The western launch this week of Mobius Final Fantasy reminds us that it's not all about conversions of the big numbered console RPG series for Square Enix. Indeed, there are already some unique mobile-focused Final Fantasy games on the App Store.
You can now play enhanced versions of Final Fantasies I through to IX (though Final Fantasy VIII has been skipped, for some reason) on your iPhone or iPad. That's a pretty spectacular thought.
In addition to these conversions, however, there's a handful of Final Fantasy oddities on the App Store that have been made specifically for mobile - of which Mobius Final Fantasy is only the very latest.
Final Fantasy Dimensions might look like some of the early iterations of the series at an initial glance, and indeed its gameplay features a similar mix of exploration and turn-based battles. But it's decidedly modern in its mobile-friendly structure. Here the story has been split into episodes, with the prologue available for free and subsequent instalments available as in-app purchases.
There are plenty of mobile RPG developers who take their inspiration from classic 16-bit console RPGs like the Final Fantasy series. Square Enix went and enlisted the help of one of those developers, A-Lim (maker of Brave Frontier), to complete the circle and help develop Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius. The result is a polished 2D JRPG, with the stand-out feature of being able to recruit established characters from Final Fantasy lore.
Final Fantasy: All the Bravest
Most of these mobile-focused Final Fantasy games have been pretty well received, but it's fair to say that Final Fantasy: All the Bravest is something of an exception. Stripping away much of the JRPG depth associated with the brand, it features instead a fixed-path, simplistic tap-heavy battles, and a heavy in-app purchase element.
Made by Jupiter, the developer behind Nintendo's many Picross games, it should come as no surprise to learn that Pictlogica Final Fantasy essentially combines picture puzzles with the Final Fantasy universe. Here the Picross action serves as the battle system to a simple RPG. As a sign of how much of an afterthought Pictlogica Final Fantasy's western release was to Square Enix, it hasn't even been translated from its original Japanese.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
As the name suggests, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is actually a sequel to the classic 1991 SNES game. However, it was made from the very start with mobile in mind - though this 2013 iOS version is actually a 3D reimagining. Like Final Fantasy Dimensions, it's an episodic game with an old school JRPG vibe.
