World of Final Fantasy - Review

Review by Gianluca “DottorKillex” Arena

While waiting (which tends to infinity by now) for the arrival of Final Fantasy XV, which has just entered the gold phase and is in the pipeline on current consoles, fans of the most popular JRPG series of all time can delight in a tasty spin-off, which celebrates many aspects of the long-lived saga and introduces a couple of new mechanics, which integrate naturally with a gameplay now assumed to the role of classic.
In fact, not only among the lovers of the Squaresoft series could the probable buyers be hidden: one of the best features of World of Final Fantasy, in fact, is its versatility.
Let's find out more in our review.

Amnesia what a passion

Of the three fundamental aspects that make up a video game (narrative, gameplay and presentation), certainly the one of World of Final Fantasy that struck us least is represented by the plot, a faint sketch useful to justify the wanderings of the twins Lann and Reynn inside of the world of Grymoire.
The two brothers wake up on a sunny beach, in a glimpse in which many of us would like to go on vacation (especially now that winter is approaching ...), but without memory: they only remember their name and the bond they share, and , although strangers to the world in which they find themselves, they will be deeply involved in its events, since they will be the only ones to be able to oppose the army of Bahamut, determined to seize power and annihilate anyone who opposes him.
As for the titles dedicated to Pokemon (and the comparison will also prove to be fitting for many other aspects, as we will see), World of Final Fantasy makes no secret of not focusing on the depth of the plot nor on the characterization of the characters or the atmosphere: Fortunately, the initial impression of being in front of a title that can only be enjoyed by the very young is dissipated by the complexity of certain mechanics and by the very high degree of customization that the gameplay allows, but, stopping only at the narrative arc, one would roll the eyes with excessive frequency.
Amnesia is a very abused topos, which, over the years, no screenwriter has managed to find an effective replacement, and the two-dimensionality of the characters, from the allies to the main villain, distracts attention from the developments of the plot, which is weighed down by a incredible number of very wordy dialogues.
Where, however, the work of writing remedies a good figure is in the jokes and in the hilarious spirit that pervades the production, with amusing exchanges and situations that never seem to take themselves too seriously, embellished with excellent quality, albeit limited, localization work. to subtitles only.

Fantasymon

As anticipated, the best aspect of the production lies in its ability to satisfy, albeit in different ways, very large and very different audiences: the younger players, who may not have played other role-playing games outside of those developed by Game Freaks, will find the game structure familiar, which provides very canonical turn-based battles but enlivened by the possibility of capturing up to two hundred different monsters, to then be used in battle, to grow and enhance adequately at each level pass.
The veterans of the genre, on the other hand, could be fascinated by the continuous tributes to the saga, by the appearances of many beloved characters (here in a strictly super deformed version) and by the very high degree of personalization of the party, not only due to the possibility of "imprinting" the monsters but also to stack them on top of each other, amplifying their elemental affinities and weaknesses, thus creating real smiling war machines.
The process of capturing Mirages closely resembles that designed for the Pokemon saga, with the only difference that here each monster requires prerequisites to be imprismed, ranging from a minimum level to the use of certain elemental spells: nothing special particularly complicated, if it is true that the goal of the development team is clearly to offer the player a wide range of choices, so as to give a strong imprint to his group of fighters.
The circle continues if you think that those who have played and finished even some of the previous Final Fantasy will be able to evoke Champions, who are none other than some of the most beloved protagonists of the series: from Yuna to the hero of the very first episode, passing for Squall and Sephiroth, each of these summons will break not only the balance of the individual battles in which they will be called into question, but also the hearts of the most loyal fans.
All the game design choices, in hindsight, aim to offer an accessible experience suitable for the widest possible audience: in this perspective we must see the return of casual clashes, probably not too popular with veterans but capable of ensuring to less savvy players a level that is always adequate to the challenges proposed by the game, which, however, rarely prove to be demanding.
The medium difficulty is low, and, with the exception of some specific areas, the defeat of the party in battle will simply bring it back to the central hub, without penalties in economic terms or experience points.
Nonetheless, those who grew up on bread and JRPG will find in World of Final Fantasy the same stimuli offered by the aforementioned titles dedicated to Pokemon, that is to capture all the Mirages and confront a couple of hidden bosses, capable of offering a more substantial challenge.

Chibi

The super deformed character design, which has split the audience in two since the first trailers, is also the son of the desire to bring new players to the brand, as much as the inclusion of anime-style cut scenes and a bestiary of enemy monsters as much as never tender and rounded, especially when compared with those of the first ten chapters of the regular series.
The visual show offered by World of Final Fantasy is still more than good, even if the PS4 version we tested suffers a little from the fact that the game was developed cross platform with Vita (with which it also shares the saves), and denounces some less inspired backgrounds and textures not always in high resolution.
However, we are faced with one of those cases in which style overrides mere polygonal count, and the result is that Grymoire appears as a living, dreaming world, the ideal theater for a light and (mostly) carefree adventure.
It also satisfies the sound side, thanks to a series of well-made remixes of historical pieces from the series and a handful of unreleased themes that are well suited to the much less serious tone of the production.
The overall duration can be estimated between thirty-five and forty hours if we limit ourselves to collecting half of the Mirages and dealing with the main quest, but it can also increase by twenty hours for those who want to devote themselves to the frantic search of all the enlistable monsters.

Final comment

We had a lot of fun playing World of Final Fantasy, even if it was a different kind of fun from what the regular chapters of the franchise have been able to offer in the past: if you don't mind sacrificing plot, characters, epic battles. and level of difficulty on the altar of accessibility and extreme personalization of the party, then you may have found the best way to wait for the end of November and the highly anticipated fifteenth Final Fantasy.
An unconventional Final Fantasy, perhaps more suitable for newbies than veterans, which, however, lets itself be played with pleasure even by the latter, perhaps at the end of a particularly stressful day.