Editing Final Fantasy IV (section)

===North American localization===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Final-fantasy-ii-snes-front-cover.jpg|thumb| ''Final Fantasy IV'' was distributed as ''Final Fantasy II'' to maintain naming continuity for its North American release.]] -->
Because the previous two installments of the ''Final Fantasy'' series had not been localized and released in North America at the time, ''Final Fantasy IV'' was distributed as ''Final Fantasy II'' to maintain naming continuity.<ref name="SPWoolseyint">{{cite journal |date=September 1994 |title=Fantasy Quest: Interview with Ted Woolsey |journal=[[Super Play]] |volume=1 |issue=23 |publisher=[[Future plc|Future Publishing]] |issn=0966-6192}}</ref> This remained the norm until the release of ''Final Fantasy VII'' in North America (after the release of ''Final Fantasy VI'' under the title of ''Final Fantasy III'') and subsequent releases of the original ''Final Fantasy II'' and ''III'' on various platforms. The game has since gone under the title ''Final Fantasy IV'' in all subsequent ports.

The English localization of ''Final Fantasy IV'' retains the storyline, graphics, and sound of the original, but the developers significantly reduced the difficulty for beginning gamers.<ref name="gameboy.ign.com"/> Square was worried that western fans would find it difficult to adjust to the game's complexity due to not having played the previous two entries, so decreased the overall depth considerably.<ref name="1UPretrospective">{{cite web|title=Why Final Fantasy IV Remains a Masterpiece After All These Years |url=http://www.1up.com/features/final-fantasy-iv-remains-masterpiece |author=Parish, Jeremy |website=[[1UP.com]] |date=January 27, 2012 |access-date=April 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525072847/http://www.1up.com/features/final-fantasy-iv-remains-masterpiece |archive-date=May 25, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Other changes include the removal of overt [[Judeo-Christian]] religious references and certain potentially objectionable graphics. For example, the magic spell "Holy" was renamed "White", and all references to [[prayer]] were eliminated; the Tower of Prayers in Mysidia was renamed the Tower of Wishes. Direct references to death were also omitted, although several characters clearly die during the course of the game.<ref name="GametrailersRemakes"/> The translation was changed in accordance with Nintendo of America's [[censorship]] policies (at a time before the formation of the [[Entertainment Software Rating Board|ESRB]] and its rating system).<ref>{{cite web | title=25 Dumbest Moments in Gaming / Nintendo's Mortal Mistake | url=http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/june03/dumbestmoments/readers/index4.shtml | date=June 14, 2003 | author=GameSpy Staff | publisher=[[GameSpy]] | access-date=March 6, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040818132132/http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/june03/dumbestmoments/readers/index4.shtml | archive-date=August 18, 2004 | url-status=dead}}</ref>