Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius

 iOS
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 123 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 104 out of 123
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 123
  3. Negative: 8 out of 123
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  1. Exavier
    Jul 18, 2016
    7
    It's fun, character development is fairly deep, and it has *something* of a story. The game's RNG seems fairly generous, and pretty much every enemy will drop an item (outside of arena). I find it hard to rate it higher than a 7, though, because it always seems to leave me wanting more. Energy replenishment is pricey compared to how much "Lapis" (in-game currency) you'll gain, and you'llIt's fun, character development is fairly deep, and it has *something* of a story. The game's RNG seems fairly generous, and pretty much every enemy will drop an item (outside of arena). I find it hard to rate it higher than a 7, though, because it always seems to leave me wanting more. Energy replenishment is pricey compared to how much "Lapis" (in-game currency) you'll gain, and you'll probably want to save up either to try for characters or get a bundle of metal cactuars to juice up your favorite character's level. At rank 20 (your overall level which determines your energy and gives you 100 Lapis/level-up), and having beat all the content currently in the game, I'm left with some mild disappointment.

    Compared to Final Fantasy Record Keeper, this game is in a nascent state, and I fear the content updates will be too few and far between. I'd recommend FFRK over this--much more content, the game lets you *do* more before you run out of energy, and of course, way more characters. But I enjoyed playing this all the same, and you can't diss a free game. (Protip: don't spend any cash on this. If you get crappy starting characters, there's a way to reroll.)    … Expand
  2. Elli27
    Jul 8, 2016
    9
    If you liked/loved brave frontier, and you liked/loved old school Final Fantasy games(i'm talking 1-6) you will definitely love this game!

    It has the same mechanics as BF but none of the headaches (except RNG of course) that comes with the so called Social RPG genre, no unit cost, no need to collect the same character just to awaken the character to the next rarity And best of all    If you liked/loved brave frontier, and you liked/loved old school Final Fantasy games(i'm talking 1-6) you will definitely love this game!

    It has the same mechanics as BF but none of the headaches (except RNG of course) that comes with the so called Social RPG genre, no unit cost, no need to collect the same character just to awaken the character to the next rarity

    And best of all Nostalgia at it's finest, want to see Terra duke it out together with Zidane and Vaan? it's like Dissidia but an actual good RPG    … Expand
  3. Renzokuken
    May 22, 2018
    2
    What can I say about Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, it's a Gatcha scam and it's a very solid and in depth JRPG, it's just a crying shame that those two elements exist within the same game.

    Brave Exvius will lure players in via the story and keep them playing by drip feeding them a cast of increasingly powerful new characters, stuff to grind for and bosses to kill. But it all comes to a    What can I say about Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, it's a Gatcha scam and it's a very solid and in depth JRPG, it's just a crying shame that those two elements exist within the same game.

    Brave Exvius will lure players in via the story and keep them playing by drip feeding them a cast of increasingly powerful new characters, stuff to grind for and bosses to kill. But it all comes to a head during the endgame. If you want to make any headway against anything that's not in the main story, be prepared to spend. With rates for good characters as low as 2% prices being incredibly expensive compared to alternative gatcha games and a constant slew of new opponents that require the newest and best characters, you'll never manage to keep up without dropping serious cash into the game. This system of constantly invalidating your investments makes Brave Exvius a dangerous trap to fall into, particularly if you have issues with addiction. One month you can spend hundreds to pull the newest flavour of the month amazing character only to have them be outclassed a month or two later.

    If you want a good turn based JRPG just pick up a $60 title, this game is designed from the ground up to get you addicted so you'll spend spend spend.    … Expand
  4. MaffLaff
    Dec 4, 2016
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was enjoying this game for about a month. The units and abilities are fun, the crafting system doesn't feel like a terrible time sink. The NRG amount which limits gameplay can be quickly increased so that sessions last longer than a few minutes. It has a lot going for it despite mostly being a rehash and cash-in of much more enjoyable games, I eventually got some decent high ranking unit drops and was slowly building up their experience and star-rating by neglecting the storyline and spending my NRG on the special gathering levels in the Vortex.

    Unfortunately after maxing several characters at level 80 I realised I'd need many elusive materials to upgrade them further. I won't go into the maths but the projected time (weeks) it would take just to get those few units to level 6, and then the subsequent time to level them to 100 just wasn't worth it. Especially considering how quickly the meta changes and how quickly good units can be devalued by the improvement of others.

    It also doesn't help that I came to the game several months after launch and everyone in the arena is far above me, maybe that's supposed to be aspirational, but for me it always highlights the unindividuality of my experience, and makes me feel like just another cog in the machine, breaking down the gameplay illusion of being "The Hero". My best week of Arena runs left me around the 55,000th position on the leaderboard, and all the opponents it was giving me were full teams of unbeatable 6* units, making the experience become frustrating very quickly.

    I haven't and will not ever pay money to these in-app purchasing games, especially where RNG is concerned or my play time / experience is being deliberately limited. So a quick uninstall, and thanks for the brief enjoyment, wish I could have my 40+ hours back but I'll take it as experience and just find some non-in-app-purchases games to refill my faith in gaming. Where a storyline can actually be completed, or I don't have to spend weeks of levelling to get past a single boss (arena s5).

    I'll be very glad to see the end of this era of gaming and hope we can eventually go back to paying a one off payment for a finished product.    … Expand
  5. gearcloud
    Nov 4, 2016
    8
    As most players have suggested, FFBE is very similar to BF, if not an enhanced version of its previous predecessor. A brand new storytelling with cross-over Square titles summons you can obtain from the gasha shop is simply a great charm. Initially it was a slow start, but as I progressed through the game and luckily pulled some top tier units, I pretty much spent more time in this thanAs most players have suggested, FFBE is very similar to BF, if not an enhanced version of its previous predecessor. A brand new storytelling with cross-over Square titles summons you can obtain from the gasha shop is simply a great charm. Initially it was a slow start, but as I progressed through the game and luckily pulled some top tier units, I pretty much spent more time in this than any other games in my daily routine. This game slowly draws you in, and that's the type of pacing I really enjoy.

    However, I just can't give this a full score because mainly two things:

    First, the energy gauge system is a bit overrated. All of your quests require energy as currency to be spent in order to start. Early level the cost is cheap, but later on the amount can be insanely huge. The only way to actually play continuously without having to wait for energy recharge, is to spend 100 Lapis for refilling the entire gauge, but honestly who would really do that? Unless you are trying to speed level a certain a unit, or to complete a certain limited time event, I'd suggest you save up those Lapis for summons or other useful stuff.

    Lastly, again another typical RNG gasha. During late game, some quests and events actually require a proper team setup, and getting strong units especially the rare ones can only be performed through gasha summons. The gamble is somewhat frustrating for player base. Every once in a while, the sponsor company Gumi releases a new summon banner and during that period, the featured units have a high chance to drop. Well, they make it seem like an easy advantage but in the end it is still very much luck based. Many players have to spend tremendous amount of Lapis to get what they want for summons, which leads to the concept of RNG gamble being sheer cash-milking. I believe Gumi does the same thing for BF, so I personally think the company needs to change that method so that beginner players can enjoy the game better.

    The other nice thing about this is the daily login reward. Some days you get Lapis while other days you get awesome gifts like summon tickets and energy bottles. Overall, this game is worth to check out if you ever have a chance. The JP version is already way ahead of the global release, so I'm sure ours will eventually follow up in a steady pace. I just hope the game can be more flexible in summon pulls and less RNG based on everything, so that all the FF fans should have no reason to not pick this one up!    … Expand
  6. SuperFireHellca
    Jul 21, 2016
    9
    like brave frontier but wished it was more in-depth? well final fantasy brave exvius got you covered, because it's an extension of that mobile hit game.

    you still fight in dungeons in waves, but now there are segments where you can explore a map and find treasure and more enemies to fight. all the characters you can get from 3 stars to 5 stars are either interesting brave exvius    like brave frontier but wished it was more in-depth? well final fantasy brave exvius got you covered, because it's an extension of that mobile hit game.

    you still fight in dungeons in waves, but now there are segments where you can explore a map and find treasure and more enemies to fight. all the characters you can get from 3 stars to 5 stars are either interesting brave exvius characters or old FF characters. they all look cool in their new sprite art!

    the music is also epic too; i hope the main menu theme can be played in a future distant worlds concert because it is sooooooo hypnotizing!

    bottom line: great game, but gets one point docked because of frequent maintenance & odd bugs. hope the square enix and gumi team sort it out in the next few months to keep this game alive n relevant.

    ps: please bring cloud and sephiroth in brave exvius asap thanks!    … Expand
  7. Arthur123
    Mar 22, 2018
    10
    Um grande jogo muito divertido com gráficos muito bonitos opção de enfrentar outros players em arena,modo história onde você conta com a ajuda de algum amigo (ou não caso não queira) e demais eventos também,você pode adquirir personagens clássicos de todas as sagas Final Fantasy e alguns personagens convidados como por exemplo(Nier: Automata B2 e A2 e Tomb Raider Lara Croft),um jogoUm grande jogo muito divertido com gráficos muito bonitos opção de enfrentar outros players em arena,modo história onde você conta com a ajuda de algum amigo (ou não caso não queira) e demais eventos também,você pode adquirir personagens clássicos de todas as sagas Final Fantasy e alguns personagens convidados como por exemplo(Nier: Automata B2 e A2 e Tomb Raider Lara Croft),um jogo viciante.… Expand
  8. nichi
    Dec 22, 2020
    7
    The Best gacha game that I've played!.
    Graphics: 6/10. Art/Design/: 7/10. Music/Soundtrack: 9/10. Gameplay: 10/10. Story: 10/10 Interface: 8/10 World: 7/10;
    Cutscenes: 10/10.
    The problem is that this game was not made for the screen of many cell phones, and pixelart could have been much better, just like the Grand Summoners.
  9. Pewsplosions
    Jul 4, 2018
    10
    There is so much to this game I do not even know where to begin. I know many people will just dismiss it as another daily grind, gacha addiction, but if you really play the game and give it a chance, it is so much more.

    I am not a person that gets addicted to things. But I am addicted to this game. If you have problems with addiction, you should probably stay away. Unless you are okay    There is so much to this game I do not even know where to begin. I know many people will just dismiss it as another daily grind, gacha addiction, but if you really play the game and give it a chance, it is so much more.

    I am not a person that gets addicted to things. But I am addicted to this game. If you have problems with addiction, you should probably stay away. Unless you are okay with burning money and time.

    I am not going to actually spoil anything but a quick overview of how the game works may help people decide if it really is more than a gacha addiction. First, as would be expected of a game like this, the events are constant and require a lot of your time and attention. So much so that it makes it difficult to actually give the rest of the game the time it deserves. This is not a bad thing of course. If you want to stay current on events, it is great and fun. Every event provides awesome and useful rewards.

    If you get time or decide to forego some of the event grind however, you will discover a huge world. The story starts somewhat cliche and rigid admittedly however it develops very well. The huge character lineup and the different kingdoms' conflicts makes for a very intriguing and enjoyable experience. Rain, the main character, has actually managed to climb into my favorite characters list. The supporting cast is also very enjoyable.

    At its core however, the game is really a turn based strategy and character building game. It is very fun to collect equipment and abilities and characters... then mixing and matching what you have to complete trials and challenging fights. Of which there are many. The story fights will typically be easy, the event fights range from very easy to moderately difficult. But the trials, which is where you get the best rewards aside from trust masteries, is where your skills with building your characters and strategies will really come into play.

    I honestly cannot praise the extended game enough. If you get beyond the gacha and the event grind mechanic, there is so much to the game that it is both extremely fun and somewhat difficult to keep up with.

    That is my review, go play it. Give it a real chance and do not pass it off as another mobile gacha addiction. But control that addiction when you play because it will be very real.    … Expand
  10. Arkidd
    Sep 18, 2022
    7
    While not perfect, I can say it's quite surprising how resourceful this game is when it comes to units, how evolve them and how good they can become all of a sudden.
    Yet... drop rates are laughable on further steps which, ironically, should be backwards.
    Anyways... it's enjoyable the least.
  11. Misterdiony
    May 16, 2021
    8
    Brave Exvius is one of the few "free" mobile games that are enjoyable to me. As I am a fan of turn based games, I quickly fell in love and finally found something to play on the phone. The trials / boss fights can be quite challenging and the story has been nice to follow. Like all "free" games it consists of costly microtransactions - they feel less predatory compared to other games though.
  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

6
#6 Most Discussed iOS Game of 2016
14
#14 Most Shared iOS Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 18, 2016
    50
    Square tried to give us a modern game heavily inspired by classic Final Fantasy titles, but lost its orientation somewhere on the way. The only advantage of Brave Exvius is the wonderful music during battles. [11/2016, p. 75]
  2. Games Master UK
    Sep 6, 2016
    79
    We could do with a bit more narrative oomph, but the core game is one which suits the format perfectly. [Sept 2016, p.85]
  3. Digitally Downloaded
    Jul 26, 2016
    70
    It combines the nostalgia of Record Keeper with a typical storyline and free-to-play features that makes it irresistible despite a lack je-ne-sais-quoi/oomph.
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