Demo Review

Two playable modes on two playable levels.

Wait Mode consists that every action goes into a turn. You can take your time and strategically choose what is the best course of action in a battle situation. Though I noticed that foe in the area may join the battle at any time. Good for people who get flustered with stress.

Active Mode is for the "thrill-seekers". Instead of a turn based battle system, you are in the business of menu hunting as timers tick for each separate entity. I am guessing how long you are delayed from action depends on your agility and the weapon/summoning/magic/item that you are using. No time for thinking. You have to adapt to each area and have a plan before any battles start. When a quick attack monster is thrashing you, its no time be menu hunting. I sensed more ambushes in this mode but this way was much more enjoyable. I did notice that changing your mind "mid-swing" did sometimes reset my players timer. Thus, choose and commit.








Some things I really liked about the demo:

The areas, like FFXI, are extremely 3 dimensional. Free flowing areas where you can explore "off the path". Trees and objects are all 3 dimensional and can be used as cover.

I can finally confirm that the monsters are indeed visible and detect you in several different ways. Though I am hoping the extremely packed monster population in the two short levels I have played are only for the purposes of the demo.

Range information rings. When casting a "-ga" style black magic (such as firega), in which the blast can stretch along a larger area, the rings tell you the area you are going to effect before you cast. Thus, no excuse for accidentally aggravating multiple enemies and having a nasty unbearable battle.


One thing I thought was a pain in the butt:

Range lines. When you are in range of a possible enemy. Red lines show what or who the monster is attracted/attacking first and when. Blue lines show which monster you are attacking and all of its game information. Blah. It used to be an artform to know how tough a monster was, that elements could be used against it and what level it was. I personally think its too much information and ruins part of the game. Plus, if you want to start a battle with black magic, you have to toggle in and out of the magic menus till you get close enough to get your blue line. It’s kind of a pain but I'm guessing over time I will get a feel for the distance needed.


A nice surprise. They finally separated Protect, Shell and other protection spells into a Green Magic category. Therefore, no more hunting through your White Magic spells trying to find Curaga and watching people die.

In all the transition between exploring and battles is completely smooth now. This almost makes the game more of an action game than a RPG. You still get the same exact victory music as you had since the late 1980's. You still get the same language (so you don't have to learn another fake language) and even more options than before which makes this a great up and coming Final Fantasy to add to the Final Fantasy epic collection. If you like over-teched battle systems and using your head while you play, you are going to love this game. I might even label this as a partial "Real Time Strategy" game. I do expect a huge story line, like the one from FFX where you had to sit through a music video love scene or some overly explained history lesson. I kind of wish the story line was a little more left up to the player but this is the Square/Enix way and they know nobody else touches them when it comes to RPGs. So deal with it. The graphics are beautiful during game play and the monsters even have the correct demeanor to spook you just enough. I did run across some Mandragoras but they did not seem so tough. I am hoping they are just as painful as they were in FFXI.

Overall, some surprises and some things I don't fully appreciate yet but I am continually waiting for the release. This one looks like it may take the "Most Frustrating Game Ever" award. Which means I will love it.