The Final Fantasy Tactics Successor That Wasn’t
I really wanted to like War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius…
The fact that a more modern Final Fantasy Tactics exists on my mobile device should excite me. I really like Final Fantasy Tactics, and I own it on as many devices as I possibly can. I even just purchased a new battery for my PSP so that I could play it on there, as well.
When War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius came out, I was actually somewhat excited. Yes, it had all the makings of a gacha game, but let’s face it, I actually love gacha games over in Japan. I probably dumped $75+ in those machines as I walked around Tokyo. If I could ignore the temptation to buy stuff in the game, I might get the full Final Fantasy Tactics experience that I’ve been yearning for!
Start the game, and you’re subjected to a “You’re a winner!” screen about 5 times over; it just piles these screens on you to show you what you’ve won, and what you can win. All of this, just for logging in! Annoyed, I continued onward. Walking through the game’s tutorial, the mechanics seemed incredibly similar to Final Fantasy Tactics, with grid movement and differing abilities. I could even earn Yshtola from Final Fantasy XIV! How cool!
The story is…okay. It’s standard kingdom politics. The main character has the ability to summon “visions” (hence the availability of characters from outside the game) to fight for him, as well. It looks good and plays fairly well, too.
The voice acting is pretty good. I know Patrick Seitz (voice of Arthas Menethil/Garrosh Hellscream from Warcraft fame, and countless other voices that I absolutely adore) is one of the talents they have for this. If you’re looking for some fantastic voice talent, it’s in this game.
However, the mechanics continued to pile on. Building different parties, but then training different abilities, etc. The management seemed to be growing. Then, the moment happened. The game automatically selects the ability to play itself, thereby removing the part that I actually like.
I let out a deep sigh.
The game seemed fun enough, but after all was said and done, it started to feel like work. With all the management to make your squads stronger and such, I can understand that the combat might be just another layer to people. Not to me though, just getting through the management was the barrier.
“Free-to-play” mobile games are making a lot of money, and I bet this one is too. However, I would have gladly paid $10 or so for a fully realized Final Fantasy Tactics successor, even on a mobile device. Alas, this just isn’t for me.
I feel like the “free-to-play” model is one that could be tremendously inviting, as seen with PC games like League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm. However, bombarding your players with “winning” and random number generators just isn’t going to appeal to me, as it’s not a tangible object.
But I guess casinos exist for a reason, eh?
What do you think? Do you play WotV:FFBE? Is it fun for you? Let me know!
