Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Review
by Greg Holmes

Like most people in my generation we grew up with some of the classic RPGs like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Dragon Quest and the most prolific one of them all, Final Fantasy. The first game debuted in 1987 and has seen many sequels, off-shoots, films and now mobile games. Square Enix (formerly SquareSoft for the uneducated) has released multiple titles for the franchise across all platforms, newest being iOS and Android devices. It’s newest release, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, looks to take players back to an old familiar style of game play with some new and familiar faces.

Square Enix opened up pre-registration for the game back in May with a teaser trailer giving a glimpse into the look and feel of the game’s story. Now that the game’s out, players who start it today will be rewarded with several bonus items and access to Final Fantasy 6’s Terra. As for the game itself, it boasts turn-based gameplay, daily quests, in-app purchases to speed up the leveling process and a huge Japanese fanbase. More than 6.5 million people play Brave Exvius in Japan, according to Square Enix. I am sure without a doubt the game will do just as well here but will it satisfy those who have fond memories of playing the originals on NES and SNES or will it be another freemium game taking advantage of the franchise’s fanbase. I am only 8 hours into the game and so far it hasn’t disappointed but that isn’t to say it doesn’t come with the usual free-to-play trappings.

Now at the start I will mention that if you aren’t impressed by mobile game play mechanics such as stamina bars, rare loot drops and even the use of hard currency, then the carefully crafted sprite work of Brave Exvius won’t be enough to satisfy that dark hole in deep down in your soul. This is a freemium or free-to-play game at it’s core, though it worth noting Brave Exvius is quite fair about handing out cool stuff for free (especially though the game’s launch window, which should last for another week or so). In the end though, stamina bars are stamina bars.

If you played Square Enix’s last mobile game, Final Fantasy: Record Keeper and liked it (I am one of which who did not), then you should be fine with Brave Exvius as well. It goes along the same rule set as Record Keeper, which at first turned me off to the game but I decided to give it a shot since it looked to be offering a more traditional JRPG experience. Which is something that some games fail to achieve while trying to make money with in game purchases, this game doesn’t leave out traditional elements in favor of making money.

Brave Exvius is a Final Fantasy game; it has all the elements of the series. It has dungeons, towns, shops, Esper summons, turn-based combat, and a hero with daddy issues (what else is new) slowly seeping out from under his carefree façade. This game does have a story, which I absolutely love that it does, unlike Record Keeper and it’s disjointed scenarios. It’s easy to forget this is a free-to-play game when you are roaming through dungeons with the touch control, which is a little weird at first when you start moving but you get the hang of it pretty quick. The game also gives you the thrill of random battles and finding treasure chests that you can open for random items. All the things of a classic JRPG that make you forget its is free-to-play if only for a moment.

Exvius reminds you that the loot drops you need to combine to make higher tiered weapons, items, and spells need to survive later in the game requires a lot of grinding. What else is new in an RPG, right? Which is fine we have all done it and I don’t care, I want to get those sweet weapons and items. The only thing is that entering exploration dungeons costs stamina, which is also needed to engage in the story-driven battles as you progress through the game. Which like Record Keeper’s fights can be anywhere from a single battle to several in one shot which all end in a boss battle. Over time, those random battles you encounter while making your way through the dungeon start to diminish. Which really sucks if you are looking for a certain rare drop or you have to kill X amount of monsters for a quest, then you have to exit and spend more stamina to enter in again.  Stamina and other items can be bought in the store for either in game currency or hard currency through your Apple App store account or Android store account. Also you can let it refill naturally by stepping away form the game for a bit which may be hard to do since Square Enix has added a feature to keep you playing, character collecting.

Part of the story is fighting along side “Visions” which are characters from past entries in the Final Fantasy universe, which makes for some sweet team ups. These characters can be summoned by redeeming crystals or ticket, which can also be purchased. This is done a Gashapon-style game so the results are always random. These crystals contain the essence of legendary heroes, as well as villians, from other realms. One nice thing about this is that even though the two main characters, Rain and Lasswell, drive the story. They don’t need to be in your party to do battle. So if you want a party of three Sabins and two Terras, you can do it.

Another thing I like is that if I get duplicate heroes from summoning’s I can “Fuse them together to make them stronger. Also I can “Awaken” the characters to a higher lever by combing them and certain items gathered in the game.

In the end, I have enjoyed this entry for Square’s free-to-play stuff more than it’s predecessor, Record Keeper. If you liked it then you’ll love Brave Exvius.  If not, but you are like me and love Final Fantasy, you’ll give this one a chance. IT may change your mind like it did me.