Final Fantasy Empires

Final Fantasy Empires. A fan game obviously; eh some of us like ‘em, some of us hate the idea, but regardless I have judged it to be a pretty good game that effectively uses the DBS (although as of yet not too much in a custom manner) and creates effective cut scenes.

Before I start the review I just want to mention some bugs I found. In the scene where you are in the princess’s room and are talking to here, there’s one box of dialogue said by Fergus, but I think it was meant to be said by the princess; review the scene and I think you’ll find it. Also, once you get to the world map, and you walk across it, I realize there are some spots where I can’t walk through or over, and the space would be just part of the empty field; it wasn’t a river or something in-traversable. I feel it probably is a chipset pass-ability issue. Also this one is probably just because it was the end of the demo, but some monsters on the world map, are “blank” like you haven’t chosen a picture for them yet, and they do 0 damage.

Gameplay: 3. So far things look promising, not a whole lot could be implemented because it was the beginning of the game, but I’m sure more is to come.

The gameplay is classic like any final fantasy game. As of yet there were no puzzles since it was still the beginning of the game, but I know there will be some in the next installation. The towns seem very final fantasy like, perhaps even better. They are large with several houses to explore, the level of exploration is what makes me compare its likeness to final fantasy, thus does a good job. Some houses weren’t done yet though, like in the castle town.

The battles are actually quite good. They are very easy in the beginning, most enemies going down with a few strikes and you can take quite some damage before getting low in health. Personally I like this, in the beginning of the game, the battles should be easy just to throw in some combat and get the player used to it, as well introduce any features you may have and want to introduce at that time.

This game introduces the usage of “Orum” which essentially is equipped onto a player which lets him use spells and other things. It’s unique, although I can see some issues because of the fact that the orum takes up an equipment slot. Are spell orums only going to give you one spell? I’m not sure if that’s the best approach to the system; what if you need or want multiple elements? Sure you’ve got your other members, but that means you can only have 4 spells total, and that’s if you choose to have only spell orums. I mean, what if I want those support ones that protect against status defects? I think it might be a good idea for the creator to rethink how to use the Orum system. Maybe when equipping Orums, have the player go to a separate map? Then let him equip about 5 Orums or something, or limit the number based on his equipment or something. (No I don’t mean steal FF7’s idea; it just came to while I was thinking :\) But yeah, or something. Maybe combine spells into orums? Like a Hailfire orum that gives you ice and fire? Bloodspire orum that gives you Drain and Poison? I don’t know.

I’m also curious about the “blobs” minigame that you’re going to introduce. I think I saw a screenshot of it a few years ago or something, maybe that’s just me, but I’m eager for it, and think it’s a good idea. Like the other final fantasies, novelty games were introduced like this one for a little fun on the side, giving you a few benefits if you do things right. Although personally I don’t think you should get really extraordinary awards from the minigame; after all the game is final fantasy empires, not blobs. Just a suggestion.

There were a few issues I had with the combat though. In the beginning, everything was good. The battles were easy etc like I’ve stated before. But then I got to the boss battle. I noticed I didn’t have a whole lot of items, but I decided to give it a go. It was rather challenging for a first boss battle. The real issue was because of the lack of items. You get a few tonics to recover health, but they don’t heal enough to really cover the boss’s damage each turn. You get one item, a potion, that manages to heal you a good lot, but that doesn’t last for long. I managed to beat the boss with no items left and with critical health. I think that should be revised, the boss shouldn’t be that hard. Maybe give a few more potions? Or, unless you want tonics to be effective at this point in the game, you could lower Fergus’s health and lower the damage of all enemies. Something needs to be done though.

One last issue was once I got onto the world map, I got into battles really, really quickly. I really think the battle encounter rate needs to be lowered a little, or at least vary it depending on the terrain. I don’t know if this is what you intended or if you were working on this because it was near the end of the demo, but I think you need to change this.

Graphics and Mapping: 5. The maps were nicely designed; the charactersets would move and tilt their heads and had custom animations.

Utilizing a final fantasy 3 chipset, (or others I’m not sure) you made some pretty good maps. The towns looked like towns; there were narrow streets, then wider areas, arrays of houses and overall good design. The mine looked like a mine, narrow contorted walls with the occasional mine cart track etc.

I liked the custom charactersets as well, the miners, Fergus and all others. (If they’re custom) Each characterset had their own animations too, a “surprised state”, looking down, looking to the right, casting pose, and others. I really liked this; it made cutscenes more dynamic and gave you more to look at rather than just reading the text. All the custom stuff shows the effort and work you put into the game. Btw, I found that iron armlet you hid in the town at the beginning. :P

I also liked how you tried to implement some battle animations on the field too, even if you only did it once in the demo. The part where Fergus cast ice to lower the number of enemies before the battle was an interesting idea; it shows how he continues to perform actions and shows that it’s not just the battle screen where things are done. It gave a more “dynamic” feel.

Music and Sounds: 4. The music was very final fantasy-ish, I don’t recall if you used actually scores from the FF series, but I think they worked well. There were some sounds too.

The music seemed to have that final fantasy type tone and feel, and I believe each piece of music fitted the scene. I like how you faded out the music of the town at that one part when you’re about to meet the king to ready the next piece of music to play. Fading is a good idea. I also like the change in music to fit the mood as well as what’s going on. Like when Fergus was told that he should deliver the letter to the king; he steps up and the music changes to a more brave, and daring tone. The volume level was consistent as well.

I heard quite a bit of sounds as well, chests opening, doors being knocked on. I think there could be quite a few more though for the field. Maybe like ambience? I wouldn’t really list it as a major priority though.

Atmosphere and Setting: 4. The atmosphere is decent, and the player is informed of quite a lot about the world.

The world is at war. This is what the player is informed of, as well as the fact that Orum is a new sort of discovery, that people of the world are after and seeking to utilize, especially for the warring. The atmosphere does indeed display the fact that the world is in some sort of peril, and that the people fear for themselves, and the world. The fact that the sky has “torn” not only connects to the story, but also connects to the people and the characters. I don’t know for long the sky will be “torn” or how big of an impact it is with the story, but I think it might be a good idea at some points in the game to show that big tear in the background at some times. It would give an ominous feel, letting you know that the big plot of the game is always looming over your head, and that danger could happen at any time.

Although the world is seemingly going to be in chaos soon and bad things are starting to happen, there are some signs that make you feel this. The people of the first town and the king show signs of fear, but some of the NPC’s don’t seem to show a lot of worry or concern. Some of them state about important things though, like who will look after Nicodemus’s school? The bridge is down in this place etc. While those are necessary pieces of dialogue, I think it might help add to the atmosphere if you put some NPC’s talking about the state of the world and fearful of the things to come, and that tear in the sky. They would constantly remind you about the horror looming over you and the main plot thus far.

For a demo, you’re told a decent lot about the game. I’d say it’s a perfect amount to my standards, and then there were other NPC’s who would talk about different towns or bridges etc, I thought that was good as well. We are told that these two nations are at war, and a little history about them as well as an important factor that appears – Orum. I thought it was a sufficient amount of info about the world, and the player instantly knows about the environment around him.

Story: 5. Final Fantasy-ish. Wars, empires, its all good. The characters have personality; they talk about the war, and about their own psychological states. The plot is beginning to show.

The story isn’t anything exactly new, although it was just a demo. But it was very adequately displayed and told. There is a war going on, and more and more troublesome and ominous things start to happen. First there’s war between nations that were otherwise peaceful, and now there’s a tear in the sky that has let loose all these monsters. It leads to many questions, as well as many possibilities. The plot is present, but the main plot has obviously still been concealed, and the real purpose or goal will soon reveal itself, obviously to be something much more than the current situation. (At least this is what I’m percepting) The smaller plot, the fact that the sky has torn, leads to other plots of higher authority, which leads Fergus closer to the main situation that will likely appear. The fact that he’s near higher authority could also get him more involved in the nation situation. I thought this was a good idea; the character is lured through the smaller plots, and then brought to the greater situations slowly.

Each character seems to have their own personality, even though we haven’t seen many as of yet. Fergus can be quite forgetful, but is brave and daring. The princess likes to think psychologically, but that’s to be expected, and worries a bit about the kingdom, as well as herself; maybe that’s selfish, I don’t know. I think anybody would worry about themselves during a hellish time, but maybe its part of her personality, I don’t know. The princess thinks about her fate, and Fergus can automatically connect, due to his experiences. Player connection is quite important, and this was quite a good example.

What I liked: I really like the battles and the idea of trying to implement a custom spell system. The towns were made quite well, and quite a bit of info was provided about the world in the beginning of the game, I like being informed.

Closing Statements: I think Final Fantasy Empires is a pretty good game. It needs a little refining in terms of the spell system; the game needs some more unique things to stand out more though. Otherwise, it’s a good RPG with a story, good mapping and a good step in the right direction.