More than just a PSP port?
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is a remake of a 4 year old PSP game, it sounds like a disaster on paper but can it give new life to the critically acclaimed original?
First of all, I have to say you if you are new to the series then you’ll be unfamiliar with a lot of the jargon used during the story, including Chocobos, l’Cie’s and Moogles. This is a very different type of Final Fantasy game as it’s action-based, but contains short missions through towns as well as a tactical mode where you have to invade towns and strongholds with squads. Both work relatively well, you are also given a time limit between the next mission, so you can fill in the time by going around Akademia’s classrooms, talk to people, attend lectures, battle training, as well as breeding chocobos and getting new equipment.
You can also accept side-quests that will take you all over the land, there’s also Special Orders that pop up during a mission and essentially it’s a secondary objective but you will die if you fail. You also get a unit of around 12 characters, each with their own unique weapons and abilities, you can have a team of 3 accompany you on missions and replace fallen fighters with the ones in your reserve unit.
Story-wise, Type-0 has some really great moments and others that are downright confusing. There are some questionable one-liners and the voice-acting can be cringy at times, impressive at others. It’s essentially a plot about an overambitious Empire attacking your homeland and having to defend it at all costs, but there are some twists and turns throughout as well as the odd bit of melodrama. Overall, it’s a decent enough story to get you to the end…but it won’t win any awards for originality.
When you start playing, you can clearly see it was a PSP game. Yes it’s in HD, but the textures and character models haven’t been improved much, while adding in support for the second analog stick to use as a camera is clunky and can be incredibly frustrating to use at times. I did eventually get used to it, but it did take a while before I grasped it. On the whole, it’s a nice remake but I would have liked them to improve it further.
Players will also get the chance to play the demo for Final Fantasy XV entitled “Episode Duscae” which is a nice addition and having played it, I was really impressed and can’t wait for the final game. It’s been a while since a company has released a demo with a game and it’s nice to see them bringing it back, if only this once.
My only complaint is that the game has the standard price tag, which I think is a mistake. It’s a HD port of a 4-year old PSP game, it shouldn’t be this pricey. I got the Platinum within 20 hours or so, which isn’t too bad…but I would have liked it to be a bit more challenging. It can be brutal at times though, especially if you are unprepared. I’ve had to abort missions half-way due to running out of teammates through my lack of management, but if you level your characters up evenly and highly then you should be fine.
The Verdict
At £45, Type-0 seems a bit pricey for what’s on offer. It’s a great game; don’t get me wrong…but the awkward camera and lack of any new features besides the demo for XV doesn’t seem enough to warrant the price tag. I did thoroughly enjoy my time in the world of Orience and would highly recommend it, but maybe wait till the price drops a bit…
