Final Fantasy: All The Bravest

Final Fantasy: All The Bravest is an IOS game for iPhone and iPad. Developed and published by Square Enix it is available in the iTunes app store for $3.99. The game is aimed at the casual market as this is by no means a traditional RPG.

The game drops players into a tutorial level (called Cornelia's Tract) that is modeled directly after Final Fantasy 1. The enemies found in this level are all from the first game as well. With Garland as the mid boss and Chaos as the level boss. Each level has over world and battle music from the game it is based off of. A wonderful jaunt down memory lane.

Combat is initiated by moving the player on a world map on a predetermined 8-bit path similar to the way New Super Mario Bros world map works. Each node on the world map is a stage that consists of a different number of battles. The battles are against one or multiple monsters and the player's party.

Combat works by simply swiping over a character once their Active Time Battle gauge is full (which is displayed over the head of the character) . If the player swipes over the character when their ATB gauge is flashing yellow then the character will do a bit more damage.

At the beginning of the game the player starts off with four Warriors but that turns to a party of 12 Warriors in within seconds. As they fight they earn gold and xp. Though it is not clear as to what role 'gold' has in the game, the players party does level up. As the player levels they pick up more character classes from all of the Final Fantasy games and do more damage. There are twenty five 'characters' that can be unlocked through normal play. Warrior, Ranger, Black Mage, Geomancer and Monk are just a few.

There are also thirty five 'Premium Characters'. These characters are all $0.99 micro-transactions and are specific main characters from the games. Cloud Strife (FF7), Bartz (FFV) and Lightning (FF13) just to name a few. At the time of this review it does not seem possible to unlock any of these character through normal play. Though it is clear that these Premium Characters are much more powerful than the base characters.So Square Enix has built in an incentive to buy them.

Enemies and bosses also drop 'Gear'. Gear is weapons. Swords, daggers, lances, bows, harps, etc. If it was a weapon in Final Fantasy, it's in here. Also, there is a bestiary. When a new monster is encountered, they show up. There are also Premium Gear and Premium Enemies but the game has not divulged any information on how to obtain them.

By using the map players can move freely around the world via airship. But only to places the play has been. There are 13 levels plus three additional levels that may be purchased for $3.99 a peace. These levels are Midgar from FF7, Zanarkand from FF10 and Achylte Steep from FF12.

The game also has Apple's Game Center support but turns out to be more annoying than anything since Game Center pops up every single time the game is launched, no matter if it has been cleared from memory or not. There is also Twitter and Facebook support.

Those hoping to blow through this game must be warned. It is necessary to grind. Not a lot but if, like in the main games, if one does not level up then they will die, a lot. Maybe saying 'die' is a little harsh as one cannot really die. If the party is eliminated then the game pauses. After three minutes one party member will revive and every three minutes after another party member will revive. With a maximum of 28 characters in the party, that would take nearly an hour and a half to fully revive the party. It would be nicer if the time delay was shorter but it is good to see Square Enix all but eliminate the fail state from the game.

For the impatient, the game give you three hour glasses. The hour glass is an instant revive mechanic. The play starts off with only three, but more may be purchased! Three hour glasses for $0.99, eight for $1.99 and 20 for $2.99.

Final Fantasy: All The Bravest is both a breath of fresh air and a disgusting piece of vile. It's wonderful to see Square Enix try something so fun and new with the long running franchise but there is some serious corporate greed happening in this game. The asking price of $3.99 isn't to high considering that the main Final Fantasy games on IOS are going for well over $10.00 a piece but the inclusion of over $50.00 worth of micro-transaction just tell fans that they want to milk you for every little penny they can.