Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is a free-to-play mobile role-playing game developed by Alim and published by Square Enix for iOS and Android devices.
A spinoff of the Final Fantasy series, the game marks as the first collaborative effort between Square Enix and Alim and draws elements from Alim's previous game, Brave Frontier. It was released first in Japan in October 22, 2015. The global version soft-launched in May 2, 2016 in several countries before being released officially in June 29, 2016.
The global version of the game is maintained by a Singapore subsidiary of Alim's parent company, gumi.
The game was first revealed at the Final Fantasy Live Event in Tokyo, November 2014. Eiji Takahashi and Hisatoshi Hayakashi of Brave Frontier both direct and produce the game while Noriyasu Agematsu composed the game's musical score. Illustrations of the characters are handled by Yoshitaka Amano, who illustrated art on early Final Fantasy works.
Gameplay
Brave Exvius is designed as a turn-based role-playing game, using elements from the Final Fantasy series with those of Brave Frontier, which in turn modeled their battle system from Valkyrie Profile. Similarly to those games, the battle system consists of a simplified interface where players can command their characters to attack by touching the character's corresponding attack button. Special attacks, items, or defend can be used by swiping the button and choosing the desired command.
Players advance in a dungeon through a series of stages until they encounter and defeat the end boss, all while gaining experience points, crafting materials and money. Also new to the game compared to Brave Frontier is the ability to explore through towns and exploration dungeon through touch control in a classic RPG style, which allows the player to talk to people and interact with them, which sometimes gives the player certain tasks to complete.
The game also uses elements from the Final Fantasy series such as magic spells, character-specific limit bursts, and esper summoning. Those characters are presented in a pixel art style. As part of the game's gacha system, players can summon characters from other Final Fantasy titles, which players can use to build a party of five units. Player can bring one additional unit in battle by utilizing a friend system. By adding other people to player's friend list, they are able to select their friend's shared unit before entering a dungeon.
Story
In a world filled with fantasy, there are two powerful forces in balance: Vision and Lapis. Vision is the manifestation of people's thoughts and feelings and Lapis is the world where all Magic Crystals exist alongside all the visions of the world. With these powers, people flourished in the land and the whole world prospered. However, sometimes peace can be false and darkness can devour the light. As the world of Lapis is falling to its own destruction, two brave warriors stand up against the darkness with the power of Visions in order to bring peace back to the land.
Characters
Main Characters
Vision
Reviews
Due to how the game is operated with a continuous updates throughout its entire product life, review will become outdated and might not reflect how the game is played in the present.
Reviews are taken from Metacritic.
Publication | Score | Review | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Vandal | 80 | It's a mobile game, but it still feels like a Final Fantasy. JRPG fans will enjoy the game, and it's free-to-play model isn't as aggressive as you might expect. If you've enjoyed this franchise before, it's worth a try. Read full review. | Jul 26, 2016 |
Meristation | 80 | Final Fantasy Brave Exvius brings the classic FF experience into a Free to Play concept without losing quality. Good music, faithful 16 bit graphics and good gameplay make it a recommendable title, but like in every free to play, we should be ready to either expend a lot of time and effort progressing or prepare the wallet to expend some money to do it faster. Read full review. | Jul 25, 2016 |
Games Master UK | 79 | We could do with a bit more narrative oomph, but the core game is one which suits the format perfectly. [Sept 2016, p.85] | Sep 6, 2016 |
Gamezebo | 70 | This is a solid, enjoyable mobile game that’ll keep you entertained for a good few hours if you’re willing to put the work in and stick with it. Read full review. | Jul 5, 2016 |
Digitally Downloaded | 70 | It combines the nostalgia of Record Keeper with a typical storyline and free-to-play features that makes it irresistible despite a lack je-ne-sais-quoi/oomph. Read full review. | Jul 26, 2016 |
TouchArcade | 70 | It's worth a shot if you're a fan of Square's classic RPG series, but in trying to stretch out to two different camps, I fear it may not entirely please either. Read full review. | Jul 6, 2016 |
CD-Action | 50 | Square tried to give us a modern game heavily inspired by classic Final Fantasy titles, but lost its orientation somewhere on the way. The only advantage of Brave Exvius is the wonderful music during battles. [11/2016, p. 75] | Nov 18, 2016 |
Videos
Official Trailer
Orthros & Typhon Battle
Screenshots
Artworks
Frequently Asked Questions
- Main article: Frequently Asked Questions
Is this game pay to win? Can I go far without paying?
People who pay more do have an advantage over those who don't. But plenty of Lapis, the in-game premium currency, and summon tickets are given regularly to all players to summon more units.
Luck plays a part in getting you rarer, stronger, units. While they do make the game easier, you can win most battles without them. Understanding the gameplay mechanics, battle, and party dynamics is more important than simply paying for units.
How "grindy" is this game? Can I play this game casually?
The game is as time consuming as you are willing to be. It has content scaled from casual to hardcore players. Large portion of the game's content can be played and enjoyed with low to medium amount of time. But there are some content that allows you to grind in the same level of time investment generally found in online RPGs.
Downloads
You can use a single account—linked to a Facebook account—to play on multiple devices. However, if you play on a different platform, you will lose access to your Lapis, the in-game premium currency. Any Lapis you gain is locked to that platform but it will never be removed, and you can regain the Lapis by changing the platform back.
External Links
- Reddit - r/FFBraveExvius
- Altema - Japanese wiki
- Official website
- Official support
- Official YouTube channel