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. Elementalzx14
    Jan 26, 2016
    8
    This game surprised me, its addicting and fun. sure the online could use some work, when playing with 4 people it tends to lag really really bad and everything becomes so slow and I hope this is fixed soon, farming and collecting items could get repetitive but i'm sure that the many classes/jobs this game has will keep you busy, lots of skills to learn, the difficulty will make you forceThis game surprised me, its addicting and fun. sure the online could use some work, when playing with 4 people it tends to lag really really bad and everything becomes so slow and I hope this is fixed soon, farming and collecting items could get repetitive but i'm sure that the many classes/jobs this game has will keep you busy, lots of skills to learn, the difficulty will make you force to play online and get help, so much to say about this game just go and enjoy it!… Expand
  2. WaffleFox
    Feb 9, 2016
    8
    I know a little about the Final Fantasy series, but I love the Monster Hunter series. Together it's an interesting mix that keeps it fun. However the game feels incomplete, as if it were rushed and things weren't fixed before releasing it.

    The reason for it feeling incomplete is several things. One is that some abilities do not do what they say, so they either didn't add it in or    I know a little about the Final Fantasy series, but I love the Monster Hunter series. Together it's an interesting mix that keeps it fun. However the game feels incomplete, as if it were rushed and things weren't fixed before releasing it.

    The reason for it feeling incomplete is several things. One is that some abilities do not do what they say, so they either didn't add it in or it's a translation error. Some attacks are impossible to avoid unless you leave the area, it's as if they didn't keep in mind that the player needs to be able to dodge to not take damage. Only a few jobs are actually capable of taking zero damage with abilities. The others have no way of avoiding attacks other than simply running around.

    The jobs are a neat addition. Being able to pick a role and learn abilities based on that. So if you wanna be a healer, just be white mage and you will excel at it. However some of the jobs are obviously far better than any other. I've been Knight through a large majority of the game and it's easy to defeat anything you face. Any other job, and it's far too hard.

    The boss like creatures you face all have some kind of move that is annoyingly powerful. A few however feel absolutely impossible to avoid unless you are Knight, in which case you can simply block it and take no damage. There is also no button to simply roll like there is in the Monster Hunter games. So the only way to dodge is to run around and hope you don't get it.

    The item drop system is basically the same, you fight something and hope it drops the item you need. It feels way harder to get the item you need in this game though. I fought the same monster over 20 times and didn't get the item I needed. There is however only three pieces of armor to equip instead of the usual five. So I suppose less farming is required in order to make the set you want.

    Having monsters on your team is really cool. They feel far more powerful than any ally you get in the Monster Hunter games. While they are stronger, they also feel incredibly stupid. If you fight at long range, the ally monsters will simply follow you and do nothing. They only attack once you stop moving a few feet from the creature you are battling. They never realize that you are attacking something, so they just stare at you.

    There are some pretty good things though that the Monster Hunter games have never provided. One thing is being there is a health gauge above every enemy you face. So no more wondering how much damage you are doing, as it shows a number of damage as well. Same with the boss monsters, they too have a health gauge. If you require multiple of an item for that awesome armor set you've been wanting, just look in your notebook. If you've found the item at least once, it will tell you if you have to gather at certain points or defeat certain monsters. The notebook even has a list of the monsters you've fought and where to find them.

    So the game is very helpful if you want to find a specific thing. It's just not so helpful when you need to find a super rare item and you can't figure out what drops it.

    Quests can be a total pain at times. Some can actually be impossible and I'm not exaggerating. You may get a quest to find a specific item by specific enemies. They may never drop it and then you are pretty much forced to abandon quest as they don't respawn.

    Overall, the game is pretty fun despite having many frustrating problems. Early on these issues may not be so noticeable. But the game is still very enjoyable and I feel it's worth picking up. Even more so if you have friends to play it with. Teaming up with a buddy is always a good time.    … Expand
  3. JPoppaWUSC
    Jan 27, 2016
    8
    Final Fantasy Explorers makes no attempt to hide its similarities to Monster Hunter, but it's also a solid entry into the growing subgenre I like to call "Hunting Party RPGs". Like other games of this type, FFE allows parties of up 4 combatants to venture into a semi-open frontier and hunt down creatures for various quest rewards. As an alternative to multiplayer, FFE allows you to fillFinal Fantasy Explorers makes no attempt to hide its similarities to Monster Hunter, but it's also a solid entry into the growing subgenre I like to call "Hunting Party RPGs". Like other games of this type, FFE allows parties of up 4 combatants to venture into a semi-open frontier and hunt down creatures for various quest rewards. As an alternative to multiplayer, FFE allows you to fill out your ranks with trained monsters, which is a nice inclusion for anyone wanting to play solo, though it takes serious effort to bring those monster allies up to snuff. Fortunately, FFE is also much more approachable in early stages than its Monster Hunter brethren, and there's a generous method of trading time off your quest clock for resurrection should you meet an early demise at the hand of some formidable foe. I also appreciated some smaller touches, like being able to hide headgear or keep it visible, switching job classes and skill loadouts any time you're in town, saving those loadouts to presets that can be labeled and recalled easily, picking up minor subquests to complete in tandem with major story missions, and making over your avatar when you want a different hairstyle or decide that you hate the current voice. Even gender swaps are available in case you play 100 hours with a male and don't want to lose all that hard work by starting a new game as a female, but it'll cost you 10,000 Gil when you do it. There are over 20 classes to choose from and tons of weapon types to match, many of which are unlocked by progressing through the main story. These are mostly franchise mainstays like Knight, Black Mage, White Mage, Dark Knight, etc, but every one of them can be hybridized by mixing skills on your L/R-trigger palettes. So even if you're not a magic-centric class, you can still learn offensive spells like Fire or Thunder, and it would be wise to pick up Cure and Esuna abilities as soon as they're available. All of these abilities are learned by trading in CP (Crystal Points), and many skills can gain procedurally-generated mutations when used properly in combat. That means you're able to build out your character with one-of-a-kind skills to match whatever unique look you can piece together from the modular armoring. There's genuinely a wealth of compelling content here, but it's not perfect. My first major gripe with the game is that it's NOT in 3D. Considering FFE's graphics aren't any better than Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, this should have been feasible by Square without worries of overtaxing the hardware. Secondly, the environments are a bit vanilla, though I did appreciate the weather effects in certain zones. You've got plains and mountains and volcanic caverns, but most of it feels too generic. Fortunately, Final Fantasy imagery, sound effects, and music breathe some life back into it, and the feeling of familiarity and nostalgia keep you immersed despite a few missteps. You even get a chance to dress like or fully morph into iconic heroes from the FF universe, including favorites like Cloud and Lightning. All in all, Final Fantasy Explorers is a better and more addictive hunting party RPG than I expected, and while it won't dethrone Monster Hunter's 3DS entries any time soon, it does make for a very solid (and approachable) alternative, one that Final Fantasy fans should especially appreciate.… Expand
  4. Tabarnacul
    Feb 13, 2016
    10
    i rly hope the update make it good, like everybody say its like monster hunter, but final fantasy wise, and way more easier because you dont have to go on wiki all the time.
  5. Darormor
    Mar 1, 2016
    10
    There's a few cons to this game but if you're an mmo player you'll be able to look past all that. This game really shines when you play with your friends online and I haven't had the slightest issue with connection problems.
  6. 50gamechallenge
    May 7, 2016
    8
    Final Fantasy Explorers brings together two iconic series by smashing the Monster Hunter formula with the whole catalog of Final Fantasy fan-favorite characters, beasts, baddies, iconic weapons and items; and mixing it until we get an enjoyable experience with excellent variety and solid gameplay.

    Ultimately, Square-Enix takes what made the Monster Hunter formula successful: defeating    Final Fantasy Explorers brings together two iconic series by smashing the Monster Hunter formula with the whole catalog of Final Fantasy fan-favorite characters, beasts, baddies, iconic weapons and items; and mixing it until we get an enjoyable experience with excellent variety and solid gameplay.

    Ultimately, Square-Enix takes what made the Monster Hunter formula successful: defeating large boss monsters and creating stronger weapons/equipment from their materials, but made it into a much more player-friendly experience. If not the best part, the Final Fantasy nostalgia-fest was a huge plus for this game. While questing, you would unlock blueprints to make your favorite character’s armor or weapon.

    While Explorers did combat and customization well, it missed the mark on other dynamics of the game. First and foremost, the story was unimaginative and boring. Generic NPC’s would push the quest-line forward with meaningless, flat background story.

    One of the worst problems Explorers had was that it was mindlessly repetitive. Most quests were of the same theme: kill a boss, kill the next boss and then kill that other boss. There were some stand-out quests like “kill 10 dragons at once” but they were few and far between.

    And lastly, Explorers featured a streetpass style mini-game that would allow you to collect materials by registering your friends and sending them out on missions. So it meant that you could gather certain materials even when you weren’t playing. It was a nice mini-game overall as it was fairly helpful, but I found it to be a boring way of utilizing streetpasses.

    Overall, Final Fantasy Explorers was a fun but repetitive nostalgia-fest. I really enjoyed the massive amount of combat customization while simultaneously being able to cosplay my favorite FF characters. With a rework on the repetitive quest system and a well-written story-line, I would love to see a sequel to this game.    … Expand
  7. amstans
    Apr 3, 2017
    9
    I like this game so much. It's the first addictive game I've played from the series since Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I would have given the game a solid 10/10 if it was 3D. Since it doesn't use the 3D I am knocking off a full point because it's disappointing. Must like repetitive battles to enjoy this game as much as I did.
  8. Mewzhong
    Nov 19, 2016
    10
    Final Fantasy Explorers is a unique game on its own and is a total different game from monster hunter which is another game i enjoyed. Farming system is about the same as monster hunter except it is less more tedious than monhun and requires less time to farm and hence, i can play it in short bursts while waiting for people,transport, etc etc. Wide choices of jobs, skills, armor keeps youFinal Fantasy Explorers is a unique game on its own and is a total different game from monster hunter which is another game i enjoyed. Farming system is about the same as monster hunter except it is less more tedious than monhun and requires less time to farm and hence, i can play it in short bursts while waiting for people,transport, etc etc. Wide choices of jobs, skills, armor keeps you coming back and experience the game in a whole new perspective. The only thing bad about this game is they rehash the monsters a lot. Maybe add in a few more extra bosses in the end can spice things up.… Expand
  9. kcn
    Jul 6, 2016
    8
    A fun implementation of the Monster Hunter style of action RPG, Final Fantasy Explorers offers similar gameplay in a more accessible package. While it lacks the depth of the Monster Hunter titles, it provides a mostly open world to explore with plenty of jobs, abilities, and equipment to keep things fresh. The bestiary leaves something to be desired and many of the quests can feel tediousA fun implementation of the Monster Hunter style of action RPG, Final Fantasy Explorers offers similar gameplay in a more accessible package. While it lacks the depth of the Monster Hunter titles, it provides a mostly open world to explore with plenty of jobs, abilities, and equipment to keep things fresh. The bestiary leaves something to be desired and many of the quests can feel tedious and must be replayed for their rewards, but the cons don't detract too much from the game. There's enough here to play solo and have a good time, especially once you unlock the Monster Lab and can create and cultivate a party of monsters, but it's definitely at its most fun when played with friends. This game is probably best appreciated by long-time fans of the Final Fantasy games or by fans of the MMO genre, as there are some grinding similarities, but provides enough to be enjoyable to anyone interested in questing and hunting.… Expand
  10. MikaHarker
    Jul 5, 2017
    8
    I waited a long time for this game to come out overseas, the wait was long but it was worth it, the game is just fun as hell, however, you need to like this type of grindy / Monster hunter type game. if you do... you'll have a blast with this game, the main focus is to acquire new gear to go on more dangerous quest solo or with friends. aver all a good game, not for all people but a solidI waited a long time for this game to come out overseas, the wait was long but it was worth it, the game is just fun as hell, however, you need to like this type of grindy / Monster hunter type game. if you do... you'll have a blast with this game, the main focus is to acquire new gear to go on more dangerous quest solo or with friends. aver all a good game, not for all people but a solid fun game from square-enix, kinda remind me of Final Fantasy Crystal chronicles… Expand
  11. Bruninho1997
    Oct 13, 2021
    9
    Assim como Lord of Arcana, digo que esse jogo é um Monster Hunter mais simplificado e com toques de Final Fantasy.
    Talvez não seja do agrado de muitos, mas acho jogos assim extremamente divertidos e gostosinhos de jogar.
  12. LastResource
    Jan 14, 2023
    10
    worth it and glad to play this game again. so much memories and nostalgia within this spin off game in the series.

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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