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World of Final Fantasy: I love Final Fantasy. well, I mean I think I it. Final Fantasy VII is still, by a long shot, the best game that I have ever played. I have played every spin-off from Final Fantasy VII as I was hooked on the series. I own every FF title released before and after, and believe myself to be a proper fan, even if I can’t say I have completed every single one to the fullest since Final Fantasy IX.
This game is made by Square Enix, although I did prefer them when they were Squaresoft, and they are heavily involved in a number of series such as Final Fantasy, Deus Ex, Dragon Quest and many more games.
First impressions: Whilst reminiscing about FF7, I switched this game on and was impressed with it, initially, as it reminded me of the things that people love about the franchise. There was the orchestral music which pulls on your heart strings, as well as graphics which were. well, cute. They look cool, like something you would want to pick up and cuddle if you weren’t feeling well. The first hour of this game is the introduction because after that, you get what I must say is the best anime intro to a game I have ever seen. Great music and great fun.
I never like to speak about the story too much in most games because I don’t want to ruin it for others. Of course, this game is an RPG so, as usual, the story line is quite complex. However, I will break down a simple version without spoiling it too much. You take the role of Reynn and his twin sister Lann. When you wake up with amnesia, it turns out that the whole life they have been living (or not living) has been a lie and you actually have great strength and can control mirages. You step into a new world called Grymoire which just so happens to be under attack by the Bahamut army, you’ll meet cool characters like Enna Kros, who reminded me of Alanis Morissette in Dogma, for any Kevin Smith fans reading this. So, you must recover your memories as well as control a range of mirages and summons (including Cloud Strife – whoop whoop!) and save Grymoire. Simples.
The graphics to this game are quite different than most Final Fantasy games of the new generation. They aren’t realistic and don’t try to be. They offer a lighter tone to the franchise and, potentially, are more focused on a relatively younger generation. The exact name for the graphics are super-deformed (SD) graphics. This type remind me of Studio Ghibli films and that signalled many a happy memory in my head. As I have previously mentioned, I believe Square Enix have used these graphics to appeal to a younger audience, although I felt they didn’t stop me from enjoying them. That said, it also didn’t captivate me in a way I would have liked them to. I wouldn’t say that this game has any major flaws when it comes to the graphics, although at times I just found them.well. boring.
After the cuteness wore off, they just looked like something you’d expect on the Nintendo Gamecube, which were stunning at the time, but feel a little outdated now. What I was impressed with, was the sharpness of the colours, but that may have been due to my new 4K tv and PS4 Pro. So, overall the graphics are cute, they are cuddly, but do they do enough? I wasn’t quite sure, so feel it would be fair to score them at a 7.
Something I love about Final Fantasy games is the effort and importance they always put into the music. I have never played one where I felt it was low-budget in any way, and this game is exactly the same. There are nearly 100 original songs within, most of which were composed and arranged by Masashi Hamauzu, although he wasn’t the only one involved with the soundtrack. There’s too many involved to name all of them, but you will notice the German pianist. Now, of course music is not the only audio aspect of a game like this that is important in a game like this and that is voice acting.
This game was originally made for a Japanese audience, at there are times when the dubbing isn’t a perfect fit. This highlights a bit of a problem for me as I am aware that the actors and actresses who voice the Japanese version are well-known and experienced. Saying that, I still decided to play the dubbed version due to not having to wear my glasses and read the subtitles. There are also the standard sounds to the game which follow the style of the graphics: cute (damn, I’ve said that word too many times already in this review). All the little mirages sound cool and that’s the same as all the little village noises. The creeks and cracks of your standard village, some might say.
Overall, once again I have impressed by the sound/music and voice acting of a Final Fantasy game therefore I think an 8 is a fair score.
Go to page 2 for more thoughts on the game.
Gameplay is always a telling area when it comes down to Final Fantasy games. What I really liked about this game is the turn-based combat. It did make me secretly laugh because I remember reading an article saying that they wouldn’t use turn-based combat for the remake of Final Fantasy VII, although they felt it was okay with World of Final Fantasy. Doesn’t quite make sense to me, but I love the format, so I was quite happy. The combat itself is actually quite confusing for a game that is focused at kids. You have to catch different mirages, which are like little cuddly toys which fight for you. You can stack them on your head or under your feet, depending on their size. When you stack with a mirage, you gain their strength and their abilities. As you fight more with a mirage, you can upgrade their abilities.
As you fight more, you’ll get so many more mirages which become better the longer you continue the game. However, when you get attacked, people can make the mirages topple off your head, and when that happens, you could restack them if you want, or use them independently. Saying that, it means that you could have six weaker people fighting for you, or two much stronger characters who have funny little mirages on their head or below their feet. As you continue with the game, you can also get summons who will come and fight for you. Some of these summons include Cloud, Tifa, Yuna and Tidus (nostalgia runs high in this game). Of course, as per any Final Fantasy game, you have your usual items like potions and phoenix downs as well as some other cool items that you will find along your path.
So, overall, the gameplay is quite cool if not a little bit too confusing for what the game is meant to be. I felt that they could have made the mirages a little bit easier to handle, and maybe instead of having to capture them it may have been better if just beating a mirage meant that you own them. With so many different mirages available, you can swap them with another weird little mirage who acts like a mirage bank. The only issue is, it all gets a bit samey and, sadly, this is the biggest flaw to the game. Saying that, I would still award the gameplay an 8 as it plays well, and is possible for both a beginner as well as an expert.
When it comes to enjoyment, this game is full of nostalgia; you have summons and characters from a whole host of Final Fantasy titles throughout the ages. But is nostalgia enough? I mean yes, it feels good when you see a character you know and love, just like how it feels to drive down your road after a long holiday. However after a few weeks, you get a little bit bored of that same old street you have lived your whole life in and you want to go back to where you holidayed. This is a little like World of Final Fantasy – after playing for around 15 hours, I wanted to go back to playing some of the more fun games I had been playing. Mainly because the story is relatively boring – I mean it just doesn’t offer you any sort of hook. Just regaining memories didn’t really do it for me, nor did just gaining summons and mirages (for similar reasons why I never got into Pokemon Go).
World of Final Fantasy will take you around 50 hours to complete and, personally, I think it would be a much better game if it lasted around 20 hours. However, when was the last Final Fantasy title which took 20 hours? Never, that’s when. This has all sounded a little negative at the moment and it shouldn’t be. I did enjoy this game, just not as much as I would have wanted to. The story just couldn’t keep me going and was part of the reason why it took me so long to play through. I definitely won’t play this game again, even though there were plenty of things left for me to do. However, for the most of the time, I did enjoy it, until the gameplay got too samey and the story grew tiring.
Overall, I wouldn’t say this game is a completely unenjoyable experience, it just won’t keep you inspired. Therefore, I believe it deserves a 6 for enjoyment.
It’s certainly worth playing if you are a Final Fantasy fan, but I’d probably wait until after you have tried Final Fantasy XV, which is due out in a couple of weeks.
World of Final Fantasy is out now on PS4 and PS Vita, and click on the packshot for the full-size version.
Important info:
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Players: single-player
- HDTV options: up to 1080p
- Sound: DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1
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GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
7 8 8 6 |
| OVERALL | 7 |
Directors: Hiroki Chiba and Atsushi Isobe
Producer: Shinji Hashimoto
Writer: Hiroki Chiba
Music: Masashi Hamauzu
Cast:
Lann: Josh Keaton
Reynn: Amanda Leighton
Enna Kros: Cassandra Morris
Tama: Lisa Kay Jennings
Serafie: Nancy Sullivan
Hauyn / Masked Woman: Eden Riegel
Girl Who Forgot Her Name: Jade Pettyjohn
Brandelis: Tony Amendola
Pellinore / Lusse Farna: Jennifer Hale
Segwarides / Rorrik Farna: Richard Tatum Thane of Saronia / Uncle Takka: Joe Ochman Warrior of Light: Grant George Princess Sarah: Brooky Lyons
Chocolatte: Julie Nathanson
Yuna: Hedy Burress
Refia: Megan Goldsmith
Sherlotta: Stephanie Sheh
Faris Scherwiz: Emily O’Brien
Quistis Trepe: Kristina Pesic
Rikku: Tara Strong
Tifa Lockhart: Rachael Leigh Cook
Rydia: Caroline Macey
I have been a video game player since 1993 and a music fan since I can remember. I studied Film and Journalism at university and ended up becoming a Primary School teacher. Video games changed my life and sent me on the right track and have stayed with me ever since.
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