If you were worried the World of Final Fantasy PlayStation 4 (and Vita) demo would spoil the full game experience, you can stop. The standalone demo is just a quick romp through the game’s mechanics with a special treat at the end.


Rather than give players the first level or specific scenario from the upcoming turn-based RPG/tour of Final Fantasy history, Square Enix built a self-contained experience that serves as a basic tutorial for the game’s unique stacking combat system. Chibi Final Fantasy characters appear, but only to hand players a helpful item.


Otherwise it’s a fairly linear trek through a location that does appear in the game, albeit under completely different circumstances. Players face off against a variety of creatures that are normally not appearing in the same area, and can recruit them into their party by capturing them, Pokemon-style. Okay, it’s “befriending”, but when the requirements for “befriending” are beating the creature into submission or setting them on fire, then it’s not quite that, is

We get the basics of combat, like how to switch between the shiny rotary menu and something old school Final Fantasy fans might feel more at home with.


We also learn the basics of stacking. Basically the player forms towers of small, medium and large creatures, which for the purposes of combat is a single entity. Stats combine. Abilities compound or merge to form more powerful ones. The key is having the right critters for the right situation. Use Libra to check out your enemies’ weaknesses and you’ll be fine. If all else fails, summon Tidus.

Isn’t he dreamy?


Players who make their way through the relatively short demo will be able to battle and win “Magitek Armor P” in the game’s coliseum at launch.

Or just check out the video above for an almost full play through of the demo, and then kick back and relax until October 25, when World of Final Fantasy launches on PlayStation 4 and Vita.