Nintendo eShop updates with a double-dose of Final Fantasy

By Danny Cowan January 28, 2016

Final Fantasy fans can grab the series’ latest spinoff and a beloved classic as part of this week’s Nintendo eShop update in North America.

This week marks the release of the Nintendo 3DS action-RPG Final Fantasy Explorers and a Virtual Console port of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, giving franchise fans access to dozens of hours of character building and strategic combat.

Final Fantasy Explorers takes cues from Capcom’s Monster Hunter series, challenging players to defeat hordes of enemies and monstrous bosses in single-player and multiplayer modes. Featuring little in the way of narrative, Final Fantasy Explorers instead focuses on action and equipment crafting as its heroes quest for life-giving crystals.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance features strategy-oriented, turn-based gameplay that unfolds across a series of creative battle scenarios. Originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is newly available for the Wii U as part of Nintendo’s Virtual Console service.

Both of this week’s eShop Final Fantasy releases feature a job system that allows characters to take on new professions in order to learn class-specific skills, abilities, spells, and monster summons. The mechanic has been a key element of many past Final Fantasy games, including mainline series entries Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy XII.

The Nintendo 3DS eShop hosts a handful of new titles in addition to Final Fantasy Explorers this week, including the combat-oriented flight sim RV-7 My Drone, rhythm-driven cooking game Hello Kitty’s Magic Apron, and railway puzzler Crazy Train.

Nintendo Wii U owners, meanwhile, can check out the isometric stealth game Level 22, co-op puzzler Shadow Puppeteer, survival horror experience Joe’s Diner and digital compilation Mini-Games Madness Volume #1 as part of this week’s eShop update, along with the superhero-themed multiplatform action game Lego Marvel’s Avengers.

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