Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, known in Japan as Hikari no 4 Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden (光の４戦士 ファイナルファンタジー外伝), is a console role-playing game developed by Matrix Software and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. It is a spin-off of the Final Fantasy franchise and was released by Square Enix in Japan in fall 2009. The game stars a boy named Brandt who, on his 14th birthday, is summoned by the king to rescue a princess who has been kidnapped by the Witch of the North. The game is playable by up to four players.

Producer Tomoya Asano has described the game as "a classic fantasy RPG using today's technology." Enemies are encountered randomly, and the turn-based battle system is reminiscent of the Final Fantasy games released for the Famicom, but utilizes a "Charge" command in lieu of traditional magic points. Up to four characters may join the party, with the appearance of the characters changing depending on the weapons and armor equipped. Also, like in the job system of past Final Fantasy games, players are able to freely select the characters' classes utilizing the "Crown System". The music was composed by Naoshi Mizuta.

Plot
The story revolves around a 14-year old boy summoned by the King of Horne to rescue his daughter, Princess Carino, who has been captured by the Witch of the North.

Player characters

 * Brandt (ブランド), an ordinary fourteen year old who lived in the Kingdom of Horne with his mother Cuore. He has a strong sense of justice, yet still rough in manners.
 * Jusqua (ジュスカ), a silver-haired boy with an air of mystery surrounding him. He regards himself as a cool person, and treats Brandt as his rival.
 * Unita (ユニータ), a novice soldier in the Kingdom of Horne. She is a stoic and serious girl, but is nervous of her role.
 * Aire (アイレ), the second daughter of King Horne, and the younger sister of Princess Carino. She is the cheerful mood-maker of the group, due to her ignorance of the outside world.

Development
The game is the second to be released with the Final Fantasy Gaiden subtitle in Japan, after Final Fantasy Adventure, which was released as Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden in Japan, though it is said to have no relations to this game.

Hikari no 4 Senshi was initially to be revealed through a teaser website with a countdown timer that was to end on July 6, 2009; however, a Shounen Jump article for the game was prematurely leaked on the internet a few days before the timer was to end.

This game should not be confused with the DS remake of Final Fantasy Legend II, as they are two separate games.

Reception
Hikari no 4 Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden received a 33 out of 40 by Japanese gaming publication Famitsu with one of the four reviewers stating, "The story, music, and so on evokes memories of an older age and it mixes well with the modern gameplay to make things seem pretty fresh." It was the second best-selling game in Japan during its week of release at 115,000 units sold. With an additional 35,000 units sold the following, it was reported that the game sold out in the region. The game sold 178,510 copies by the end of November 2009. Janelle Hindman's review on RPG Land concluded, "Players who don’t mind a little awkwardness will enjoy this humble Final Fantasy side story" and labeled the game "Good."

The game was also showcased at E3 2010 where it generated numerous positive responses from the media. It was nominated by GameTrailers for Best DS Game of the Show.