Mot Wakorb
03-20-2010, 08:43 AM
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2678/4016765803_8e92d3f13d_o.png (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?p=395888#post395888)
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4447136185_b19c2535ab_o.png
Product: Final Fantasy
Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $8.99
At this point, this is easily a game that needs no introduction - it's Final Fantasy. Not the original "Nintendo hard" edition, but a much easier and what I would call dumbed-down edition that was born of a decision to make the original Final Fantasy much different than it once was. In a game that mostly seems like a direct port of the PSP edition, is it worth another look for the iPod and iPhone?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2201/4447910442_f26dcf3122_o.png
Looks just like home again...
Alright - introductions aside, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The original Final Fantasy was pretty ambitious for it's time, so let's recap. You're four light warriors each with an orb crystal that defines you as the light warriors. Some strange evil is threatening the land and only the Light Warriors can help. Now that we've covered that, we can move on to more important things - the gameplay.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4447136409_6f42efea3a_o.png
This is about as cinematic as it gets
As a whole, the gameplay hasn't changed for the iPod edition - it's the same game as the PSP port, with new controls for touch. We'll cover that in a moment. For those of you who fondly (or, maybe not fondly) remember limitations of casting a finite number of spells per level before needing rest, items being terribly expensive and a crazy amount of grinding to get the gil you need to afford many of these items, and a general difficulty level that could leave you in tears - you may or may not be disappointed. Many of the game's old conventions are long gone, bringing new rules along the way.
First, the magic system has been revamped to cover magic by using MP, instead of the classic finite casts per level system. You're only limited by the amount of MP you have, although some spells, even when purchased, may not be used until you're a specific level in the game. This makes spellcasting decisions much easier, as you'll be able to cast much more often than you were once able to, bringing the difficulty of this game down.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2734/4447910878_ee59553cd9_o.png
Magic Selection and MP
Second, items, spells, weapons and armor are dirt cheap - in the NES original, you easily ran out of money buying one spell for each of your mages, maybe a weapon for everyone, and a piece of armor or two. Not so here. You'll fully equip your party and have enough left over to grab all of your level one spells for your mages. Money isn't hard to come by in fights, so yet another point of resource management is now gone.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4447910526_f15657a62e_o.png
The Overworld Map
So what about the gameplay itself? How does it translate to the iPod/iPhone? Surprisingly well. The controls have been revamped so that everything is a touch interface. The overworld map uses a pretty standard touch D-pad that directs your character where you want to go and includes a "run" button when in towns and dungeons.
The real changes come in battle. Each of the selections (Fight/Magic/Defend/Item/Back/Run) are represented by icons. Simply click the icon you want and choose from there.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2795/4447911280_87d5e0cbfd_o.png
The New Battle Interface
Once your action is selected, just touch what you want to target. Simple enough. The magic/items menus are a bit different - touch magic, touch your spell (twice, just to make sure), then touch your enemy of choice if you need to. These screens are also tabbed in case you meant to select item instead of magic, giving you a couple less touches that you'll need to make to make your selections.
There are a few quirks in this game - touch isn't as responsive as you might hope it would be - selecting an enemy can be a challenge for folks with larger hands. Talking to shopkeepers and people isn't terribly descriptive, either. Approach the person you want to talk to and a chat bubble appears over your head. Tap again on the screen and you're chatting. It's a bit confusing if you haven't done this before.
Another strange thing is text size - this game can be hard to read. Chat text is fine - it is rather large and easily readable. Battle text and menu text however, is tiny and tough to read, if you have vision problems, prepare to squint. The "pause menu" is brought up by sitting for a moment on any screen until your characters are listed - touch that area and you'll be brought to the menu system.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4447910706_9d4bc8d0d3_o.png
The Menu Interface
The game graphically is easily just as good as the PSP port. The only issue is that the game in general seems slower, as well as there are some real graphical slowdowns in play. Movement on the map will cause the game to stutter, and transitions to battle can be downright choppy.
Sound-wise, the music and sounds are fully intact from the PSP/PS1 ports. The music is rich and vibrant, the sounds redone to fit the current generation much more than the old sounds of the NES. Like most other Final Fantasy games, the sound effects and music won't disappoint fans new and old.
A few things I did like in this edition - powering off or hitting the home button will automatically "quick save" your game. You'll continue as if nothing happened upon return. The battle interface is simple, and well laid out. In general - it is not a hard game to get into, although without much direction in the game, it will leave new players frustrated.
All-in-all, it's Final Fantasy, again. The game continues to be re-released and it will continue to do so as long as SquareEnix has platforms to place it on. At $8.99, however, that price is cheap as compared to the PSP edition, but becoming long in the tooth as the game is rehashed and rehashed over multiple platforms. If you haven't had a chance yet to go back and play the original games from the Final Fantasy series, this is as good a time as any to go back, visit the App Store, and grab a copy. If you've already played it though - I'd pass, not enough has changed to warrant this game being worth it.
Moving Target is a weekly mobile gaming feature by Curt "Mot Wakorb" LeCaptain (clecaptain@colonyofgamers.com) and Rob "mightbe" Schuster (rschuster@colonyofgamers.com). Check CoG every Saturday for updates. Hit us up if there's something you'd like us to cover.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4447136185_b19c2535ab_o.png
Product: Final Fantasy
Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $8.99
At this point, this is easily a game that needs no introduction - it's Final Fantasy. Not the original "Nintendo hard" edition, but a much easier and what I would call dumbed-down edition that was born of a decision to make the original Final Fantasy much different than it once was. In a game that mostly seems like a direct port of the PSP edition, is it worth another look for the iPod and iPhone?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2201/4447910442_f26dcf3122_o.png
Looks just like home again...
Alright - introductions aside, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The original Final Fantasy was pretty ambitious for it's time, so let's recap. You're four light warriors each with an orb crystal that defines you as the light warriors. Some strange evil is threatening the land and only the Light Warriors can help. Now that we've covered that, we can move on to more important things - the gameplay.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4447136409_6f42efea3a_o.png
This is about as cinematic as it gets
As a whole, the gameplay hasn't changed for the iPod edition - it's the same game as the PSP port, with new controls for touch. We'll cover that in a moment. For those of you who fondly (or, maybe not fondly) remember limitations of casting a finite number of spells per level before needing rest, items being terribly expensive and a crazy amount of grinding to get the gil you need to afford many of these items, and a general difficulty level that could leave you in tears - you may or may not be disappointed. Many of the game's old conventions are long gone, bringing new rules along the way.
First, the magic system has been revamped to cover magic by using MP, instead of the classic finite casts per level system. You're only limited by the amount of MP you have, although some spells, even when purchased, may not be used until you're a specific level in the game. This makes spellcasting decisions much easier, as you'll be able to cast much more often than you were once able to, bringing the difficulty of this game down.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2734/4447910878_ee59553cd9_o.png
Magic Selection and MP
Second, items, spells, weapons and armor are dirt cheap - in the NES original, you easily ran out of money buying one spell for each of your mages, maybe a weapon for everyone, and a piece of armor or two. Not so here. You'll fully equip your party and have enough left over to grab all of your level one spells for your mages. Money isn't hard to come by in fights, so yet another point of resource management is now gone.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/4447910526_f15657a62e_o.png
The Overworld Map
So what about the gameplay itself? How does it translate to the iPod/iPhone? Surprisingly well. The controls have been revamped so that everything is a touch interface. The overworld map uses a pretty standard touch D-pad that directs your character where you want to go and includes a "run" button when in towns and dungeons.
The real changes come in battle. Each of the selections (Fight/Magic/Defend/Item/Back/Run) are represented by icons. Simply click the icon you want and choose from there.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2795/4447911280_87d5e0cbfd_o.png
The New Battle Interface
Once your action is selected, just touch what you want to target. Simple enough. The magic/items menus are a bit different - touch magic, touch your spell (twice, just to make sure), then touch your enemy of choice if you need to. These screens are also tabbed in case you meant to select item instead of magic, giving you a couple less touches that you'll need to make to make your selections.
There are a few quirks in this game - touch isn't as responsive as you might hope it would be - selecting an enemy can be a challenge for folks with larger hands. Talking to shopkeepers and people isn't terribly descriptive, either. Approach the person you want to talk to and a chat bubble appears over your head. Tap again on the screen and you're chatting. It's a bit confusing if you haven't done this before.
Another strange thing is text size - this game can be hard to read. Chat text is fine - it is rather large and easily readable. Battle text and menu text however, is tiny and tough to read, if you have vision problems, prepare to squint. The "pause menu" is brought up by sitting for a moment on any screen until your characters are listed - touch that area and you'll be brought to the menu system.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4447910706_9d4bc8d0d3_o.png
The Menu Interface
The game graphically is easily just as good as the PSP port. The only issue is that the game in general seems slower, as well as there are some real graphical slowdowns in play. Movement on the map will cause the game to stutter, and transitions to battle can be downright choppy.
Sound-wise, the music and sounds are fully intact from the PSP/PS1 ports. The music is rich and vibrant, the sounds redone to fit the current generation much more than the old sounds of the NES. Like most other Final Fantasy games, the sound effects and music won't disappoint fans new and old.
A few things I did like in this edition - powering off or hitting the home button will automatically "quick save" your game. You'll continue as if nothing happened upon return. The battle interface is simple, and well laid out. In general - it is not a hard game to get into, although without much direction in the game, it will leave new players frustrated.
All-in-all, it's Final Fantasy, again. The game continues to be re-released and it will continue to do so as long as SquareEnix has platforms to place it on. At $8.99, however, that price is cheap as compared to the PSP edition, but becoming long in the tooth as the game is rehashed and rehashed over multiple platforms. If you haven't had a chance yet to go back and play the original games from the Final Fantasy series, this is as good a time as any to go back, visit the App Store, and grab a copy. If you've already played it though - I'd pass, not enough has changed to warrant this game being worth it.
Moving Target is a weekly mobile gaming feature by Curt "Mot Wakorb" LeCaptain (clecaptain@colonyofgamers.com) and Rob "mightbe" Schuster (rschuster@colonyofgamers.com). Check CoG every Saturday for updates. Hit us up if there's something you'd like us to cover.