Final Fantasy Empires

I really enjoyed Final Fantasy Empires, mainly because it is very well constructed and feels original. You can read that sentence again to let it sink in. Yes, this game feels more original than most RPG Maker games out there. It breaks so many stereotypes I think I've raised my standards for fan-games.

From the very start you are given an intro that flows at a good, steady pace. The dialogue speed is perfect, and text goes go to the very end of the message box. Plus, the content of the dialogue itself is well constructed. As a whole, dialogue and formatting of said dialogue really made the story easy to follow. The ellipses were spaced out for some reason and I spotted a minor typo on the names of one of the miners you saved after the first dungeon, but other than that I don't have any real complaints.

The dialogue itself also helped contribute to adding some depth to the characters. For instance, the main hero is sort of ditsy, yet heroic, and it really shows through. The fact that new characters are introduced at a nice pace gives much room to build on each of their characters in their own ways, and I was impressed to get a feel for the second character after only a short cutscene. As a result, the characters all feel different than what I've seen in not just Final Fantasy games, but the whole gamemaking scene as a whole. In addition, many of the sprites change poses and so on, which was minor, but was also very effective in adding depth to the characters.

I just want to interject and say I was excited to hear mostly new songs within the game. Sure there was the obligatory prelude and fanfare theme, but I was taken off-guard by the sheer number of tunes I hadn't heard before. Major respect for that.

The game's battles aren't a bore. In fact, they go by pretty quickly. However, healing can be tough, especially in the beginning. Once you do get access to healing items they do seem a bit pricey, but it's not terribly bad. In addition, the boss comes a bit as a shock, especially when I'm used to seeing save points before critical battles; however, I was able to win the battle using all my healing items. A lack of recovery options in the beginning made the first dungeon more of a challenge than it needed to be.

One minor complaint I have of the battle system was the use of completely default animations. It subtracted from what otherwise looked very fresh. (Speaking of which, the mixture of FF rips and Refmap is brilliant and looks great.) I also encountered a monster group of empty enemies on the world map.

It's sad to see that this game is canceled, but bottom line is if Blitzen created something so original out of a fangame, I feel there is a world of opportunity in his next projects, which I am now following. Having "Final Fantasy" in the title of a game doesn't resonate well with many, but I feel Final Fantasy Empires is a true anomaly. Check it out.