Final Fantasy Type 0 HD – Review
PS4, Xbox One
MA15+
Final Fantasy Type 0 starts with a chocobo bleeding to death. Yep. You read that right.
The game makes you watch as the sweet yellow bird comes to the defense of its rider and gets shot, then slowly bleeds to death during the entire opening sequence. It’s heart wrenching, and I kept waiting for the characters to turn around, face the camera and say “Got ya! The chocobo’s not dead- don’t be silly! Nothing bad ever happens in a Final Fantasy game!”, but that didn’t happen (and it’s also a giant lie). Luckily this kind of disappointment doesn’t occur often throughout the rest of the game.
Final Fantasy Type 0 takes place in a world called Orience, currently under attack by the Militesi Empire who are hell bent on destroying other nations in the region and reigning supreme. Thankfully there just so happens to be a squad of elite soldiers who are ready to fight for peace and justice and all that is right; Class Zero. Made up of fourteen students that can use magic, shoot guns and kick ass, Class Zero is the best of the best and they’re here to save the day. Sounds too good to be true, right? That’s because it is.
The fourteen kids who make up Class Zero and the main cast of the entire game, are at best; forgettable. I couldn’t rattle off all their names if I tried, not even the few I found funny or the ones I enjoyed playing. There’s too many of them for any one character to get enough screen time, and even when I did get a few moments of dialogue to learn about them, the voice acting is so bad I found myself wanting to skip through it. The most stand out character in the entire game is probably the ‘mother’ (or creator) of these super soldiers, and that’s only because she has a giant, bouncing rack.
One positive of having so many characters however, is that there are a great many number of gameplay styles to choose from. Each one has a unique weapon and skillset and caters to the wants and needs of the player very well. If you prefer to keep your distance from the target, then someone like the gunners Cater or King will suit you. Wanna smite your foes with magic, pick Queen or Ace, or if you prefer something a little more old fashioned, Eight likes to punch stuff and Jack carries around a big old katana. There’s also the support character, Deuce, who prances around and plays a flute. Yeah. A flute. Because when your friends are getting shot and stabbed in the middle of a horrific war, some sweet flute music is gonna save the day.
Another way that Final Fantasy Type 0 caters to a diverse audience is with the varying gameplay. The 20 hour game is divided into short missions of different activities, such as invasions, boss fights, airship battles, and as with most Final Fantasy games; a good helping of random encounters. Between missions your time is spent at the magic academy, Peristylium, but you only get a predetermined few hours of free time before you’re forced to embark on the next mission. It’s up to you how you spend these hours, although generally going outside the school and helping out townsfolk with their requests yields better rewards than talking to the annoying moogles and wasting two hours of time with every single conversation. And while I’m on the subject of annoying moogles, my god are they annoying. I am a BIG moogle fan, but the ones seen in Type 0 are reminiscent of the ones in XII-2; stupid high pitched voices and all. Fun fact: they’re all voiced by Ariel Winter (aka middle Dunphy child on Modern Family) and they all make me wanna mash the mute button until it breaks.
But back to the point: gameplay is one area where Final Fantasy Type 0 shines. Because it’s broken up into very playable chunks of time, you’re able to devote half an hour to the title and still feel like you’ve accomplished something, which is generally not something you can do in a Final Fantasy game. Another big plus for the game is the ability to own and drive your very own airship, which makes exploring the expansive world a whole lot easier. The world has a variety of optional towns and caves that the main quest won’t touch on, and these offer some of the more light hearted, hilarious moments in the game, not to mention valuable treasure!
To me, Final Fantasy means a storyline I can get lost in with characters I care about, and this was not what Type 0 delivered. It’s storyline will certainly lose you, but not in a particularly positive way, and the characters are far from being memorable. Once you strip the game of the Final Fantasy title though, there are more than enough positives for this game to stand up on its own. Fast paced battles, numerous side quests and kick ass boss fights make for an enjoyable gaming experience… if you can get past heart breaking chocobo death.
Jenn Christodolou
