Let me start by saying that my very first Final Fantasy game was Final Fantasy II on the Super Nintendo, though technically that was the fourth game in the series.  For a nerd child used to Dungeons and Dragons, seeing such a compelling story and being able to interact with it in such an innovative way made an impression.  Fast-forward to college and the early days of the Internet, and I got the chance to revisit it by playing an emulator of it on my dorm room computer while my friends and I all read the lines out loud in silly voices.  (Sorry, kids, but Youtube didn't exist in the nineties, and Let's Play's weren't even a glimmer in someone's eye, so all I have left from those days are the memories.)  Needless to say, I remember the game fondly and it truly is what directed me towards console gaming where before I'd played exclusively on PC.

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Now, of course, games are everywhere.  Including on our phones.  Opera Omnia resurrects everything I missed about the turn-based RPG and plops it happily into the palm of my hands.  Available on iOS and in the Google Play Store, this game is one of very few mobile games I would actually recommend.  Yes, it does have "microtransactions", and the pricing on them is somewhat questionable, but thankfully the game is fully playable and eminently enjoyable without ever making a purchase.  It plays like turn-based RPGs of old, but with characters from nearly every Final Fantasy game ever released.  Everyone from the Warrior of Light from the original Final Fantasy all the way to Lightning from FFVIII.  It's easy to figure out how to play, there's multiplayer missions you can do with friends or strangers, and you can recruit other people as "helpers" who you can bring into battle for a limited number of turns to help out.

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I have been playing for a couple of months, now, and have been overwhelmingly impressed with the game's mechanics, graphics, music and stability.  It's fulfilling in ways I haven't experienced since my early days as a gamer, plunking down at a table with a group of fellow nerds to play pretend we were going to smash monsters and raid dungeons.  For any fan of any Final Fantasy game, this gives you a chance to revisit all those characters you came to know and love (or know and hate).  You get to encounter familiar foes, unlock familiar friends, and buff out your characters with equipment, artifacts, and bonus attributes gained by using crystals.  There are so many things to do, it's hard to know where to start, with more content and characters being added all the time.

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Parties are limited to three active characters and one summon, though you can have up to ten different parties at any given time.  Characters have four skills (five, if they're one to recently receive a level-cap boost) including a special skill called an EX skill that can only be obtained by earning a specific weapon.  Not all characters have an EX skill, which does suck sometimes, and not all characters have useful skills.  There are two different types of attack: Brave and HP.  Brave is a meter that determines how much damage you actually can do, and HP is exactly what it sounds like.  Some skills only do Brave damage.  Some only do HP damage.  Some buff, or debuff, or do both, or change depending on how much Brave a character has, or if the character has the requisite bonus crystal skill.  The combinations are endless.

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There are twelve chapters in the first act, including an interlude, and four chapters so far in Act 2.  There are also events, including daily rotating quests and limited time events.  There are "Lost Chapters" which allow new players an opportunity to earn characters from previous events.  There are World of Illusions, where players can earn artifacts for characters or items to boost the level of a summon.  And recently they added an Abyss beta where you can gain bonus items, gems, and tokens by completing specific quests using specific types of characters.  Add to that a "hard" mode for every single story chapter and Lost Chapter, and you have endless hours of enjoyment.  I could spend an entire day happily playing this game.

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Anyone truly a fan of Final Fantasy and looking for a chance to dance down memory lane (Oh, my God, it's Rydia!  Look, look!  I just got Rydia!) this game is a perfect choice.  It has all the joy and nostalgia of a classic turn-based RPG with the freshness and portability of a current generation game.

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And best of all?  It's free!