World of Final Fantasy Preview (PS4)

World of Final Fantasy is a turn-based role-playing game that utilizes iconic characters from the Final Fantasy series.The newly released dungeon demo provides a new unique monster capture system that adds a new element to the existing Final Fantasy combat formula. World of Final Fantasy aims to be the perfect entry point into the Final Fantasy universe for both new fans and longtime veterans.
World of Final Fantasy Preview (PS4)

Introduction

World of Final Fantasy was a game that I personally wasn't paying too much attention to, and for that matter wasn't even on my radar for must-have fall game releases. I was honestly going to outright skip World of Final Fantasy due to the fact that the much anticipated Final Fantasy XV was releasing a mere month later.

After playing the Dungeon Demo that was released yesterday, I can say honestly say that I am pleasantly surprised on how much fun I actually had playing through the entirety of the demo. Square Enix has provided tons of fan service throughout the demo and it was a joy seeing some of my favorite characters from the Final Fantasy series return in top form.

Being a lifelong fan of the Final Fantasy series I was somewhat worried that the fan service was there just for the sake of being fan service but thankfully that wasn't the case. Luckily the classic characters presented in the demo are handled well and its was great to hear some of the original voice actors return to reprise their roles. I also enjoyed the new voices and sounds provided to some of the classic Final Fantasy monsters such as ever so creepy Tonberry. I also thought the music was good and hopefully, we get to hear some of the classic songs and character themes when the final game is released this month.

The only uncertainty I have with World of Final Fantasy is the new characters and the story provided. The new characters presented in the demo added a new layer of comedic levity which is a change for the usual heavy emotional narratives that the series has become known for. We will see if the story actually holds up when World of Final Fantasy is released on Oct. 25.

Tidus (FInal Fantasy X)

Gameplay

Another aspect I enjoyed about the dungeon demo was the combat system, surprisingly the new stacking system was clever and provided many opportunities for varying strategic combinations. The new Monster taming system implemented in the demo gives the player the ability to recruit monsters in battle and add them to your stack sort of similar to catching Pokémon in the Pokémon series. Each monster you tame gives you a different skill or elemental ability to mix with other monsters in your stack. I am really excited to see what monsters will be available to recruit in the main game. There are tons of iconic monsters and summons throughout the Final Fantasy series so hopefully, this will benefit the game upon final release.

The area that the demo provides is short overall but I think the  main focus is to showcase the fundamentals of the battle system. The demo, however, does provide a decent variety of monsters to tame and if you want to obtain them all you might have to spend a few hours collecting them. Once you actually do arrive at the end of the demo there is an awesome boss fight and you get to view two new trailers related to the main game. I definitely recommend playing the demo in its entirety in order to see the final boss and view the trailers.

I am definitely glad to see that Square Enix is starting to release more and more turn based RPG's. I wholeheartedly believe that there is a market for these types of games and with the release of World of Final Fantasy and games like Bravely Default,Bravely Second and I am Setsuna we can hopefully persuade Square Enix to release more turn based RPG's in the future.

World of Final Fantasy Combat System.

Graphics and performance

The World of Final Fantasy Dungeon Demo provided some pretty impressive visuals overall. The game runs at a smooth 30 FPS on both PS4 and PS Vita. The only difference in performance between both systems is resolution and loading times. The PS Vita will have slower loading times and will run at 960×544 as opposed to the PS4 running at 1080P.

During my time with the PS4 demo I didn't really run into any graphical issues or framerate drops so this is definitely a positive for PS4 players. Overall I don't think you will notice too many differences between both platforms so it really boils down to particular tastes and personal platform preference.

World of FInal Fantasy environment.

Conclusion

The World of Final Fantasy demo did a wonderful job at providing a brief glimpse of gameplay and an overall preview of the battle system that will be implemented in the main game. My only complaint with the demo was the overall shortness of it. I do however feel there was enough gameplay shown in the demo to showcase what the final game will ultimately look like. Going into the World of Final Fantasy demo I really expected to hate the art style overall, but It actually grew on me once I started playing and seeing how it affected the environment. I was also glad  to see that there weren't any actual story spoilers within the demo, and I don't think the area presented in the demo is a part of the main game.

Overall I enjoyed my time with the demo and really enjoyed the gameplay. If you are still on the fence about World of Final Fantasy I highly recommend giving the demo a fair chance before making a final decision. After playing the demo I'm definitely going to pick this game up and hopefully, it will tide me over until the release of the much anticipated Final Fantasy XV later next month. I believe World of Final Fantasy has the potential to be a great entry into the series for both newcomers to the franchise and long time fans.

Pros Cons
 + Great combat system.  – Demo is somewhat short.
 + Good voice acting.  – Still unsure about characters and overall story.
 + Decent variety of monsters.

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