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We haven't talked about Final Fantasy Explorers since it was first introduced in June, and with a big batch of recently released interviews and clips we now know much more about what the game will be.

In case you've forgotten, Final Fantasy Explorers is an MMO monster hunting game (yes, think Monster Hunter) that features gameplay elements characteristic of the Final Fantasy series.

These include a recently-announced Trance system somewhat akin to that of Final Fantasy IX, a swath of famous weapons and armors from throughout the series (in fact, the game is reported to have over 500 pieces of equipment, which are created with raw materials obtained from battle), and major enemies and summons from the series who will serve as the marks players will hunt (Shiva and Ifrit have been featured in trailers, unsurprisingly, but less recent series mainstays have been confirmed as well, like Fenrir and Ramuh). Crystals are involved as well, as the things players are trying to obtain by defeating marks.

The most notable traditionally-FF element of the game is a combat system structured around jobs. Those announced so far include the Ranger, Paladin, Freelancer, Black Mage, Time Mage, Ninja, Knight, White Mage, and Monk. While developers have promised that the job structure and acquisition of abilities from other jobs won't be as rigid as in previous games, a recently announced aspect of combat, Resonance, will encourage players to use their job's abilities to work together in order to boost damage output, healing effectiveness, and other stats.

The biggest question right now is: will we see Final Fantasy Explorers in the west? A Japanese release date on the 3DS has been scheduled for December 18, but nothing has been said officially for other markets. While the name "Final Fantasy Explorers" has been trademarked in the US, Square Enix has been hesitant with exporting multiplayer titles designed for handheld devices, leaving it as yet uncertain whether European and North American audiences will get a chance to play it.

Source: Siliconera, Kotaku

I actually hadn't heard of this, but I do hope it heads this way!

It sounds like a fun concept, what Crystal Chronicles was bound to grow into, really. Now if only they could work the Mana series into something like this...

Having the casual playability of this would definitely be attractive to non-FFXIV folks, for sure.

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Games on the Go
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy: Four Warriors of Light
Baldur's Gate

Too much to play, so little time!

Greg

Quote (Perigryn @ 28th August 2014 04:03)

I actually hadn't heard of this, but I do hope it heads this way!

It sounds like a fun concept, what Crystal Chronicles was bound to grow into, really. Now if only they could work the Mana series into something like this...

Having the casual playability of this would definitely be attractive to non-FFXIV folks, for sure.

Definitely in agreement with all of this; I really hope we see it. If there's enough depth to the game, this is exactly the kind of thing that would lead me to purchase a 3DS.

I might add that in an interview with the game's developer, he directly mentioned Crystal Chronicles as a forefather of sorts for the multiplayer aspect of the game. Of course, he was careful to say that this would be different/improved , also adding that while multiplayer isn't fully required, it is what the game is built for.

An additional bit of news to tack on as well: in today's Square Enix Presents Japan shindig, it was clarified that when entering Trance mode, players will actually transform into protagonists from the main series (Cloud was shown, but others were promised).

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Currently Playing : Final Fantasy V
Most Recently Beat : Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Favorite Game : Final Fantasy X

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