One small tweak made to Square Enix's new mobile version of Final Fantasy VII might make it the first Final Fantasy I ever finish.
I want to like turn-based role-playing games. I have a soft spot for complicated, unusual storylines and overwrought characters. But I never seem to make it to the finish line. These games often seem content to hide their most attractive elements under a web of busywork, burying story and exploration under a morass of grinding and mini games.
This is why I'm legitimately excited for the Final Fantasy VII iOS port that released last week, because it lets you turn off random encounters.
For me and a lot of other players, random encounters—where the game abruptly and without warning transitions you from exploring the world into grinding through a battle—are a huge barrier to enjoying these games. Random encounters really clog up the PlayStation-era Final Fantasy games in particular; every step or two is punctuated by a combat experience that requires low skill and serves nothing but to pad out the experience and tank the pacing.
But in the iOS version, you can turn them off with a simple menu command. The world of Midgar, formerly a treacherous minefield of one-eyed bats and inexplicably hostile cacti, is now a tranquil paradise. A player who wants to soak in the atmosphere like myself can just breathe, finally, after all these years.
The option to turn off random encounters was made popular by Bravely Default, a smart take on the classic JRPG released last year on the 3DS. The feature allows the player to shape their own experience without compromising the core of what makes these games work—novel bosses, strong characters, vibrant worlds. When you do want to level up your characters, you can always turn the battles back on.
This Final Fantasy VII port is by no means perfect: The control scheme is clunky, and all the old warts are still there. But it also feels much more welcoming, the sort of place I'd like to stay a while in.
