Mobile gaming has become one of the most popular and lucrative elements of the industry, but it wasn't always like that. Even four years ago, far more people were turning up their noses at the idea of a compelling, engaging video game experience housed on their phones. While there have been plenty of titles that have proven that reluctance wrong in the years that followed, one of the first to really run with the idea that popular, already beloved franchises can find second lives on mobile devices was Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, developed by Alim in collaboration with Square Enix.
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius didn't just shrink down an already well-known Final Fantasy story into a more digestible mobile version - it created a whole new roster of characters with their own motivations and struggles. While the game frequently includes characters from other Final Fantasy games as part of its many events, it demonstrated that with the right amount of care, mobile game developers could insert their own ideas into franchises that previously existed only on consoles and PC platforms and create something worthy of the series name it inherited. While mobile gaming has evolved relentlessly over the years to include juggernauts like Fortnite and PUBG, there remains a consistent and voracious appetite among users for RPG titles, particularly ones with characters to collect.
Now, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is in the midst of celebrating its fourth year anniversary, and the game is still going strong. Screen Rant recently got the chance to interview producers Kei Hirono and Hiroki Fujimoto about their work on the long-running mobile game. In the interview, we cover Final Fantasy Brave Exvius' future plans, the challenges of producing content across several languages, and which FFBE updates both producers are most proud of.
First of all, congratulations on hitting the four year milestone for Final Fantasy Brave Exvius! What do you think has made the game such a big draw to fans who continue to play even now?
Kei Hirono: A deep story, compelling characters, a unique game system—I think various aspects of the game came together to enable Brave Exvius to grow into something that has been loved by the player base for over four years. The story has been particularly well received, and I take pride in my work on it. I think another reason is that even since the early planning stages, we’ve approached the title with the intention of creating a Final Fantasy game that we like: a Final Fantasy game of our own.
Hiroki Fujimoto: I think a major reason is that Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is a game that you can casually pick up and play on a mobile device, while also having the core elements of a Final Fantasy game— story, battles, and exploration—deeply woven into it. I think players appreciate the new stories and events which are released monthly in eight different languages.
Sometimes, players want to pick up a mobile game but feel like they’ll struggle to catch up if it’s been out for a long time. What would you say to people who feel that way about Final Fantasy Brave Exvius to encourage them to give it a shot?
H. Fujimoto: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius has been in operation for over four years, and we take extra care to ensure players do not feel daunted by the thought of jumping in at this stage. For example, we’ve made it possible for players to choose a unit of their liking from the Final Fantasy series that they can immediately place in their party and use in battle. This is so that even first-time FFBE players can immediately participate in and enjoy the latest content. The story has also been built upon over the past four years, so there’s plenty that’s ready for players to enjoy at their leisure.
It’s free to play, so I hope even if you’re new to the game you will try it out!
What were some of the challenges in making a Final Fantasy mobile game initially?
K. Hirono: I feel a massive amount of pressure since we’re creating a game as part of the Final Fantasy franchise, which is beloved by so many people throughout the world. The nature of a F2P game is that if the game’s service ends, it can no longer be downloaded and played (i.e. the game won’t be around anymore)—I think the most important thing is to keep the game going. I’m very conscious about this in particular because we’re working with an IP as cherished as Final Fantasy. I’ve been saying this since the beginning to both players and on-site team members, but my hope is that this game will continue for ten years or more.
Are there any new difficulties over the more recent years that didn’t exist when Final Fantasy Brave Exvius first launched? How has the process of working on the game changed over the years?
K. Hirono: This is not a standalone game release, but rather a live service title that receives regular updates; as you might imagine, the amount of story content has grown to an enormous volume. This means that new players might find it a bit difficult to catch up with the latest story chapters. Over the years, the development team has also had members shift around and also brought new members to the team, so especially for those members who’ve been around since the early days, the scope and scale of everything has increased, and it’s changed quite a bit.
H. Fujimoto: The global version has offered support for six languages, and with our fourth anniversary we’ve added language support for two additional languages: Thai and Indonesian. We decided to undertake the challenge of adding new languages as we enter our fourth year, because our hope is for even more people around the world to be able to enjoy Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
What’s been your favorite content update since the game’s beginning? Do any of them stand out as ones you’re particularly proud of?
K. Hirono: If by content update you’re referring to new story and characters, I would say the main story updates. It’s the part that we dedicate the most effort towards. The themes that embody each ‘season’ of our story and the way the stories unfold within each of these chapters are my favorite.
H. Fujimoto: If I were to think of an update in the global version, I’d say the Defiance of Fate: The Lightning Tyrant event that took place at the end of last year.
During one of our fan meet-ups earlier last year, many players told us, “We want you to give us a stronger and more difficult boss.” In addition to fulfilling that request, we also wanted to convey how fun boss battles are to even more of our players, which led us to develop this particular boss so that it was unlike anything we’ve ever brought to the game before.
In terms of more recent updates, I’d say the release of Neo Visions. Even though the original time gap between the Japanese and global versions was six months, we shortened that schedule to four months in order to have the Neo Visions make it in time for the anniversary. We worked tirelessly on the development out of our desire to bring new content to global players as soon as possible. Due to effects of COVID-19, the implementation saw a slight delay from what was originally planned, but I’m very proud of our development team for still being able to shorten that gap.
After four years, it can be difficult to keep creating new, interesting ideas for a game, even one with as much to draw on as Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. What are some plans for the future that you can share?
H. Fujimoto: There’s still a lot more that I want to do, and there’s a lot that we haven’t been able to do just yet. It’s my belief that FFBE is a game that will continue to evolve even further as we continue.
In terms of upcoming plans, this is something that we’ve talked about during a recent livestream, but in September, the global original units Starlight Elena and Yoshikiri will be coming to the game. Additionally, around spring of next year, we’re going to introduce characters that were selected as the winners of one of our fan unit design contests as Neo Visions, so please look forward to those.
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is pretty well known for its collaborations. In particular, I think the most memorable have been ones with pop stars like Ariana Grande. Are there any other celebrities you’d love to see show up in Brave Exvius?
H. Fujimoto: There are several artists we’re thinking could be potential candidates for a future celebrity collaboration. FFBE is constantly evolving, and I think it would also be fun if we could collaborate with a different type of artist than who we have thus far.
However, whether another artist collaboration will actually happen is still completely undecided at the moment, so we are unable to share any information.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve both learned working on Final Fantasy Brave Exvius that you wish you’d known before you started?
K. Hirono: We hadn’t imagined just how big the game would become from a content perspective, so in retrospect, I think maybe we should have included language support for even more languages at the time of the global version’s release, as it becomes even harder to do so when we need to catch up on localizing all of the previous content.
H. Fujimoto: I feel the same as Mr. Hirono in that we now support eight languages, but I wish we would have included even more. I think it would have been great if we could have added more Middle Eastern, South American, and European languages, too.
Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans who have supported the game for so long?
K. Hirono: Thank you very much for your support. I truly believe that it’s thanks to all of you that we’ve been able to continue creating and providing content for FFBE. I hope you’ll keep supporting us and encouraging us as you have until now, and we will strive to continue being a game that will thrive for ten years to come. All of the staff members will continue to dedicate ourselves to this game, so I hope you’ll look forward to what we have in store!
H. Fujimoto: Thanks to all the support of you, the players, the global version of FFBE has been able to make it so far as to celebrate our fourth anniversary. I’m truly grateful to you all for playing. I want to continue creating content that you’ll have fun playing and that I hope will give you joy, even if it’s just a little.
This year, we haven’t been able to conduct any fan meet-ups or fan receptions in your home countries due to effects of COVID-19, and I’m very disappointed that I can’t meet with you and talk to you all in person. However, I hope to explore the possibilities of having fan meetings in another format so that we can continue to evolve and develop FFBE together with you. I hope you’ll continue supporting us along the way.
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is available now as a free-to-play download for both iOS and Android mobile devices.