When Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade was released in Japan back in January, it developed a massive following almost immediately. The game paired classic Final Fantasy gameplay with modern social hooks, a potent combination which has led to a userbase of over 3 million people. And now, courtesy of a partnership with DeNA, Square Enix will be releasing the game in the US and Canada. I hope you’re ready to train some Chocobos.
I know how scary it can be when a well-known series makes the leap to mobile/social, but cutesy graphics aside, Airborne Brigade doesn’t stray too far from the Final Fantasy formula. Players will still go on epic quests, navigate monster-filled dungeons, and even try their hand at various occupations. There will also be summons, so expect many an opportunity to throw Ifrit into battle and laugh as he engulfs the enemy in flames.
And did I mention Chocobos? They’ll definitely be in the game. I’m not 100% certain about Moogles, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t make an appearance. And if we’re really lucky, the Choco/Mog summon from Final Fantasy VII will return.
And now for the new social stuff. Every player in the game will have an airship to call their own, and they can form “airborne brigades” with other players. Similar to MMOs, being in a group with others is crucial to taking out some of the bigger bosses and, ostensibly, completing some of the game’s quests. There’s likely to be more social content than that, but both companies are staying mum on the subject for now.
There’s no release date yet, but the press release mentions that Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade will launch “soon.” Those who would like to be notified of when the game is live have two options: Follow it here on Gamezebo, or pre-register at this site. Not to shoot down our own website or anything, but going with the latter option will net you a free Cloud Strife “Summon Stone” when the game launches. Just saying.
“