21 Comments

1. Good review. I'm not sure about others but it's getting harder and harder to jump into these new social RPGs after already putting so much time into earlier iterations of these types of games.

   1. I have that problem with most of these F2P genres. I'm months and months into Clash of Clans, and really just have zero desire to hop over to other (allegedly better) base building/attacking games because I've got so much time/effort dumped into one already. Makes you wonder if retention isn't going to become a bigger and bigger issue as more and more people are like, "Eh I've already played this exact kind of game."

      1. I think that's where good licensing comes in. I went from match-3 to match-3 for a long time, but I've landed at Futurama because I'm a huge fan of the property. I'm playing Avengers Academy because I love Marvel. I keep playing Disney Crossy Road because Disney. I like Final Fantasy well enough to play this, but there are definitely other brands that could make me jump there. Taking risks on random studios with random characters seems to be fizzling, at least personally.

      2. Saaaaame boat. And have thought the same exact thing. I've been playing CoC for too long and have progressed SO FAR that I started a couple others, even some that had mechanics I enjoyed (like Seigefall) and I just can't do it. Too daunting. Same exact situation with Final Fantasy Record Keeper and this game. It's hard to want to go back to the start when your characters are 80 maxed with all 5/6 star gear doing level 140 stuff. This game is fun but, like I mentioned, it's too daunting to want to keep up and consider "fun".

      3. Same problem I have, only I've been sticking to Dominations. It's a good game, but I can't fathom sinking the same amount of time into a game with near identical mechanics. I understand the idea of playing a few of these games at the same time because of timers, but it's almost kind of redundant. Also, because of the volatility of the iOS app scene I'm starting to believe iOS is a non-legitimate platform. The amount of broken games is starting to get embarrassing/alarming.

      4. What's your arena Eli? Reached legendary yet?

2. The music, animations and production values are enough to justify a day or 2 spent with this game.

   See if you get hooked. I know I am.

3. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern go on a road trip, scripted by Kemco writers and starring almost every cliche in the RPG database, from rebellious royalty to stern bodyguard trying to rescue the magical girl who doesn't know who she is but carries great power inside her. For all its' faults, though, Exvius is just darn addictive. The best part for me is when you finish an area you are sometimes rewarded with an exploration zone, places you can go back into and spend as much time as you want, grinding, item hunting, looking for secret chests, completing sidequests, or generally killing time and getting more powerful while you are waiting for your stamina gauge to recharge. Big cons would include sometimes crashes at the end of exploration zones, a stamina gauge that empties too quickly, a lack of PvP, and a colosseum mode that doesn't catch up quick enough and doesn't seem to carry much inherent reward and seems to have been wasted potential. Pros would be amazing level design, inspiring pixel models of both characters and enemies (especially if you are a FF fan), a huge world to dip your feet into, and lots and lots of replay value.

   1. There will be PvP, but not real time though. You can control all actions of your units, but enemy team is AI based. There will be a coin flip every turn for which team will attack first.

   2. This is actually a fairer review than Shaun's, much closer to my experience. We'll have to see if the game has longevity, but if I play it longer than Record Keeper, which was reviewed 5 star, but grates on me now, then I'll seem it success.

      Each to their own, as they say.

4. Mediocre f2p game at best, saved by Final Fantasy settings.

5. This reads like a review of a typical Final Fantasy game. When was the last time Final Fantasy had a "good" story? When was the last time a Final Fantasy game was actually challenging? From what I've played thus far, this game is a better Final Fantasy (and more challenging) than FFXIII. Not only that but the characters have personality. For an F2P game, this is a great offering.

6. The energy system is terrible. He's right it's starts out fine then all of a sudden you get to a point 3 runs and you're done. 3 frickin runs! I've played a lot leveled up quite a bit have a max of 29 energy when the exploration level I recently opened takes 10 to go in. If you do take the time to run around for a while to farm xp you will gain some of the energy back I think its 5 minutes to restore 1 energy. Also the vortex levels require you spend real cash currency to open for 24 hrs when every other game out there opens these kinds of dungeons on a daily basis. It wouldn't be that big of a deal except the only pay to get premium summons Is by using the same currency. You don't find characters or scrolls for summons you can however use friend points for standard 1-3* characters but if you want that chance for a 4-5* it costs 500 lapis (the in game currency you buy with real money or get as rewards every once in a while) they've had a weekend event though which opened 1 vortex dungeon and I believe there will be more. Just some negative feedback but i stil like the game :)

   1. You can open one vortex type for free each day. It costs cash currency to open a second.

7. That was a good review, Shaun, but I had hopes you would get into comparing it to Record Keeper, since they seem to share the same premises. I mean would a FFRK player jump into this one, and why?
   BTW I was thinking of writing you to see if you are still playing FFRK? I dropped out of it last September and lately I really tried to get back to it but somehow I can't. The battles seem like a chore to me.

   1. I stopped playing RK a while ago. I think I stuck with the JP version for about a year, the NA version maybe four months? As for a comparison, I think RK's battles are more exciting thanks to the real-time component and grading system. I also think it's the more authentic Final Fantasy experience due to ATB, more closely-matched boss patterns, and so on. BE is less a Final Fantasy game and more of a flavored Brave Frontier. Stamina is a bigger issue in BE than it is in RK, too. But I dunno, I guess I think RK is slightly better than BE both as a game and as an FF experience. But only slightly.

      1. Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to know!

      2. RK is better.
         BE lack same depth in strategy as RK. Authors try to do more traditional games like things (exploration missions, cutscenes) which feels somehow heavy for this kind of games. But they do that on top of the most typical f2p gameplay which feels blunt, almost stupid.
         Where as RK is doing exact opposite. RK contains all things from FF worlds in light form (stories in text form, all characters reachable and easily leveled, music during events etc.) but battle mechanics are fairly complex inside (great bosses design, many different strategies, abilities and hated equipment).
         RK is winner here, just because it is good game. And I rearly say that about f2p game.
         I will give BE few more weeks and will see. Maybe I am wrong.

8. Shaun what units did u play with when u did this review lol

9. I was a daily ffrk player before I started BE and I've now completely lost any interest in ffrk which had become overly tedious. I've tried logging in a few times full stamina meter new events up and I just say meh logout and go back over to BE. RK is also a lot harder to play for free. Impossible for new players I would guess

10. Boring, cheesy dialogue, lacks challenge. FF fan here, not feeling it after 20hrs. Feels more like effort to stay interested. Would rather spend time on something else.