Final Fantasy Fan Discovers Their Dad’s 30-Year-Old FF4 Save

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I recently had the coolest experience! I was playing some retro games with my son, and it got me thinking about my dad and the old Final Fantasy 4 cartridge he used to have. I dug it out, popped it into the SNES, and unbelievably, his save file from over thirty years ago was still there! It brought back so many memories and made me think about how we bonded over video games when I was a kid. It was a really special moment.

Originally released in Japan in 1991 as Final Fantasy 4 for the Super Famicom, the game has a confusing history for Western audiences. By the time it was ready for release outside of Japan in late 1991, only the first Final Fantasy had been released in the West. The second and third games had already come out in Japan, but weren’t available elsewhere. Because of this, when Final Fantasy 4 arrived on the SNES in the West, it was renamed Final Fantasy 2. Despite the confusing naming, Final Fantasy 4 was a landmark game as it introduced the Active Time Battle system, which would become a staple of the series.

Final Fantasy Fan Discovers a Family Heirloom That Still Works

After a fun family night playing classic video games, a fan of Final Fantasy shared a heartwarming story about an old SNES game cartridge with a personal connection. On the Final Fantasy subreddit, user ST_Lawson explained that their son had recently gotten into retro gaming, leading them to unearth some old consoles like the NES, SNES, and Game Boy Advance. They wondered if their dad’s copy of Final Fantasy 4 for the SNES still worked. To their surprise, it did – and it loaded right up to where their dad had last saved, with the characters already at the highest possible level! ST_Lawson recalled that their father, now in his 70s, used to play FF4 for a couple of hours each night in the early 90s after putting the kids to bed.

A Nostalgic Tale Under The Red Moon’s Glow

Final Fantasy 4 follows Cecil Harvey’s journey from a brooding Dark Knight to a noble Paladin, as he tries to escape a violent past. He’s joined by memorable characters like Kain Highwind, a skilled dragoon, Rydia, a powerful summoner, and the twin mages, Palom and Porom. Cecil also travels with Rosa Farrell, a white mage who becomes his girlfriend and eventually his wife – together, they are considered one of the most beloved couples in the Final Fantasy series.

The story of Final Fantasy 4 has reappeared in Final Fantasy 14. During the later updates for Final Fantasy 14‘s Endwalker expansion, several villains from FF4 showed up as powerful bosses. Characters like the elemental archfiends, Golbez, and Zeromus all made appearances in patches 6.1 through 6.5. This served as a nostalgic interlude for FF4 fans while players waited for the Dawntrail expansion.

The famous boss music from Final Fantasy 4 – known as “Battle 2” – has appeared in other games too. It’s particularly well-known as the battle theme for Culex, a secret, powerful boss in Super Mario RPG on the SNES and its recent remake on the Nintendo Switch. In both versions of the game, the legendary composer Yoko Shimomura adapted “Battle 2” from Final Fantasy 4 to create Culex’s theme.

The Unfortunate Reality of Old Technology

It looks like the Final Fantasy 4 save file from ST_Lawson’s dad is at risk. SNES game cartridges use batteries that often die after many years. Although changing a SNES battery is simpler than fixing a modern Nintendo console battery, you’ll lose any saved game progress when you replace it. While you can always get a new game cartridge, you can’t replace the special memories made while playing the original.

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2025-11-27 18:34