Final Fantasy IV DS is killing me!

[DjinniMan]

OK, CoGers, I need your help. I am stuck at what is quite possibly then cheapest boss I've ever faced in any RPG. In the underground world, when you meet the Dwarven king, and you fight the six dolls that merge into one, that I can hadnle, no problem. However, you can't save there, and next thing you know, you are fighting Golbez again. After a couple rounds, he freezes your whole parrty, summons a black dragon, and said dragon kills your whole party, except for Cecil. Rydia shows up, frees Cecil, and kills the black dragon.

And here is where the frustration hits. Rydia is clearly the way to deal damage, with her summons. However, she dies to Golbez's elemental spells too easily. Cover and Shell don't seem to make any difference. Once she dies, using Phoenix down never works, because that won't restore enough HP to let her survive another round of spells.

What am I missing? I've tried reviving Rosa first, but no luck, it's the same problem. Cecil is about level 38 or 39 which I think is rather high for this encounter, yet I can't keep Rydia alive no matter what I try. Is there a way to revive with full HP at this point in the game? I'm begging folks; HELP!!

[mightbe]

Just give up.

And send it to me.

[iHap]

Just give up.

And send it to me.
He speaks the truth.

Send it to me once you're done.

Seriously. I'm not really sure, I own FF3 which there was only 1 boss that really troubled me. You just have to work out a strategy with what you have in your inventory and your skills you have.

[mightbe]

From the boss FAQ on gamefaqs (http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/game/939425.html)18. Golbez

This may be one of the most difficult battles so far, perhaps because you
fought another boss a few seconds ago. Golbez first freezes your
characters and quickly gets rid of all of them, with Cecil being the only
survivor. You may try to time Kain's "Jump" in order to dodge the freezing
attack, but you should be told that it is an hard thing to do. However, I
strongly suggest you cast Rosa's "Slow" in her very first turn, which will
make you have an easier time later in the battle. After a small cutscene,
Rydia will be back, Golbez will cast a magic shield and the real battle
begins.
One of your biggest problems is the lack of party members - out of five,
three of them are probably dead by now, and you may obviously want to
revive them as soon as possible. The problem is... how? You only have two
characters and Golbez is constantly casting multi-hit spells, which may
easily kill any revived characters. Well, I have no magical answer to give
you, so you should just rely on luck. Have Cecil and Rydia use a simple
combo - Rydia uses a "Phoenix Down" and Cecil quickly heals that same
character - and hopefully
you'll manage to revive them in a short time.
When everyone is finally up, and hopefully with more than 500 HP each, it
is time to start attacking.
Have Cecil wield a sword that has no elemental effects (you can change his
equipment by pressing up while using the "Items" command) and striking
physically, apart from healing those who need it, a task that he should
share with Rosa, who can also use her "Pray" to help you. Yang and Kain
(feel free to use his "Jump") should also strike physically. Rydia should
summon her "Pochika", if you've already improved that beast's stats in the
mini-games. Stick to physical attacks - those don't cause much damage, but
they are better than nothing - and completly ignoring elemental spells and
summons, since those appear to heal your enemy. Be aware that he can
switch his own elemental weaknesses, but it may take you a while to figure
out which one he currently has, and you may want to pass such a problem by
simply striking physically or using the "Bio" magic.
If you're healing everyone in a proper way, this may turn out into a long
battle but Golbez will eventually go down, just don't let ANY of your
characters die, or else you may be put in trouble.

[OrigamiPanther]

First, hi mightbe!

Second, FFIV for DS. There's been a lot out there about how they ramped up the difficulty for this game. Frankly, I don't see it but I'm also a person that over levels (which is one strategy I recommend). Barring that, though, the strat mightbe posted certainly works. The dolls right before-hand can actually be taken down slightly easier if you focus on killing the orange ones (Brena, I believe) first, leaving only the greyish-blue ones (Cala). That way they can't merge into uber doll of death and you can be better prepared for Golbez.

[DjinniMan]

First, hi mightbe!

Second, FFIV for DS. There's been a lot out there about how they ramped up the difficulty for this game. Frankly, I don't see it but I'm also a person that over levels (which is one strategy I recommend). Barring that, though, the strat mightbe posted certainly works. The dolls right before-hand can actually be taken down slightly easier if you focus on killing the orange ones (Brena, I believe) first, leaving only the greyish-blue ones (Cala). That way they can't merge into uber doll of death and you can be better prepared for Golbez.
The dolls are no big deal, really. When you can actually face Golbez, all you have alive is Cecil, and as I said, he is overlevelled a bit anyway. I'll try to get Rosa up and running, and between her and Cecil, getting everyone online might just work. It's too bad Rydia can't take a hit, her summons, when coupled with the targeting spell Cecil has, can be quite effective. If she isn't taking a dirt nap, of course.

[OrigamiPanther]

heh, my bad; I read part of your post and got excited so skipped to the reply too quickly.

Something else that's really effective (which surprises me) is defending. Setting your characters to defend actually reduces the damage done by spells and, in some cases, is just enough to let them live. The strategy mentions slow, which is a great way to buy you some extra time for healing and stuff.

[Suave Peanut]

How is the DS version compared to the GBA? I've hardly touched IV Advance since picking it up not long after release, but if IV DS is a great difference I might just forego continuing it and upgrade.

[OrigamiPanther]

How is the DS version compared to the GBA? I've hardly touched IV Advance since picking it up not long after release, but if IV DS is a great difference I might just forego continuing it and upgrade.

It's a real toss-up and largely depends on tastes. I'll try and lay out some of the main differences (aside from graphics).

The translation in the DS version is better.

The music is definitely different in the DS version. Not exactly better or worse, but it's not the same 16-bit sounds.

Towards the end of the game, the GBA version lets you pick any character you to put in your party. DS sticks with the traditional 5 at the end, but implements a system where you can learn other characters' abilities once they leave your party. The system is largely based on how many other abilities you give them while they're in your party, which leads to a kind of "item collection" element that I'm kind of turned off by personally.

Difficulty for DS is higher than GBA, but not face smashingly impossible.

There's voice acting in the DS version, which varies from good to "what the hell?"

GBA version has an extra dungeon that's not included in the DS, but the DS has two extra bosses that you can fight (if you figure out how to unlock them).

The DS version has an ongoing side-quest involving Namingway that, towards the end, is pretty much annoying.

I think that's pretty much everything. Like I said, it's just a matter of tastes. I've enjoyed the DS version, but think I could have done without it.

[fitbabits]

You that this is not the final fantasy, right?

[Samitchdoo]

The dolls are no big deal, really. When you can actually face Golbez, all you have alive is Cecil, and as I said, he is overlevelled a bit anyway. I'll try to get Rosa up and running, and between her and Cecil, getting everyone online might just work. It's too bad Rydia can't take a hit, her summons, when coupled with the targeting spell Cecil has, can be quite effective. If she isn't taking a dirt nap, of course.

This was a hard fight even in the original. If you've collected augments, you stand a better chance, particularly with Dualcast on Rosa and Cry on someone (preferably Kain, imo). If not, the best bet is to debuff Golbez with Slow from Rosa, or have Yang use a Spider's Web and have Rosa use Shell or Protect on Cecil. Let the battle proceed for a scant few seconds and send Kain into the air and you might be lucky enough to have him avoid the Shadow Dragon.

For the most part, focus on keeping Rosa alive and well and Rydia second. I had Cecil attack and Yang use Focus x 3 then attack. It's definitely a hard battle due to the extreme lack of party members at the beginning.

[pomeroy]

You that this is not the final fantasy, right?

I he knows.

[DjinniMan]

I managed to get past it. The key was passing Cecil's turn to Rydia, then using Phoenix down on Rosa, then Cecil heals them all, etc. Piece of cake, and I am kicking myself for not remembering to pass the turn sooner. All the help is greatly appreciated

[brokenFUN]

I grind that game during study hall. Its not the original difficulty, its the Japanese difficulty. its much harder.

[Mike Kelehan]

I grind that game during study hall. Its not the original difficulty, its the Japanese difficulty. its much harder.

FF4 GBA was the original Japanese difficulty. This is yet higher.