World of Final Fantasy (PS4) Review

Yep it's holidays. Yep, I had plenty of time. Yep, I finished this game a while ago. So I thought I might as well review it. Oh, and yep, I bought this because chibi Sephiroth was calling out to me LOL. I was quite sceptical about this when I first saw it and I was still iffy about it at EB Games Expo but after playing the demo, I just went for it. Gameplay is pretty much just like the demo so if you wanna know if you'd be interested in playing it, try the free demo on the Playstation store!

But omg, if you love the chibi versions of Cloud, Squall, Tidus and Lightning, you'd probably love seeing them in action in this game. They're sooo adorable, Tidus is probably the one that's the most adorable with his cute expressions and everything alongside Rikku and Bartz omggg. Yes, I trudged through this game looking forward to seeing them and it was so worth it.

World of Final Fantasy 

So, yeah, not everyone is chibi looking, our main characters Reynn and Lann can be Lilikin size (chibi) or Jiant size (normal) depending on what you prefer in battle, but most of the time in cutscenes, they'll be in their original size. On the contrary, everyone else (mostly) is chibi sized, like the previous FF characters so you can enjoy watching them in all adorableness <3

Plot/Characters: B

The story revolves around the twins Reynn and Lann who are Mirage Keepers (similar to Pokemon trainers with FF monsters instead) in the world of Grymoire trying to discover their lost memories after the god Enna Kros tells them they used to be legendary Mirage Keepers etc. They end up meeting Champions (extra strong chibis that want to save the world too) like Tidus etc along the way as they try to save the world from Brandelis. This is because Brandelis likes to destroy Enna Kros' worlds for some reason that they said would be explained but I either missed it or...yeah. I'll just take it as it is anyway. There might be other connotations to explore such as where does The Girl who Forgot her Name come from and who is she besides being a Keeper of Time but..overall pretty simplistic story.

What makes the story enjoyable would have to be the characters because I was squealing every time someone I recognised popped up. Granted, there was really nothing in the story to look forward to besides them and the only time something really happens is when it's the ending and the postscript to get the true ending. Most of the time, you're following a linear path capturing mirages and just going around to different places meeting people and towns suffering under Brandelis' army.

They also reused the design models of a lot of areas in the previous Final Fantasy games as areas for you to explore such as Balamb Garden and the Desert Prison from FFVIII, Mako Reactor from FFVII and more. So really, I think this game is just a nostalgia fanservice game with an average story which is exactly what I bought it for and it did not disappoint me.

There are little side stories called Interventions where you can see the characters you've passed by doing their own little thing and you help them fight the bosses they encounter and omgg I loved Rikku going to the Treasure Island and meeting Bartz and when Yuna and Tidus interacted with the very nostalgic WoFF version of the whistle scene. They were all so cute and adorable, I loved it. They're like the highlights of the story, besides meeting your favourite FF characters since the main story isn't very engaging. Although I did like the story more after watching the ending and the true ending, it finally felt like I could relate to Reynn and Lann on a personal level of wanting to help out their mother so that she wouldn't have to work so hard, it really did touch me.

A lot of the dialogue revolve around character interactions with the mirage Tama that guides them along and she's adorable. Serafie the best though and it's all about them experiencing things together and making jokes. Sometimes I think the English translations go a bit far with the ridiculousness of the subs though since it did make me think wtf a few too many times in comparison to what they were saying in Japanese but oh well. It's mostly fine and funny. But yeah, don't go into this game too seriously, it's a very easygoing, nostalgic game for you to just lay back and enjoy.

 I still find it rather saddening and funny that Cloud and Tidus got their respective partners (Tifa and Yuna) but Squall didn't get Rinoa! LOL. Was Rinoa not popular enough to warrant an appearance? Doesn't matter since I love Quistis more but dangg poor Squall. Guess the worst is that neither Zidane or Dagger represent FFIX LOL, but that's okay, I love Vivi and Eiko. I can't say much about FFIII and FFXIV since I never played them but none of those characters appear. Oh and FFXII has no one as well, no Vaan or Penelo etc.

Gameplay: B-

Gameplay is very simple. Mostly the same as the demo. Basically, it's turn based like the older FF games but skills and magic are dependent on the mirages you stack with and the mirajewels you equip yourself with. To increase your stats, you either find mirajewels or go through a super simple sphere grid for your mirages. Totally noob friendly and you'll get the gist of it really fast. Honestly, you can probably auto attack the whole game since really, there's no challenge at all, especially if you're capturing mirages (don't need to defeat it if you capture it!).

Basically, you have S, M, L and XL sized mirages. For a proper stack, you need the combo of a S, M and L mirage stack and XL mirages are basically like summons in FFX where it takes over but definitely much more useless and weaker in this game loll imo. Champions are sorta like limit breaks where you have to charge enough stars with fighting battles in order to use your special Champions like Squall and Tidus etc. Not sure what the best mirages are but I got through the whole game with chocochick (S), Reynn (M) and Valefor (L) with Zapt (S), Lann (M) and Mythril Giant (L). I used the twins in Jiant form in the beginning but I honestly think the large mirages are much better than them haha.

I've always been a fan of turn based action so I liked the gameplay but I guess it can get repetitive. I've never really needed any special spells besides the general elemental magic, protect, shell and libra either unless I'm capturing particular mirages. Therefore, gameplay is very simple, in a sense, way too easy. I wasn't interested in doing the EX dungeons after I finished the game though so maybe the challenge might be in there, but yeah, not interested enough. I liked FF Type-0 more gameplay wise so if I didn't do the extra dungeons there, I don't know why I'd do it here.

However, it is very laidback and enjoyable which is good so it makes it easier to get through the whole thing to see your favourite characters. Just don't think about maxing stats or damage because that ain't happening here. I know, disappointment right? Best thing about the gameplay though is that you can fast forward during battle like omggg, don't have to wait for them to slowly smack me or have to wait for all that animation for super long skills, so convenient!

Soundtrack/Music: B

A lot of the music used is basically the WoFF version and rendition of previous FF games soundtracks. Whether it be the music at Balamb Garden, Zanarkand etc. But there are original soundtracks for battles and the home base and for bosses etc. Personally, I really love the soundtrack at Sylver Park, I afk there sometimes hahaha.

Overall: B

On average, you can easily finish this game within 30-40 hours assuming you play slowly like me, which is walking around everywhere, talking to all the randoms you see, sometimes going back to catch mirages and do side quests. Honestly, it's an average game but I'd still recommend it just because the FF characters are so adorable and cute and they're just so entertaining to watch and see. So, could be a turn off if you're not interested in their little forms at all. But yeah, don't think of it to be as detailed in story or gameplay as other games since it's quite simple. But I do like that simple part of it that makes it very entertaining. Cuteness overload! It achieves the purpose of being nostalgic, simple and cute and I enjoyed those aspects of it very much, they definitely did it very well in this game.