Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD

[rynling]

Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition is a drastically simplified version of the game for smartphones that was serialized across ten chapters in 2018. The characters are cute little chibis, and the open world has been replaced by a linear series of small maps. The voice acting remains the same, but there are no cinematic sequences.

Square Enix is currently having a sale on the Nintendo Switch digital store, so I downloaded this game for $12 purely out of curiosity.

I did not like Final Fantasy XV - no hate, it just wasn't for me - so I've been pleasantly surprised to find myself really enjoying Pocket Edition. It reminds me a lot of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and the hack-and-slash gameplay is a lot of fun.

My main problem with FFXV is that its combat is needlessly complicated. Also, the enemy AI is excellent while your three AI companion characters are dumb as shit. This is exacerbated by the fact that the camera doesn't know what it's doing, and you can't control it to see the battlefield properly. On top of this, the leveling and skill tree systems are unnecessarily arcane.

By simplifying the graphics and improving the AI of your companions, FFXV Pocket Edition fixes 90% of the problems with the combat system. By simplifying the skill tree and introducing new mechanics in staggered increments, it fixes the other 10%. As a result, the combat is actually enjoyable and has tangible rewards.

Each map (or level?) is connected to a specific mission, and your objective is always marked. You're free to explore until you're ready to move on, at which point you progress to the next map. In other words, FFXV Pocket Edition is structured like Final Fantasy XIII, although the maps are more spread out with more room for exploration. After the vast but empty landscape and pointless sidequests of FFXV, I find this linearity refreshing, and it really helps the story feel relevant to the characters and gameplay.

Comments

[lassarina]

.......oh, wow. Now I am actually interested in Pocket Edition. my God I hated trying to do combat in the vanilla/Royal version so much.

[rynling]

I am still playing FFXV Pocket Edition! It is still very good!

The stealth sections, which I had been dreading, actually make sense! And once you get to the mandatory fetch quests late in the story, it's so nice that the game simply drops you off where you need to be.

What a lovely lo-fi game to chill to. I know it's a cash grab, but it's still a gift and a blessing. Now if only they would use this engine to remake FFVI...

[lassarina]

Oh, a full remake of FF6 would be grand. I'm playing the Pixel Remaster on Steam and it's just a lovely, lovely nostalgia pond.

[bluapapilio]

I don't particularly like the chibi art style for it but I'd like to get a chance to play the pocket edition at some point! I'm the kind of person who would be happy to have story-only mode in all my games haha...I didn't do too bad in FFXV though! Probably because I had it on the easiest mode possible.

I'm glad you're enjoying it! ♥

[rynling]

The chibi style doesn't look great in the promotional material, but it works well in the context of the rest of the game. The visual design feels very much like the Nintendo DS remakes of FFIII and FFIV, and it's perfect if you're playing the Switch as a handheld console.

It's embarrassing to admit this, but I had trouble with FFXV even in the easiest setting, and even equipping Noct with the special "only thirty minutes per day" Magitek Exosuit armor. I'd like to think I've leveled up as a gamer since 2016, though. Maybe I'll give the game another chance once I finish Pocket Edition.

[bluapapilio]

That's good to hear! I did not even notice you could play it on Switch! I have been enlightened.

It's not embarrassing at all, I use cheats whenever I struggle too much because I don't play games to be challenged 99% of the time, I just want to have fun. 😂