Based on Final Fantasy Type-0 (on PSP) and developed in place of the discontinued Final Fantasy Agito, Final Fantasy Awakening is the first official MMOARPG of Final Fantasy. The game has launched its SEA server recently in several countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. We had some fun playing the game, so here is our Final Fantasy Awakening review!
Taking place in Orien, Final Fantasy Awakening is almost a typical MMOARPG where you can create your own character, form a team, building them up and battles your way through the stages. You will be able to choose between 3 classes available at the beginning of the game – Windblade Warrior (Melee), Fire Gunner (Ranged) or Ice Magitek Knight (Mage), then customize your character in a few aspects such as hairstyle and personality.
Your character can form a party with not more than 4 support heroes. Every hero will have their own skills and ability, with some combination of the heroes give you Hero Destiny effect. All of them can be equipped with gears too, you can further upgrade your heroes stats by refining and enhancing the gears. Heroes and gears are obtainable from completing stages and summoning.
Other than the must-have feature – campaign mode that comes with an exciting storyline, the game also features a huge variety of single-player or multiplayer game modes. Putting the typical ones such as Arena and Team Dungeon aside, there is a World Adventure mode where you can dispatch a hero to guard an area for rewards. There is also an Infinite Trials mode that enables you to challenge floor by floor with different winning conditions. Besides, the Throne of Paragons mode offers cross-server 9v9 battles (which sound really interesting to me).
The graphics are truly outstanding as it features a full 3D Cinematic Graphics that is comparable with console graphics. The game environment looks detailed, while the character movement is smooth (especially during battles). I personally enjoyed watching the skill animations. Final Fantasy Awakening also features Japanese voice-overs for each of its characters, which many Final Fantasy fans would probably like it more compared to localized voice-overs.
Pros
We all know most of the RPG relies on turn-based system, but Final Fantasy Awakening is different as it offers real-time hack-and-slash combat. It has highly restored the original storyline of Final Fantasy Type-0 too, along with the Japanese voice-overs, doesn’t it brings back the old memories of PSP era? Other than that, the game features a lot of modes that will keep you busy. You can also use auto-path so you don’t need waste time running around to find your next destination.
Cons
The user interface is a bit packed for a new player. Also, the Arena mode forces you to auto-battle using AI, it would be better if it allows real-time arena battle that you could have full control of your characters.
In conclusion, Final Fantasy Awakening is a must try for Final Fantasy Type-0 fans as it gives you the nostalgia feels along with a brand new experience under the worldview of Final Fantasy Type-0. Final Fantasy Awakening is currently free-to-play for Android and iOS, begins your epic journey now if this interests you! You can also redeem your gift code from their official website or visit the official Facebook page for latest updates.