FINAL FANTASY IV: THE AFTER YEARS is a direct sequel to FINAL FANTASY IV. It is a Japanese-style role-playing game released in episodic format. The game uses mechanics, assets and graphics from various releases of FINAL FANTASY IV.

The characters travel across the world map (although the whole map only becomes accessible in the final Tale The Crystals) fighting random enemies, enter towns to rest, buy equipment and talk to other characters, go to various dungeons for items and boss fights.

The battles use the same Active Time Battle (ATB) system from FINAL FANTASY IV, but it is improved in several ways. The class system from FINAL FANTASY IV largely remains the same but it has been tweaked and many new abilities have been added to the characters.

The WiiWare port of the game features several graphical enhancements over the mobile version, including larger screen resolution, clearer menu screens and fonts, and improved character portraits. The English localization follows the precedents set by the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV, featuring similar writing and making use of the same translations of names and terminology. A few edits have been made to the English version, including the modification of Ceodore's official character artwork to Westernize his face, as well as alterations to several female characters in order to make their clothing less revealing.