So, I've been playing this game on-and-off since it came out in Japan. Essentially, the game is just the classic ATB system from FF4-9, and you fight tons of bosses from the entire series. It's only been out for half a year, but it's got 5 million downloads, and even has TV commercials. And today, it's finally available in English.

I know, you're probably thinking it's a free-to-play phone "game" with stamina and microtransactions and Square-Enix made it and they're basically the devil! Just look at the other junk they put out! It's obviously just some shovelware garbage meant to play off of people's nostalgia for pixel FF characters, and then nickel-and-dime the suckers for the "privilege" of using them!

But I want to prove to you that it isn't.

I think this game is really neat, and a perfect example of how to pull off this sort of idea. It takes something that was fundamentally good, adapts it into something more relevant in the current age, and polishes it up to a mirror shine. Yes, it's monetized, but there's nothing egregious about the way it's handled.

The crux of the game, as I mentioned, is that you're going through classic FF games and fighting their bosses. These bosses feel like they've been cut-and-pasted from their original games, but in the best way possible. All of their special attack routines and gimmicks are recreated here. Fighting the first boss from FF7? Attack while its tail is up, it's gonna counterattack. One of the FF13 eidolons? You guessed it, Doom. They all retain their original elemental resists and weaknesses, too. Hope you remember how to beat Scarmiglione!

On the right, those are all of my party members. I've got a good 35 or so across the whole series. You'll notice some familiar faces in there, like Cloud, the obvious inclusion in any sort of FF product. But then, some of the others catch your eye.

Oh, it's those FF2 guys that nobody remembers.

Irvine? Vivi?

...Is that Luneth from the FF3 remake?

You might think that they're really trying to pad out their character gacha, except you don't pay for characters. You either unlock them by pushing through the main story dungeons, given out as gifts (rarely), but they're primarily available for a limited time in event dungeons.

The event dungeons themselves are pushover-easy, and take maybe an hour of playtime to finish if you already have a high-level party--maybe six hours, if you include the downtime for stamina to regen. They're usually open for about two weeks, and if you miss one, that character will certainly be back some other time in a new dungeon. So far, every character beyond a certain release date has made at least one repeat appearance, typically in addition to the current event. Plus, the event dungeons also reward plenty of Growth Eggs, which you can feed to a character to give them a buttload of EXP. That way, you can quickly catch your new character up... or dump them into your favorites, because nobody likes Yuna.

Also, note that every character has an icon denoting which game they came from; this is a really neat detail. Each dungeon (event or not) is themed around a specific game, and features enemies and bosses from that game. If you use a character from that game in your party, that character gets a huge stat boost, as well as some bonus EXP. That incentivizes you to collect 'em all, because you never you never know who's going to come in handy.

Let's face it, though, it's still a free-to-play game, so they have to ask for money somewhere. The paid currency in this game is Mythril, and it's used for a couple things. The game gives it out like candy, though, especially as rewards for doing the event dungeons.

Of course, the first thing is restoring your stamina. One point of stamina replenishes every 3 minutes (it was 5 at JP launch, but they changed it in the first patch), and each leg of a dungeon typically requires anywhere from 3-12, depending on how far into the game you are. Your maximum increases as you clear the story dungeons and get what are essentially Zelda heart pieces; filling one also refills your stamina, so you can definitely game the system by waiting until you're low to finish one. When you clear a dungeon, you unlock a harder version of it, and those fights tend to require more stamina. They're pretty challenging, though, and getting the gold score on them can be ROUGH.

You can also use Mythril to continue if you die in battle, a la Puzzle and Dragons. However, this also resets the current encounter; if you continue on a boss, you might have full HP again, but so does it. It does give you one of four stacking buffs if you continue, but that still doesn't guarantee you'll win. You can't just throw money at a boss you have zero chance of beating. I don't recommend continuing unless you come REALLY close to beating a boss (by counting its HP and looking up the total), but just needed to start with full HP or ability usages.

Speaking of which, your HP and abilities don't refresh between battles in the same dungeon. Mythril can be used to fully heal your dudes, but I'd rather wait until I die and continue... but only once a dungeon.

However, the main dump for Mythril is the equipment gacha. You get gear drops from battles, and there's a free gacha available three times a day, but it's the quickest and dirtiest way to get useful stuff. Each character can equip one weapon, armor, and accessory. They're also logically limited to what they can equip; Kain isn't gonna use a staff, but he sure as hell will rock a spear. The main character invented for this game can equip anything, though, so you don't have to worry about getting useless epics.

On the left? That's my collection of my high-end items, and I haven't put a single red cent into this game. Again, a lot of them came from the event dungeons; they love to give out multiple copies of items tailored for the event character, so you can upgrade them all the way. The rest of it was just dumping my excess Mythril into the virtual slot machine and seeing what came up.

(I haven't mentioned it, but you can also craft and upgrade spells and actions, like Jump and elemental attacks, from orbs that drop in battles. They don't directly monetize those, though.)

Wow, this ended up longer than I anticipated. Wasn't really expecting to write a whole blog/review combo, so I'll wrap up with a short list of stuff that's not currently in the EN launch version:

• Dungeons based on the rest of the FF games, and further chapters in the existing games
• A way to increase characters' level caps, above the initial 50
• Passive skills tied to characters, unlocked by breaking their level caps
• Quests that guide you through crafting stuff and unlocking story characters
• A follow/follower system, where you can summon other players' characters
• A button to auto-equip gear before each dungeon (taking the dungeon's themed game into account)
• Sweet, sweet event dungeons

That should cover it for now. Ask away!

Just looked this up on my phone. Interesting thing to note, the people behind this game are DeNA, otherwise known as the same guys that Nintendo recently announced a partnership with.

I bought this at the US launch. Still haven't spent any money, and probably won't, which is something I like about it. I would like to know what goes into a balance party. I don't want to have mainly mages, as they have a less good attack and are squishy. However, being without healing has bit me in the ass, particularly against Vargas (I really hated that guy). What do you usually do, and why? Also, when do you think the character events will be?

Downloaded this yesterday. Decided to try it at night since there was a power outtage.

NOPE.

Requires internet.

Well, there goes my idea of playing this on an upcoming trip.

I hate this practice. I live in a place where a 2gb data plan is an extra $60 on top of your regular cell bill. I am not paying those crazy prices so I am stuck with 512mb a month, aka, not enough to bandwidth to play a game that throws even one video ad, let alone a constant stream of ads.

I can always play the game at home, but I feel that kind of defeats the purpose of mobile gaming.

Having somebody to toss out some heals is pretty mandatory for bosses you haven't outleveled. You can get by without a dedicated black magic guy, especially if you have party members that can use elemental attacks through their abilities or soul (limit) breaks for weakness goals.

You can get Rydia a couple dungeons into FF4, and she's really versatile because she can use low-level white AND black magic. I'd just give her two cures or something until you get one of them upgraded to have more uses. Then you can use her second slot for a black magic/summon appropriate to the boss you're up against (Vargas is weak to fire). Plus, if you're lucky enough to get a whip, her attacks aren't completely useless from the backline.

As for events, I'm not really sure how the update schedule's going to work. The JP version updates once a month with new dungeons and stuff, and they always have at least one event up. Their first event was for both versions of Cecil, and that was up when the game launched. The weird thing is that the global version started on the second JP update (synergy, Growth Eggs), but the dungeon releases are still gated the same as they were in the JP launch; it doesn't take long to clear all of the available content, so it's not like you have to rush.

Also, for the record, they totally replaced all the SNES screenshots of FF4 and FF5 with the DS remake and mobile port, and the app store page is full of CG art from 7, 8, 10, and 13. Thanks, marketing!

I have a question!

Where do I get accessories to fill in that third slot? Are they rare drops?

they totally replaced all the SNES screenshots of FF4 and FF5 with the DS remake and mobile port,

I noticed this! I have been using a Japanese website to see what I needed to master a dungeon before going into it, and when I saw the screenshots were from SNES, I was actually upset. This game should be about nostalgia, and I have no nostalgic feelings for DS FF4. And I certainly have no reason to want to look at the graphics from the FF5 remake.

That leads to the other thing I don't like about this game. The UI. Not only is the design not so great, the UI responsiveness is terrible. My phone isn't that bad, but I guess this game doesn't care. It takes far too long to scroll through the inventory list, and the lag is so bad that half the time it interprets a press as a long press. At least in battles is where it matters, and there the lag is not so bad.

What phones are you guys using for this? I guess I could be behind the times, but I have certainly played more demanding games without problems.

Hey so is there a list that says which chars are event and which can be unlocked through regular game play?

There are these flames thingy below the stamina bar, do you know what they are for? Thanks in advance.

@forensicpathology said:

Event dungeons and mastery rewards, almost exclusively. You can't level them up or combine them, but they DO get synergy buffs the same way weapons and armor do.

I'm playing on a Nexus 5/7, and I've seen the UI break a couple of times. Sometimes it lags a bit, especially when scrolling the item list. I always figured it was loading the assets in from online, but I saw the broken image icon yesterday for the first time, on the EN version. The Realm selection menu is also a clunky mess, for some reason.

There's a Japanese wiki page here (NSFW ads, thanks Japan) with a list of every character; ones with grey backgrounds are from events. Aside from the events coming back around, you can also get a handful of them from the quest system (both Cecils, Lenna, Sephiroth, and Tidus), which isn't implemented yet in the EN version.

Speaking of wikis, it seems like DeNA's keeping an official wiki for the English version here. It only covers the content that it's in the game right now, so it might be useful.

Those are Stamina Shards, which are basically heart pieces. If you collect 5, your max stamina goes up by 1, and it also refills your stamina. They're never in event dungeons, only in Classic and Elite story dungeons.

@chuugoku: Is Fang a playable character?

The game seems to be pretty cool and is worth getting just for the nostalgia factor. looks like it's gonna stay on my phone for longer than most.

Quick question, should I keep going through tutorial until I pull a really good relic? Or is the first relic always a 3* for everyone?

It looks pretty cool and I love the look of that little 8-bit Wakka there but the always-online thing kills it for me sadly :(

Can you tell me in what order did they release new characters in the Japanese version? Was sephiroth or vaan from XII in the first update?

I can't play it sometimes because the game keeps saying "The date has changed" what will I do about it?

I was very pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable this game is. I remember seeing something briefly about it when it came out in Japan, but for some reason it just flew under my radar. Glad I checked it out though because I really like it. My only annoyance with it so far is that for the FF IV realm paintings they used screen caps from the 3d remake instead of the classic sprites >.<

Another question. The limit break for your Main character, "Judgement Grimoire", Is it affected by your physical or magical damage? I noticed that it does very little damage even though I have very high magical damage.

Been playing this for a few days. The pay-to-win aspect of this game is somewhat minimal, game is fun without putting any money into it. I wish it (like all stamina based games) just had an option to "buy" the game for $5 and get increased stamina regen permanently. Then I could feel like I was supporting the devs and actually buying something permanent if I stick with the game for a long time.

I downloaded the game after seeing your post and it is killing me. I like the game well enough, but it is a constant reminder of time spent 15 years ago playing these games with my older brother, whose funeral I just attended. I've got nobody to show it to and reminisce with.

No, at least not yet. She'll probably end up in it eventually, though.

I think the tutorial always gives you a 3*, but it doesn't take long to get 5-10 Mythril to try again. If you're really set on a certain item, you can reset after that. Honestly, though, as long as you get a weapon that isn't for casters, you should be perfectly fine.

Incidentally, if you're thinking about saving up 50 Mythril for the 10+1 gacha, it kinda isn't worth it unless you already have a bunch of rare items. Once your guys all have base 3* or higher weapons, the odds of getting something immediately useful start to diminish. But, before that, going from 1-2* to 3* yields a pretty significant damage boost. Having items now, rather than later, will help you get through difficult bosses and get more of the master rewards when you can really use them (particularly in event dungeons).

The first JP event dungeon was for both Cecil forms, but good news! They've skipped that one and started at the Tifa/Sephiroth one, which is available now through April 11! You'll probably want your main party to be around level 25-30 to take on the final boss for Sephiroth, so try not to miss the EXP daily dungeon on Sunday.

(Vaan isn't in the game yet, though.)

That happens when you're in a daily dungeon or event dungeon that closes. The game seems to use your device's local time/date in conjunction with the server time as an instance of Really Good Coding. It makes playing the JP version a pain if you don't set your clock to their timezone. I know it's annoying, but try setting your timezone to PDT (UTC-7) and seeing if that fixes it.

It's definitely physical only, at the moment, and it's pretty useless if he's got a rod equipped. Could've sworn the JP version changed it to both physical and magical at some point, but I can't find any evidence that this actually happened. Since he can equip anything, he makes a pretty good all-purpose caster, and his passives (when they implement them) let him do extra damage when hitting elemental weaknesses.

@chuugoku: Thanks for the answers! I decided to re-roll once and got the same exact 3* sword. Ended up just saying whatever and went on to play, I'm now around level 30 and getting close to beating the Sephiroth event.

How do you determine whats a good party. I got Tifa and leveled her to equal my party, but just got Sephiroth and heard he is better than her. Working on getting the Cecils now. How do you know who to use. Party is Cloud, Kain, Sephiroth, Tyro, Rydia.

I've tried this game out for several days now and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. This game seems to be unfinished. I unlocked all the available levels, which comprise a very small part of the whole series, and roughly a dozen characters. There's no more game available for me. The events eventually hit a startling bump in difficulty that I cannot explain. The FF7 one requires you fight a boss near the end that can only be damaged by ranged characters, and those all can't achieve over 800hp even at mid 20 levels. The final Cecil fight is equally insanely difficult compared to any other boss before, with his group dark attack quickly wiping out the party. This game has an odd and sudden stopping point. The events are impassable since it becomes essentially impossible to gain more levels after a certain point given the limitations with stamina, and there's no fresh content available either. There's no reason for me to keep playing. Pretty disappointed.

Do they ever repeat event dungeons? I started the FF7 dungeon late and didn't finish the final battle in time, so I missed out on Sephiroth. Really bummed about it :(

The glowing reviews I've seen for this game across the web are a pretty sad commentary on the state of Final Fantasy, Square Enix, and the Japanese games industry in general. FFRK is nothing more than a nostalgia play with a very thin combat system and almost no story of its own. You will quickly run out of main line content and will be spending most of your time in event dungeons. The first 80% of these dungeons are mind numingly boring and easy, at which point the difficulty curve spikes dramatically. Gee, It's almost like they were trying to get you committed by giving you hours and hours of easy success only to hit you with a pay wall if you want to go forward...

Now that's not to say you CAN'T just grind it out but get this: there is a stamina system in place to limit the amount of grinding you can do. This shit serves no purpose other than to extort money out of the player base.

I take issue with these FTP games where clearly all the thought in the design went into how to best exploit human psychology for the purpose of making a buck instead of how to build interesting and fun gameplay systems. Is this really the sort of shit that is taking Japan by storm?

@brendan: Ranged is easy. Put a bow from FFXII (3* ug) on Tyro & put him in back the row, have him/another cast Magic (also ranged).

My party has no problems hitting anything, melee/ranged but so far in EN version there are only 2 FFVII lvls...

The Dark Knight CAN be defeated the same way he was defeated in the orig game. Defend, defend, defend. (Not everyone will survive with this method, but u do get both cecils).

Graal

Question for EN version, so I merge base level equipment spear for instance to 3 star ++. Can equipment be combined above that and if so how?

Are there any plans or announcements about re-releasing characters from previous limited events? I only started playing right after Sephiroth was unavailable and would love a chance at those characters. Would be nice if it were possible to get them for new events even if they were to cost a large amount of event rewards. Just wondering. Thanks.

@genghistron: I think they will recycle events in a couple of months, not entirely sure.