Hello all!
It's been a while but I come with great news. Over the holidays I got myself a PS4, gifted by my lovely fiance (Thank you so much!!) So now I'm excited to be playing brand new games that are available on this platform. I already ordered Final Fantasy XV last night but I couldn't resist getting World of Final Fantasy right after getting my PS4 ready. So let me tell a little about this game.
You play as siblings Lann and Reynn who have been living in their own little world alone for who knows how long and in the beginning of the game these two get their consciousness back. They are greeted by Enna Kros, a mysterious woman who seems to know a lot about their past but doesn't reveal too much. According to her the siblings used to be great Mirage Keepers but have now lost all their memories. And what is their task? To travel the world of Grymoire to capture the lost Mirages. Grymoire consists of many familiar and some new locations from the Final Fantasy World. For instance you first visit the town of Cornelia from the first Final Fantasy installment. As the story goes on you get to know more about the situation Grymoire is in and as the heroes of the story, your task is to save the world from the Bahamutian Army.
I have really taken a liking to the simplicity of the battle system. It is based on the ATB (Active Time Battle) system. As you meet new Mirages aka monsters you have an option to capture them as you meet certain requirements in the battle. For instance in the beginning it's enough to lower the Mirage's HP to imprism them but once you advance in the game the requirements get harder (such as inflict sleep on the Mirage). In other words you use a lot of 'Libra' in this game. Once you capture new Mirages you may use them in battle by stacking them on top of Lann and Reynn according to their size. Once you stack Mirages on the siblings they also acquire the Mirages' abilities (which you may develop on the Mirage Board), strengths and weaknesses. So entering a new area with a lot of fire-dealing Mirages forces you to strategize a bit and choose the correct Mirages to those particular battles.
While Lann and Reynn are viewed as 'Jiants' the rest of the world take a chibi form, called a Lilikin form. Lann and Reynn can switch between these two forms but once you meet your beloved Final Fantasy characters in the game such as Refia, Squall and Cloud, they will be in cute Lilikin forms. Switching between the Jiant and Lilikin forms can be used to your advantage since you may assign different Mirages to both forms. Just remember that Lann and Reynn are M sized instead of size L in their Lilikin form, which enables them to ride on great Mirages such as the Bahamut (how awesome is that!?)
The Mirages are also used in different puzzles which personally I have mixed feelings towards. A frequenting puzzle in the game requires you to stack Mirages on top of each other while meeting certain requirements, such as water resistance 100 or above and weight 12 or above. If you're lucky you have the correct Mirages in your party but if you're unlucky like me most of the times, this means you have to find a save point to change your Mirages. This usually also messes up your whole stack and I absolutely hate that.
Some Mirages even have certain abilities which may be used out of battle, such as Smash to get through big piles of rubble or Flutter to float you through air. There's usually a treasure chest behind obstacles like these so you will want to have proper Mirages in your team to get you through them in a new area. Usually you won't have enough space in your team to have all these abilities available at once so try to think in advance... In a fire canyon you will probably be needing the Chill ability...
On your journey you will meet many familiar faces from the previous Final Fantasy games. Once you have helped them or vice versa some of them will unlock as champions, and you may use these champions in battle. I bought the game from the PSN store and it came with a Sephiroth champion summon! I'm not sure if he's a part of the game otherwise but his summon is so cool that I got the shivers the first time I used him in battle. Of course this entire game has been a roller coaster of emotions to me - Who wouldn't be excited to be reunited with Lighting and Cloud for instance?!
As a huge FF music fan I am also happy to tell that some of the original tracks from the games have been included in certain scenes. For instance once you visit the Mako Reactor it has its appropriate music.
All I can say is that I'm very happy I bought this game. It has been a joy to be reunited with my favorite FF characters and hey, Lann and Reynn's comedic conversations aren't too bad to follow either. If you are a huge Final Fantasy fan I strongly recommend this game. Otherwise, start off by playing the games from the main series, meeting the old characters won't mean much to someone who isn't already a fan of the series. It's a must-have in a fan's collection and now I'm a bit sad I didn't get the physical version but bought it from the online store... Anyways, a great game!
