Square Enix breaks a record in App Prices! Let's Play Final Fantasy Dimensions!

This was a big sticking point for me, and it took a while to try to narrow down what exactly makes the font stand out.
I'm confused. The menu/UI fonts have always been sans-serif, as far as I can tell. Here's an image from somebody's bitmap font pack covering some of the early games:

So yeah, the title font has serifs, but not the actual menu/UI fonts.

As a more recent example, here's a menu shot from FFXII, which uses a bunch of different fonts, all sans-serif:

The HP/MP numbers there are almost certainly Futura. The LEVEL/MAX/ATTRIBUTES text is the same font they eventually used for damage numbers in XIII (something off-the-shelf, I just can't remember what).

I still haven't been able to identify the font used for the main text. The combination of that double-storey "a" and the lack of any tail on the "t" is pretty unique. I think it is some kind of in-house font.

Anyway, the font used in Dimensions is some kind of standard sans-serif (probably something built-in to iOS), and it isn't all that different from what you see in something like XII.

This seems to be the bigger factor. I'm not sure exactly when the black outline/drop-shadow became a hallmark of the series, but it is certainly something that our eyes are trained to expect. Even though the font itself is close to what the other games use, the lack of embellishment makes it look drab and utilitarian.

Most of those Ls have serifs and all of the NES- and SNES-era fonts have serifs on the I. (I was wrong about the PS2-era and onward, though, and I don't remember what the PSX games did.) The drop shadow (or sometimes outline) became standard with 5 and has appeared in I think every game since. I'm not a big fan of the GBA fonts, but I at least know what they were going for.

The real problem with Arial as a font choice is that it does a poor job of conveying the FF brand. I think adding a shadow would have helped a lot here, but so would using an established font (Futura, for example). I'm not a typographer, but even an untrained eye can look at that game and say, "Hey, that's the font my web browser uses."

AND YES, this is fine-toothed nitpicking.

I find it funny that the #1 gripe seems to be the fonts when my pet peeve is the horrid field sprites for the characters. They're facing head-on instead of 3/4ths, and therefore look like cutouts, completely separate from the maps they're standing in.

(Not to mention the segmented, orangutan-like arms...)

I wouldn't say the font is my #1 gripe. I've complained about the character sprites already. I think we can all agree that this game is a mess visually and move on.

I'm totally down with this since for some reason they don't seem to be putting it out on Android (at the same time? At all? Who knows?) and I probably wouldn't buy it anyhow.

Small suggestion: Put your witty input text in parenthesis. Just the shift from italics (which I think you missed a couple times) isn't enough to make it read right all the time.

I don't mind the witty input, but I need to be able to tell when it's you and when it's the game.

Ack. Yeah, you are right. It looks like they threw in those serifs to disambiguate the lower-case "L" and upper-case "I."

Edit: Note that, e.g., Verdana and Droid Sans are still considered sans-serif fonts despite having serifs on the upper-case "I" for disambiguation.

Ok. Then I'll keep trying to update if it's no problem then. Oh, and yeah it's swords, knight/holy swords, and dark swords. As for the in game sprites, while it doesn't show on those images, some later enemies (the humanoid ones mostly) look...odd. Like there was effort involved, but then everything got blurry. And thank you all for the input. It really helps a newbie like me. Oh, and if I didn't say it, the game is on Android in Japan. Europe apparently is the other receiver of it on that platform. Yeah...

How many dev teams does Matrix have, anyway? It would be pretty cool if they went from a remake of III to a remake of IV to their own take on V but I wonder if that actually happened? Or where TAY fits into the equation.

Just throwing this out there, but is there any way to get quality screenshots of the 2010 Japanese cellphone original? If the LPer or someone else was willing to play through that, it would make a great companion piece to the iOS remake.

this honest to god looks like it was made with RPGMaker XP. same font and windowskin, same pastey looking sprites. Looks bad.

Unfortunately, I cannot access that version of the game, and the only person I know who did a play through of that version removed all the videos. As for images, the wiki has some, and the site might as well.

So, because real life decreed no "real" update this week, I will instead give you "Gameplay Mechanics!" (As if you need them)

So, when you see any of the in-battle pictures, there is a little arrow at the bottom right-hand corner. When poked, it reveals three options: Auto-Battle, Pause, and Escape.
Esape does what you think it does, and can be toggled on and off by poking it. Of course some battles (ex. Plot-battles) are inescapable. There are also two abilities that let you escape immediately if possible, so this is useful until then.
Pause is also self explanatory, and will be automatically done if you exit the app by pressing the home button in the middle of battle.
Auto-battle however, is what you will be using the entire way through the game to get past random encounters. It will, by default, cause the gameplay to seemingly triple in speed, and cause your characters to physically attack. However, if you go into the options menu and press "Remember" for battle commands, it will make characters use that move until a) the battle is finished b) they die or c) they run out of MP if it uses it. An example is if I had Aigis use Fire and then turned on Auto-Battle, he would continue using Fire. This function also carries from fight to fight. Helpful, no?

As for other options, your characters will always have the option to use the Attack (except in one case) Item, Defend, and Change commands.
Attack makes them attack physically, defend makes them take half physical damage till their next turn, Item lets them use and item, and Change let's them switch rows.
Rows functions like in FFV, in that being in the back row doubles your defense (physically) and halves it offensivly as well. Some weapons ignore that penalty. (Bows, Whips, some spears, boomerangs, and harps)

Well there you go! That's really all I can say without spoiling the rest of the game, gameplay wise anyway. (even if you do know about the job system!) oh, and sorry about how there are no pics for this. My laptop is getting replaced, and at the moment it's all I can use for this project.

I want new 2D FF games (especially with the job system) but this is just too cheap looking for FF.
It's only been ..... OH GOD .... 18 years since the last 2D entry, FF6...
*slumps away*

*slumps back*
One of the font's problems is the resolution difference from the actual game sprites.

That's a stupid attitude. It plays just like what you want.

It is a shame that they never went back to the realistic tile-based style of FF6, though.

Huh. Despite the very....amateurish-looking....presentation, the mechanic honestly seems robust enough.

And...

Long time ago, I was wondering what it would like to have a hybrid of a supple Job System and FFIV style of integrating narrative events with party development. This..seems like it?

Do go on, I'm really interested to read about the particulars of the job system (especially since the p/reviews I've read barely skimmed the surface of it).

I love that they've returned to the light/darkness duality of FF3, myself.

Oh, then you'll love the rest of the game then. It takes that to an interesting conclusion.

As for plot related upgrades, there are 2 spells gained through the plot. Guess which ones! (Hint: think FFV for one and FFIV for the other)

Old and Imp!

Meteo and Meteor!

If only! Oh, and you got, uh, one of them Mogri. I have to say, those were the best guesses I could have asked for!

Meteo(r) and Aqua Breath?

They are both learnable, actually! Just not how you think.

Meteor and Syldra?

The first is correct, but no pet dragon this time. But there is a mascot character summon unique to the game.

You need to stop commenting. I keep thinking there's a new update.

Oh. Sorry, but the urge to answer was too great! However, I haven't talked about price specifically, so might as well do it now.

I made mention of the fact that while the Prolouge is free, everything else costs mad cash. For reference, The World Ends With You costs $20.
Chapter 1: $2.99
Chapters 2-4: $8.99
Original Chiptunes music: $8.99
Bundle of Chapters: $28.99

This is all bought in-app.
So overall, the bundle saves you a buck, but chapter one is there for you to actually use jobs and find out if it's worth the rest of your cash. As for Chiptunes music, the game gives you the option to change both battle themes and the victory music to the original. I tried it for a bit, but I found the arranged versions just so much more interesting. Also, the game comes with an option to restore bought chapters using your apple account, so you can transfer across devices.

As for updates, I will be having free time both tomorrow night and Saturday, so if it isn't up tomorrow, it probably will be on Saturday. And we will finish the Prolouge, because I want jobs!
( Oh, and for reference, i am finally in the final FINAL dungeon in my personal file. And I am loving it.)

Hello, and welcome back to our Prologue! Last time, we had melodrama over Diana’s brother. This time, we prove that this game’s guards still follow the RPG cliché of not seeing people off screen. Let’s begin! Unfortunately, there is an entire village to explore before we crash a castle, so here’s some words!



Girl next to him: Did you know that before the empire had airships, they rode dragons!?
Boy with them: Lousy soldiers. They won’t even let me and my friends play in the courtyard.
The barrel there: Contains Eye Drops! (How old are these?)



Lady at table: It was kind of the empire to let Lux keep its sovereignty. When we were annexed, I was worried that something might happen to our kingdom. (Interesting. Wonder why they did that?)
Boy: My dad told me there’s a new checkpoint in the southern valley. I wish I could see it…

Woman outside: I wish my brother was as skilled and as handsome as Aigis.
Older Man: Don’t go causin too much trouble, you hear? You’ll worry your poor mother sick! (Wait! Actually parents! In MY RPG?!)
Outside Man #3: Once I enlist in the army, I’ll have enough gil to buy my honey a ring!




(Seriously! It’s like everyone that’s close to Sol has a burn quota with him or something. Anyway, the barrel on the left contains a leather hat. Why didn’t Sol have this on before? There’s also a phoenix down in the room farther down.)



Old Man: If Aigis goes to Avalon, Diana will be left all alone…(Someone gets it!)
Girl: I hear that chocobos live in the northern forest! I wish I could go see one.


(That lady sounds suspiciously creepy. Just sayin)



(Did I mention that Glaive has parents too? Cause he does!)
Glaive’s Mom: Take care of my boy, kids. If anything were to happen to him…
(Considering he’s our best fighter at the moment, he’ll be protecting us. Or specifically, Diana. There was also a potion near the parent’s bed and a tent in Glaive’s cupboard. I don’t know either.)



(Oh, the irony in this line!)

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into the castle!





Hey! It’s obligatory FF reference #3! In this game, we shall not pass. Welp, time to go home!



Glaive: Remember what I said about not worrying about the gates? Follow me.



(Oh! A SECRET PASSAGE! Wait. Can’t Biggs or Wedge see us? Whatever, they’re probably in shock about how Glaive pushed a statue 3 times his height like it was nothing. There’s a reason the website for the game has him as a monk!)

Sol: Wow! How did you find this?
Glaive: Not all of us spend our days fooling around. Come-on. Time’s a-wasting.

And with that, we enter the first dungeon! Castle Lux Basement! Let’s start raiding!



(This shield goes onto Sol, for a little more survivability. Yeah, I really just don’t like Diana battle-wise, so she gets shafted.)



(Here’s the first battle! A tarantula! Also, Libra in use. The animation is also used for at least 2 other abilities, with a slight difference.)



(Here is another battle start. An example of the plagues surrounding our castle’s basement includes bats and rats. Oh, did I mention the bats spam Bloodleach, which is just Drain? And that it lasts a couple of seconds, even with the game’s really fast auto-battle? And that rats can poison? Yeah…)



(Here is Glaive going super saiyin. A nice touch is that each time you use !Focus, it adds an extra ring and sound effect.)



(In this scene, Sol loses 1/7 of his max health, while Glaive slowly falls to infected rat bites. Poison does a flat percentage of HP damage in this game. It seems to be between 5% and 10%, but it’s easy to cure, unlike other permanent statuses.)



(Floor one complete!)





(By this point I realized I hadn’t shown the battle complete screen, so here’s Diana leveling up in celebration. Don’t worry about the AP column. There are two more chests on the floor, containing a Broadsword [Glaive’s] and a potion. Potions restore 100 HP in this game, while Phoenix Downs raise the dead/unconscious. Antidotes cure Poison, and Eye Drops cure Blind. Blind sucks in this game, especially since Esuna is gotten in Ch. 4.)



(Hmm. Wonder how we get this open?)



(By pulling this introduction to the puzzle-solving in this game! The chests contain a Leather Helm [Glaive’s], 100 gil [bah] and another potion.





(Scorpions too?!? This isn’t the desert! They can drop antidotes for the poison they will inflict.)

(We made it! But how do we continue? And if we do, maybe we should complain to the Health Department about that ordeal. But that might catch PETA’s attention, and that is not what a FF protagonist wants, what with all the animal murder they do. Oh, and remember this spot for later. It helps us get power.)



(Ah ha! A secret passage! If you try to leave the room to the south, Glaive will say “Follow me.” And head up.)



(What now?!?)



(Oh. Wait, can’t the guards and king see us? Are they all tunnel visioned or something?)



(Now the conversation)

King: Tell me Aigis. How went your first journey?
Aigis: I’m happy to say it was a fruitful. But, your majesty…
King: Yes my boy?
Aigis: Did your majesty truly summon me just to inquire about my expedition?
King: You always had that marvelous sixth sense. Then let me get straight to the point. The oracles tell me that there is something amiss with the Crystal. (FF Cliché #2)
Aigis: Amiss, your majesty?
King: Small though our kingdom is, we stand on equal footing with Avalon because of the Crystal. But that means there are people who would seek to take it for their own. (A king with common sense? In MY RPG?)
Aigis: With due respect, Lux is surrounded with dense forests (Cause that will stop a real invasion of airships) And the Temple is surrounded by mountains. (Ditto) And with the empire’s new checkpoint, we should have nothing to fear. (HAHAHAHAHAHA)
Minister: You dare ignore the oracles’ warning?
Aigis: Of course not. With your leave, I will go investigate right away.
King: I knew my trust was well placed with you lad.
Minister: Then you will need a squad of soldiers to help you. (A competent minister too? Will the surprises never end?)
Aigis: That will not be necessary. (Huh?)



(Uh oh. I think he caught us.)



King: Aigis, explain yourself.
Aigis: These are my apprentices, Sol and Glaive, and my sister, Diana.
King: You would mean to say that you would take them with you to the Crystal Temple?
Aigis: If your majesty would allow it. (What? Why? There’s no reason to endager your sister and-)
Sol: Awesome! (Dammit Sol!)
Glaive: Sol! Speak with reverence in the presence of his majesty. (Thank you Glaive. This is why you’re my favorite.)
King: I shall grant your request, Aigis.



(Again, a Minister that is competent! And caring.)
King: If our kingdom’s top swordsman places his trust in them, then so shall I.
Minister: B-but—
King: Do not underestimate the bonds of friendship. I have spoken. (‘K. Whatever that means)
Minister: Aigis and companions, I hereby charge you with the investigation of Crystal Temple. Remember to be on your guard, as the path through the northern cave is fraught with peril. (I like thinking Minister is his first name.)
King: The oracles have never been wrong before, but we must hope that they are mistaken this one time.

(And we are finally allowed to steal talk around the castle.)



(This. This is actually very interesting. It also is a lie.)
White Mage#1: The Crystal is our great protector.
Black Mage#2: Did you know that without the Crystal, we mages would be naught but robed scholars?
White Mage#2: The Crystal is more than just a symbol. Its mere presence commands the respect of Avalon.



(If he wants to die, I guess Aigis can take some time to cut this guard up. Or burn him. There are a pair of shoes in a pot to the south. 2 point boost to defense and a point to speed.)



(By the endgame, this is less then pocket change. Hornets of Evil carry more than this!)



(A potion rests in here.)



(Yeah. Bugs. And stones. Sentient stones. Seriously.)







(Hey! It’s the Oracles! No, that isn’t a unique sprite for them.)

Center Oracle: We have been blessed with the power to hear the soft whisperings of the Crystal. (Just a thought. Diana may have been training/been born to be an Oracle. There isn’t anything stating it, but later plot kinda indicates it.)
Far North Oracle: The Crystal—it cries out in fear.
West Oracle: Destruction of the Crystal would mean the end of Lux as we know it.
(Unlike Black Mage 1 and 2, this is not a lie.)

So that’s the castle. Let’s head up to the Temple!



And kill sentient vegetation!

And here is a lovely cave. Notice the slight lighting effect. It’s a nice touch.



Oh, did I mention the giant frogs? Cause there are giant frogs.



And there is Cure’s animation. The higher tiers are just more green sparkles.





More giant bugs. And goblins.



And here is the first of WAAAYYYY too many Sacred Candles of uselessness. It cures the Curse status. This status halves all your damage. It is cured by this, and winning the battle. And other things. They sell for 100 gil though.



Snakes? Why did it have to be snakes?





2nd floor. Slowly moving through.



Exactly 1 more ATT then a short sword. The knife weapons are pretty bad. The most powerful is only 95 ATT. Note that you’ll be almost guaranteed to have 3 weapons over 100 at that point. And its possibly to have even more powerful ones that can be gotten.



Here’s another pair of shoes. Goes to Diana.



And here are the crystal rocks of doom. Gaze causes either Sleep or Paralyze. Guess what those do.



Another [Glaive] item.


And here is a save point! And a tent use. It functions like in FF I. 1000 HP and 100 MP restored.



And here is the save screen. Onto the next floor.



It’s a stylishy dressed man! And he’s being attacked!



(He even has ??? as a name!)
Glaive: Fight now, talk later!
Aigis: Stay focused, everyone!



And here is our (mini-)boss! Manatoise! Using Libra shows he has ???/??? HP and is weak to ice.





??? man’s magic list. Level 3 magic! Here’s both Level 2 and 3, I guess.

White Magic Level 2:
Slow: 7 MP Slows a single enemy, halving the speed of it. Can fail. (Unlike FF IV)
Silence: 5MP Inflicts Silence on an enemy, preventing spellcasting.
Mini: 6 MP Makes a target small, greatly decreases physical attack and defense. Toggle-effect.

White Magic Level 3:
Cura: 14 MP Restores a large/medium amount of HP to single/all allies.
Protect: 8 MP Halves (1/2) physical damage received by one/all allies. (But why single target?)
Raise: 22 MP Revives a single target with around 10% health.

Black Magic Level 2:
Poison: 2 MP Inflicts the Poison status, inflicting 5%-10% max health damage. (Immunity sucks though…)
Sleep: 7 MP Inflicts Sleep, preventing actions. (Freezes the ATB gauge wherever it is.) PHYSICAL damage wakes them up, but some moves can ignore that.
Toad: 8 MP Transforms a target into a toad, making target deal 1 damage 100% of the time and preventing anything but the casting of Toad.

Black Magic Level 3:
Fira:10 MP Deals medium fire damage to single/all targets.
Blizzara: 10 MP Deals medium ice damage to single/all targets.
Thundara: 10 MP Deals medium lightning damage to single/all targets.

Well that’s that. Anyway, weren’t we in the middle of a fight? The strategy is Sol and Glaive spam attack, Diana casts Cure everywhere, and Aigis spams Fire. Why? You’ll see later. ??? spams Blizzara for like 300 damage and Cura’s for max healing.