World of Final Fantasy
By Chad Sapieha,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Amazing RPG with mild violence, realistic relationships.
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World of Final Fantasy
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What’s It About?
WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY puts players in control of Lann and Reynn, a brother and sister who wake up one morning in an almost empty city and realize their memories are mostly gone. They meet a stranger who explains that they have a special power to capture and control creatures called mirages who inhabit the peculiar fantasy world of Grymoire. The pair step through a glowing portal to reach this world, parts of which they soon learn are besieged by the aggressive Bahamutian army. Traveling between Grymoirian towns and dungeons, Lann and Reynn meet a mix of characters, many of whom have appeared in previous Final Fantasy games dating all the way back to the 1987 original, including fan favorites such as Yuna, Shiva, and Cloud Strife. Many of these characters require help, which the siblings happily provide by capturing and gradually evolving mirages who then fight by their side -- actually, less by their side than on top and below them. Combat uses a novel system that involves stacking mirages in order of size, from large to medium to small, and then combining their hit points and abilities. The bulk of the adventure is composed of exploring dungeons filled with monsters and puzzles and hanging out in towns talking to nonplayer characters to progress the story.
Is It Any Good?
As game series age, they sometimes lose younger audiences who don't have a history with earlier releases and aren't familiar with their deep and expanding lore. World of Final Fantasy cleverly attempts to court these players. It offers a cute, cartoonish aesthetic that most kids will immediately fall in love with while introducing them to literally dozens of the franchise's most beloved characters in a way that doesn't require them to have any knowledge of their histories in previous games. (All the returning characters exist separately in this world and aren't connected with the other versions of themselves). Meanwhile, slightly older players are almost certain to enjoy the nostalgia of seeing characters they grew up with, but in a new light and in novel situations.
Players both young and old are bound to have fun with combat and exploration. Battles mix Pokémon-style mirage collection and evolution with classic turn-based RPG action. Each mirage has different attacks, experience levels, and boosts to various stats, so there's plenty of strategy involved in figuring out which ones to take into battle. More than that, some mirages can learn special abilities -- such as "flutter," which will let winged monsters fly and carry the heroes across gaps -- to access hard-to-reach areas in certain dungeons. As the game progresses, the maze-like dungeons end up becoming just as challenging and satisfying to navigate as the combat that takes place within them. Regardless of player age or experience with the series, World of Final Fantasy should make for an entertaining and gratifyingly lengthy adventure.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in media. Do you ever notice whether heroes in games you play attack enemies first or wait to be attacked? Does it make a difference in how you perceive them?
Talk about the nature of sibling rivalry. The brother and sister in World of Final Fantasy frequently poke fun of each other, but it's clear they would do just about anything to protect one another, so what sort of relationship do you have with your siblings?
Game Details
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Release date: October 25, 2016
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More, Adventures, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires, Pirates, Trains
- ESRB rating: E10+ for Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Last updated: June 30, 2022
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