I’m going to start with that I actually do like Type-O. I like the pacing of combat and the story for the most part and would recommend it to any Final Fantasy fan. 

But it is, from a technical and mechanics stand point, very irritating. 

First thing I noticed were the cut scenes, something that the Final Fantasy series uses heavily. None of the character’s lip-syncing animation actually lines up with what they are saying, and almost every time they stop speaking the mouth keeps on moving for a second or two. It also has a bad habit of having unidentified characters speak from off-camera, making it confusing who is talking and if they are important or not. These also tend to be the moments where the game betrays its portable game origins, as the characters seem to look odd around the faces and hands. 

While none of what I listed above are anything more than petty grievances, taken together they can be very annoying, especially for a cut scene and narrative-heavy game in which you will have to see them a lot. 

Type-O also has an arbitrary time mechanic that serves no real purpose. Between story missions, you have a countdown time to when the next mission will begin, and until then, you free to do as you please.

Interacting with other characters and triggering events will cause the timer to go down. Fine in theory, but then game creates the ludicrous situation in which a four- or five-line conversation, according to the timer, costs two hours. And most of these conversations are simply world or character building, nothing related to major plot points, making it more irritating.

Combine that with side quest system, where the player can choose to fulfill requests from characters but for whatever arbitrary reason can only do one at time, creating further headaches. Many side quests require traveling to the “over world,” which automatically takes six hours off the countdown. But since you can only do one quest at time, the game effectively forces the player to waste many in game hours. 

Gripes aside, Type-O is a fun game when it hits its stride, and that’s the combat. From the start, one can select one of 12 characters to play as and switch back and forth between them easily. Each character as her or his own weapon and play style, everything from physically powerful characters wielding spears to mages to long-range gunners. The combat is fast-paced and real time and requires the players to pay attention to their surroundings even when their opponents are right in front of them.

The other treat that comes with Type-O is the demo for Final Fantasy XV. From playing the demo, I can say two things: XV looks beautiful and plays beautifully. The combat is also real time and has a bit of a learning curve switching seamlessly from offense to defense. 

Final Fantasy Type-O is a game that has many minor annoyances, but if you can look past them, the game is quite fun and briskly paced. Any longtime fan of the series should find something to appreciate to in this title. 

Grade: 7.5 out of 10

Final Fantasy Type-O HD is available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.