Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is coming to iOS and Android this winter

Square Enix has just surprised everyone by announcing that Final Fantasy IV: The After Years will be coming to iOS and Android this winter.

The After Years is the official sequel to FFIV, and was originally released on smartphones back in 2008 - but it was exclusive to Japan.

It follows on from the events of Final Fantasy IV, and is set 17 years later when the second moon reappears in the Blue Planet's orbit. Most of the FFIV cast reappear, and many NPCs from the SNES classic are now playable characters.

Being the sequel to a classic Final Fantasy game, you should already know what to expect from the gameplay.

It's an RPG with random encounters and turn-based combat. You'll wander a fantastical land and meet plenty of peculiar folks and creatures.

No price has been set for Final Fantasy IV: The After Years on iOS and Android. Expect that to arrive closer to the game's winter release.

This isn't the first English version of The After Years, mind. In 2011 a remastered version of FFIV, Interlude, and The After Years was bundled up in the Silver Award-winning FFIV: The Complete Collection on PSP.