Final Fantasy Explorers

 3DS
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 232 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 186 out of 232
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 232
  3. Negative: 27 out of 232
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  1. TsukasaHiiragi
    Jan 27, 2016
    5
    This isn't the Final Fantasy game you was hoping for nor is it a replacement for the Monster Hunter series, its just plainly average game that can be highly frustrating at times and very repetitive. FFE isn't really a bad game per say, I think it would have had more success if released on the nextgen consoles, and with more content that what the limited 3DS offers.

    The game is    This isn't the Final Fantasy game you was hoping for nor is it a replacement for the Monster Hunter series, its just plainly average game that can be highly frustrating at times and very repetitive. FFE isn't really a bad game per say, I think it would have had more success if released on the nextgen consoles, and with more content that what the limited 3DS offers.

    The game is really based around highly repetitive eidolon killing missions with a mixture of general kill x amount of monster quests, here or there. The biggest problem with the eidolon missions is that most of the best equipment is based around farming them, either for general materials or to encase and turn them into valuable magicite which is both used for summoning, and for the best upgrade materials.

    What really makes the game annoying is that fact that most of these bosses have super cheesy "One Hit" your dead attacks which have little to no warning in advance that the boss is about to do these attacks, especially frustrating bosses like Fenrir and Shiva, whilst other bosses you just chip away at there obviously larger HP pools and win, the balance is fairly bad and the control system makes some of these fights even worse.

    The control system honestly, isn't very good - using items in boss fights is a really good way to get yourself one shotted, since it requires pressing Y- then navigating with the D-Pad and finally pressing A to confirm...all at the same time your using the thumb stick to avoid any possible attacks. The menu interface also can get quite laggy sometimes, especially frustrating when your doing to use encase on bosses which requires some skill and a bit of luck.

    The online mode is fairly useless, since you cannot join anyone currently in a quest so you have to either wait for them to finish, or open your own rooms. Feels like its more designed for static friends all playing together rather than random PUG groups. There is a rather limited amount of content masked with all different available jobs and skills to unlock, some jobs clearly being better than others whilst others like the beastmaster have very limited online abilities.

    Also the sub quest system is terrible, there really isn't any reason for these since your spending Gil, in exchange for CP as the reward. I personally had a harder time farming Gil than farming CP, however - Once you have mutated your skills enough, I think the CP costs in some of these skills probably warrant the exchange.

    Overall, this game isn't 'bad' but its not really a great game either. I think Final Fantasy fans maybe disappointed, even though there are many famous items to be found such as gunblade and Aeriths clothing, but obviously - these require some grind in order to get them. If you don't mind a repetitive material grindfest, then this game may entertain you for a while, just don't expect a lot from this game. Personally I think this game would be actually quite good on PS4    … Expand
  2. TheVJ
    Jan 26, 2016
    6
    Did you come here looking for Monster Hunter? Or maybe you were looking for Final Fantasy? Or a mix between both?

    Well move on, because it is none of that, really. Only a very miniscule part of it could resemble Monster Hunter and there isn't all that much Final Fantasy in it other than some monsters and characters, it's more reminiscent of PSO. Unfortunately it does get very bland and    Did you come here looking for Monster Hunter? Or maybe you were looking for Final Fantasy? Or a mix between both?

    Well move on, because it is none of that, really. Only a very miniscule part of it could resemble Monster Hunter and there isn't all that much Final Fantasy in it other than some monsters and characters, it's more reminiscent of PSO.
    Unfortunately it does get very bland and repetitive (and not the fun kind like MH) very soon so you'll truly have to be mad in love with anything even remotely FF to keep going. Not a horrible game, but not really good either.    … Expand
  3. KaptonMan
    Feb 1, 2016
    5
    I played this game on a friends 3DS, and watched him play it for a little while too, and all I can tell about the game is that it's a boring repetitive romp through a boring landscape. Mash the same button to attack, over, and over, and over, and over. This review is less a full game review, and more of a first impression, and my first impressions are that the game was lazily developed.
  4. peterk426
    Feb 23, 2016
    7
    Giving this game a 7/10 is a break for this game. Although yes this game can keep oyou entertained for hours and it does have the Final Fantasy brand to it so you will be thinking ok great this is going to be fun. After about 2 weeks of playing, you wont want to play it again. I'll try and highlight the goods and bads from what ive seen.
    The Good: Plenty of awesome jobs, Fighting cool    Giving this game a 7/10 is a break for this game. Although yes this game can keep oyou entertained for hours and it does have the Final Fantasy brand to it so you will be thinking ok great this is going to be fun. After about 2 weeks of playing, you wont want to play it again. I'll try and highlight the goods and bads from what ive seen.
    The Good: Plenty of awesome jobs, Fighting cool eidolons, tons of weapons, loot, and a monster class system that makes it really interesting. The fighting style is pretty good for a real time fighting game and I have enjoyed it.
    The bad: Massive Repitition as you will kill every enemy at least 1,000 times without ever seeing a new monster. Fighting harder bosses can be a real pain, you can die after you revive but you are immediately being attacked. Good for the first 20 hours. Def buy if youre a FF lover but dont expect it to be 10/10    … Expand
  5. rpgforme
    Feb 15, 2016
    5
    This game needed way more play testing before they released it. Looking back at the game after 12 hours or so of game-play and it looks like a money grab. Some mechanics, such as capturing eidolons is a wonky, badly designed mechanic.

    The fan service is great and the mechanics. But there are far too few tutorials and many of the quests are not well thought out. Also the frame rate drops    This game needed way more play testing before they released it. Looking back at the game after 12 hours or so of game-play and it looks like a money grab. Some mechanics, such as capturing eidolons is a wonky, badly designed mechanic.

    The fan service is great and the mechanics. But there are far too few tutorials and many of the quests are not well thought out. Also the frame rate drops super low even without coop on some missions (the 10 dragons mission is the one I experienced this with).

    Also, I had to dig through setting menus to find the option to turn on the c-stick. You can tell they never put this game through usability testing. (Why would this be off by default?!?!)    … Expand
  6. JJTX
    Mar 24, 2019
    7
    It's a shame Final Fantasy Explorers didn't garner a better critical reception -- after all, the idea of "Monster Hunter X Final Fantasy" is a good one! But the result here is decent, if not spectacular. Boss fights are often interesting but sometimes overwhelming. Ordinary enemy battles can get repetitive and tiresome. The world itself is inviting and generally well-varied, andIt's a shame Final Fantasy Explorers didn't garner a better critical reception -- after all, the idea of "Monster Hunter X Final Fantasy" is a good one! But the result here is decent, if not spectacular. Boss fights are often interesting but sometimes overwhelming. Ordinary enemy battles can get repetitive and tiresome. The world itself is inviting and generally well-varied, and longtime FF fans will be right at home here. Still, it feels like there's something missing, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I would have preferred either a more traditional 3D JRPG for the first true FF entry on Nintendo 3DS, or even a port (imagine FFVII, but in STEREOSCOPIC 3-D!!!).… Expand
  7. Sressiv
    Mar 5, 2018
    7
    Neat action-RPG with the well known hunting and crafting style. You can unlock and choose a ton of jobs, learn new abilities, and even expand those abilities, which brings lots of variety. The gameplay is really accessible, and addicting, though repetitive. It has a pretty thin story and the music is a bit mediocre, but that's not the point here. There are some solid co-op options as well.Neat action-RPG with the well known hunting and crafting style. You can unlock and choose a ton of jobs, learn new abilities, and even expand those abilities, which brings lots of variety. The gameplay is really accessible, and addicting, though repetitive. It has a pretty thin story and the music is a bit mediocre, but that's not the point here. There are some solid co-op options as well. On top of that, there's a lot of Final Fantasy goodness, so I recommend this for every Final Fantasy fan.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Best 3DS Game of 2016
19
#19 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2016
5
#5 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 57 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 38 out of 57
  3. Negative: 0 out of 57
  1. Areajugones
    Apr 12, 2016
    80
    Final Fantasy Explorers goes far away from the classic franchise but attracts new players with its adventures. Gameplay now adapts to the difficulty that the player wants, offering a challenge to the veterans and a simple adventure to new explorers.
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  2. High-Def Digest
    Apr 10, 2016
    80
    Explorers won't replace 'Monster Hunter' as king of its genre anytime soon, but what's here is an infinitely more accessible game that does more than enough to set itself apart from others like it. It takes a little while before all of its mechanics are fully revealed, and the repetition will be a turnoff for many, but it's an incredibly fun game overall. An extremely strong start to a promising series.
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  3. GameSpew
    Apr 3, 2016
    60
    Final Fantasy Explorers is okay. It’s neither a worthy heir to Phantasy Star Online‘s crown nor is it a successful Final Fantasy title in its own right. I mean, did I even mention the story? Yeah, that wasn’t an accident. If you’re desperate for more hunting then you could do worse, but it’s an easy pass for everyone else.
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