It seems that Square Enix has stealth launched Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition on iOS here in Canada without a press release or external announcement. Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition chapter 1 was available only via the App Store’s search function as of press time. It did not appear under the “Editor’s Pick” or “Games We Love” despite last week’s release of Final Fantasy Dissidia Omnia Opera being featured.
Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition is a mobile adaption of the 2016 console release complete with the same number of story chapters and voice acting streamlined for mobile platforms. The nearly photo-realistic reflections and HD textures of the console version are replaced with chibi low-polygon versions of Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, Gladdio and their supporting cast. Surprisingly the iOS edition of Pocket Edition supports a number of graphical options not normally found within mobile games including different draw distances, texture qualities and even support for a 60 FPS mode if your phone can handle it.
This mobile port of XV has 10 chapters in total with chapter 1 available for free. Additional chapters after 1 start at $0.99 with chapters after 3 going for $3.99 USD according to the game’s official website.
Here’s a breakdown of the cost for each in-game chapter and microtransactions:
- Chapter 1: Free
- Chapter 2: $0.99 USD
- Chapter 3: $0.99 USD
- Chapter 4: $3.99 USD
- Chapter 5: $3.99 USD
- Chapter 6: $3.99 USD
- Chapter 7: $3.99 USD
- Chapter 8: $3.99 USD
- Chapter 9: $3.99 USD
- Chapter 10: $3.99 USD
- All Chapter Pack: $19.99 USD
According to the official site the following are the minimum hardware / software requirements for apple devices:
iOS
- iOS device with iOS 11.1 or later installed
- iPhone6s (9th gen iphone) or later
- iPad Pro
- iPad (5th gen ipad) or later
- iPad Air2 (2nd gen ipad air) or later
- iPad mini4 (4th generation ipad mini) or later
- Disc Space Required: 5GB or greater (the high resolution version requires 8GB or greater)
Although the official website says that 5GB or greater is required, the initial download for Episode 1 was 900MB with a 500MB required patch. I’m still playing through Chapter 1 but so far Pocket Edition feels extremely faithful to the console original – all of the same voice lines that I remember from the opening hours are present and accounted for. Feels a little odd to move Noct around using my thumb, but perhaps I’ll get used to it.