Fairy Fencer F

 PlayStation 3
Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 31
  3. Negative: 2 out of 31
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  1. Digitally Downloaded
    Sep 15, 2014
    90
    As a new franchise, Fairy Fencer F is off to a heck of a start. It channels the sense of fun that the Hyperdimension Neptunia series is well known for, with cleaner and more refined production values and a touch of restraint (for the most part) to the storytelling that should see it appeal to a broader audience.
  2. PlayStation Universe
    Sep 15, 2014
    85
    A fun RPG that rewards those with the patience to delve through the story. Hyperdimension Neptunia fans will instantly be attracted to its similar charm. As a new IP it also acts as a nice launching pad for those wanting to enjoy a brand new series, especially with a sequel already announced at Sony's pre-TGS 2014 conference this year.
  3. GameCritics
    Oct 16, 2014
    80
    A solid story and engaging characters go a long way towards justifying a JRPG's existence, and the world of FFF is quite charming.
  5. Digital Chumps
    Sep 29, 2014
    80
    It's another solid addition to the PS3's library of JRPGs, and I recommend making an effort to check it out.
  6. PSX Extreme
    Sep 15, 2014
    78
    Fairy Fencer F is a big step forward for Compile Heart but not quite the realization of what these kinds of games are capable of in terms of quality.
  7. RPG Fan
    Oct 6, 2014
    77
    It's a relatively inoffensive JRPG.
  8. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Oct 30, 2014
    75
    Could've been worse. It's blurst. [December 2014, p79]
    All this publication's reviews
  9. ZTGD
    Sep 17, 2014
    75
    Fairy Fencer F is the title I had the most fun playing through from the developers at Compile Heart and yet, I feel they have the talent to do better.
  10. IGN
    Oct 4, 2014
    73
    A better RPG than it initially appears to be. It may have boring level design and a monotonous plot, but I was able to enjoy it for its amusing characters, great localization, and satisfying combat.
  11. Everyeye.it
    Sep 23, 2014
    70
    Fairy Fencer F is a classic Compile Heart game, with a solid combat system but a futile story, a nice gameplay but a trivial dungeon design.
  12. God is a Geek
    Sep 23, 2014
    70
    If you want a break from continuously chasing the so-called “next big thing” and fancy getting your teeth into a reliable, enjoyable and regularly funny RPG, then jump off the hype train and hang around with Fang and his gang of Fury hunters. You won’t be disappointed.
  13. GamingTrend
    Sep 23, 2014
    70
    Fairy Fencer F is more than adequate filler, and shows some promising ideas for the future of NIS America’s releases.
  14. DarkZero
    Sep 15, 2014
    70
    In the end, Fairy Fencer F is a solid RPG that does not break any new ground, but trims enough of the fat for an easily digestible experience.
  15. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Sep 11, 2014
    70
    There’s not much to Fairy Fencer F beneath the surface. You’re out to reluctantly save the world, and combat quickly becomes too easy.
  16. Gaming Age
    Sep 22, 2014
    67
    It’s not bad by any means, just not as interactive or engaging as other JRPGs available.
  17. Worth Playing
    Dec 17, 2014
    65
    RPG fans will enjoy the game, as it is still fun despite some of the obvious flaws. However, this title won't bring new fans into the fold.
  18. SpazioGames
    Sep 16, 2014
    65
    The road taken seems to be the right one for Compile Hearts, especially if we take a look at the recent past. Still, the result is far from the high level JRPG that the PS3 library is full of.
  19. LaPS4
    Sep 26, 2014
    63
    Fairy Fencer F had the upper hand and it didn't take advantage of it. The final result is an average RPG with poor visuals and strong, rock songs. Neither Yoshitaka Amano or Nobuo Uematsu could rise the game's name higher.
  20. IGN Italia
    Sep 30, 2014
    61
    Made with impeccable richness and dolled up with cut-scenes and "distracted" fine ladies, the new Compile Heart JRPG is not fully convincing, presenting a solid gameplay, without a challenge equally worthy. And in the absence of this balance, Fairy Fencer F loses a lot of biting, especially in the second half of the adventure.
  21. XGN
    Oct 14, 2014
    60
    The graphics of Fairy Fencer F are interesting and fun, especially the characters make this game lovely. It is too bad that it is a little bit too classical RPG, as it does not do a lot of good new things to the genre. Plus, the storyline has not been worked out very well throughout the game, which is a big miss.
  22. Gamestyle
    Oct 3, 2014
    60
    Fairy Fencer F just feels a little unpolished. Despite its innovations in reducing grind and the Weapon Point system’s initial promise, there’s too much that just doesn’t sit right.
  23. 3DJuegos
    Sep 23, 2014
    60
    A so-so JRPG based upon the mechanics established on the Hyperdimension Neptunia saga.
  24. RPGamer
    Sep 23, 2014
    60
    Fairy Fencer F is an enjoyable way to spend the roughly twenty-five hours it takes to complete.
  25. Push Square
    Sep 18, 2014
    60
    With a lifespan of over 20 hours, Fairy Fencer F is a decent RPG with an eventually enjoyable plot and challenging combat – albeit in some of the wrong places. Fans of the genre will end up really liking it, but it won't cast a spell on everyone by any stretch.
  26. Vandal
    Sep 14, 2014
    60
    As long as you expect a light RPG, both in game mechanics and story, it's indeed enjoyable, but there are better options out there.
  27. Hardcore Gamer
    Sep 10, 2014
    60
    Fairy Fencer F should serve nicely for those who don’t want anything too complex or something that will force them to think, but those hoping for something with a serious, epic story and meaningful exploration will want to look elsewhere.
  28. GameSpot
    Oct 30, 2014
    50
    There's too much detritus to dig through in order to get to the fun bits.
  29. Destructoid
    Oct 19, 2014
    50
    Fairy Fencer F is inherently flawed, but it does boast familiar combat, plenty of items to collect, and JRPG elements that do make up for some of its shortcomings. Unfortunately, dull and grating characters, an uninspired narrative, and the slog of the game’s lengthy dungeons drag it through the dust.
  30. CalmDownTom
    Sep 21, 2014
    50
    This is not a buggy or broken game: this is a game without any aspiration.
  31. Play UK
    Nov 16, 2014
    43
    You know those value brands that you often find in the big supermarkets? Fair Fencer F is the JRPG equivalent. With so much else around, it's not one we can recommend. [Issue#250, p.70]
    All this publication's reviews
  32. Game Revolution
    Sep 22, 2014
    40
    There just isn’t anything of note really in Fairy Fencer F. It looks outdated, feels “meh” at best and “Seriously, really?” at worst.

Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Best PS3 Game of 2014
44
#44 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2014
44
#44 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2014

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 54 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 54
  3. Negative: 9 out of 54
  1. ryuzaki57
    Sep 19, 2014
    7
    Last year, Compile Heart established a special label called Galapagos RPG for, as they say «true JRPG fans». Being a great fan of the genre,Last year, Compile Heart established a special label called Galapagos RPG for, as they say «true JRPG fans». Being a great fan of the genre, such hyperbolic declaration made me curious and I thus threw myself on this curious mixture of classic JRPG and fan-service JRPG.

    Fang, a lazy guy focused on sleeping and eating, suddenly sees himself turned into a Fencer after stumbling upon Alyn, a fairy. He reluctantly embraces his new job and goes in search for «furies», mystic cards that are the key to awaken the acient gods. All this under the threat of mega corporation Dolpha, sort a Shinra lead by some greedy man and 4 professional Fencers. Although the story setting is pretty classic, Fairy Fencer F (FFF) is in practice closer to Hyperdimension Neptunia than Final Fantasy. I mean that FFF will rely much more on humor and fan-service than on anything epic. While the devs tried to make it sound epic, FFF has hardly the means to be so : still screens and dialogs between 2D characters are not the way you do it, an the story isn’t anything special to begin with. The game felt also quite shorter than average (30-40h, maybe more for completionists).

    While FFF misses his self-proclaimed «true JRPG» title, it’s re-using Neptunia assets with some genius. It’s a constant flow of hilarious jokes, with a character design that goes real far into delirium. For this new label, Compile has let its imagination go beyond all the boundaries a bizarre : between Tiara the masochist Tsundere, Harler the mad scientist completely out of touch with the real world and Pinpin the unidentified greenish creature with some blade stuck in his head, you’re in for some good laughs. All this wouldn’t of course be complete without some kinky artworks : even though they’re not very inventive, FFF sure has them.

    What about Nobuo Uemastu and **** Amano then? Both Final Fantasy artists took part in FFF to give this aura of classic JRPG. Let’s get this straight : Tsunako (illustrator of Hyperdimension Neptune) and Amano, those styles don’t really get along. It’s like putting Neptunia characters in Final Fantasy IX : it’s wierd, kinda unnatural, but the juxtaposition of both styles has something fascinating in it. Amano doesn’t do much (essentially the Goddess and the Evil God designs) but it does make a nice change of atmosphere. Uemastu had a much bigger influence and makes FFF’s OST one of the best that has reached my ears this generation. Orchestration are fabulous and will make you instantly forget Compile’s awkward melodies. In short, FFF is a Neptunia in even stranger put into a FFIX frame. Personally, I enjoyed FFF just for Effole, who is a taciturn and kawaii assassin.

    FFF’s gameplay is actually dense. Battles are based on fully customizable combos with a heavy emphasis on aerials. Skills, magic and transformations inherited from Neptunia are also available. Everything including combos is learned and chosen by the player as the characters grow up, in a rather rich progression system. The game keeps the challenge system from Neptune V in which you gain stats bonuses by doing some actions (jump a certain number of times, getting a certain number of victory poses, etc.). Your characters will also equip the Furies that you collect in your adventure. Those ones possess passive skills and elemental affinities (the characters have some base affinities too). More than that, you can add passive skills each time you take off a seal in the divine world. It is quite hooking because you can build and optimize your game : you can prioritize physical/magical attack, experience gains, an element type or an attack type, etc. You have literally the cards in hand to make a strategy of your own. The problem is that FFF is too easy in its first half : you’ll have to wait some time before having to establish battle plans. Careful of the silly, useless and seriously tiresome platforming sequences (not that many thankfully).

    FFF’s graphics are really sub-par. It doesn’t match Neptune V which is 2 years older, or even Neptune Rebirth on PSVita! 3D models are kinda poor, but the worst lies in the terrible frame rate. It is so lame that it caused me headaches. I finished FFF last month and there was no patch to correct it.

    Fairy Fencer F lands far from the initial promise, it cannot go beyond its status of niche game. It won’t surpass Hyperdimension Neptune, but stays a good alternative.    … Full Review »
  2. TheDestroyer
    Dec 15, 2014
    8
    I am The Destroyer. I will break games, complain about the littlest detail, and tell you whether or not the game is worth buying. A lot ofI am The Destroyer. I will break games, complain about the littlest detail, and tell you whether or not the game is worth buying. A lot of things to say here, but can't due to the 5000 character limit.
    Finally! A JRPG game worth phrasing on the PS3! The critics are talking out of their a$$ to give it a 65. Fairy Fencer F is worth any JRPG gamer's time.

    1. Story
    Rather than describing the character you play as, I'm going to describe the main focus of what the story has you doing. The world is scattered with little creatures called Furys. Your job as the player is to go capture them all, so that you can bring them back and use their power to revive the Goddess, and have your wish granted. As your quest proceeds, more characters will be inclined to join your cause, and rivals will of course be inclined to take you down. That's all you need to know. Now, go out there and collect them Furys!

    2. Voice Acting
    Accepted. Not much else to say.

    3. Graphics and Visuals
    There are very little cut-scenes in this game with animation. Instead; the character portraits of whoever is speaking will face the screen, as if it were a theatre play. The portraits themselves will blink, breathe, and even show emotion on their face.
    As far as the actual animations and graphics for stuff like the city you live in, the dungeons, overworld, and battle animations, there is no lazyness here in it's design. Detail can be seen everywhere.

    4. Gameplay
    Gameplay refers to combat, customization, and various areas you can explore within the game. Put it all together and it's Above Average!

    -Battle System-
    The game's battle system follow a turn-based tactical style. Touching an enemy will begin the battle scene. From there, you move your character to a position on the field (or not at all), choose the move you want to do, and then the turn ends. It then becomes the next character's turn. Knock an enemy's HP down to 0 and you win. Now here is where the perfect 10 begins to crumble: there is a massive difficulty spike halfway through the game, where boss enemies suddenly get 3 times the amount of health as the previous boss. Another criticism is that cut-scenes removes your power-ups from any boss fight you start, making you having to waste more SP to cast. Also; character lines are fairly limited - you wind up hearing the same 1-liners over & over * over again. "My turn!" "Let's do this!" "New data!?"

    -Customization-
    This game allows you to customize your character's physical attacks and magic that you use during battle. However, some physical attacks will result in the same damage, even the moves you spend that hard-earned WP on. Outside of magic, the variety is just in it's animations, as you'll only need to stick to a few choice moves. The real customization comes from the Furys you can equip. Each character in your party can equip one Fury, and each will come with their own little attribute stat buffs & special abilities.

    -Exploration-
    The worst part of the game! Later dungeons are blanted cookie-cuts of ones you'll have already played, with the only changes being the enemies, immovable objects being placed elsewhere, and having a different dungeon name slapped on. This kind of practice may have been acceptable on previous consoles, but is not acceptable for the PS3 generation. It's also disappointing that there is no exploration anywhere outside of dungeons. The exploration is non-existent.

    5. Soundtrack
    Most of the music itself is really good; but feels unbalanced for a JRPG. You hear techno in one dungeon, fantasy opera in another, and then suddenly it plays rock music in one of the menus. It's almost as if its unsure as to what itself wants to demonstrate. Perhaps the developers will find a way to turn this into a new trend.

    6. DLC
    The original game itself is $64 canadian on disc. Adding all the DLC on top of it equals to around $106... You can clearly see that it's just a way for the company to earn that extra buck past the $60 limit, all for costumes & attachments that you'll probably only use for 2 to 3 battles before switching back. The only DLC worth looking at is the "Surpass Your Limits" sets, which increases the level cap and gives you another dungeon to play... and of course the free DLC.

    7. Personal Enjoyment
    I managed to get my moneys worth out of the 35+ hours it took for me to complete the game, but I can see how this game wouldn't be meant for everyone. But it's good enough for a sequel. I hope the developers address all the issues listed in this review so that they can make the next Fairy Fencer F game an even bigger success. It's battle system and creative stories has the ability to go a long way.

    8. Overall Verdict
    My verdict on this game is an 8 out of 10, barely good enough to be saved. You are not a true JRPG gamer if it isn't in your stack of games.    … Full Review »
  3. CzarIndustires
    Nov 18, 2014
    8
    I found the game enjoyable. Yeah it's not going to blow your socks off, but for a silly JRPG it gets the job done. I found myself coming backI found the game enjoyable. Yeah it's not going to blow your socks off, but for a silly JRPG it gets the job done. I found myself coming back for more.… Full Review »
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