REUWAS

Im back on the Record Keeper bandwagon again, thanks to one of the recent events presenting the opportunity to win one of my favourite Final Fantasy X characters Rikku. What I immediately noticed coming back to Record Keeper was that the interface has been upgraded to be so much simpler but smarter than it was before. There are also a lot of new features, such as Augmentations, Soul Breaks and Shattering Abilities, which make the experience so polished that Im genuinely impressed at the games growth while Ive been gone. Since all the changes were a bit overwhelmingly different at first, I didnt play it enough to win Rikku in time, but staying in the game has made me see that all these changes have tremendously improved the games interface and most aspects of playing. If you havent come back to Final Fantasy Record Keeper for awhile, heres some of what you can enjoy in the game now.

As a player for a significant amount of time before, a problem I had a lot was having too many weapons or abilities, which mean needing to expand my inventory space often with Mythrils (Record Keepers alternative currency to real money). The problem also wasnt as simple as just having too much in my inventory, but also having doubles of abilities and weapons too. Doubles of weapons dont serve as such a big issue as they can be combined or used as upgrade materials for weapon upgrades. Double abilities however, especially of lower level abilities, are somewhat useless. They are sellable, but the profit made off them is low. It wasnt a great system, but it wasnt a big issue until I realised how great the new Shattering Abilities mechanic is.

With Shattering Abilities, you can get half the materials that were or would have been used to create the Ability. This is extremely useful, as some five star materials are more difficult to make than others. Not only that, but you can now combine materials to make higher level equipment, making it a little easier to get high level orbs and abilities now. The ability making, inventory and orb collecting situation is at the best place its ever been and even as a smaller aspect of the game, its a great change.

Another constant problem with Inventory space was gaining upgrade materials for weapons and armour tended to fill up the inventory very quickly. Id be doing the daily equipment material dungeons, only to be constantly told my inventory was full. Then Id have to take a few minutes before entering each dungeon to see what I have doubles of. It was a bit of a chore, unless you have a ridiculous amount of space or were willing to use some Mythrils to get it.

Fear not now though! Upgrade materials seem to count as separate to equipment now. This meant that when I logged in for the first time in ages expecting to be overloaded in my inventory, I had a decent amount of space because my materials werent there. Ive only recently needed to sell or use equipment to enter some dungeons and my inventory fills up much less quickly, a much appreciated change! Also, its easily to browse when choosing equipment too. Its just better!

All of Record Keepers menus have had a bit of overhaul to be smarter, more efficient and intuitive. Both Event and Realm Dungeons can now be accessed on the same screen. This isnt just any menu though - you can see your pixelated party jump eagerly towards whichever option you choose, which is such a charming addition and makes me grin every time I see it. Theres a separate menu for adding and charging party members and what they have equipped, which is so much better than using the old equipment screens that I remember to be separate. Upgrades have their own section to and you can see every kind of possible upgrade on the one screen. I didnt have an issue with the menus previously, but the new ones are perfect to get the player into what theyre thinking of doing much faster.

Yet again, I still havent spent a single cent on Record Keeper. I probably will to support the game because I like it, but theres still no pressure and no paywall and I respect the upgrades even more because of this. If anything, Mythril is being given out more frequently and with the inventory space fixed up, theres even less reason to pay. Good one, Square and DeNA.

With the free game being fun half a year on, Final Fantasy Record Keeper is a game still worth playing for those without the time for a story game. Its fun gameplay is still great, but now its menus and upgrade systems are up to an equally great standard and new features and constant new events keep things fresh for a long time. Just dont get addicted like I did. (Or do. Its pretty fun!)