GENRE
	RPG
	DEVELOPER
	Matrix Software
	PUBLISHER
	Square Enix
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	WII EXCLUSIVE
	No
	EXPECTED RELEASE DATE
	6/1/09
	BUY NOW AT

Rydia’s Tale is the first of the seven Character Stories that continue the adventure of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. This expansion pack (and the other character tales) won't be receiving a full review here as they’re additional chapters to the main game instead of fully fledged stand-alone games. Instead, we'll give a quick look at each to give you an idea of what to expect in these small episodes.

Rydia’s Tale: The Eidelons Shackled opens up with the main character, Rydia, returning to her second home, the Feymarch. She expects a warm greeting when she arrives but is surprised by the cold reception of the king and queen who turn her away. After her departure, the Mysterious Blue Haired Girl enters demanding the power of the Eidelons. She turns them all into stone and departs. Rydia finds herself still in Feymarch, but everyone is petrified. She then embarks on her journey.

Upon returning to the Overworld, Rydia is ambushed and nearly killed before she is saved by Luca, the other character in this story. Luca is a pupil of Cid the Engineer, and she's out testing some improvements to her airship and is accompanied by her two dolls Brina and Calca. The quartet return to the home of the Dwarves to find the castle under attack. The king sends the heroines to rescue the Dark Crystal from the sealed cave before the Mysterious Girl and the Red Wings can get their hands on it.

This adventure contains one main dungeon as well as two boss fights. You’ll rely heavily on Rydia’s magic and the phases of the moon are very important in this adventure. You do not have a dedicated White Mage, but Brina is able to heal party members by performing her dance. This ability is always beneficial to the party as a whole, but it is randomly cast during battle. Calca also has an ability called Jive that will perform a random spell that will deal damage or status effects to enemies.

While Rydia is the titular character, more of the story elements revolve around Luca and her interaction with her two companions and her airship, the Falcon. Luca and Rydia are not primarily fighters, so you’ll be relying on their other abilities to survive in combat. The phases of the moon, as previously mentioned, are extremely important in Rydia’s Tale. Going into a dungeon during the wrong moon phase will prove highly dangerous to your party. Gil is also a premium commodity, and having enough to buy the right equipment could make the adventure much easier.

This first Character Tale is a quality addition for the 300 Nintendo Point asking price. If you want the entire adventure and Rydia is one of your favorite characters, you will not go wrong with having this addition to Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. It should take between two to three hours to complete and, as with the main adventure you can create import data that will be useful during the final chapter of the game, so make sure you create a separate save slot and do not save over your previous adventure.