The idea behind the TouchArcade Game of the Week is that every Friday afternoon we post the one game that came out this week that we think is worth giving a special nod to. Now, before anyone goes over-thinking this, it doesn’t necessarily mean our Game of the Week pick is the highest scoring game in a review, the game with the best graphics, or really any other quantifiable “best" thing. Instead, it’s more just us picking out the single game out of the week’s releases that we think is the most noteworthy, surprising, interesting, or really any other hard to describe quality that makes it worth having if you were just going to pick up one.
These picks might be controversial, and that’s OK. If you disagree with what we’ve chosen, let’s try to use the comments of these articles to have conversations about what game is your game of the week and why.
Without further ado…
Final Fantasy Dimensions II
Let me start out this Game of the Week post by pointing out the biggest flaw of this week’s pick: Final Fantasy Dimensions II ($14.99) should not have been named Final Fantasy Dimensions II. It doesn’t have much in common with the original Final Fantasy Dimensions, and if you enjoyed that game and saw this sequel hoping to get more of what you loved, you’ll be sorely disappointed. That said, I’m really intrigued by the type of game Final Fantasy Dimensions II is, and I feel like it’s almost the perfect mobile version of the classic RPG series.
“So, what would YOU name it then, smarty pants?" I hear you asking. Well, I’d probably call this Final Fantasy: The Arcade Game, because that’s what this feels like. Unlike traditional games in the series (including the original Dimensions), there’s no overworld or dungeons to explore here. Everything is pretty much navigating menus, taking part in battles, and upgrading your party. It’s all super streamlined and feels very appropriate for the short burst style of gaming that’s so conducive to mobile.
This is in large part because the original version of Final Fantasy Dimensions II that launched in Japan nearly three years ago under a different name was a completely free to play social RPG. Square Enix did a great job heavily augmenting the game to fit its new paid nature, and I feel like this is another reason this is a noteworthy game this week. You often see paid games switch to free to play when they don’t meet expectations, but it’s pretty rare to see a game make the switch in the other direction. I say kudos to Squeenix for making the switch rather than simply shutting down the game altogether.
There’s not too much I can say about Final Fantasy Dimensions II that wasn’t covered in Shaun’s exhaustive review earlier this week, so be sure to give that a read if you’re considering this one. But I will harp on a point he makes: If you know what you’re going into with Final Fantasy Dimensions II, it’s actually quite enjoyable. The confusing naming makes this hard to realize at first, but this is a game that actually captures much of what is fun about a Final Fantasy game in the mechanical sense but delivers it in a very mobile-friendly package.
It’s not like there’s a lack of full-fledged Final Fantasy games to choose from on mobile if you’d prefer that, but if you want something that’s easy to squeeze into your free gaming moments throughout the day that’ll scratch a similar itch the know that Final Fantasy Dimensions II does that really well.
