Support NeoGAF

[Einbroch]

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: DeNA
Price: Free (with IAP)
Platforms: iOS & Android
Release Dates:

• Japan - September 24, 2014
• Canada - March 17, 2015
• US/Europe - March 26, 2015

Final Fantasy: Record Keeper is a free-to-play smartphone game where the user plays a young boy named Tyro...ah, screw it, here's the prologue:

In a glorious kingdom that thrives on the harmony between magic and art, epic tales of valor and hope have been passed from one generation to the next. The records of these great chronicles uphold the peace and prosperity of all civilization. The kingdom sealed these records inside paintings, to safeguard the balance of the world. That is until, without warning, the records within the paintings began to fade away... Darkness fell upon the world, bringing catastrophe and ruin. The time has come for you to save the kingdom’s future.

The gameplay consists of traveling to the worlds of past Final Fantasies to recruit major characters and stop the menace. You'll fight alongside Cloud, Squall, Tidus, Tifa, etc etc. It's a nostalgia trip. But, unlike All the Bravest, there's some gameplay here. Battles are like old-school Final Fantasy games, with turn-based actions and an ATB gauge. Each character has limit breaks, weapons and armor (some with their own abilities and status effects), and can equp two spells each. It's more involved than All the Bravest, but you can mindlessly auto-battle some weaker stages to grind if you want. However, like old school Final Fantasy, if you just blindly auto battle you WILL die to the bosses. Weapons can evolve, spells can power up, there's some crafting and tinkering, etc etc. Read more about the gameplay in the wikia, linked at the end of the OT.

Is this game pay-to-win?

It's more "pay to advance faster". You do not unlock characters by a gacha system. You can only recruit new characters by advancing in the story. The gacha system in this game is to gain weapons and armor. You gain Mythril by beating stages, and Mythril is used to roll for weapons and armor. You also find weapons and armor from enemies, but this in generally weaker than the stuff from premium rolls.

So, what's the drawback?

It has a stamina system. It's actually pretty fair compared to other games, but it's there. You rarely have to take breaks if you simply follow the main story path.

Why should I play this?

It's super nostalgic. Classic Final Fantasy characters, classic Final Fantasy music, it just oozes nostalgia. It's also probably the best Final Fantasy smartphone (non-port) game. It's fair, it's fun, and it's free. Give it a try.

Gimme tips. I need tips. SPOONFEED ME.

Here are Shouta's Tipz n Trix:

I've been playing the Japanese version of the game for quite a while. It's quite fun if not grindy. Mythril is fairly plentiful so I wouldn't worry too much about trying to reroll. I also think the first free roll you get is limited to 3 stars but the game should you to get 5 mythril to roll in the current gear gatcha.

Important things to note:

- Make sure you spend your orbs and crystals on raising the level of your abilities. It's really important because they all have limited usage and low level ones only give you 2-4 uses which make it harder to go through the much longer dungeons in the game. So do not forge more than 1 or 2 until you get them to a sufficient level.

- You receive characters by defeating certain dungeons. For some of the high profile ones, they'll have a weekly dungeon that comes up and stays around for awhile. So do not worry about not getting Tidus now or spending money on Mythril to restore your stamina. Take it slow as you'll have time.

- All of the characters are pretty different so make sure you're setting up balanced teams. The force dungeons are tough and the later ones will really require you to be prepared for them as some of the bosses will have ridiculous amounts of life and strength.

- When starting out, 2-3 star gear is fine to keep and upgrade to ++ levels But as you get more gear, especially the 4 and 5 star pieces, it's OK to fuse or sell them for gil. Despite being able to upgrade the star level of gear, their base stats and growth are fro them their original star form. So a 2 star gear can be raised to 4 star but it's stats won't be nearly as good as a native 4 star piece. Same with 3 stars that were made into 5 star gear. Native 5 star gear willb e stronger in the long term. Gil is a more difficult resource in the game to get so just start phasing out old gear as you get a bunch of stuff.

- Characters resonate with their individual worlds and get a level bonus making them stronger there. This is really nice but be careful about spreading your time and experience between chars too thin. IMO, it's more important to raise a char to higher levels and break their level limit with their memory crystal as it makes them far more usable overall.

Enjoy some useful links.

iOS link.
Android link.
Official page.
Wikia with basic information.
English Wiki with a lot of information.
Japanese Wiki of the above link, but it's in Japanese (and has content not available to the west).

 

[iosefe]

honestly, this game is a pleasent surprise

thanks for the OT

 

[Andrefpvs]

There are some Final Fantasy games I have not played yet.

Will playing this spoil those games in any way?

 

[Corgi]

active time battle?

more like

autobattle time battle.

:3

 

[HawthorneKitty]

There are some Final Fantasy games I have not played yet.

Will playing this spoil those games in any way?

There are blurbs about the story (the pivotal moments usually) after every stage, so you can just dismiss those without reading.
Bosses are spoiled of course.

 

[diablos991]

active time battle?

more like

autobattle time battle.

:3

Can't really autobattle bosses in the elite stages.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

I know nothing about this game, but I'll download it on my phone.

Edit: The tutorial was cute.

 

[The Last One]

Just played the Tutorial. I loved it!

 

[Andrefpvs]

There are blurbs about the story (the pivotal moments usually) after every stage, so you can just dismiss those without reading.
Bosses are spoiled of course.

Thanks. I'll probably pass for now, but this game does seem interesting.

 

[Pinko Marx]

I really like this game. The most fun I've had in a cell phone game in a while.

 

[SteveO409]

wow. First time I see that the "user" reviews for a mobile game are high

 

[Dimitri LH]

Nice job with the quick OT. Nice and simple.

 

[Stumpokapow]

This is the game's "official" Wiki, English version. Might want to link it in the OP:
https://ffrkstrategy.gamematome.jp/game/951/wiki/

 

[mstevens]

I'm not sure if I would have downloaded this before Nintendo's announcement, but I think that made me more open minded. If I'm going down this path for Nintendo, I might as well check out what else is out there.

Just downloaded.

 

[Pinko Marx]

Should the "core" classes, that is, the chars with no "world" associated with them be leveled at all? Or should I focus on the "named" characters?

 

[Einbroch]

This is the game's "official" Wiki, English version. Might want to link it in the OP:
https://ffrkstrategy.gamematome.jp/game/951/wiki/

Excellent, was wondering if there was one for the west. Thanks, added.

 

[Deadly]

Comes at a great time considering I've gotten bored of Terra Battle.

Can you restart like in Terra Battle for your first free roll? OP says it's limited to 3 stars so I'm guessing it's not that useful.

 

[Indignate]

I thought I told their website to email me when this become available.

Whatever, downloading it now!

 

[Pinko Marx]

Comes at a great time considering I've gotten bored of Terra Battle.

Can you restart like in Terra Battle for your first free roll? OP says it's limited to 3 stars so I'm guessing it's not that useful.

No need to re-roll in this game.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Downloading now.

 

[Roto13]

There are some Final Fantasy games I have not played yet.

Will playing this spoil those games in any way?

Yes. I haven't played it enough to see if there are any major endgame spoilers or anything, but story stuff is spoiled. Each level has a little blurb about what's going on in the corresponding part of the story in the original game. Plus the levels and enemies/bosses are based on locations and enemies from the main games, so there are probably spoilers there, too.

 

[hesho]

i am just really curious if ppl will still like it when they finish the classic stories. Following the main path is supremely helpful as it raises your stamina, but when the stories is over, you have no way of restoring the stamina unless you wait or pay up.

i admit, i am not enjoying the game as much now because of the stamina issue for me now.

 

[Pinko Marx]

i am just really curious if ppl will still like it when they finish the classic stories. Following the main path is supremely helpful as it raises your stamina, but when the stories is over, you have no way of restoring the stamina unless you wait or pay up.

i admit, i am not enjoying the game as much now because of the stamina issue for me now.

Luckily these games tend to get a pretty steady stream of content.

 

[elty]

Can't beat FF 6-4, the boss wind gale is killing me.

 

[chrono01]

Thanks for the OT, Einbroch! d(^_^)v

 

[diablos991]

Can't beat FF 6-4, the boss wind gale is killing me.

Level up and bring a white mage for the limit break cure all.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Can't beat FF 6-4, the boss wind gale is killing me.

My only tips:
- The bears are weak to fire.
- Upgrade Cure to get more uses, or construct another Cure to have two users who can cure
(I died to him too)

 

[MicH]

Already finished all the current non-elite stages Really like the game though

 

[Nudull]

I'm not usually into mobile games, but this is pretty neat.

 

[zulux21]

so I am curious, is there anyone that is experiencing poor performance of the english android version that has played the japanese version on the same device and not experience poor performance?

I am mostly curious if I should get my hopes up they will fix its poor performance or if I should just accept it and live it with. (I mean a half second lag on any action including attacking or scrolling isn't game breaking just annoying)

 

[cLOUDo]

a good mobile final fantasy game an free?!

what's the catch?

 

[iosefe]

a good mobile final fantasy game an free?!

what's the catch?

Stamina

 

[JNA]

Has anyone actually been able to draw the Buster Sword?

Completed the main content but have no idea how to get more mythril. I did draw a 5 star armor piece but no Buster.

Sorry Cloud.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Completed the main content but have no idea how to get more mythril. I did draw a 5 star armor piece but no Buster.

Start beating the Elite dungeons, wait for daily dungeons. The game is not designed to be played in one shot, gotta make this stuff last until they roll out new stuff

 

[kiryogi]

My only nitpick here is that they didnt use unique fanfares per game. Otherwise, this is awesome and I see myself IAPing

 

[JNA]

Start beating the Elite dungeons, wait for daily dungeons. The game is not designed to be played in one shot, gotta make this stuff last until they roll out new stuff

Ah I see.

Well that works too I guess. How difficult are they? My main guys average around lv 16 or 17 I believe. Good enough?

 

[Brazil]

Game's too slow for a F2P experience and the interface's way too clunky and full of loadings.

Deleted, although I admire the idea.

 

[DirgeExtinction]

so I am curious, is there anyone that is experiencing poor performance of the english android version that has played the japanese version on the same device and not experience poor performance?

I am mostly curious if I should get my hopes up they will fix its poor performance or if I should just accept it and live it with. (I mean a half second lag on any action including attacking or scrolling isn't game breaking just annoying)

Yeah, I noticed some lag on my LG G2.

 

[Hibiki Kurosawa]

active time battle?

more like

autobattle time battle.

:3

I just saw your post in the other record keeper thread about the FFV graphics. Wtf!? How could they do that to the best FF? I always try to pretend that version doesn't exist, but now they are forcing us Westerners to see it in their other mobile games? Disgraceful.

 

[Delio]

Loving this game so far.

 

[DirgeExtinction]

Man, that tutorial. Nostalgia overload.

 

[kittens]

I don't get the thread title. What else would ATB stand for?

 

[iosefe]

I don't get the thread title. What else would ATB stand for?

All The Bravest

 

[Stumpokapow]

Ah I see.

Well that works too I guess. How difficult are they? My main guys average around lv 16 or 17 I believe. Good enough?

You might be able to do the first one or two, you're going to start running into problems after that. The later dungeons in elite mode would require level 50+ characters.

 

[jshackles]

Played for about 2 hours tonight and liked what it offered so far. I usually like to have a mobile F2P game that I can play for about 15-25 minutes each morning and I think this one will fit the bill nicely for a while. It's worth noting that in that 2 hours, I never once ran out of stamina (as I was getting low, I would complete a "set" of stamina crystals from finishing levels). I know this won't always be the case but like I said I plan on picking this up for less than 30 minutes a day so it should be a non-issue.

Anyway, I love all of the sprite-based characters, especially ones from the later (non-sprite-based) games. The combat is also surprisingly true to form and very "Final Fantasy".

 

[Blood Diamonds]

Loving this game so far

 

[Ashodin]

This game is the real deal dudes

 

[DooD1234]

Just tried this game. This is a legit game. I hope their Nintendo mobile games more like this. Pretty much a Final Fantasy game if you simply like the active time battles which is great for pick up and play.

 

[mstevens]

Is there a finite amount of mythril that you can get without paying? It seems that way since you only get it the first time you beat a level... Makes me not want to risk using it on the relic draw. Used my first 5 mythril and got garbage.

 

[zulux21]

Is there a finite amount of mythril that you can get without paying? It seems that way since you only get it the first time you beat a level... Makes me not want to risk using it on the relic draw. Used my first 5 mythril and got garbage.

the daily log in thing made it seem like you would get a mythril every 5 days or so... I could be wrong though.