley without the Damcyan guards ' assistance . With Harley recovered , they board a ship to Baron and talk to Cecil . Edward notices Cecil is acting strangely , and leaves some Whisperweed in his throne room to eavesdrop on him and discovers Cecil is plotting with the Mysterious Girl . They head back towards Damcyan and witness Yang and his ship being swallowed by Leviathan . Kain ' s Tale : Return of the Dragoon . At Mount Ordeals , Kain rescues Porom and the mages from the monsters . The party returns to Mysidia , where he betrays her and takes the Crystal . He follows the Mysterious Girl back through the Devil ' s Road . Meanwhile , Ceodore ' s party makes its way over the Mist mountain range to Damcyan . Ceodore reaches Kaipo , where Baron soldiers attack him in the middle of the night . Ceodore and the Hooded Man head through the water cave and encounter and defeat the Octo - Kraken . The Red Wings have surrounded Damcyan and Kain retrieves the Crystal for the Mysterious Girl while also kidnapping Rosa . Edward and Cid , who arrive with the " Enterprise " , accompany Ceodore back to Baron . They encounter Kain and the captured Rosa in Castle Damcyan and upon confronting Kain , discern he is Kain ' s dark half who defeated his light half ( the Hooded Man ) on Mount Ordeals . The Hooded Man ( Kain ) regains his Jump ability , equips his lance , and defeats his dark half . Kain accepts his dark half as being a part of him and merges with it , becoming a Holy Dragoon . The group goes on to confront Cecil and the Mysterious Girl . Lunarian ' s Tale : The Blue Planet That Was . The Man in Black ' s identity is revealed to be Golbez . Some time ago , on the Red Moon , Golbez noticed Fusoya missing . He went through the Lunar Subterrane , finding Fusoya and helping him in his investigation . The two headed to the Lair of the Father where they found a petrified Bahamut . They headed to a cave where they confronted the Mysterious Girl . They battled her and she summoned Asura . She escaped back to the Crystal Palace , where she and Leviathan fought Golbez and Fusoya . Again she escaped , and they followed her into the Lunar Subterrane where the Mysterious Girl was waiting for them . She resurrected Zeromus himself , and Golbez and Fusoya fought him . Zeromus used Big Bang , which began to destroy the palace . Fusoya teleported Golbez out who took the " Lunar Whale " and headed to the Blue Planet . During the ride he dreamed of being possessed by Zeromus in the past . Gathering ' s Tale : The Moon ' s Gravity . Rydia ' s party ( with Luca , Edge , and Golbez ) notice the moon turning crimson and approaching the Earth , with meteors damaging the planet . The party tries to enter Baron Castle but it is guarded by an Eidolon ' s force field . The party flies to Mist , and Rydia ' s mother ' s spirit advises them that the force field will be broken if they save the other Eidolons from their mind control . In Kaipo , Yang and Ursula are found passed out . At Fabul , the party gets the frying pan and a ladle from Sheila and when they give Ursula the ladle and whack Yang with the pan , they wake up and join , along with the . Troia is covered in ice and inside the Lodestone Cavern , Shiva is holding the place under a spell ; after defeating her , Rydia either gains her as a summonable Eidolon or destroys her . Palom and Leonora join after Troia is thawed . Eblan is engulfed in flames in Ifrit ' s possession at the Second Battle of Eblan . Edge tells everyone to flee so he may take Ifrit on by himself , but is defeated . Rubicante ( the former head of the Archfiends ) appears , and gives Edge a clue on how to defeat Ifrit . Edge bands together with Rydia to defeat Ifrit with Rubicante ' s Inferno skill and upon Ifrit ' s defeat , he rejoins Rydia . In Mysidia , the party fights Ramuh and recruits Porom . They head to Agart and fight Titan , who opens a rift in the ground , swallowing the party . After climbing back up through Agart ' s well , Porom appears briefly to assist them by casting Float on everybody , rendering Titan defeatable . After Titan has joined them , the party drags an exhausted Porom back to the " Falcon " . They return to Mist , where the Mist Dragon joins Rydia . The party journeys to Baron Castle where they break the force field . Ceodore ' s party ( with Kain , Rosa , Edward , and Cid ) fights the possessed Cecil and Odin who comes to his senses and knocks Cecil out of his possession . While the others nurse Cecil , Ceodore joins with Rydia , Golbez , Rosa , and Edge to take out the Mysterious Girl . She dies , but dozens of her appear and tell the party they are awaiting on the True Moon . Golbez calls the " Lunar Whale " to chase after the girls . Final Tale , Part One : True Moon . The " Lunar Whale " is parked outside of the Subterrane of the True Moon . Cecil can barely talk or recognize the world around him . In the crater dungeon the eight Crystals are scattered about and each contains a boss fight . At the end Cecil and Golbez fight Dark Knight Cecil , who uses a special attack to bring everyone to near - fatal status . He tries to kill the party members one by one but Cecil blocks each hit . When the Dark Knight attacks Cecil , Golbez guards him , taking a mortal blow . If the party contains Golbez , Ceodore , Cecil , and Rosa when they encounter the Dark Knight , Golbez will survive . Cecil regains his lost strength and White Magic and claims the Excalibur . After the battle , Cecil thanks Golbez and the party , and heads to a warp tile . Final Tale , Part Two : Planet Eater . The party continues on to encounter Crystals containing bosses . The party encounters the Mysterious Girl , who summons Bahamut , but if Rydia has tamed Asura and Leviathan , Bahamut will come to his senses and turns on the Mysterious Girl , pushing her back . Several clones confront the party , revealing the Mysterious Girl ' s name to be Maenad . They discover a child Maenad who opens the door leading to the True Moon ' s core . The party reaches The Creator , the last surviving member of a species which once prospered on the distant edge of the universe , but destroyed its own civilization . Wishing to conduct experiments regarding the evolution of life it created a host of Crystals capable of recording the history of a world and distributed them upon planets which held the promise of life . The Creator mass - produced and dispatched the Maenads to recover the Crystals . It deems the Blue Planet ' s races evolutionary failures whose continued existence cannot be permitted , and , like the worlds of other inferior races , attempts to devour the Blue Planet with the True Moon , which is revealed to be the remains of a space fleet once manned by the Creator ' s race . The party engages The Creator and after defeating it , the area begins to explode . Pausing only to rescue the child Maenad , the party retreats as The Creator pursues them and multiple Maenads appear to protect the party and the child Maenad . As he dies from a final Meteor spell cast by a Maenad , The Creator thanks the party and perishes . The True Moon leaves the planet ' s orbit and the " Lunar Whale " returns to Earth with the party intact , along with the child Maenad . The Troia priestesses offer Leonora a position , but she declines . Izayoi , disguised as one of the women present , laughs . Leonora heads off to Mysidia where Palom and Porom are with the Elder , who offers them a joint position as the leaders of Mysidia . Palom complains about not being ready or wanting to handle the responsibility . Leonora asks Palom and Porom to train her as a sage now that she has quit the priesthood . Tsukinowa , disguised as a frog , is keeping watch . At the Dwarven Castle , Giott and Luca are approached by Cid and Mid ( Cid ' s grandson ) , who go to work on an airship , trying to figure out how to power it with the Crystals ' magic ( with a disguised Zangetsu watching on ) . They plan to disarm all weapons . In Fabul , Yang trains Ursula himself , reminding her he is not going to go easy on her just because she is his daughter . Gekkou admires the kingdom ' s strength . In Damcyan , Edward and Harley observe the Crystal . Although pulled away by an elder for discussion about Cecil ' s plan to amass the material needed to rebuild the damage caused to the Blue Planet since the moon meteors nearly destroyed it , Edward sees the spirits of Tellah and Anna , and thanks them . Edge leaves Eblan Castle for Mist . He dismisses the Eblan Four , but they swear to await further orders . In Mist , Rydia is raising the child Maenad , now named Cuore . Leviathan and Asura arrive , saying they figured that since Rydia was unable to make it into the Feymarch last time she tried , it was their turn to pay her a visit . Edge arrives to see Rydia and Asura reveals he was the one who invited them . In Baron Rosa referees a sparring match between Cecil and Ceodore . Kain , the new leader of the Red Wings , drafts Ceodore for a new quest : to travel the world rebuilding the damage caused by the meteor attack . Rosa and Cecil think of Golbez , who has taken the " Lunar Whale " to look for Fusoya and the other Lunarian s . Biggs and Wedge ' s spirits appear behind Kain as he warns Ceodore they would be disappointed if he whines . They board the airship with Luca and Cid as they head off to Damcyan meet Edward and Cecil to gather materials . Development . " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " came about as the developers were in the midst of remaking " Final Fantasy IV " for the Nintendo DS ; the idea was to create a companion piece for a mobile platform . Rather than create a packaged version , which would take one to two years of development , the team wanted something the players of " Final Fantasy IV " DS version could play right after finishing it . When remaking " Final Fantasy IV " for the DS , and coming up with the sequel , the developers thought it would be possible to create a sequel based on a change of generations . Takashi Tokita has compared it to the " Star Wars " prequels . This is a deliberate homage , as " Final Fantasy IV " also has Biggs and Wedge and a Darth Vader type character . A theme of " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " was to show weak characters developing emotionally rather than physically , thus Cecil is not present in the beginning of the game , rather being a motivational character who rallies everyone up . There was demand for a packaged version of " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " , and that ' s where the developers started in terms of creating " Final Fantasy IV : The Complete Collection " for PlayStation Portable . 3D remake . The remake version for iOS and Android is based upon the " Final Fantasy IV " remake made of " Final Fantasy IV " on the DS , but the " The After Years " version is a refined version of the original engine . This version reuses environments and polygonal models , though there are new characters and locations as well . Instead of being episodic , the new version is in a single package . Besides the revamped visuals , the only novelty the developers packed into it is a couple dozen of . This version of " Final Fantasy IV : The After Years " launched sooner than what Square Enix initially announced . Allusions . The game makes numerous allusions to the original " Final Fantasy IV " in its plot structure . It also reuses bosses from other Nintendo - era " Final Fantasy " games in the optional dungeons .