| This article is based on the exclusive licensing agreement between Campfire and Game Informer in China, and please repost with your consent.
Even if you're a fan of the Final Fantasy series, you'll feel like a stranger in a foreign land when you play Final Fantasy Origins: Strangers in Paradise. The game is a violent interpretation of the early 1987 Final Fantasy — a departure from the adventurous spirit and moving mysticism of the Final Fantasy series in favor of intense combat, self-style, and extremes.
Square Enix calls the game a "hardcore action RPG," and it's a fitting name for such a combative game. This is the most dazzling moment of this experiment when you draw your sword out of its sheath to face the furious beast, when the wind-like combo shines on the battlefield, when the magic hits the powerful monster. After the sword was sheathed, when the characters began to talk or explore, Final Fantasy Origins suddenly fell to a rare low in Final Fantasy's 35-year history.
Don't be surprised if you start moaning in pain within minutes of meeting the protagonist Jack. This guy has no emotional change, almost no backstory, no personality, almost a piece of wood. He whispered that he was going to destroy a dark being called "Chaos", and sometimes he would say some words beginning with F when he was angry, and his behavior was quite ridiculous. The plot clings to the silly line of "chaos", and although there are a few interesting reversals at the end, most of the time the plot is bland and does not help much in shaping the characters and worldview.
During the trip, Jack meets some like-minded friends, but they are as empty and boring as Jack, and the reason for forming a team is to say that the group is a group. Jack meets Jet and Arthur on the road, and they talk about Chaos and Crystal for a few seconds, then they form an alliance and become companions on the journey together. It sounds awkward, the actual effect is not much better, and you can't forget this picture at all, because they can't move their fists, and every time it looks like a burlesque. I don't like most of the plot very much, but I enjoyed the ending. This ending doesn't make the whole game worth enjoying, but it does at least make it end vigorously.
The journey against Chaos begins in Cornelia, a land full of fantasy elements from the Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy Origins is a level-based game, and developer Team Ninja offers great diversity for those levels —the protagonists drill through lava caves, climb through frozen mountains, and into glowing forests full of beasts. Most of the level design is confusing, with Jack and his companions often having to walk a labyrinthine path, sometimes completing puzzle elements that require a runback map. And there's no map in the level yet, so be prepared to get lost often.
One of the more unexpected designs is that the protagonists can pass through hordes of enemies without attack, which means that you can quickly run around to find your way. You can even go straight to the boss at the end of the level, with no enemy to fight in the middle – in some very inexplicable levels, I took advantage of this design flaw to greatly improve the speed of exploration.
But that doesn't mean I don't want to fight. While Final Fantasy Origins' plot and worldview are a mess, it has a superior combat experience. Melee combat is well done, ranged magic is exciting, and Jack can switch between classes with one click. Enemy displacements and unstoppable attacks are easier to judge and will not feel unreasonable, but combat will also fully test the player's skills. Both AI companions are quite capable, can solve many enemies on their own, and even when playing bosses, they can help you win opportunities and let you pull away. Some bosses are very difficult, and your allies may not be able to help much, but you can't really fight to save points to reduce the difficulty of this battle, which is also a good design.
The combat system is very powerful, and Jack can unleash his skills and bombard enemies at his own pace. The dodge action is quite useful, as is the anti-reaction mechanism Soul Shield. The Soul Shield can counteract enemy magic attacks and use them for its own purposes, using enemy skills to poison poison, which is a very genius design, but considering the level of chaos on the battlefield, it may sometimes be difficult to use properly.
When enemies give you a headache, accumulating mana to unleash the "Light Revelation" can turn the tide of battle. Best of all, after the enemy's Break slot is empty, you can use a super-dazzling execution technique to defeat them, and the execution technique can even deal sputter damage to nearby enemies.
Jack lived up to his name and was an outstanding multi-faceted man on the battlefield. Instead of staring at one class, Final Fantasy Origins encourages players to try out more than twenty classes, switching to the right style as appropriate. Each class features comprehensively and is very interesting to use. And in the blink of an eye, I can switch from a samurai with accurate sword strikes to a mage who rains death from afar. Finding the best class mix is also one of the funs of this game and a reason to experiment often.
By adding points to the skill tree, players can strengthen each class according to their own ideas. Specific equipment combinations provide considerable numerical boosts. Each class can reach up to level 30, and when the skill tree is full, there are many good customization options, such as customizing the trick table and changing which special attacks are triggered in the series. Like I said earlier, Final Fantasy Origins combat is really good, and it gives players a real sense of control.
Almost every enemy drops weapons or armor, and you'll soon realize that you have to control how often you adjust your equipment, or you can spend as much time in the menu as you do in battle. Weapons offer almost every stat boost you can think of, and armor also offers plenty of cosmetic variations. How cool the equipment is is also related to the level of equipment, for example, you wear leather armor at level 5, and you can wear a super handsome dragon scale suit at level 105.
Whether it's gear or class, Final Fantasy Origins offers players a lot of options, which is the best and most exciting part of the game. And these excitements can also be shared with two friends online, but their combat level must be similar to yours. If you're not in the same tier, you'll only be able to play at the lowest of the three, which may be frustrating if they're just starting out and you're already late in the game.
Final Fantasy Origins: Strangers to Heaven is probably the most unfamiliar Final Fantasy to date, and it's a throw between good and bad, and if you can stand the protagonist Jack (which is quite demanding), then the extraordinary battles are definitely worth experiencing. But if you're coming for the plot or Final Fantasy, it's a shame it only cares about the fight.
—————— Overall: 7 out of 10——————
Translation: Yamamuko
Edit: Tony