All Articles: Final Fantasy Explorers

US gamers first got wind of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Explorers a little over a year ago, when the publisher filed a trademark application for the title. Available in Japan since last December, Square Enix announced yesterday that the game will make its North American debut in early 2016.

Final Fantasy Explorers is an action RPG for the 3DS that will give one-to-four players the chance to find the Grand Crystal and push back the hordes of monsters overtaking the land:

The world is on the brink of war over its reserves of crystals, the planet’s chief source of power. Players must band together to form an elite squad of Explorers on an island rich in crystals, braving hordes of monsters in hopes of conquering a newly discovered Grand Crystal – every Explorer’s dream.

Final Fantasy Explorers focuses on cooperative play with friends and utilizes a refined party system allowing Explorers to master over 20 new and familiar jobs—including Knight, Monk, Black Mage and White Mage—to defeat the realm’s mightiest monsters and even recruit them for battle. Players will have the ability to call upon the powers of eidolons like Ifrit and Bahamut, as well as transform into other legendary characters from the Final Fantasy series via the Trance feature.

Final Fantasy Explorers will be released on January 26, 2016.

Square Enix has filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for Final Fantasy Explorers, a fact that makes me intensely excited. Siliconera has had a lot to report about the game, like the fact that it will have “about 20 jobs,” including previously mentioned “Black Mage, White Mage, Knight and Monk,” and then also “Dragoon, Paladin, Thief, Ninja, Red Mage, Time Mage, and Bard.”

The game is currently being developed for the 3DS, and I’m slightly freaking out about it. You will be able to maneuver your weapons, armor, accessories, and abilities, and “once you learn an ability, they can be used on other jobs, as well.” The abilities will each have costs associated with them, and will cost double if you use them while in a different job. Oh and also you can befriend monsters and then they can join your party! Aaaaagh you can have monsters in your party. Why is this game not in my 3DS right this second.

Siliconera also wrote, “It is said that the game’s main portion actually takes place after you clear the story, boasting a volume of about 100 to 200 hours worth of gameplay.” No word yet on when it’s coming out (or an official US announcement, for that matter), but there is word that I’m going to buy it, and that you may not see me for a while.