Square Enix celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Final Fantasy franchise way back in 2016 with the release of World of Final Fantasy. The game reconciled the spanning generations of the illustrious and wildly loved RPG series in this celebratory title that flaunted a Poké-esque twist on its typical battle mechanics. The cutesy FF game is now sporting the Maxima upgrade which accommodates new content for both existing fans and newcomers to enjoy across all consoles.
The breaching of its initial PlayStation exclusivity and subsequent hop to Nintendo Switch and Xbox One consoles has served as the epicentre of hype surrounding World of Final Fantasy Maxima. However, for the purposes of this review we’ll stay firmly rooted on the PlayStation 4 and delve into the content brought with the Maxima upgrade.
To recap, World of Final Fantasy depicts the story of twin siblings Lann and Reynn who fight to recover their memories lost to amnesia. The duo wield the power to capture and battle with classic FF creatures known as Mirages that inhabit the world of Grymoire. On their quest to become reacquainted with their former selves, the pair fight to resolve conflict within the world and ward off the impending doom wrought by the Bahamutian army.
Even in the absence of an upgrade teeming with new goods, World of Final Fantasy remains to be a stellar addition to the library of FF titles. Every part of the game exudes oodles of charm from its cutesy visuals to its endearing character line-up that stand at the forefront of its stirring story. This allure endures throughout the game in all aspects including its quintessential yet nuanced approach to combat.
As players explore the vibrant, spirited world of Grymoire they’ll encounter a vast bestiary of creatures from every corner of the FF universe. Using a mechanic similar to the Pokémon franchise, you may “inprism” Mirages you stumble across to level and use in battle as you please. The stack mechanic is a further twist on the typicalities of the franchise, allowing you to sit your adorable little party members on top of each other for added power and expanded movesets. This makes for immeasurable replayability as you mix up your stacks and try your luck with new creatures, as well as invoking an obvious appeal to younger audiences.
Fortunately, World of Final Fantasy Maxima only builds upon the success that oozes from the base game. It was initially intended to rally the best parts of the franchise and this has only been accentuated in its upgrade. Making an appearance as new additions to the list of Champions you may summon in the heat of battle are Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII), Noctis (Final Fantasy XV) and Serah (Final Fantasy XIII-2). Accompanying these are a flurry of new Mirages that further embrace the encompassing of the many generations of FF. With new Mirages come new boss battles and even more ways to configure your party and stacks in turn, really dragging the replayability of the game into the spotlight once more.
Upon loading up the enhanced version of the game, you’re prompted to create a new save to harbour the fresh content. However, as much as it may pay off to start anew and uncover all the new FF goodness from the beginning, have no fear for your prior saves are not lost. As to not jeopardize previous adventures, a transfer save mechanic is well intact. This allows you to salvage saves from both PS4 and Vita should you prefer to pick apart the DLC from where you left off last.
Conclusion
World of Final Fantasy Maxima simply continues to promote the celebratory vibe of the original game. New additions to the catalogue of both characters and Mirages truly encourage replayability, offering incentive to make return trips to Grymoire to tackle the many new endeavours they’ve brought with them. More classic Final Fantasy characters revived in a loveable art style not only act as a lure for younger eyes but also capture the essence of the franchise as a whole, no doubt provoking an appeal to FF aficionados too.
Comments 29
Did Squenix offer an upgrade path for current owners or do they expect people to repurchase basically the same game for full price? Doesn't seem like that much has changed if they really only added 3 main characters.
Honestly I understand why this game would come to Switch and Xbox, it's new there, but I've never understood why this isn't free or paid DLC for owners of the first game.
I just started the post game for DQXI, which it seems will take swhile, and I just finished NNK2 before that, so I'm not in the mood for another JRPG right mow, but I'll see if my son wants it for Christmas on the Switch.
Edit: Did some sleuthing, ie read the comments on the previous 2 Maxima articles, and you can buy the DLC for $15.99 on PS4, but not Vita.
https://www.finalfantasyunion.com/news/3919/woff-maxima-will-also-be-available-as-dlc-for-ps4-and-pc-new-champions-revealed/
US PSN store dlc upgrade
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0082-CUSA04647_00-WOFFPS40UPGRADE0
There's also a demo on the original game page, not sure there even is a Maxima page, for those like me who want to try it out.
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0082-CUSA04647_00-WORLDOFFFPS40000
The base game is $24.99 now and the DLC $15.99, I think that makes it 99c more than it is on Switch, I've never seen such a thing. 😊
Bought on Xbox One X, here's hoping it's better than the trash VITA version.
@rjejr ''Did Squenix offer an upgrade path for current owners or do they expect people to repurchase basically the same game for full price? Doesn't seem like that much has changed if they really only added 3 main characters.''
Inb4 Nintendo does that exact same thing with Pokemon next year and everyone will eat it up. Not only that, you can expect two versions with ever-so-slight changes to make sure you're missing out on something
@Octane There are more additions than 3 and you can buy the upgrade seperately as DLC!
@NintendoFan4Lyf please do! It’s fabulous, glad you’ve been swayed!
@IBeAGamer Was the Vita version that bad? I could imagine it was right at home on there?
I'll probably pick this up on Switch sometime next year, along with Final Fantasy XII.
@gamerssdelight Vita version is fine, from what I've seen and played. Some lag and framerate drops here and there, but it's hardly game-breaking.
@Ralizah Thanks for the heads up! Might just pick it up on the Switch some time to be fair. A mellow play well suited for a handheld IMO.
@gamerssdelight The vita version was fine. It suffered from some lag and had some jaggies but it was not a bad port at all. Load times were a little longer too. I found it perfectly playable though. Kotaku did an interesting comparison:
https://kotaku.com/world-of-final-fantasy-graphics-comparison-ps4-vs-vita-1787615554
@gamerssdelight Uh...Tera and Zack say hi. I'm pretty sure there are 1 or 2 more champions I haven't found yet.
@TowaHerschel7 I’m aware there are others, just only listed a few to reserve some surprise! Perhaps I didn’t make that too clear! ^^;
@gamerssdelight I sold it because of how bad it was.
I'm not really sure what the point of this short write up is. It is such a barebones "review" that barely talks about the new additions from Maxima.
While I'm loving the DLC upgrade, I'd only recommend it to fans who are very attached to the base game. For those who haven't played it at all, Maxima is the best way to play.
While not really an "expansion", Maxima adds a bunch of small things that go a long way to improving the game. Being able to play as the champions, new mirages, a new Humanoid (non-chibi) playable character, a new high level dungeon, more super bosses, new game plus (with a higher difficulty specifically made for this) and some more small things like added lore books and quality of life changes makes a good DLC package in my book.
@Octane "to make sure you're missing out on something"
Funny timing, I was just reading on NL about the Pikachu hat giveaway for Ultra S&M but apparently not regular S&M. Seems a wee bit mean. My 1 son has S and UM, the other only has M, so I probably won't even mention it to either of them.
Glad they made this available to original game owners on PS4, but I'm not thrilled about the price, it's $16 towards a $25 game, but it sounds like a free update, maybe $4.99. Reminds me of Dragons Dogma and DD: Dark Arisen.
No reason to buy a game anymore unless it's been out 2 years. Oh, and AC:NK was worse than Pokemon, I think they released and changed it twice, Welcome amiibo, then some camping update. Crazy.
I really enjoy the vita version..but did not complete as other more exciting games arrived on the vita.
Once i finish rainbow skies, i will start the game from scratch. Not interested in the dlc.
@gamerssdelight
Don't worry. Just the usual gamer exaggeration. Played it for about 4 hours (then something else got my attention) and had zero issues.
I rarely comment on stuff like this but I feel like I need to give some feedback on the review.
It's really poor.
I don't feel like I get any understanding of what this game is about. What the new additions are and whether it's worth getting if I've already played the game.
As a Vita owner it's pretty important to me to understand what is new and if it's worth it!
Never got round to picking this game up first time, so may be investing in Maxima very soon...
Lost interested when I had it on the vita, but managed to get a ps4 copy for £8 from eBay so will buy the upgrade when it arrives
I really like this game, but I really wish the interface was snappier. I also don't know how I feel about the $16 price tag considering how little content was actually added ( and how unclear the whole add on is).
I'm pretty close to my plat though. Basically just have those stupid/annoying mini game trophies left.
I will get the DLC.
has this been fixed for the pro yet, i know when it first game out it looked worse on the pro.
Great to hear the expansion did a good job of expanding upon the original WoFF game.
@rjejr That's not really surprising. The Vita is to be no longer supported soon so I think Square Enix figured: "oh well lets move on". And the fact the Switch had gotten so much attention it would be more logical in sales to push it for a switch release. Which I must say I definitely bought. Even when I put hours in the original I did not hesitate to rebuy it. It was definitely worth it. It runs so smoothly.
@IBeAGamer Actually the Vita one wasn't that bad. Despite a lower resolution than something of a 1080p. I think you simply just hate the vita.
@halo44327 No, I hate bad games and the VITA version was bad. The framerate drops were absolutely crazy and it was unplayable to me.
@Alexface The game is like a Final Fantasy game. Add in Pokémon catch them all mechanics. A skill tree for ever monster capture. It’s a lengthy title too. I would recommend it. The new add on is adding Noctis some new mini games additional monsters. Just watch a trailer dude.
@IBeAGamer I would have to disagree. Despite frame rate did hiccup at later parts of the game it didn’t unfaze the enjoyment.
@halo44327 good for you, it did for me.
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