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| Mike Salbato |
New dungeon types, new missions, a cute 2D pixel version of Midgar, and so much more.
05.31.18 - 1:26 AM
Between March and April, Final Fantasy: Record Keeper celebrated its 3rd anniversary with a wide variety of events, free gifts, and special event dungeons that rewarded a ton of crystals, gil, abilities, and much more. It was a ridiculously generous campaign, that served to thank and reward players to sticking with the game for so long.
Today, the game received one of its biggest updates ever, which says a lot: The game has seen so many expansions, my review from 2015 feels like it's describing a different game sometimes. Today's new update introduces a whole new style of play with Record Dungeons. FFRK has always been about celebrating Final Fantasy history, by letting you recruit characters from 30 years of games, and play out battles that echo the progression of each game. This all starts with an all-new world map, reminiscent of classic RPGs:
These new dungeon types take the reimagining to another level, complete with maps you can explore, find treasure, and of course, get into battles. The exploration is joined by cutscenes, as well, which sees Record Keeper Tyro and Elarra not only visiting realms of classic Final Fantasy games, but taking part in the events.
As an example, the first Record Dungeon is based on Final Fantasy VII, which opens with the classic Midgar intro you know and love, but recreated in 2D:
Your duo has a quick chat with Cloud, and you're off! This mode features a standalone leveling and EXP system, and stricter guidelines that requires using specific characters within their own "realm" (i.e. Cloud and Tifa can be used in FFVII content, but not outside of it). It looks to be offering a richer and truer mini-recreation of classic games and moments, and it'll be interesting to see how it continues to grow. There are already a few games covered in this mode, including Final Fantasy IV, VI, and XIII.
Record Dungeons are the big highlight, but along with them comes many other updates. Most obvious among them is the first major change to the game's main menu! There are so many kinds of dungeons and ways to play now, this menu has been expanded to one that spans multiple screens, so you can scroll to access the different game types. This also gives the main menu a brighter, airier feeling. See the old version compared to the new one:
Finally, a new, more expansive mission system is now in place, with the Acolyte Archives replacing Cid's Missions. These new missions have several categories, and task you with everything from creating a specific ability, to clearing a dungeon, to trying out the in-game music player. Clearing each goal earns you a reward, and finishing each "tome" gives you a free 4-item Relic Draw, with the fourth being a weapon or armor of your choosing, making it helpful if you've been dying to outfit a particular hero but never managed to get them a rare piece.
The most generous part of these missions, for existing players? They're retroactive, which is why I logged in today and had literally hundreds of item rewards waiting for me, with a ton of new things to unlock.
Sometimes I wish I was getting paid to randomly sing praises of this game, but Record Keeper is the one mobile game that's kept my attention for 3 years. Even if some days it's only to pass the time while brushing my teeth (I get bored, okay?), nothing else has tickled both my "quick fix" and "nostalgic FF" senses like this one. If I've not yet bored you, Final Fantasy: Record Keeper is free, so check it out on the iOS App Store or on the Google Play Store.
