Final Fantasy Brave Exvius

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is a free-to-play role-playing game developed by A-Lim, creator of  and published by Square Enix for iOS and Android devices. It features characters that have appeared in previous games, such as Cecil Harvey, Shadow and Exdeath. The game was in closed beta testing for the Japanese audience until September 2, 2015. It is very popular in Japan, with over 6 million downloads as of March 28, 2016.

The English version was soft-launched on Swedish app stores for iOS & Android on May 11, 2016. It was released to all mobile device app stores on June 29, 2016.

On May 16, 2016, Square Enix launched a massive registration drive for the global game, offering in-game rewards to players who participated. With over 10 million Crystal Points earned during the campaign, the first five rewards tiers and one bonus rewards tier are available to all players until July 17, 2016.

Characters

 * Rain – A knight of the Kingdom of Grandshelt. A precocious pilot who was entrusted with command of an airship at the tender age of thirteen, he maintains a carefree—some might say lackadaisical—demeanor. He has the unwavering trust of the king and his nation's people, in large part due to his father's reputation as a stalward knight of the kingdom.
 * Lasswell – A knight of the Kingdom of Grandshelt, he shares command of an airship with his childhood friend Rain. His skills are on par with Rain's, and his no-nonsense attitude has earned him the trust of his superiors and subordinates alike. However, he has a tendency to get dragged along by Rain against his own better judgment.
 * Fina - A girl who emerged from the Earth Crystal. Having lost all memories aside from her own name, she tends to take childish risks because she doesn't know any better. She's skilled in the ways of white magic and archery, though she cannot remember how or why.
 * Lid - An airship engineer born in Dirnado. She spent much of her childhood in the family workshop where there was little to do but play with machinery. Her weapons are considered among the best in the Industrial City, where she was awarded the title of supreme engineer. She aspires to inherit the name of Cid, though her love of gil sometimes gets in the way.
 * Nichol - A tactician of the Federation of Ordelion. He was born into a family of Water Guardians that has stood watch over the Water Temple for generations, and it is believed that none in the kingdom match his strength. He's always focused on the greater good and does not allow personal feelings to cloud his judgment. Because he is an outspoken critic of decisions he disagrees with, he's often misunderstood as a cynic.
 * Jake - The leader of the rebel forces of the Zoldaad Empire. While he may come across as a carefree womanizer—even moreso than Rain—a deep desire to protect the oppressed burns within his heart. His ingenuity and cunning were apparent from the moment Rain met him, but he also displays a great aptitude for leadership.
 * Veritas of the Dark - A mysterious man who laid siege to Grandshelt Castle. Dressed in pitch-black armor, he introduced himself as one of the Sworn Six of Paladia, who seek the destruction of the crystals scattered across the world.

World
The world map is presented as a series of fixed contact points, with a fixed set of dungeons (battles) located in each area. The player must fight through all of the battles in a given dungeon, expending associated energy per round, to unlock and advance to the next dungeon. Clearing all required dungeons (indicated by their crimson banners) will advance the story to the next waypoint.

Towns, and dungeons that are already cleared, may be freely explored (as indicated by green banners) or replayed as the player sees fit. In free exploration mode, the player can traverse a given area for treasure and other items, but will also encounter random monsters. Entrances and exit points are marked on each area map: yellow for individual rooms and stairs, green for the entrance, and red for the exit.

Battles
Brave Exvius uses a turn-based combat chain system that is thus far unique among series titles. This is attributed to the A-lim company's involvement, as a somewhat identical chaining system is implemented in their game, Brave Frontier. The player may select a party of up to five units and a guest unit to deploy in battle, each with his or her own unique skillsets. When in battle, the player can select actions for the units to perform by swiping the units' panels in different directions. With an action selected, tapping a unit's panel will immediately execute the chosen action. If the player taps panels in succession, the action creates a chain. The player is also allowed to strike multiple targets in the same turn, with actions against each also creating a chain. Enemies can do the same during their turns, so preparing a strategy turn-to-turn is critical to success. It is also important to note that since every character's attack animation speed is different as well as the number of hits involved, timing when each unit should strike is crucial to chaining accurately. (For example, Exdeath only strikes once and his sword swing is slow, whereas Sabin attacks four times, but his final hit has a delay to it following his three quicker punches.)

Winning a battle does not have immediate rewards as in typical Final Fantasy games. Instead, all items collected and all EXP gained are tallied at the end of a story battle round, or at the end of a free expedition.

The Vortex
Within the game is an entire second realm known as the Vortex, with two different modes of play:
 * The Vortex of Desires is a pay-for-play area where, by spending 100 Lapis per dungeon per day, the player can fight battles to win items, EXP, and gil. 24 hours are counted from the time of the transaction that unlocked the selected dungeon(s), after which the dungeon(s) will again lock. There is no limit to how many times dungeons may be unlocked through the course of the game.
 * Free events are periodically announced that may improve the player's chances of receiving rare items that help improve unit development. To date, these events include the Gil Snapper's Cave, Cactuar Dunes, and the Chamber of Crystals. These events are open for a predetermined period of time, but offer greater rewards than standard Vortex play offers.

The Colosseum
Also available is the Colosseum, a mode of play where players can test their skills against enemies previously fought. Players may fight in single combat against a group of foes up to three times in succession before needing to regenerate at regular intervals. Each contest has a point value, and when a round reaches its point limit, players will encounter a boss. Defeating the boss allows the player to win prizes and advance to the next round. Winning all rounds will move the player up one Colosseum rank.