Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD - review

Now that I have finally got out of the sad crisis, it's that time again! A few years ago, Final Fantasy Type-0 was originally released on the PSP. After years later, it was remade into a HD remaster that has bright and clean graphics better than the PSP version. You want to know how this HD remake is about? Well, you have came to read this review of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD!

Welcome to the Land of Orience:

This magical land called Orience is where Final Fantasy Type-0 HD takes place. The land has crystals that governed the whole world. The war was waged by the one and only Cid Auldstyne, the leader of the Militesi Empire. And now, the 14 students from Class Zero must stop the war before anyone dies.

It even has a school named Akademia, a school where cadets learn and partake on missions. Akademia is not just a school, it's a town filled with shops, kiosks and various places. You will be living in Akademia as a home while partaking missions. Your classroom is Classroom Zero

Meet the Team:

Final Fantasy Type-0 has 14 members of Class Zero. Here's a list of members of Class Zero with weapon relying and traits now.

Ace - Relies on using cards and work well on flying enemies.
Deuce - Relies on using a flute and slowly attacks enemies.
Trey - Relies on using a bow and arrow and goes well on flying enemies.
Cater - Relies on using a pistol and goes well on flying enemies.
Cinque - Relies on using a club and uses close-range attacks.
Sice - Relies on using a staff and dodges enemy attacks.
Seven - Relies on using a sword whip, attacks enemies head on and can fight like Ivy from the SoulCalibur series.
Eight - Relies on using punches and kicks, uses Kung-Fu-based attacks on enemies and dodges while attacking.
Nine - Relies on using a staff like Sice, but doesn't dodge much while attacking.
Jack - Relies on using a katana, but moves slowly while his sword taken out to make him a pain.
Queen - Relies on using a sword, but usually stabs enemies.
King - Relies on twin guns, attacks well on flying enemies.
Rem - Relies on twin daggers, does insane combos on enemies.
Machina - Relies on twin swords, does quick attacks well on enemies.

Doing Whatever You Want in Akademia:

During non mission days, you are free to do whatever or however you want in Akademia. However, the countdown was displayed on the lower right corner of the screen. Time will pass as you talked to the person with an "!" above his/her head and exit Akademia, which elapsed 6 hours.

There are some tasks you can partake on when it's not mission day yet. When it's mission day, you need to go to the office and hear about the mission. Also, if you're antsy to do that mission, you can even go to the office to depart immediately when it's not yet mission day.

In Classroom Zero, you can talk to Mog to listen to its lectures. Listening to lectures will increase EXP, maximum HP and MP and attack and defense points, magical and physical. It will also elapse a couple of hours.

The Gameplay:

Alright, the gameplay stays the same as the PSP version, but in the HD remake, the battle system is more engaging than ever. The four buttons are displayed at the bottom right corner of the screen. The first button allows you to do normal attacks. The second and third button allows the use of AG attacks, which can deplete the AG gauge on the top of the command bar and magic attacks, which can deplete the MP gauge below the HP gauge. Finally, the fourth button grants the use of defensive magic. When holding the R1 button, you lock on to the target. When the mark is yellow, you perform the Breaksight which can cause massive damage while the Killsight causes an instant kill after the mark is red.

When idle, your HP gauge will recover until it reaches to maximum. You need to pay attention to your HP that can deplete by taking damage. When it reaches 0, your team member will die. In total, if all of your members die, it's game over. The catch is, people in the reserves won't earn EXP, so you need to train them evenly.

There's also one way to train them evenly, which is going on a combat simulation. In the combat simulation, which is west of Akademia, only one can participate. You can kill as many enemies as possible. If you die, you will be exiting the simulation instead of getting a game over and keeping EXP and phantoma. There's also the secret training feature that allows one of the members of Class Zero to secretly train while outside of the game.

Every time you level up, you earn AP, which can give the character's new skills and skill enhancements

Replaying Missions:

After clearing a mission, the mission you cleared will be posted in the mission screen, which is on the title screen. It also helps you level your team up before proceeding the story. You can level them up one by one until they are strong enough for the main story.

Phantoma Harvesting:

When you defeat an enemy, hold the R1 button and press the Square button to harvest their phantoma. Phantoma are artifacts of their living, which can be spent on the Altocrystarium. Each phantoma comes in different colors that can enhance magic usage.

The Altocrystarium:

The Altocrystatium is located in the hallway to Classroom Zero. It allows you to enhance magic abilities with the phantoma you have harvested from the enemies you killed. You need enough phantoma to improve magic. For example, if you have enough Red Phantoma, you donate them to the Altocrystarium to enhance fire-based magic.

Assigning Your Party:

After assigning to a mission, you will assign your guys to your party. When the character's stats is yellow, it represents recommendation. You don't have to assign your recommended characters you don't have to. You can even reassign your party in the save crystal.

Squad Commands:

When your AG gauge is full, press the Triangle and Circle button simultaneously to perform a Squad Command. There are three types of Squad Commands.

Triad Manuever - Allows three characters in your party to perform moves at a same time.

Eidolon - They are giant monsters that can tear up the battlefield. When summoning an Eidolon, one of your characters is sacrificed, so call forth your Eidolon sparringly.

Vermillion Bird l'Cie - The l'Cie is responsible of helping your team. This command was hard to perform, so you have to figure it out.

The Conclusion:

Final Fantasy Type-0 has excellent graphics that are better than the PSP version. Basically, the battle system was more engaging, but it was close to perfect as I speak. In conclusion, it's not a game for everyone because it might be a bit of a chore to play. That is, until that part when you beat the first playthrough, the opportunity to choose which mission to work on was here on the second playthrough. The second choice gives you a new mission that haven't did on the first playthrough.

Pros:

+Excellent graphics
+Engaging battle system

Cons:

-Jack is a pain to deal with
-Deuce using a flute as a weapon is just plain stupid

In the end, I'm giving Final Fantasy Type-0 HD a 9.0, which is close to perfect. It was tough on some parts, but I still liked it,

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