Final Fantasy Explorers
Overview -
'Final Fantasy Explorers' represents Square Enix's take on the hunting subgenre popularized by games such as 'Monster Hunter'. Released in Japan in December 2014, the game is finally available in the West.
Video Review
By far the game's biggest weakness. 'Explorers' is by no means ugly, though dull environments and incredibly basic character models ensure the game never looks partiularly good. Eidolons are lovingly rendered and animated, and that definitely leads to more exciting fights, but the rest of the game isn't terribly noteworthy, visually.
Audio Review
There's a pleasant, if not terribly memorable soundtrack here that definitely goes a long way towards making the game feel like a more authentic 'Final Fantasy' experience, and the usage of older series battle tracks at times is really great. There's incredibly light voice acting, but it doesn't add much to the game, overall.
'Final Fantasy Explorers' won't replace 'Monster Hunter' as king of its genre anytime soon, but what's here is an infinitely more accessible game that does more than enough to set itself apart from others like it. It takes a little while before all of its mechanics are fully revealed, and the repetition will be a turnoff for many, but it's an incredibly fun game overall. An extremely strong start to a promising series, here's hoping we see Square Enix give this formula another shot soon.