I Can't Wait For You To Finally Play This Final Fantasy Spiritual Successor

I'll preface this by admitting I'm not entirely unbiased in my assessment of how important it is to play games that owe anything in their DNA to. As someone with several tattoos from the game series, there's a certain level of commitment involved in that decision that immediately means I have a soaring opinion of the franchise. I won't defend its worst moments — though I think is criminally underrated — but I think the series has justifiably staked its claim as one of the most important contributors to the JRPG genre, time and again.

So it goes without saying that I was always interested in. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of, is the founder of Mistwalker, the developer that made. Looking at its aesthetic, it's a beautiful blend of innovative ideas — diorama displays fueled by Sakaguchi's interest in minatures — and the traditional, with pixel-esque art for the characters that evokes some of the best designs from and other classics. Mechanically, it's a JRPG through-and-through, with none of the heavy differences in gameplay that sometimes cause fans of the genre to question a game's place in the canon. Everyone politely waits their turn to attempt to obliterate the enemy.

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encountered a roadblock before it ever got much of a chance to shine, though — it released exclusively on Apple Arcade. Nothing against that service, but it felt like an odd fit at the time that has now been proven to be a little too niche, reaching only a fraction of the audience it had potential to ensnare. Now, with, the game is coming to Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows. There will be no more excuses for its reception and staying power, but I don't think it ever needed them. In my hands-on at Gamescom 2024, I quickly understood that is well worth a playthrough, especially on Switch, and will scratch that traditional JRPG itch for