Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius Feels Like A Full Game

Now is a good time to get into Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius. In addition to an ample dose of Lapis currency people get for joining the game, Square Enix is celebrating reaching five million downloads outside of Japan with free Summon Tickets and Metal Minitaurs. It’s a good time to consider trying this free-to-play mobile game.

What’s important to note about Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius is that it’s set up like a freemium title, but is far more fleshed out than you would expect it to be. It begins with a tutorial that functions and feels a bit like Tales of Link or Final Fantasy: All the Bravest. Battles are turn-based, with players tapping a character’s icon to make them attack enemies. You launch into one battle after another without pause until a phase is completed. It gives an excuse for people to spend real money, since doing so gives you a chance of summoning better, more iconic Vision warriors from past Final Fantasy games.

Once our heroes, Rain and Lasswell, first encounter Fima, a young woman in a crystal begging for their help, and rush to the Earth Shrine, Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius shifts. It opens itself up to the player with an array of features and abilities you wouldn’t expect from such a title. While the trek into the Earth Shrine to arrive at the Earth Crystal a little too late remains rather scripted and planned, we get far more options than Square Enix has ever given us in one of these games.

After finding both the Earth Crystal and airship destroyed, Rain and Lasswell are forced to continue their journey on foot. This takes them to an actual town, which people can actually explore. It’s filled with secret treasures, the opportunity to buy and sell items, equipment, and recipes. There are sidequests to take and NPCs to talk to. It’s reminiscent of one of Kemco’s paid mobile RPGs, but with better character art. It’s one of quite a few cities people will get to explore, each with their own nuances to enjoy.

Getting some of these sidequests brings up another way in which Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius sets itself apart. After visiting a location once for the typical battle gauntlet, you can return to it at any time to explore an entirely new area. It becomes a standard JRPG. Sidequests may have items to find there. You can collect materials that can be used for crafting equipment, items, or spells. There’s a sense of variety and freedom here that many other free-to-play RPG “experiences” lack.

The battles offer more than you’d expect as well. It’s possible to plow through all of Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius’ missions by tapping on icons when characters are able to act. It isn’t as satisfying as the alternative, which involves actual strategy. Characters each have abilities and spells you can choose from in a fight with a flick of a finger. Enemies have weaknesses that may be exploited. You can build up Limit Breaks. Items can even be pulled in. It isn’t nearly as mindless as some mobile games can be, which I’m sure many will appreciate.

Even the hero availability makes Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius appealing. Square Enix has been somewhat generous with the Lapis and Summon Tickets, making it easy to put together a more than adequate roster of fighters. I’ve unintentionally formed a force of Final Fantasy VI characters. Magitek Armor Terra was given to me when I joined, and the Lapis I received for downloading the game and playing for the first few days ended up giving me Sabin, Cyan, and Edgar. While the “free” summoning system isn’t the best at giving away rare characters, the one that does accept tickets and the real cash currency is good about doling out people you’d want to use.

But even if someone did want to go free, Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius gives us three characters that, while not entirely rare, are very effective fighters. Rain, Lasswell, and Fima all work well for our purposes and are given to the player. Rain and Lasswell are two solid soldiers, while Fima is an archer with healing magic that can help keep you safe. The game is balanced in a way you wouldn’t exactly expect from such a thing. The paid, rarer characters are unquestionably better, but it isn’t like you won’t enjoy yourself if you don’t pay anything for this experience.

There are even eidolons to summon, hidden away throughout the world. Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius hands us Siren. It makes it part of the story. But others are more secretive. It feels more special when you manage to stumble across these other, powerful allies who’ll make a big difference in battle. I found out about Golem after heading to the oasis in the desert and bringing water to a man in need. I came across Shiva when exploring every inch of Wolf’s Fang. Such features make the game feel so much larger.

I suppose it all comes down to the feeling Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius elicits. This isn’t like Final Fantasy: All the Bravest, which had all of these familiar characters and enemies, but didn’t actually play like a Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius does. While it has the missions that retain that mobile feel, the things you get to do outside of those offer more of the spirit we expect from the series. There’s a richness here, perhaps even a soul, that you don’t often find in mobile spin-offs and tie-ins inspired by console games.

Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius is immediately available for Apple iOS and Android devices.