Final Fantasy Explorers for the 3DS is a simple adventure game. It’s like the mini version of Final Fantasy XIV, with a touch of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, sprinkled with a bit of FF flavor. Mixed in there is also some simplistic gameplay control and an easy-to-understand system to get the youngest of adventurers out on the trail with their trusty sword and shield.
Shall we begin this review? We shall.
The action portion of Final Fantasy Explorers is simple in nature and doesn’t go beyond what it needs to in order to firmly fit the demographic it is shooting for — young gamers. The game puts you in training mode from the get-go, requires you to join the explorer union by completing tasks set forth in the makeshift tutorial. The work is remedial, but you learn how to kill enemies, obtain skills through magical usage, build up crystals to activate said skills and understand a blueprint on how to build/forge your character into someone greater. It’s a pretty extensive tutorial that isn’t over complicated, yet does enough not to feel boring, something I will take any day of the week when it comes to tutorials.
Once you’re beyond that phase of the game, the gameplay opens up quite a bit. You can go exploring on your own, take up quests and sub-quests to gain items and experience. The items which you obtain through the disposal of enemies in the field can be sold to merchants in the market place or used to upgrade weapons, armor and whatnot. The latter is nice, as the game gives you individual attribute categories for each weapon/armor/whatnot you possess. This means you can actually make your own items stronger through these forges, which is bad news for enemies out in the field, and it gives you added motivation to go out and take down some baddies.
On the action gameplay side of things, the quests are good, but not great. Having played more than a few by myself, I found that there was a lack of variety of enemies along the way to whatever goal I was trying to accomplish. For example, the first big quest I completed involved me going to put a poor dragon out of his/her misery. The enemies leading up to the dragon were quite spaced out from each other. This means that there wasn’t a lot of chaos getting to the main part of the quest (the dragon) and not much of a challenge along the way. Part of the problem, something that Final Fantasy XI and XIV perfected with their online gaggle of enemies, is that the artificial intelligence didn’t trigger until I was right up on them and the process of disposing of them quickly was pretty easy. In XI and XIV, if you are in sight of multiple enemies and one sees you attacking the other, it will join in on the battle, which makes you (the adventurer) have to make decisions about how you should approach enemies. Regretfully, Square Enix seems to pull its AI punches a bit by requiring the player to be in a really close proximity of the enemy before they activate into a fight. Also, disposing of said enemy is quite simple, as you will find yourself running around the enemy and activating a special attack (that requires 2-3 seconds to recharge), while dodging their attacks, something that is quite easy to accomplish. I never ran into an issue with them, nor did I really run into an issue taking down the dragon. It was incredibly easy to do and this is a dead ringer for my overall experience with the action.
Having said that, I’m sure if I kept playing this game long enough that maybe I would run into something that required help from friends or the Internet (both options available). Those options are quite exciting to think about, especially as it adds a nice human element of teamwork to the process in the game. That is what makes XI and XIV, as well as Crystal Chronicles, such fun experiences. As it stands when a gamer plays by their lonesome, the adventures are a bit bland, sometimes lack some challenge, which is fine for younger gamers, but tough to get excited about as an older, more experienced gamer.
Before you think I hate the game, please understand that the entire structure and how Square Enix set things up is impressive for a handheld game. For younger gamers who have never experienced anything Final Fantasy online, this is a superb starting point for them, especially since their is a great change their friends have 3DS systems and a knack for playing online. Final Fantasy Explorers offers up some easy-to-use controls, easy-to-understand upgrade system (for both character and items) and doesn’t over complicate the process too much, unlike its brethren in XI and XIV. I think as time moves forward, I can see some healthy DLC added to this adventure and some expansive worlds brought in to make it even more of worthwhile experience. I also like the fact that you don’t have a subscription fee to worry about in this game, which is a huge blessing, as I know there will be some gamers hooked to it from the start (parents thank you for this decision, Square Enix).
The overall gameplay package that Square Enix has set forth is good enough for any gamer to get into, but might not satisfy the hardcore FF loyalist out there. What it will do is satisfy the budding Final Fantasy loyalist out there, which is always a good thing.
On the presentation side of the game, I’m somewhere in the middle. The land is beautiful to gaze at during gameplay. It’s quite expansive with a reachable background always in sight. The land has a lot of girth around it, but it does have some definite boundaries that keep your adventuring in check. For example, the first bit of land you explore is a giant field that has several exits to other parts of the land. You will eventually reach boundaries that you can’t break during this first bit of land, which is fine. Even the bigger brethren online FF games have borders you can’t cross. My biggest gripe in presentation is how you cannot go from a small hill to lower ground without having to go around to find a land ramp down to the lower part. I’m not sure of the decision that was made about this, but I can say that it’s mighty frustrating having to pretty much work your way backwards when the game should just allow you to jump down. It’s a big gripe for me and it’s a decision on Square Enix’s part that doesn’t make sense to me.
Anyway, outside of that complaint, Final Fantasy Explorers is quite gorgeous. It contains a world that feels like it needs exploring and that helps when needing extra motivation to keep going in the game. In short, love the beauty, size and explorative nature of the land, but some of the restrictions on movement can be frustrating.
So, at the end of the day, is the game fun? Again, I think first time Final Fantasy explorers will absolutely gobble up this title. The online connection/exploration with friends, the simple gameplay system and the large expansive land is enough to find some real fun with Final Fantasy Explorers. I think hardcore FF fans might have some trouble getting into it, but newbies to the series will probably find this a jumping off point to more Final Fantasy fun.
Anyway, onto the summary!
