‘Final Fantasy Explorers’ Comes To North America In 2016

FF Explorers — Multiplayer action in "Final Fantasy Explorers." https://store.na.square-enix.com/

After being exclusive to Japan for a number of years, the action role-playing game “Final Fantasy Explorers” will be coming to the West early next year for the Nintendo 3DS, according to Square Enix. “Final Fantasy Explorers” is a co-op-focused action RPG with elements that are similar to Capcom’s “Monster Hunter” franchise, but it also includes familiar mechanics that were previously seen in some of the older “Final Fantasy” games.

The “Monster Hunter” elements focus on multiplayer quests that involve taking down a number of giant monsters that a player can’t handle alone. The game also has elements from the “Pokemon” series, as players will be able to recruit into their party the monsters they’ve encountered and use them in battle against a variety of enemies.

While some elements were taken from other games, the 3DS RPG is still a “Final Fantasy” game at heart, with plenty of references and gameplay mechanics from its predecessors. According to a report from Siliconera, the job classes that can be chosen are Knight, Monk, White Mage and Black Mage, all of which were in the very first “Final Fantasy.”

Other familiar elements from “Final Fantasy” games include the ability to summon Eidolons like Ifrit and Bahamut. It seems players are going to have to defeat them first before they become accessible, which is similar to how summons were achieved in “Final Fantasy VIII.”

Pocket Gamer has also confirmed that “Final Fantasy Explorers” will give players the ability to transform into their favorite characters from the series. This is done through the Trance system, though how transformation is achieved hasn’t been revealed yet. So far, the confirmed characters that players can turn into are Lightning from “Final Fantasy XIII,” Squall from “Final Fantasy VIII” and Cloud from “Final Fantasy VII.”

“Final Fantasy Explorers” will be available in North America on Jan. 26, 2016, while Europe will get the game on Jan. 29. Though the game is heavily focused on multiplayer, Square Enix has confirmed that the game can be played in single-player mode.