Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (PlayStation 4) Review

Although Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is not set in the same universe as the Final Fantasy XIII titles and the upcoming Final Fantasy XV, Square Enix grouped these into the Fabula Nova Cystallis Final Fantasy subseries, since, despite not being based in the same world, they share a common mythology and terminology. There are l'Cie, Eidolon summons, Crystals and Focus, along with many of the classic Final Fantasy mainstays. Players will find themselves riding Chocobos, fighting Cactuars and saving up Gil for that next piece of marginally better gear.

The plot is based around the world of Orience, which is separated into the four nations of Rebrum, Militesi, Concordia and Lorican, each holding one of the crystals that are essential to the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology. The nation of the Militesi Empire's Emperor goes missing and its military commander takes up arms against the other three nations. After dropping an Ultima bomb on one, he begins a war against Rebrum using a device that negates the magical ability of their forces. Only a special group of students from Rebrum - Class Zero - are unaffected by this device and while Militest and Rebrum treat for peace, Class Zero is used as a covert squad against Millitesi.

The overall story requires the full attention of the player, throwing out history and exposition massively right from the very start, resulting in something that just feels heavily contrived and jumbled, with the motivations of the characters really confusing. Class Zero - yes, all of them - need to be taken charge of, and although the large cast of playable characters is a real strength for gameplay, with a lot of fun based around the experimentation of each different character, it's a negative to the story. It makes it hard to care about the individuals of Class Zero because each one is not developed enough and they instead act like two-dimensional caricatures. On top of this, the story FMVs throughout are presented like old wartime footage, along with a narrator. It's an interesting story device but, unfortunately, it just doesn't work well, separating the player more from the story, and fails to provide a link to the characters.

The whole game runs on a timer, although not real-time, but each action takes up a few hours and story-based missions are set-up at intervals over a number of hours or days. Completion of a story event gives the player time to go do other things until the next mission timer runs out and there are plenty of things to do. Talking to classmates will give a small reward and cost two hours, attending classes can increase stats but takes away two hours, too, and actually heading out of the city to the world map to attempt side missions will take a whole six hours, and trying to complete the considerably high level "expert missions" takes a massive 12 hours. This time management is fairly lax, and despite this certainly not being like the juggling skills necessary in the Persona games, it does require taking some things into account to maximise the potential time.

Each of the missions, once completed, can be replayed from the main menu and the rewards taken into the main game. This replayability adds a lot to the experience, while the missions are particularly enjoyable. The sporadic "Sortie" based missions are not, however. These are a mix between RTS and Tower Defence-style games where each camp needs to be captured. They are frustrating, slow and seem like a tacked on mini-game that's not really enjoyable… bring back Triple Triad or Tetra Master!

It should be noted that Type 0, surprisingly, is missing the multiplayer aspects of the original Japanese release. Square Enix has stated that to add them in would put an extra year onto the development cycle, so in their place is a drop-in drop-out system of NPCs. This aspect is optional and is offered at the start of each mission with the player deciding to stick with the team they have picked or allow support to drop in. The reward to this system is the same as the original multiplayer, SPP, which is a currency used to buy some of the best weapons. There's a nice little twist, too, where each of the NPCs are named after a member of the team that made the game.

Fans of Final Fantasy spin-off titles will feel right at home with the combat system since it uses the same basic underlying system known as "ATB Kai" that was developed originally for Final Fantasy X-2 and then used in Crisis Core. The system has undergone a lot of changes but fans will still feel the familiarity. Dodge, Attack, Defensive/Heal ability and two character specific abilities or spells can be mapped to the face buttons. When it comes to these abilities and spells, there is a mammoth amount to play and experiment with. For magic, there are the usual Blizzard, Fire and Thunder elements, along with series mainstays like Bio, Holy, Quake, Tornado, Meteor and Quake. Each of the Blizzard/Fire/Thunder spells then have a different attack style to choose, all based on artillery weapons that change the behaviour and functionality of the magic - "Bomb," "Missile," "Rifle," "Rocket Launcher," and "Shotgun." That's a good deal of spells to equip and as they are levelled up, they progress through the classic Final Fantasy-style of Blizzard to Blizzara to Blizzaga, too.

On top of all of the spells available to each member of Class Zero, each character also has unique weapon-based abilities. These are unlocked by levelling-up the characters and spending AP. There is a really surprising amount of abilities and with the size of the pool of characters it means most players will barely scratch what is available. The fighting styles of each of the 14 members are unique, too, and thankfully there is an arena to experiment with and learn how each plays, from the slow moving Katana wielder, the stance changing boxer, to the card throwing Ace. Plenty of practice and experimentation is needed to get the most out of the considerable cast.

Combat itself is all based upon reactions and counters. It is possible to just whittle enemies' HP away using attacks, but the focus is learning the attack patterns of each enemy and then striking while it's vulnerable. Each enemy has attack patterns and, at breaks in these, the enemy is marked with a reticule for a "Killshot." A well-timed shot here will do big damage or instantly finish the enemy. It makes for a great system but also makes the game a little too easy at points, even on higher difficulty settings. Ideally, it should do a little less damage, especially on bigger enemies. An extra challenge is added, at least, thanks to Special Orders (SOs), which are offered to the player during missions as a pop up message: "Don't take any damage for two minutes!" for instance. Succeed and there are worthwhile rewards awaiting, yet fail and explosions will detonate for fatal damage.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is definitely made with replays in mind. There is the massive codex to fill up and plenty of missions to replay, plus there are numerous parts of the game that hold very high level mobs, just waiting for players returning in New Game Plus. This is both in missions and out on the world map. For example, one Level 30 mission will find an unbeatable mini boss of Level 75 randomly roaming around, and although it is possible to take it down with a lot of time and dedication at the initial level, it's certainly not designed for that.

Despite the replayability aspects, it's a little disappointing that there isn't more end-game or post-game content. With so many characters and so much to level and customise, this is a part of Final Fantasy games usually done so well. Ultimate Weapons to farm towards, arenas full of super hard bosses, the signature "Super Bosses," and more. Type 0 has a surprising amount of playtime for the regular play-throughs, regardless of this post-game matter - easily 30 hours or so.