5 Games That Prove Final Fantasy Has Become Nothing More Than A Cash Cow

Exemplifies - Microtransactions

If you do a quick Metacritic search for Final Fantasy, you'll see that the myriad of spin-off games (and their usually ridiculous subtitles) have mostly received decent reviews, even if these ultimately did nothing to make them stand out. There is one title that sticks out like a sore thumb, however, which is Final Fantasy: All The Bravest.

With a Metascore of just 25, the game took an absolute savaging upon its release. Much criticism was aimed at the tedious combat mechanics, which lacked any strategic elements and instead gave players just one command to use against enemies, prompting IGN's review to comment that it could be completed with one's eyes closed.

The 'appeal' of the game was its inclusion of thirty five characters from Final Fantasy history, but access to them was achievable only through what has become a highly controversial practice in the world of mobile gaming - microtransactions.

The core feature of the 'freemium' gaming model that is becoming more and more prevalent, microtransactions make players pay fees for access to content. Individually, these fees are small, but they combine to become hugely profitable for developers and as such have begun polluting the industry in droves in recent years.

As a result of its microtransaction model, unlocking all of the content in All The Bravest comes at a cost of $54, not including the one-off fees that can be used to revive knocked out party members immediately, which otherwise takes three minutes per downed character.

Despite the critical mauling that the game received, Square Enix have continued to use microtransactions in other mobile titles. Hopefully they'll keep them away from the core series, but as long as there exists people who are willing to pay for instant access to things that would otherwise only be achievable through hours of gameplay, don't put it past them...