World of Final Fantasy

I am kinda just astounded. a return to form for the final fantasy series. we knew it could be done nd had a sneak peak with award winning titles like bravely default and bravely second but now final fantasy takes back into its jRPG roots in a way that made big fans of the series awestruck. It has so much content and just feels like Ni mp kunis levels of wonderment at times. I find it superior to final fantasy 15 in its story telling (Sorry Every chapter on the trains ass final fantasy 15) This game needs more love and square Enix needs to know Fans want more of this!!

World of Final Fantasy is a rather solid Pokémon clone. Due to a lighter, slightly more shallow story which leans heavily on Final Fantasy fanservice, this kid-friendly spin-off might really only cater to existing fans; however, there is plenty of charm to be had to endear itself to those fans. It's the sort of game where I wouldn't mind a sequel.

A charming and enjoyable homage to Final Fantasy. It has an interesting game mechanic and the Pokemon get them all bonus. However the story gets really dark later on and after one twist I despise the main characters with passion and want them to pay for their actions (I will give you the choice to read a comparative example at the end). This seems strange when you played the first hours and I agree. But lets start at the beginning: It is a turn based RPG where you play as the siblings Lann and Reynn as they want to find out more about their (forgotten) past and the strange state of the world. They travel trough the world of Grymore which is a world made out of Final Fantasy games, themes, characters and stories mixed together. This is a great experience for all Final Fantasy fans as it is enjoyable and nostalgic. The two protagonist are relatable, enjoyable and enhance the story (until the twist). They could have been my favorite protagonists or in the top 10 at least for Square-Enix games. The world is familiar and fresh at the same time. It is a bonus to meet Final Fantasy characters, discovered themes and feel nostalgia. I am not sure if it is an equal experience for people that have not played previous games. Gameplay-wise it has elements from Pokemon. You are catching monsters and use them in battle. There is however an innovation. You can and should build towers with your characters and two monsters (1 tower per character). These towers have the combined stats and abilities of all involved characters. Monsters come in 3 sizes small, medium and large. Your main characters can switch from normal form (medium size) to chibi or small form. Bottom must be a large monster, the middle a medium sized one and the top of the tower a small one. There are many combinations to be tested and it is an immense pleasure to experiment and acquire new monsters. There are also some with combo attacks if used together (For example the two hand like monsters). Be warned if you get hit enough and lose balance the tower collapses and your characters are in a weakened state. The monster design is good and has staples and new ones. The various monster princesses are quite effective if you can beat them ;-). The graphics are beautiful and for the soundtrack they chose countless tracks from previous games. Must I even say that the music is excellent in Final Fantasy? There are countless orchestral performances out there and some are available on YouTube. Everything looks good and the music from Final Fantasy enhances the experience. There are however negatives. Like already mentioned the twist ruined the main characters for me. Then some battles get boring. Not because of difficulty reasons. It is that the enemies have to much health while they are not strong enough to wipe me out or come close to kill my characters. Especially the additional ending requires a lot of these fights. Remark: Because of the Pokemon nature I had already a higher level because I want to capture all monsters. It is maybe a bit too long at the end. Overall this was a refreshing and enjoyable experience. I want to see a sequel. However the negative drag it down a bit. Maybe a 9/10 without the twist and boring parts at the end. Comparative example for the plot twist (Warning: No spoiler for me, more of a warning. May be a spoiler for some or borderline to a spoiler for others). I know about Godwin’s law regarding ****. But here it is a fitting example and that is really the core of the problem. Think that your characters have enabled **** rise to power as sole force for his success (to be fair with noble intentions). While they could not know the ramifications they were warned clearly as they later ignored all warnings and stopped the person that wanted to prevent them from this madness with violence.

At its core, WoFF is little more than a fan service title featuring a gimmicky combat system that is uninspired and feels more like a pokemon ripoff than a Final Fantasy game. Many mechanics are geared towards children and sacrifice complexity and compelling story and game mechanics in an effort to dumb down its own working mechanics to the lowest common denominator. WoFF offers a chibi-style aesthetic that may be a turn off for some; however in all honesty it pairs rather well with the light hearted and comical approach the game takes with atmosphere and dialogue. The story is geared towards children and/or those gamers who really do not want complexity or dark tones in their games. In terms of comedy, the game is rather hit or miss. This is because of the Japanese reliance on exaggeration of movements and tones, a practice that does not always translate to a Western audience. Combat wise, the game is pretty much a Frankenstein attempt at combining Pokemon and Final Fantasy, which is just annoying and get in its own way as the game progresses. All in all, WoFF is a game for either the most dedicated Final Fantasy fans, Children, or someone who really wants a very light hearted game.

Beautiful, eye and ear catching, fan service to the core. Superficial, boring, trivial, auto-fire and please-skip-the-cut-scenes all the way. It reminded my how I miss Squaresoft.