World of Final Fantasy: killing you with cuteness

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World of Final Fantasy, aka the best Final Fantasy game lurking on the horizon (hey, I genuinely believe this!) has seen a new set of screenshots publicly released, now that the Tokyo Game Show has wound down for another year.


I am Linnaete, and I will be your tour guide as we venture across the land of Grimoire. If at any point in this trip you are too overwhelmed by the cuteness to continue, please raise a hand and I will do all I can to assist.

Ena Kuro - this mysterious woman appears one day and invites the children to enter the world of Grimoire. Why? Something to do with lost memories.

And naturally, you and your sibling decide the only logical thing to do is to jump through the portal unsupervised to a land of mystery and dangers. As you would, of course.

Welcome to Cornelia, named after the first kingdom you visit in the very original Final Fantasy game. For some reason, it now looks vaguely like Ishgard from FFXIV.

Superheroes gain abilities such as flight, super speed and the ability to create web slings following a bite from a radioactive spider. These two have the formidable ability to err...turn from Kingdom Hearts-esque default proportions mode to super cute chibi form. And they can wield Pokemon without having the sufficient gym badges. That's OP stuff right there.

Oh, right. We're in Cornelia, so naturally we'll be meeting our Gary Stu Warrior of Light here, along with Princess Pea-err, Sarah.

A port town, supposedly. Rumours are abound of there being a pirate ship docked.

Even the dark caves are cute! This is "Nebula's Cave", where something significant meets our two protagonists on the other end.

Sunleth Waterscape? Is that you? No, it's a forest level, aptly named "The Forest of Light". Travellers can get lost here, so logically speaking, this dungeon shouldn't be a straight line corridor, eh?

Lake Bresha? Is that you? Why am I getting deja vu here? Are they reusing FFXIII assets or something? It appears so, because reading off the script here, it tells me that this crystalline location is in fact an ice level called Icicle Valley. Careful, don't slip!

Choo choo! Cactuar train service. It is still so much more reliable than your local train service. Book a ticket now to avoid the passenger queues that will likely never appear. Also, don't bring Selphie along, unless you want an impromptu song about trains to stick in your head for the entirety of the rest of the journey. :selphie:

Conductor Cactuar here is a "Mirage". Mirages in this world are the monsters and Guardian Beasts that reside in the world of Grimoire. His job here is to help guide you across this realm whenever you decide to take the train. The rules are simple. Show him your train fare, don't bring Selphie along, and no legal lawsuits against the train company if you ever accidentally find yourself on the receiving end of a thousand needles.

Pokemon, gotta catch 'em aaaaaall! I know it's my destiny. Pokemon, ohhhhh, you're my best friends, in a world we must defend!

Stacking is a key mechanic in this game's battle system. You can stack with allied Mirages for enhanced stats and access to special abilities. When you are unstacked, your AP will replenish at a considerably quicker rate. AP will be fundamental for using stacked special abilities. Having sufficient AP will also decrease your chances of being felled in one shot in battle. Balance this out and play tactically with your Pokemon!

Meet Lightning. You might have heard of her. If for whatever reason you have always wanted to see super-chibi Lightning perform Zantetsuken, here you are.

Guardian Beast Mirages assemble! Shiva, Ramuh and Ifrit will join you on your quest and....pahahahaha, cute Ifrit. That's adorable!

Finally, we have a look at Mega Mirage Cerberus. This is not a Guardian Beast Mirage, but a powerful entity you can create if you exchange all of your party's active Mirages. Mega Mirages are essentially extra powerful Mirages that fight on your side.
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World of Final Fantasy is due sometime next year for PS4 and PSVita.


Siliconera | Nova Crystallis

 

but what is it about? does it have a plotline or??

 

there seems to be a plot....but....who knows...problem is...why ps4? this looks like a 3DS game at best......SE is just throwing their money.

 

Yes, there is going to be a narrative. It's obviously doing all its can to come across as a whimsical sort of adventure that will blend the sugary cuteness with some more dramatic elements. The pitch for this game is fundamentally to have something that contrasts the more "realistic" and melodramatic fare of the more modern mainline FF games of late.

there seems to be a plot....but....who knows...problem is...why ps4? this looks like a 3DS game at best......SE is just throwing their money.

Square doing as much heavy work as they possibly can to encourage a bigger PS4 install base in Japan, it seems.

 

it seems like a stupid move to do an "excuse" game just to promote more ps4 usage.

People didn't buy a PSP because SE made "excusable" games. They made games worth buying, such as Dissidia, Birth by Sleep, 3rd Birthday (even though it was a horrible story, had decent gameplay).

They should aim to making high-quality games. Ok, lets just say hypothetically this comes out. Who is this being marketted to? People who like chibi-design cast along side Final Fantasy and doesn't mind seeing a combination of the two?

Theatrhythm barely got away with it because it wasn't about the chibi characters, the "Monster Octopus" design wasn't brought back and hasn't been as popular as SE hoped either as other games such as FF Brigade weren't that great either.

 

You don't like the super deformed chibi look. That is fine. Not sure why you need to take it a few steps further and insinuate that it can't be a "high-quality" game purely because of its art style. It's what I call judging a book solely by its cover and then chucking the book off a bridge into a river without having read the first page.

No, I'm not sure who this will be primarily marketed for in the west either. I suppose the angle they can go with is to reach out to fans of games like Pokemon where you can catch monsters and have them battle at your side, with its own original twists to the formula. I'm not very convinced that many younger gamers will bite either, so the audience for this full retain spinoff game will likely be confined to hardcore FF fans, a niche group of gamers who love everything cute, a niche group of gamers who love everything related to catching and levelling up monsters; and a group of gamers who are starved of the old Active Time battle system and want to support this.

 

I had no idea that this was a thing... Whoa! I'm really loving the style. It's a nice change from all the dark, gloomy, and colour filtered games that are so prevalent these days. Incredibly endearing Sure it's simple and obviously isn't pushing any graphical boundaries, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be on PS4. It could turn out to be fun!

 

You don't like the super deformed chibi look. That is fine. Not sure why you need to take it a few steps further and insinuate that it can't be a "high-quality" game purely because of its art style. It's what I call judging a book solely by its cover and then chucking the book off a bridge into a river without having read the first page. No, I'm not sure who this will be primarily marketed for in the west either. I suppose the angle they can go with is to reach out to fans of games like Pokemon where you can catch monsters and have them battle at your side, with its own original twists to the formula. I'm not very convinced that many younger gamers will bite either, so the audience for this full retain spinoff game will likely be confined to hardcore FF fans, a niche group of gamers who love everything cute, a niche group of gamers who love everything related to catching and levelling up monsters; and a group of gamers who are starved of the old Active Time battle system and want to support this.

It's more than that, but where is this going to go? Pokemon esque chibi style ff? Ill bite...but it still begs the question....why ps4? This feels like an excuse game because it doesn't seem designed for ps4. Theatrjythm and even ff explorers made sense...although if they went with a less chibi route for ff explorers and put it on ps4 and this on 3ds, I would see a clear market globally.

I had no idea that this was a thing... Whoa! I'm really loving the style. It's a nice change from all the dark, gloomy, and colour filtered games that are so prevalent these days. Incredibly endearing Sure it's simple and obviously isn't pushing any graphical boundaries, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be on PS4. It could turn out to be fun!

I'm not saying the graphics. But the kind of game....it just doesn't look like a hardcore game worth sitting down on home console. It appears more like a handheld casual game to play a little more.

Plus an advance 3ds game is better than an average ps4 game.

 

The art style along with FF has always been popular. Cartoony graphics were around for FF1-6 (iOS versions more-so, but even in the old versions of 5), along with 7 (to an extent) and 9 had cartoon elements too.

FF has always been about the cute, to a large extent. From the cute chocobos even in the serious situations, to the moogles, to a lot of cute monster designs. Chibi fits perfectly with the series.

Why PS4? I'm not sure myself. Probably the PS4 promotion like Liv said. Still, so long as it's a bit cheaper, I'm happy with that. I agree that completely chibi-fied graphics do make me think of a slightly lower price tag.

 

I'm kinda liking the look of this, and find myself damning it for the chibi cuteness. Cause it's looking to be the kind of chibi cute with Ifrit as Liv used for an example you want to scream "Why must you be like this" kind of deal. From those screen shoots the only concept I don't seem to want to get behind is the stacking bit, cause just having you stand ontop of a monster while one stands on you just screamed stupid to me for "stacking". I mean I get it in the literal sense yes but still just ugh. Now to move onto a concern is the mirages. Are these just gonna be the monsters from the world, or are these also our summons like Ifrit, Shiva etc..? Since with these mega mirages we have to trade in regular mirages is there a chance we can lose or have to give up our mirages that are more unique, in this case i'm using our summons like Shiva and them again? But all that aside though it does have a kiddy feel it's something new and not totally serious so i'll definitely end up giving it a try, for it's light heartened tone.

 

The difference between classic ff and latest ff is that the small sprites we're representational, not actual design. In those days, it was about adding imagination. Which is why in ff4 and ff6, there were profile pictures alongside the sprites. Enhanced remasters shouldn't count for obvious reasons.

But also don't confuse cartoony with chibi. One of the other issues I see is that the enhanced graphics actually work AGAINST the chibi style and looks more super deformed.

Flyer I really hope you are joking about this being one of the bests because this game doesn't even know who it's targeting to.

I'm not saying ps4 should have only super high definition games like ff15. But everything seems far too miniature, the full form of the characters only appear in cutscenes. And overall the selling point is the chibi style cast, not game play.

EDIT:
My problem with this is nothing tells me this is a genuine game that Se is trying to say it's well thought out.

The twins look awkward. The chibi look OK, but seems excessive to the point of just appearing super deformed (no chibi doesn't mean super deformed, that's the western mistranslation). And the world doesn't appear as engaging while in chibi. Plus no signs of towns.

 

The difference between classic ff and latest ff is that the small sprites we're representational, not actual design. In those days, it was about adding imagination. Which is why in ff4 and ff6, there were profile pictures alongside the sprites. Enhanced remasters shouldn't count for obvious reasons.

It wasn't just the sprites though. In FF5, everything was extremely bright and colourful. I think this game is going down the imagination route too, considering the story, characters and art design being so different from most modern JRPGs.

But also don't confuse cartoony with chibi. One of the other issues I see is that the enhanced graphics actually work AGAINST the chibi style and looks more super deformed.

While they're two different terms, they go together really well when it comes to marketing. Both aiming at the younger audience, or the anime lovers (potentially). Sony have always been good for aiming at anime lovers, now that I think about it (with them having the major consoles for JRPGs, visual novels etc), so maybe that could be a factor in why this game is coming to PS4.

Flyer I really hope you are joking about this being one of the bests because this game doesn't even know who it's targeting to.

I'm not saying ps4 should have only super high definition games like ff15. But everything seems far too miniature, the full form of the characters only appear in cutscenes. And overall the selling point is the chibi style cast, not game play.

Agree with this point. They seem to be forcing the art style down our throats rather than the gameplay so much. For now.

EDIT:
My problem with this is nothing tells me this is a genuine game that Se is trying to say it's well thought out.

To me, it all says that this is just going to be a fun FF, like FF10-2, 13-2, Chocobo Tales, Crystal Chronicles. Not one of the serious games like the numbered titles.

The twins look awkward. The chibi look OK, but seems excessive to the point of just appearing super deformed (no chibi doesn't mean super deformed, that's the western mistranslation). And the world doesn't appear as engaging while in chibi. Plus no signs of towns.

Referring to the lack of towns, one of the pics above shows a town. We really don't have enough info to know if there will be more, or if this is a hub town.

Those are my thoughts anyway. I'm looking forward to having a bit of fun with this title .

 

It wasn't just the sprites though. In FF5, everything was extremely bright and colourful. I think this game is going down the imagination route too, considering the story, characters and art design being so different from most modern JRPGs.

The color means absolutely nothing considering it was always so bright even from the earliest of FF games. FF just had it closer to the anime esque style, but nothing too different from FF4's design.

While they're two different terms, they go together really well when it comes to marketing. Both aiming at the younger audience, or the anime lovers (potentially). Sony have always been good for aiming at anime lovers, now that I think about it (with them having the major consoles for JRPGs, visual novels etc), so maybe that could be a factor in why this game is coming to PS4.

ON paper, you really can't say for sure a high-definition super deformed game would be good marketting. I actually do hope you back that statement with some evidence or at least how you see it. Chibi design aim for those who love chibi style. Because all of this looks highly expiremental (and not the good kind, the kind that blows up on your face)


NOT everyone who loves anime loves chibi style as a standard theme in video games. Most anime-fans tend to lean toward games with animated cutscenes rather than 3D FMVs.

Sony was good at aiming to anime lovers because they held most of the Japanese games that weren't Nintendo-esque. The anime enthusiasts already know sony will be the most likely to have it, but thats not because of Sony's way of marketting it. Thats because fans know Japan isn't going to lean toward a western company like Microsoft and Nintendo is more for kids.

To me, this looks like another rip-off. THere's Dragon Quest Monster:Joker series, and this screams Dragon Quest Monster:joker. only with the forced addition of a very typical chibi design.

To me, it all says that this is just going to be a fun FF, like FF10-2, 13-2, Chocobo Tales, Crystal Chronicles. Not one of the serious games like the numbered titles.

FF10-2, and 13-2 still road on the originals lore and themes to move it along. So those were considered safer and arguably still serious enough. CHocobo Tales isn't considered an FF game in the east. But overall, the non-serious titles were always placed. But overall these games still had something interesting to go for, even Crystal Chronicles had interesting gameplay concepts and story.

But this game in particular feels empty....a fun game to play around? Even a casual game had more to sell and the major difference wasn't that they were just casual, they were experimenting with new ideas. SE just doesn't feel like their trying to market it the right way. it doesn't look like their selling it to gamers. To me, this feels like another FF Explorers, but not living upto its full potential.

Ok, lets say for example you do have this game, and you are physically playing it....how long can you play it, the same amount of hours as the average modern home console game? Like i said, its not the chibi style, its not the casual style either, but it doesn't look like good marketing at all....name one good game that is doing what World of FF is doing? Lets also consider that World of FF sounds amazing, but do you honestly think that its living upto the title?

To me, this is a Lightning Return, sure it'll get another cult following, and some people will probably look like an idiot praising the game while others constructively point out its major flaws (and i'm saying this out of long and long ammounts of experience of predicting whether a game will be a hit or miss)

To me, FF series is riding a long dangerous route of expirements, their fully prepared to make us forget what makes FF. And again, i dont mind casual games...but is this a casual game? or something below that (like Lightning Returns)

Referring to the lack of towns, one of the pics above shows a town. We really don't have enough info to know if there will be more, or if this is a hub town.

I need to NPC interaction before i consider it a town. not just a place that has buildings. Otherwise why not say that FF13 had towns?

 

The color means absolutely nothing considering it was always so bright even from the earliest of FF games. FF just had it closer to the anime esque style, but nothing too different from FF4's design.

ON paper, you really can't say for sure a high-definition super deformed game would be good marketting. I actually do hope you back that statement with some evidence or at least how you see it. Chibi design aim for those who love chibi style. Because all of this looks highly expiremental (and not the good kind, the kind that blows up on your face)


NOT everyone who loves anime loves chibi style as a standard theme in video games. Most anime-fans tend to lean toward games with animated cutscenes rather than 3D FMVs.

Sony was good at aiming to anime lovers because they held most of the Japanese games that weren't Nintendo-esque. The anime enthusiasts already know sony will be the most likely to have it, but thats not because of Sony's way of marketting it. Thats because fans know Japan isn't going to lean toward a western company like Microsoft and Nintendo is more for kids.

To me, this looks like another rip-off. THere's Dragon Quest Monster:Joker series, and this screams Dragon Quest Monster:joker. only with the forced addition of a very typical chibi design.



FF10-2, and 13-2 still road on the originals lore and themes to move it along. So those were considered safer and arguably still serious enough. CHocobo Tales isn't considered an FF game in the east. But overall, the non-serious titles were always placed. But overall these games still had something interesting to go for, even Crystal Chronicles had interesting gameplay concepts and story.

But this game in particular feels empty....a fun game to play around? Even a casual game had more to sell and the major difference wasn't that they were just casual, they were experimenting with new ideas. SE just doesn't feel like their trying to market it the right way. it doesn't look like their selling it to gamers. To me, this feels like another FF Explorers, but not living upto its full potential.

Ok, lets say for example you do have this game, and you are physically playing it....how long can you play it, the same amount of hours as the average modern home console game? Like i said, its not the chibi style, its not the casual style either, but it doesn't look like good marketing at all....name one good game that is doing what World of FF is doing? Lets also consider that World of FF sounds amazing, but do you honestly think that its living upto the title?

To me, this is a Lightning Return, sure it'll get another cult following, and some people will probably look like an idiot praising the game while others constructively point out its major flaws (and i'm saying this out of long and long ammounts of experience of predicting whether a game will be a hit or miss)

To me, FF series is riding a long dangerous route of expirements, their fully prepared to make us forget what makes FF. And again, i dont mind casual games...but is this a casual game? or something below that (like Lightning Returns)
I need to NPC interaction before i consider it a town. not just a place that has buildings. Otherwise why not say that FF13 had towns?

I'm sorry, I haven't been into writing long answers to unimportant questions since I left uni, so I'll just keep this brief and answer the odd bit that comes easily (god knows, not much does for me lately) *getting old* *old granny brain*. I also won't provide evidence for anything on a forum about something ultimately unimportant such as video games.

I was saying that earlier games had bright colour too. This isn't all that different...it's just more of a modern look, to me. While chibi style does aim at people who like that style, it also isn't far from aiming at the people who like colourful artstyles too (such as old FF games). It probably is experimental for the PS4, but it certainly isn't in general. Here's looking back at Chocobo Tales with the similar artstyle (it's still FF over here regardless of whether the East have seen it as one or not).

"Most anime-fans tend to lean toward games with animated cutscenes rather than 3D FMVs." - I would like some evidence here to back this statement up (though not really; I'm just being incredibly cute).

"To me, this looks like another rip-off." - Spin-off*. We don't even know the price to call it a rip-off, nor do we really know of the overall quality. This can't be told from just a few screenshots and minor info.

"But this game in particular feels empty....a fun game to play around? Even a casual game had more to sell and the major difference wasn't that they were just casual, they were experimenting with new ideas." - Yes, it seems like it'll be a fun game to play around with, as my opinion stated.

"name one good game that is doing what World of FF is doing?" - I'm not sure of what exactly you're referring to here. If you mean a good chibi spin-off, then Persona Q was a nice experience.

That's about all I've got right now. Sorry if I missed anything that you really wanted answering. I'm not good at longer debates/discussions.

 

* raises hand *

Umm, this is also coming to Vita, people. So if your opinion is that it looks/sounds/feels like a handheld game, that's because...it is.

Multiple platforms just means more people can buy the game. It's good business, plus these days handheld graphics are good enough that many people would like to play one game on both handheld and TV set screens.

 

All this talk about the style not being a good fit for a home console like the PS4...are you forgetting that this is going to be a Vita game as well? I imagine it was originally PLANNED to be a Vita title, but was greenlit for PS4 as well to help revitalise the console market in Japan, AND to release it in a format that is most popular in the west at the moment. So it's more sensible to think of this as more of a Vita title that just so happens to be concurrently released on PS4 as well.

Flyer I really hope you are joking about this being one of the bests because this game doesn't even know who it's targeting to.

No, that is a genuine opinion. This looks adorable and whimsical and I am in a mood for that. Why would you hope that I was joking? Must we all shun this abomination of a game, because it doesn't comply with your standards for what a good Final Fantasy game should be? I personally couldn't care less who the audience is supposed to be and I don't see how that has any bearing on what I think of this game.

But everything seems far too miniature, the full form of the characters only appear in cutscenes.

If you had bothered to look at the screenshots, you would have notice err, this:

Plus no signs of towns.

Well that's clearly untrue. Cornelia is a castle town.

But overall these games still had something interesting to go for, even Crystal Chronicles had interesting gameplay concepts and story.

But this game in particular feels empty....a fun game to play around? Even a casual game had more to sell and the major difference wasn't that they were just casual, they were experimenting with new ideas. SE just doesn't feel like their trying to market it the right way. it doesn't look like their selling it to gamers. To me, this feels like another FF Explorers, but not living upto its full potential.

Who cares about potential marketing? It has no relevance to the issue of this game's overall quality. How would poor marketing mean that a game is not living up to its full potential? A game fails to live up to its full potential when ambition is confronted with poor competency, not because it's not being marketed (or wearing a sort of cosmetic style) in a way you personally doubt/abhor.

Ok, lets say for example you do have this game, and you are physically playing it....how long can you play it, the same amount of hours as the average modern home console game? Like i said, its not the chibi style, its not the casual style either, but it doesn't look like good marketing at all....name one good game that is doing what World of FF is doing? Lets also consider that World of FF sounds amazing, but do you honestly think that its living upto the title?

I fail to see how any of what you said here would have any significant effect on how long I can play through this game. But what I can say is that World of Final Fantasy is set to be a relatively shorter RPG than what we are used to these days, so I would perhaps guess anywhere in the region of 30 hours.

Living up to the title? So long as the game is decent and not insultingly crap, it's good enough. Besides, it's not like the name "Final Fantasy" is an absolute guarantor of quality anyway.

To me, FF series is riding a long dangerous route of expirements, their fully prepared to make us forget what makes FF. And again, i dont mind casual games...but is this a casual game? or something below that (like Lightning Returns)

1) Newsflash: Final Fantasy has been about EXPERIMENTS for over a decade now - especially if you're a spinoff game.

2) I ask you: what does make a Final Fantasy game? And what is this spinoff game doing/not doing (besides the superficial complaint of art style) that is supposedly continuing on this trend of destroying the identity of Final Fantasy?

3) Is this a casual game? No. Oh, you may think so, because of the art style, but it doesn't make it true.

 

All this talk about the style not being a good fit for a home console like the PS4...are you forgetting that this is going to be a Vita game as well? I imagine it was originally PLANNED to be a Vita title, but was greenlit for PS4 as well to help revitalise the console market in Japan, AND to release it in a format that is most popular in the west at the moment. So it's more sensible to think of this as more of a Vita title that just so happens to be concurrently released on PS4 as well.

As much as i absolutely love the idea of PSVita getting some love, recently SE hasn't really been that ambitious with the console. And even as Vita, it doesn't feel like a strong game that will revolutionize the console. So moving it multiplatform to PS4 aswell definitely wont help Vita's case at all. In Japan, sure, maybe.

No, that is a genuine opinion. This looks adorable and whimsical and I am in a mood for that. Why would you hope that I was joking? Must we all shun this abomination of a game, because it doesn't comply with your standards for what a good Final Fantasy game should be? I personally couldn't care less who the audience is supposed to be and I don't see how that has any bearing on what I think of this game.

Think harder about it. When you see a game like FF All The Bravest and you break down that game, it was intended to sell money. And that pissed off fans. and for good reasons, they saw the money-grabbing plot and then decide to do this.

BIGGER PICTURE: I care about whether this game is marketable because i care about whether SE succeeds. Every game counts and it shows these days. One of the most recent examples: FF7 G-bike had to be canceled because it wasn't profitable...a game i was intently looking forward to.


I'm trying to stay interested regardless of its cutesy style....but even then its not even that cute. it looks painfully awkward. Some of the characters look adorable, and maybe even "whimsical". But then there are aspects that are the exact opposite. And then theres the combination of the two, then thee are characters who are just plain akward proportionately (the twins).

Well that's clearly untrue. Cornelia is a castle town.

But i'm talking about NPC interaction.

Who cares about potential marketing? It has no relevance to the issue of this game's overall quality.

Actually it does....Scooby Doo live action failed because of its awkward stage of catering to both sides but also alienating both at the same time. This is exactly what i see that World of FF is doing.

How would poor marketing mean that a game is not living up to its full potential? A game fails to live up to its full potential when ambition is confronted with poor competency, not because it's not being marketed (or wearing a sort of cosmetic style) in a way you personally doubt/abhor.

How does it NOT? Think about what it means to market, first off, console choice is the obvious one i'm picking, but also lets look at what benefits these individual have. Despite Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance being a black sheep to the fan community, gameplay wise was one of the greater games, and used the 3DS capabilities well. Even Bravely Default with their AR.

Final Fantasy Type-0 was a game that initially marketed toward feature phones. Not even smartphones. And now due to the change in direction to PSP allowed it to be a ps4 hd remaster. Ok here's another example:

I fail to see how any of what you said here would have any significant effect on how long I can play through this game. But what I can say is that World of Final Fantasy is set to be a relatively shorter RPG than what we are used to these days, so I would perhaps guess anywhere in the region of 30 hours.

I'm not talking about how many hours "total" but how many hours day-to-day or week-by-week. How many times will you feel "compelled" to play this game, and for how long a day? Sure, it has the capabilities of 60 or 100 hours of gameplay (just as much as any handheld too, because it depends on the player). But how do those 60 and 100 hours go by? day by day? week by week?

thats the real question. Like i said, this appears more like Dragon Quest Monster: Joker. a fitting game for handheld as you can play it on the go, and doesn't demand a lot of time and exploration too much. At the same time, it is all about the monster capturing. This game does that more, but with the double-edge sword of a saturated chibi design.

Living up to the title? So long as the game is decent and not insultingly crap, it's good enough. Besides, it's not like the name "Final Fantasy" is an absolute guarantor of quality anyway.

I know you know better .Fleur, and i knwo this from past discussions that its not "If its good its good Final Fantasy". Perhaps the new FF era is molding you....but just in case:

We're not talking about "Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles" we're not talking about "Final Fantasy Tactics" or even "Final Fantasy Mobius". We're talking about "World of Final Fantasy". lets pretend that for all these games, we have nothing to go by, no style, no gameplay, no console, no anything.....all we see is these titles being announced. By matter of deduction, lets give out a hypothetical

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

^^^^OK, Crystal Chronicles is a subtitle. Obviously going to be a spin off with its own ideas. Of course Crystal oriented, and of course Chronicles suggests probably divided plot. Or perhaps a series of its own.

Final Fantasy Tactics

^^^Not a subtitle, part of the main name, so its trying to be the main thing but focused on something else. Tactical gameplay? So we should already explain

World of Final Fantasy

^^^Now thats a title indeed. Its not a subtitle, and its not even added at the end, its being placed at the beginning....it speaks a lot more. Its not saying "this is a spin off, or a new concept we're adding in". This is saying that this game will cover the WORLD of final fantasy. it sounds like an MMORPG even.

Can you honestly say the game as it stands now fits the name? Even though i didn't like FF Explorers, the name was the few things i didn't complain, because well....its exactly that....Final Fantasy explorers. we explore this land, and the cast was even leaning toward a cutesy design.

1) Newsflash: Final Fantasy has been about EXPERIMENTS for over a decade now - especially if you're a spinoff game.

Each FF game is an experiment in its own way, but up until recently FF (video game-wise) has been safer with their experiments and you know it. And when i mean "safe", i'm talking about the bad safe experiments. Nowadays the series what was once a place for innovation is now slowly ripping off other title's innovations and trying to add its typical cute addition and claiming it as its own.

FF Explorers clearly ripping off Monster Hunter, and this game now rips off of DQM: Joker. This experiment is trying to attract that audience all while adding saturated chibi, all the more in a home console. Thats the experiment, not the idea of having characters control these creatures. this experiment is more superficial than any other FF game in the past that succeeded.

2) I ask you: what does make a Final Fantasy game? And what is this spinoff game doing/not doing (besides the superficial complaint of art style) that is supposedly continuing on this trend of destroying the identity of Final Fantasy?

If you allow me to answer that with the freedom to disregard the latest games SE has been coming out, what makes an FF game is of course RPG elements, a genuine strong story (not this whimsical plot of twins just going in for adventure) alongside open-world environment. For spin-offs i give leeway like any other.

Overall, FF has mostly marketted toward

3) Is this a casual game? No. Oh, you may think so, because of the art style, but it doesn't make it true.

Its more than just the art style. The story isn't being sold all that strongly, the gameplay is clearly Dragon Quest Monster: Joker style (handheld),

 

Hey Guys,

I have bought World of Final Fantasy, and it is a realy impressive cool game! I found in the first side-quest 'Best Helm in The Realm' the 'Earth Hammer' in a chest on the end of the first dungeon! But because i have things to try out, i used this item for myself (Foolish!). So now i can not complete the side-quest. Is there an option to get the 'Earth Hammer' back again? I checked the shop, but nothing there, i played the dungeon again, but the chest is already open.

Can someone please help me? Or should i start the game again?

Thanks in advance!

Regards Danny