Final Fantasy Explorers, a very PSOish game

[Windancer]

I got to ply a couple hours online with members from the Blue Rogues and wow. The game is so much like PSO online. I havent had that much fun online since we last played Phantasy Star Zero online the day before the servers shut down. This game really brings back those PSO memories. Thank you square!. Lets see if the longevity holds up to pso.

I invited a couple people who posted here into the Blue Rogues. If anyone is interested just PM me or just post here that you would like to join the Blue Rogues. We have been a group here for many years. We once had about 70 active members playing Phantasy Star Zero. We still have about 30 active members who have been playing 3ds games (heroes of ruin, Fantasy Life, Monster Hunter 4, Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon) online for the past couple years. We have been waiting for a pso game which of course never came to 3ds. But Final Fantasy Explorers has rekindled that blue rogue online. So come join us and make some good friends with good people.

The last Nintendo direct had some surprises, I got very excited with Final Fantasy Explorers, it looks so cool, you can play offline and online coop multiplayer and it looks PSO-like, I realy needed this kind of game to calm my desperation for a new PSO (why Sega did not make someting like this). What are your thoughts about this game guys?

I was looking for the same a PSO type of online RPG. Monster Hunter just doesn't and has never felt comfortable to me. Well good news for you. Final Fantasy Explorers feels much more like PSO than it does Monster Hunter although seems to have a bit of both games in it and also manages to have a bit of its own game. Everytime I play FFE I like it more and more. It's bigger than Phantasy Star Zero Was. Really enjoyable for Phantasy Star Online fans. I love it so far and it has passed my expectations. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a PSO type of experience. When you get it pm me. I will invite you to the Blue Rogues. We will play with you.

[The Walrus]

certainly more pick up and enjoy than monhun is

[Akaimizu]

It is. In most ways it plays like PSO meets FFXI. The FFXI being the Job system and familiar skills and such (but without having to level up job separately). It does a couple of ideas from Monster Hunter, but not too much in gameplay.

Monster Hunter is a game without weapon-independent skills. Just weapon abilities and attacks not fired off as any kind of skill-selection, plus item use. That's it. Monster hunter doesn't ever transfer to a system that uses icons that you select to "fire off" a skill, nor will it have a system for *learning* them. The only thing you "fire off" is using an item. The rest is putting on gear that might have properties, buffs, or passive enhancements attached to them.

One reason why I always consider Monster Hunter-esque games its own subgenre outside of the traditional hack & slash action dungeon-hacker formula.

So as a break down, here's the Key monster hunter ideas, which aren't like PSO:
1. Weapons and Armor are more from gathering materials to craft them, instead of finding any kind of Direct weapon/armor drops from anything. (Phantasy Star Zero did have some material/crafting aspects though, but in addition to a direct item drop system)
2. No actual level up system. Hunter Ranks simply are done as pre-requisites for tougher challenges as a manner to control difficulty spikes to a certain degree.
3. Large Monsters are all represented as localized body parts that each have different degrees of toughness, for which it needs a weapon of certain sharpness to penetrate. Leading to 4.
4. A sharpness system for weapons that dictate which hard points of a monster it can penetrate. (and requiring routine maintenance to keep sharp)
5. A stamina system of some sort, which takes some kind of resource for running faster through a map, and using attacks.

This game has only two non-PSO aspect that harkens to Monster Hunter, and that's point 1, and part of point 5 (since sprinting does drain your Mana/Skill bar).

[blazingsonic]

I love this game, it really puts my PSO character back in action, There's even an outfit that looks like her PSZ RAmarl look right down to the gloves! I've been slipping calling it Final Phantasy Star or Phantasy Star Explorers, I hope Square does more, Because it resolved my PSO itch! Finally Unlocked the Tifa out and Trina looks so awesome in it! Even I get better state gear I'm gonna upgrade it's best.

[NettoSaito]

I know some people have been bashing FFE, but I'm having fun with it. There is a wide verity of equipment/costumes to get, and the class system and combat is pretty fun. Sure it can't stand up to their real MMOs like FF14, but it's still a nice handheld experience -- but also one that's not for everyone. If people go in expecting a standard FF game, or even something like Monster Hunter, they may be let down. If they go in expecting a game made for fans with PSO like gameplay, then they may love it.

[yoshiblue]

It just hit me. Maybe the reason Ranger can use axes is because its a reference to the Axem Rangers?

[Zorafim]

Rangers are traditionally survivalists, whose weapons are also tools they use in every day life.
An axe is a useful tool, since it can be used for a variety of actions one would perform in the wild.
Makes sense that a wilderness survivalist would use an axe for combat.

However, Mario RPG references are so sparse that I'm willing to believe Square finally made one.

[yoshiblue]

I know. Would have made sense if they could use a dagger too, but I wanted to make a Mario RPG reference because its more fun that way. That and I always welcome more axe wielding classes, so it's a nice thing to have.

[Zorafim]

I feel like too many games use axes. If anything, I wish they would use designs and fighting styles more based off of historic weapons and fighting styles than just sticking the biggest blades they can find and giving them to the most sluggish fighters they've got. It seems much more satisfying to me to see an indian tomahawk fighter dancing around a target before whapping him with a solid hacking blow than to see a lumbering hill of a man eventually move his blade roughly near his target.

But, it seems like some people like the mountain-shaped man fantasy. They seem even more common than the knight, cleric, and assassin archetypes despite them invariably being terrible and boring to play as.


And while I'm on the subject, God bless Square Enix for dragoons. Lances have been some of the most useful weapons humanity has developed, and have so many interesting and varied designs and fighting styles. Yet they're always ignored for sword and even axes, and are never given the respect they deserve. But Square has been able to not only keep them around, but keep them badass through their dragoon characters.

[yoshiblue]

Too many axes? Being more common than the classes you just mentions? Going to have to disagree with your there. Though speaking of lances, samurais and knights should be able to use them. Not sure why they don't.