Final Fantasy 4 Pixel Remaster Walkthrough
This guide covers the full game with a 21-chapter walkthrough from Baron through the Lunar Subterrane to Zeromus, every one of the 342 chests, the complete 197-entry bestiary, all 15 summons including the optional Asura, Leviathan, Odin, and Bahamut boss fights, and the full trophy guide for the platinum. Two Gold trophies are missable, and the missables checklist tracks every cutoff inside Tower of Zot, Tower of Babel, and the Giant of Babel.
Originally released in 1991 on the Super Famicom, Final Fantasy 4 introduced the Active Time Battle system that defined the series for the next decade. Battles run in real time with each character’s ATB gauge filling at its own speed instead of strict turn order. The story follows Cecil, a Dark Knight questioning his king’s orders, through a journey that cycles twelve named characters in and out of a five-member party. The Pixel Remaster (2021) rebuilds the original with updated pixel art, quality-of-life fixes, and Nobuo Uematsu’s re-arranged soundtrack.
Walkthrough
Baron
Cecil and Kain set out from Castle Baron with the Bomb Ring. Loot the treasury, sweep all 8 Town of Baron hidden items, and visit the Chocobo Forest before the trek to Mist Cave.
Mist Cave & Kaipo
Beat the Mist Dragon at the summit, survive the Bomb Ring detonation, and recruit Rydia. Cross the desert to Kaipo and break Rosa's fever once the Sand Ruby arrives.
Underground Waterway
Tellah rejoins through the waterway, the Shadowblade waits in the North Entrance, and Octomammoth guards the Subterranean Lake. 22 chests across the two zones.
Battle System
Final Fantasy 4 traded turn-based combat for the Active Time Battle system. Each character has an ATB gauge that fills at a speed tied to their Agility stat; act when the gauge fills, and the enemy keeps acting in real time while you hesitate. Cecil’s party rotates twelve named characters, each locked to a fixed role: Cecil swaps between Dark Knight and Paladin, Kain Jumps, Rydia summons, Rosa heals with Aim, Yang Kicks and Focuses, Edge Throws and steals. Pick your front-row tanks carefully; row position changes how much physical damage members take.
Missables
Three story windows trap the missable content. Tower of Zot vanishes after the Rosa rescue and takes 6 chests and 10 bestiary entries with it. The Tower of Babel rotates its enemy pool between three visits, locking 18 entries across the Underworld and Overworld windows. The Giant of Babel collapses the moment you trigger the CPU fight, taking 8 more chests and 7 enemies. Everything else (Sylph, the Pink Tail farm, the Adamant Armor trade, post-credits cleanup) stays open once the Lunar Whale parks at the Crystal Palace.
View full missables checklist →
Boss Strategies
Data-mined HP, AI rotations, weaknesses, and tested strategies for every major boss from Mist Dragon’s mist-form gimmick through Zeromus’s Crystal trick.
Bestiary
197 enemies total, 28 of them missable. Tower of Zot accounts for 10 of those, the Tower of Babel window phases account for 11 more, and the Giant of Babel locks the final 7. The hardest farm is the Flan Princess on Lunar Subterrane B5: very rare spawn, force the pull with a Siren, then keep grinding until the Pink Tail drops. The Pink Tail trades for Adamant Armor at the Adamant Grotto, the strongest body slot in the game.
Trophies
30 PSN trophies: 13 Bronze, 9 Silver, 7 Gold, and 1 Platinum. Two are tied to the missable dungeons (Field Research Professional and Legendary Treasure Hunter), and Summon Collector needs all four hidden teaching items plus Sylph. The 4x EXP, 4x Gil, and encounter toggles in Boost settings don’t void anything, so leave them on for the full playthrough. The biggest grind is the Pink Tail farm for Tail of Myth.
