Announced back in 2013, the game was first known as Final Fantasy Agito, which changed to Final Fantasy Type-0 Online, and by the time it launched in China recently, the new name was Final Fantasy Awakening. Developed by an internal studio at Perfect World China, with the Final Fantasy IP officially licensed from Square Enix, the game is really far from what a Final Fantasy fan would expect.
To briefly summarize, Final Fantasy Awakening is a China-style mobile game with a Final Fantasy Agito skin. One has to take into account the various VIP schemes, the massive paying benefits, the blatant cash-for-power events, and many more. Final Fantasy Awakening is a very shallow mobile RPG, but demands attention because of the game settings which are unique from most Final Fantasy games.
Starting out, there are 4 nations in Final Fantasy Awakening, each based on the 4 mystical beasts in Asian fengshui: White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise. Playing as a student of a magical academy in Vermillion Bird, the nation was attacked by the tech-crazed White Tiger, which was soon followed by plots and conspiracies involving the other nations.
Players will soon find themselves being inducted into the prestigious Type-0 class, where apparently the most gifted and snotty magic students are gathered. They are sent on the most dangerous of missions, all while wearing their school uniforms. Players can spend cash to roll for new teammates (gacha system), or simply spend loads of cash to buy selected ones in the current launch events.
Classic elements such as the summons (Bahamut, Odin, etc) and Moogles can be found, along with characters from the Final Fantasy series making cameos. There is also a multitude of game modes other than the story campaign, including solo and party dungeons, PVP arena, guild dungeons, mini-games, and many more features for the launch version, a popular game design choice in China.
