"Why is this game here? How is it this high up the list? When did we get to this point? What the fuck is the deal?" I can hear myself and everyone else asking.


If there was ever any expectation of this list being at all objective in terms of game quality, then World of Final Fantasy completely shatters that notion, being at most a 7/10 game (leaning more 6 than 8). It's a Pokémon clone; a monster catcher RPG with a generic kiddy animu story, chalk-full of jokes and tropes that you must've seen a thousand times if you've ever glanced at a shonen anime. However, while at first it appears to be an uninspired cash-in, as Squeeenix attempts marketing to kids that might not've owned a Nintendo handheld in 2016, it achieved something else entirely: it made me happy.

It's RARE for a piece of media to have that impact on me; I might be entertained and have fun, fall in love with the story/characters/setting/artstyle; but to actually make me happy, that is a herculean feat. And it's no mystery why: I was a Final Fantasy fan for years, have now played all main series titles pre-XV (sans the MMOs and Lightning Returns); I adore turn-based RPGs, especially if they aren't a real-time hybrid or ATB-like; and since I have a collectonist playstyle, the inherent aspect of Pokémon games (gathering all the critters), reskinned with stylistic interpretations of several creatures in the FF franchise in the form of 'Mirages', immediately appeals to my sensibilities. Even as I replay it at time of writing, that love hasn't faded, and this is why, while a 7/10, WoFF is one of my personal 10/10 games.

But I think it's because of the simplistic story that this game shined so brightly. Lann and Reynn, the ginger twins that lead this adventure to catch 'em all, have the necessary elements than one should hope are present in these types of stories, and the rug isn't so much pulled from under your feet later on, but more that you're incentivized to push it aside and see what lies beneath. Sure, it relies on the recurring FF tropes of clueless protagonists and killing god-like entities, but it managed to take characters and elements from (almost) all of its previous games and present them in a new light. Awkward at best, but it's not shocking to see the new roles attributed to old characters, all in the shape of chibi vynil figurines called Lilikin. For fuck's sake, it has the only version of Claire 'Shaitning' Farron that I actually liked, as she manages to fucking emote and interact with others in an enjoyable fashion, rather than an automaton pretending to have human emotions.

That being said, WoFF is a perpetual give-and-take:

1) Until the post-game, Lann and Reynn are obligatory choices for your team, with the ability to change between Jiant (L size) and Lilikin (M size) forms. The stacking mechanic is a great way to justify using more than one Mirage in combat, and different Mirage stacks will give you access to different combos and abilities, therefore taking the limited action slots from Pokémon games and blending it together with the inherent growing list of skills from FF games. This means that you're less inclined to overutilize certain Mirages to deal with specific enemy teams and bosses (as it's how prepared you are beyond just your setup that will determine your success) and experiment; but the game's difficulty curve is all over the place (yet rarely a challenge), and you'll find yourself taking frequent pit-stops to the Prismarium, be it for imprisming Mirages, recharging your VERY limited AP, handling specific challenges, or just solving puzzles that require the use of HM-equivalent field abilities.

2) The chibified artstyle translates classic and more recent creatures in Final Fantasy to have a consistent look AND be desirable to collect (same couldn't be said of FFXIII-2); but there's several reskins for some Mirages which, while offering different abilities and attributes, still look the same. Kinda like shinies, but without the bragging rights. Since you can transfigure Mirages as long as you have met the necessary prerequisites, and without meta alterations in stats, collecting them will be far more expedient, yet you'll end up leveling a lot of creatures with far less personality than most Pokémon you catch, even if you don't have to worry about chasing the top percentage of Chocobos.

3) Pokémon has always been more oriented towards community/multiplayer gaming, but WoFF is unquestionably a single-player experience, with all Mirages available for you to get eventually, and the closest thing to 'Legendaries' being XL Mirages, which take the roll of Summon-equivalents for you to play as (rather than a single-skill mega ability); however, the action-activation to imprism (catch) can sometimes be completely asinine, if not incredibly vague, and the memento items necessary to transform certain Mirages can be attained only by the most awkward of means.

4) Even what at first might seem to be optional aspects of the game are utilized in the story and overall gameplay, and I appreciate that mechanics introduced have a reason for being there, for both story and play. What I don't appreciate is how the story grinds to a halt because you have to partake in ridiculous minigames to progress, or because the writers gave up on how to insert specific interventions within a cohesive narrative, and just said "Fuck it, do this as sidequests in the Tardis Tearoom. We couldn't be bothered to have you revisit every zone in a natural way".

I could go on how the game isn't as optimized as it should be, that mechanically it stumbles and lacks in quality-of-life improvements. And while you can get immersed, either the kiddy story or a lack of long-time investment in the FF franchise might prevent most from getting into WoFF as much as I did (and believe me, those things ARE there and they ARE a problem). But I'm not here to deny the faults, I'm here to explain why I like these games. It's cheezy, but I love this game, warts and all. It had no right to be as fulfilling as it was.

If you're a Poké-fan and want to give WoFF a chance, always remember to first consult with your local RPG aficionado, to make sure it's right for you.


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