Saturday, November 26, 2016

World of Final Fantasy: awesome, or are my standards too low by now?

Buy here.
Against my better judgment, I purchased a full-price copy of World of Final Fantasy shortly after it came out. Most Square Enix games I've played in the last few years have been crushing disappointments, but I guess old habits die hard. For better or for worse, my hindbrain associates Square with games I enjoy. I briefly considered buying Deus Ex: Manking Divided even though I know it's not the kind of game I like to play. It was published by Square Enix, apparently.

The only logical, if unflattering, explanation is that I'm not as immune to bitter brand loyalty as I like to pretend I am. For now, I'll console myself with the fact that, at least in the case of World of Final Fantasy, brand loyalty didn't lead me astray. I've not had this much fun playing a videogame since Fire Emblem: Awakening. And considering Awakening is one of my favorite games ever (Chris, I'm still gonna harass you into buying a 3DS and playing this game), that's saying something.

Much like Persona Q, World of Final Fantasy is a blatant play for long-time fans' wallets. And much like Persona Q, I was floored by how much the developers seem to have cared about making a fun game even though name alone was going to move copies.

You play as a pair of twins that. . . honestly, who cares? They travel from dungeon to dungeon, meet heroes from previous Final Fantasies, while catching classic Final Fantasy monsters like they're Pokemon. I can't even pretend to be able to judge this game with any objectivity because did you read that description? 

That being said, I'm going to try.

Does the game have a world map?

Yes and no. Annoying response, I know, but it's the most honest. World of Final Fantasy drops you from dungeon to dungeon in a linear fashion, but I honestly feel like it has a massive world and ultimately, feeling is more important than reality for my sense of enjoyment. Perhaps it's the turn-based battle system, but moving from the ice level, to the fire level, to the water level, to the swamp with the marlboros, etc. feels like a slow journey through a massive world even though there aren't expansive open areas between one town to the next.

From the very beginning of the game, there's the option to automatically backtrack to another dungeon/town via a glowing door at the beginning of each level. The door adds to the feeling that the game's world is larger than it probably is, and it also makes it much easier to backtrack to earlier levels to catch Pokemon—I mean mirages that you might have missed. So, no it doesn't have a real world map as Final Fantasy games of old, but it finds a way to work without it. I'd go as far as to argue that cutting the true world map for a magic teleportation door between dungeons is a more approachable exploration method for someone like me (who works a ridiculous amount of hours at a exhausting job).

Plus, if Final Fantasy: Type 0 taught me anything, it's that a JRPG can suck even with a world map.

How is the battle system?

Turn-based and unapologetic about it. The new flavor come from a mechanic that lets your lead twin characters change from "Jiants" to . . . "lilikin" (sp?). Chibis, basically. Then you cans stack the mirages you capture, and the stacking pattern varies depending on your size and the mirages' sizes. Certain mirages can change sizes, but they only gain the ability to do so after you've completed their leveling-up boards. To evolve some mirages into their final forms, you have to beat "hidden" optional bosses in dungeons (I put hidden in quotation marks because they're not particularly hard to find).

I can't judge the complexity of the system because I've been backtracking a lot, which means that I'm over-levelled and rarely have trouble beating any enemy, including the optional ones. I rarely need to use the game's bigger guns. There's a mechanic to summon characters from previous Final Fantasy games for healing, extra damage, and status buffs, but I almost forgot to mention it because I've rarely needed to use it. The optional bosses to unlock stronger mirages do seem to break the games challenge because for anyone who's even a slight completionist, it will be next to impossible to be overlevelled for the main story bosses.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the ability to speed up and automate battles. The game would probably be a lot slower and duller, especially for an overlevelled player like me, if I wasn't able to fast-forward through random encounters.

Any DLC?

Yes, but I haven't even looked at it and I don't feel like not purchasing it has affected my gaming experience. It's still crappy and embarrassing, in practice, that a $60 retail game feels the need to ransom content like it's Candy Crush.

How's the story?

This is where the game suffers. The twins' are mentioned in some legend, and they're trying to fulfill a prophecy to reunite with their missing mother, who might or might not be the champion of some legend or other. I'm far from riveted. Still, the plot is simple and I feel enough of an emotional connection to the characters that I keep returning to the game even in parts that get frustrating (usually because I'm too tired and I missed some obvious instruction that the game provided).

Considering the gibberish that fancied itself Final Fantasy XIII's story, that's a miracle.

Overall?

The most fun I've had with a Final Fantasy game in years. Highly recommend it.

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