in an age where square is trying to steal your paycheck with half-baked pixel 'remasters,' play a game that has the guts to make you throw your controller across the room in frustration.
cons; some engrish here and there, enemies oneshot you in the latter half of the game if you don't git gud, random battles are avoidable but can sometimes be tedious due to lack of enemy variety, doing a ten-minute long miniboss fight for no reward captures the true FFXI experience
pros; a monumental work of art from one sleepless genius, turn-based combat that somehow still manages to be gripping and fast-paced, a sprawling world that feels both fresh and original and also somehow an exact replica of the mmorpg, and the best parts of the classic FF games hand-picked to create an altogether amazing experience
Just a really excellent classic-JRPG romp all around. It's best described as a more challenging version of Final Fantasy V (the best 32-bit one imo) but...
- Set in Vanadiel with likable characters, and a storyline that's welcoming of newcomers unfamiliar with the mmo world - Amazing sound design (nostalgic music and tons of hand-placed and carefully curated beeps and whirrs and kupos) - With a sprawling amount of job options, character customization, and optional bosses who are ready to put your team to the test.
Probably the best rpg on itch right now, final fantasy or otherwise. This should NOT be a free game, so download it while it still is.
Hey there, I just played about 3hrs of your game and WELL DONE! I never played a FF fan game before but really enjoyed this. Good dialogue and great quest log set-up. Mapping was done very well too. I got lost a lot but, hey, I do that in real life too. :p
Anyways, the game kept my interest so I'll keep playing it. I did stream it tonight if you want to see my initial impressions but, be warned, it was my first stream. Hopefully, there's still some useful feedback for you though.
Head-up that the Jukebox in your menu is calling for filenames that have spaces in them so it didn't work. In case the info helps, The jukebox in the castle worked fine though. I called it a night but I'll let you know if I find any more bugs. Have a great night and best of luck on your project!
I want to thank Mithrandir from the bottom of my heart for putting so much time into creating this masterpiece! As a fan of this series since its inception and first arriving in the States back in 1990, I've always been left with a void in the numbering since XI and XIV were strictly MMOs and I've never been an MMO player: I'm sure they're fantastic games, but I'm a single player RPG gamer and I've waited nineteen years to learn about FF XI...and now thanks to Mithrandir, I - like many people before me - am falling in love with the world of Vana'diel! This game is so well done and as you play it, you can only marvel at how long it had to take Mith to put this colossal game together! I appreciate your time in doing this so everyone out there can enjoy a single player FF XI experience...and also for the people like me who have never had the opportunity to play it before! Now I can sit back and learn the lore of this fabulous game for the first time! I'm nearing fifty hours and having an absolute blast! And if you're someone reading this comment who hasn't downloaded the game yet...what are you waiting for?! Start downloading now so you can enjoy this amazing ride!
This game deserves your time and attention. Even if you've never played FFXI, Braver is a free (although you should donate) 60+ hour long rpg with incredible character customization, difficult battles that demand strategy (and a difficulty slider), a full discord of players ready to cheer on your victories, and an active developer that's constantly improving the experience. More stuff to do and explore is being added all the time.
As a long time FFXI player that has now got too little time to dedicate to it, FFXI Braver is a gift sent from Altana herself with the help of the creator. To make it simple, coming from a Game design/Animator Background these are my personal and opinion based scores:
My only criticism is the menu and inventory limitations, however that is not the creator's fault and more the system's limitations.
I look forward to more job balances and tweaks as later patches get added. All in all, this game is great for anyone that has only a couple hours or an entire weekend, as the main story takes only 30 or so hours, however, so much more can be done in terms of meta gaming and optional quests and party experimentation. I am up to 70 hrs...and the nostalgia factor is ever present.
A very enjoyable 30-ish hours of old school JRPG action with FFXI nostalgia. Game is surprisingly well balanced and writing is passable. If you're looking for something new set in the FFXI world this is your best option. Completed the game and did a fair amount of the optional content.
FFXI Braver is a brilliant recreation of FFXI as a Retro 8bit style RPG. It captures much of the FFXI experience in ways that will really bring out the nostalgia factor, and its tongue in cheek humor poking fun at the foibles of FFXI and the link shell communities we all had, are spot on. I've laughed so many times, and more than once I've been on the verge of tears of remembrance for halcyon days gone by. Truly a work of art, and an homage to one of the first and best MMORPG's ever. This Retro RPG by Mithrandir133 is absolutely a must play for any lover of Final Fantasy, in any of its incarnations. The game also has original story content, and keeps the player interested. The UI is clean, and easy to understand. The NPC's feel like the original in their manner and writing styles. Hat's off to Mithrandir133, and his supporters. Thank you so much, and well done!
No, just set in the same world. Some characters from the game itself make an appearance while others are original characters. The story is original, drawing on lore from source material.
I've put a few hours into this game so far (7 hours) made it to giddeus, got stuck there for some time...still stuck there XD, but i'm having an absolute blast, my one regret that i have, was not picking it up sooner, i saw a streamer playing it one day and thought "ooh!, that looks fun!." but didn't get it then....i love the combat system and bcnm/notorious monster systems, and i quickly fell in love with the characters ^^, it scratches my itch to play FFXI again, and it reminds me of the classic final fantasy games.
9/10 i consider it an actual final fantasy game :D
Don't let the traditional and simplistic graphics fool you. Braver has a GREAT combat system, fantastic balance overall, likable characters and an engaging story, I'm going to sink a ton of time into this game even without the nostalgia factor.
Mith knows how to make an RPG. I haven't been gripped so quickly by an oldschool rpg in years, and *never* by an rpgmaker one.
Addictive just like FFXI :) HardReset already pointed out what makes this game so fun, so I'll keep this short.
I've been testing Braver for Mith for a few weeks now and I have already put in over 60hrs. The balance between your party and bosses are spot on. The job system gives you the flexibility to play what you want and how you want to. Even if you have never played Final Fantasy XI, I still recommend you give this game a try.
I've seen this game from the very beginning and it has grown so much. I've been playing and testing for some years now and Mith has put in a ton of work. It really has that Final Fantasy XI feeling. Important characters and zones, especially the major city maps, are all nailed down in this 2d rendition of FFXI.
The job system is very balanced as every combination I've used so far has been successful. While combat is standard fare for an rpg, it stays lively with the ctb system and phases of bosses. Unlocking new jobs in the later game allow for new skills to be constantly entertaining.
If you ever played FFXI, you will feel right at home with this game.
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I have 100+ hours in this game. Both fans of FFXI and of 2D RPGs will enjoy.
Well maintained; it gets regular small updates with fixes, and occasional big updates with new jobs, quests, gear, bosses, areas, and story.
Join the discord for more joy, including community challenges with ingame rewards.
in an age where square is trying to steal your paycheck with half-baked pixel 'remasters,' play a game that has the guts to make you throw your controller across the room in frustration.
cons; some engrish here and there, enemies oneshot you in the latter half of the game if you don't git gud, random battles are avoidable but can sometimes be tedious due to lack of enemy variety, doing a ten-minute long miniboss fight for no reward captures the true FFXI experience
pros; a monumental work of art from one sleepless genius, turn-based combat that somehow still manages to be gripping and fast-paced, a sprawling world that feels both fresh and original and also somehow an exact replica of the mmorpg, and the best parts of the classic FF games hand-picked to create an altogether amazing experience
9/10
Just a really excellent classic-JRPG romp all around. It's best described as a more challenging version of Final Fantasy V (the best 32-bit one imo) but...
- Set in Vanadiel with likable characters, and a storyline that's welcoming of newcomers unfamiliar with the mmo world
- Amazing sound design (nostalgic music and tons of hand-placed and carefully curated beeps and whirrs and kupos)
- With a sprawling amount of job options, character customization, and optional bosses who are ready to put your team to the test.
Probably the best rpg on itch right now, final fantasy or otherwise. This should NOT be a free game, so download it while it still is.
Hey there, I just played about 3hrs of your game and WELL DONE! I never played a FF fan game before but really enjoyed this. Good dialogue and great quest log set-up. Mapping was done very well too. I got lost a lot but, hey, I do that in real life too. :p
Anyways, the game kept my interest so I'll keep playing it. I did stream it tonight if you want to see my initial impressions but, be warned, it was my first stream. Hopefully, there's still some useful feedback for you though.
Head-up that the Jukebox in your menu is calling for filenames that have spaces in them so it didn't work. In case the info helps, The jukebox in the castle worked fine though. I called it a night but I'll let you know if I find any more bugs. Have a great night and best of luck on your project!
Hey thank you for checking out my project! I will definitely plan on watching that stream and note / fix any bugs.
Thanks for the feedback and feel free to hop in the discord. We have a fun and growing community!
I want to thank Mithrandir from the bottom of my heart for putting so much time into creating this masterpiece! As a fan of this series since its inception and first arriving in the States back in 1990, I've always been left with a void in the numbering since XI and XIV were strictly MMOs and I've never been an MMO player: I'm sure they're fantastic games, but I'm a single player RPG gamer and I've waited nineteen years to learn about FF XI...and now thanks to Mithrandir, I - like many people before me - am falling in love with the world of Vana'diel! This game is so well done and as you play it, you can only marvel at how long it had to take Mith to put this colossal game together! I appreciate your time in doing this so everyone out there can enjoy a single player FF XI experience...and also for the people like me who have never had the opportunity to play it before! Now I can sit back and learn the lore of this fabulous game for the first time! I'm nearing fifty hours and having an absolute blast! And if you're someone reading this comment who hasn't downloaded the game yet...what are you waiting for?! Start downloading now so you can enjoy this amazing ride!
This game deserves your time and attention. Even if you've never played FFXI, Braver is a free (although you should donate) 60+ hour long rpg with incredible character customization, difficult battles that demand strategy (and a difficulty slider), a full discord of players ready to cheer on your victories, and an active developer that's constantly improving the experience. More stuff to do and explore is being added all the time.
I'd rate this higher than five stars if I could.
As a long time FFXI player that has now got too little time to dedicate to it, FFXI Braver is a gift sent from Altana herself with the help of the creator. To make it simple, coming from a Game design/Animator Background these are my personal and opinion based scores:
Overall: 8/10
Mechanics: 9/10
Music: 7/10
Art: 8/10
My only criticism is the menu and inventory limitations, however that is not the creator's fault and more the system's limitations.
I look forward to more job balances and tweaks as later patches get added.
All in all, this game is great for anyone that has only a couple hours or an entire weekend, as the main story takes only 30 or so hours, however, so much more can be done in terms of meta gaming and optional quests and party experimentation. I am up to 70 hrs...and the nostalgia factor is ever present.
Look forward to more.
A very enjoyable 30-ish hours of old school JRPG action with FFXI nostalgia. Game is surprisingly well balanced and writing is passable. If you're looking for something new set in the FFXI world this is your best option. Completed the game and did a fair amount of the optional content.
Must play for fans of FFXI who are craving a trip down memory lane.
FFXI Braver is a brilliant recreation of FFXI as a Retro 8bit style RPG. It captures much of the FFXI experience in ways that will really bring out the nostalgia factor, and its tongue in cheek humor poking fun at the foibles of FFXI and the link shell communities we all had, are spot on. I've laughed so many times, and more than once I've been on the verge of tears of remembrance for halcyon days gone by. Truly a work of art, and an homage to one of the first and best MMORPG's ever. This Retro RPG by Mithrandir133 is absolutely a must play for any lover of Final Fantasy, in any of its incarnations. The game also has original story content, and keeps the player interested. The UI is clean, and easy to understand. The NPC's feel like the original in their manner and writing styles. Hat's off to Mithrandir133, and his supporters. Thank you so much, and well done!
-Zoey Mithra - Carbuncle 2002-2017
A few hours in. Very good fun! It's great not to have to wait 60 seconds for my inventory to load each time I change zone like in the MMO.
Thanks for the comment! Glad you’re enjoying the project :)
Fantastic! i still play FFXI from very long time, playing this game reminded me the old FF games but in Vanadiel! Awesome!!! Thank you!
My pleasure! Glad you're enjoying the experience :)
what OS is needed for this?
Windows OS
So this is like FFXI if it was on the SNES right? A Demake or a retro reimagination? Never played the OG FFXI but your game is solid
Hey, thank you! Yep, you got it. A retro reimagining is pretty spot on!
so it has the same story?
No, just set in the same world. Some characters from the game itself make an appearance while others are original characters. The story is original, drawing on lore from source material.
I've put a few hours into this game so far (7 hours) made it to giddeus, got stuck there for some time...still stuck there XD, but i'm having an absolute blast, my one regret that i have, was not picking it up sooner, i saw a streamer playing it one day and thought "ooh!, that looks fun!." but didn't get it then....i love the combat system and bcnm/notorious monster systems, and i quickly fell in love with the characters ^^, it scratches my itch to play FFXI again, and it reminds me of the classic final fantasy games.
9/10 i consider it an actual final fantasy game :D
Don't let the traditional and simplistic graphics fool you. Braver has a GREAT combat system, fantastic balance overall, likable characters and an engaging story, I'm going to sink a ton of time into this game even without the nostalgia factor.
Mith knows how to make an RPG. I haven't been gripped so quickly by an oldschool rpg in years, and *never* by an rpgmaker one.
Addictive just like FFXI :)
HardReset already pointed out what makes this game so fun, so I'll keep this short.
I've been testing Braver for Mith for a few weeks now and I have already put in over 60hrs. The balance between your party and bosses are spot on. The job system gives you the flexibility to play what you want and how you want to. Even if you have never played Final Fantasy XI, I still recommend you give this game a try.
I've seen this game from the very beginning and it has grown so much. I've been playing and testing for some years now and Mith has put in a ton of work. It really has that Final Fantasy XI feeling. Important characters and zones, especially the major city maps, are all nailed down in this 2d rendition of FFXI.
The job system is very balanced as every combination I've used so far has been successful. While combat is standard fare for an rpg, it stays lively with the ctb system and phases of bosses. Unlocking new jobs in the later game allow for new skills to be constantly entertaining.
If you ever played FFXI, you will feel right at home with this game.