Final Fantasy Type-0 HD REVIEW
Written By Tyler Pederson
There are few series as inconsistent as Final Fantasy. For a franchise that is known for retelling essentially the same tale time and again, the games themselves vary drastically in both actual gameplay and in critical and commercial reception. I find this both intriguing and an inherent risk, because even with a name you trust, an entry can easily disappoint. It’s telling that of all the Final Fantasy titles, we've only seen two of them remastered to date. Well 3, but X-2 would never have seen a remaster were it not for the original. Point is, Type-0 was clearly something special to Square Enix, and now that we have it on US shores with updated visuals and a full english VO, it’s also clearly something special in itself.
Type-0 is one of the strangest games I have ever played. It is a JRPG, but favors the action style approach made popular with many western role-playing titles. If you’re one of the admittedly small pool of people who played Crisis Core: Final Fantasy on PSP, you’re at least familiar with the inspiration, but the depth is greatly increased here. Mapping controls to the face buttons and making extensive use of your knowledge of Final Fantasy combat tropes, the game succeeds in delivering what I find to be the most immersive and enjoyable combat system in the series to date.
It’s funny, for all Final Fantasy Type-0 does to set itself apart, the game feels the most like a Final Fantasy game of any I’ve played if only because of it’s soundtrack. Bringing out the best of the series classics and introducing what is now my favorite original theme, Type-0 is relentless in it’s delivery of warm-fuzzy feelings. Not a moment went by while on a Chocobo that I wasn’t either tempted to or outright joyfully humming along, and the same can be said for any number of occasions you hear the true classic Final Fantasy theme. I want it on record, we need more orchestral video game soundtracks outside of RPGs.
It’s a good thing the music keeps you on such a high, because the story brings the world to a depressing new low. Centered around a real world war taking place in land of Orience, the game opens with one of it’s more impactful scenes and rarely lets you forget the tone it’s trying to drive home. Even when the moment to moment game shifts to a Final Fantasy take on a would-be High School Anime series, it’s hard to see past it’s harshly delivered lessons.
I really won’t dive into the plot much beyond urging you to take it seriously. Despite the look of many in-game dialogue exchanges, they often contain incredibly important points of exposition. It’s not the traditional Final Fantasy trope of overly lengthy cutscenes played in succession (though, admittedly that happens twice and it’s incredibly noticeable) but instead a world that gives you as much as you care to ask of it. You can run through many sections outright and lose key details, or scour every inch of the admittedly limited area to ensure you take in every bit of lore the world has to offer.
You control Class-Zero, a team consisting of 14 eager young cadets all with powers and weapons unique to them. More often than not you’ll only be using 3, or in rare instances, 1 at a time. That said, I recommend you have at least 7 of them to play with around the same level at all times, and do your best to mix and match melee and ranged combat styles. The game does an amazing job of delivering a list of genuinely different play-styles and balances them all well enough to ensure nobody is too overpowered. Some members I found were far less viable than others, and some I just had a personal distaste for, but overall any trio of cadets can offer a means of success.
Between the combat, strategy, and pretty impressive mix of Final Fantasy elements new and old, Type-0 dishes out what I found to be the best challenge in the series since X. It’s not holding your hand, and it’s constantly demanding you take the threat seriously to survive. You won’t have a large supply of the usual revive items, so more often than not going down means you’re down for the remainder of that mission, and have to continue with the members you have left. This, coupled with the perfectly placed save points make for the most organic gauntlet in series history. (Oh, and you can skip the cutscenes, but if you don’t want to, use the PS/Xbox button!)
Then there’s the camera. Oh boy that camera. It’s a rare thing that I have issue with a games camera. I’m a kingdom Hearts fan, and that alone ought to tell you I have little self respect for my choice of video game cameras. That said however, Type-0 sports the worst, and I mean it with no exaggeration when I say WORST camera of any in the series if not the entire genre. It’s manageable, but my goodness is it telling that the only thing often keeping me from properly executing a move is the character facing the complete incorrect direction despite my constant effort to turn them around. The control scheme offers a lock-on option, but it’s not so much an option as the only viable way to play the game. This becomes especially true with many bosses, and leaves me with nothing but a hope they give that mechanic the attention it’s due should they tackle this style again.
From a value standpoint it’s hard to argue Type-0 is worth a full price tag given it’s origins on the PSP. It’s a trend we a players cultivated to allow a game to price itself based on the pedigree of it’s name alone, rather than the actual amount and quality of content delivered. Type-0 is perhaps my absolute favorite Final Fantasy title, but that praise doesn't justify the move to release it as a full priced retail entry. When the game is bundled with a demo for a sequel that will inevitably be priced the same and deliver exponentially more content, it’s hard to find the reasoning. It feels more like a move to capitalize on the hype of the included demo instead of trying to respect Type-0 for the incredible effort it is.
It’s worth noting that Type-0 is not an easy game. It’s far from a stress inducing undertaking, but the game is no pushover. Where as many recent entries default to an auto-battle system and delegate the greater strategy to players control, Type-0 gives you total control. This works wonderfully and means there are constantly a couple levels of strategy at play. Combat has depth, and eventually opens up into a literal strategy game that shows off a really fun new idea for the series in itself, but even venturing into the over-world has it’s extra layers of strategy. Take to a Chocobo and you avoid random encounters, but avoid encounters and you gain no experience or Phantoma, a currency necessary to upgrade your magic abilities.
Weapons and the like are handled a little differently than in the past. Everyone still have a list of optional goods to obtain, but the means of acquisition are lesser than most entries. Many can be bought outright or earned in later trials, but there is little need to dive too deep into this mechanic on the base difficulty level. Magic is varied and plentiful, and combined with some unique character abilities make for some of the most fun and smart use of the MP system in some time. You’ll need to curb the urges the action feel of the combat instills in you if you want to make proper use of all you've got to dish out.
The game overall manages to make Final Fantasy into something wholly different from anything it’s been in the past while never leaving behind anything that truly makes the series what it is. Powerful storytelling, relatable characters, and fantastical adventures are all delivered in spades, and it’s hard to say anything changed or removed when held against past entries is anything I really miss here. Type-0 is without question a staggering leap into the future of a timeless series, and while it’s origins on the PSP show through visually, I’m hard pressed to take issue with what feels like a commendable effort on their part.
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD gets a 9/10