The first day of the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Fan Festa 2018 was so full of excitement that most attendees probably thought that there was no way to top it. Well, there was. The day was full of shocking announcements, fun games, and plenty of laughs. While day one was more panel based and allowed the participants time to explore the activities throughout the ballroom, day two was more oriented towards stage activities that kept everyone more as a single unit.
Shaly and Claic Yuzolt were again the MCs, with Japanese Producer Kei Hirono and Hiroki Fujimoto on stage for each activity. All in all, it was an event that those who attended will not soon forget.
For a recap of Day One of the FFBE Fan Festa, click here.
Recap of Day Two From the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Fan Festa
Fans vs Producers
The first big highlight of the day came in the form of games that pitted attendees against the producers Fujimoto and Hirono. It was a three-part challenge that would give all players awesome rewards should they come out victorious. The producers selected different numbers of fans from the crowd for each round, giving them a sweet tote bag for their bravery. The crowd pleaded with the producers for mercy, knowing they were a formidable duo. Fujimoto obliged, saying they will only go at about ten percent energy.
Matching Game
The first challenge began with a matching game, where each team had to flip cards that had pictures of their favorite FFBE units on them. Once all cards were matched, a map appeared on screen momentarily. The team had to go find that map in the game from the tablet and clear the exploration stage. It was a close battle, but in the end, the fans came out victorious.
Blindfolded Exploration
For the next challenge, Fujimoto and Hirono took on four other teams in a blindfolded exploration of the Junkyard stage. Here, the popular streamers Howl and Evil Laughter took the stage on different teams, along with a cosplayer wearing the famous Tabby Suit from the game. One team member had to attempt to navigate to the end of the junkyard blindfolded, while their partner did their best to give them directions. For every team that made it before the producers, the rewards for all players increased.
Howl joined up with Shaly, but their tablet had technical difficulties. Luckily the producers had mercy and awarded them with an automatic finish. Once the challenge officially got underway, one team quickly made it through the stage, showing impeccable collaboration. However, even at only a portion of their energy, the producer duo proved to be too much for the other challengers. Just when it looked like only two fan teams would beat the producer team, Fujimoto and Hirono suddenly had the itch to attempt a side quest on the stage. It was still close but proved enough to allow the other teams time to finish before the producers.
Relay Race
The final challenge of the event was a five-part relay race that was designed to emulate the mechanics of the game. Participants had to gear up their units – by putting on ten t-shirts as fast as possible. Then strategize how to take down the boss – by solving anagrams. Next came the grind – putting a beach ball between their legs and trekking across the stage. After that came the pull for rainbows – by searching through a kiddie pool for rainbow colored balls. Finally, the true challenge was to get into the game and take on the trial of Elafikeris.
The producers only had the two of them, the audience had a team of five, highlighted by Claic, who took on the boss. Hirono was in top form though, boasting that even though they were less in numbers, they each regularly did the work of ten men! This was another battle that came down to the end, but the audience’s numbers proved too much for the producers.
Still donned in his layers of ten shirts, Hirono put his trademark jacket back on to concede defeat, noting that it was alright because he had gained a ton of muscle during the rigorous competition.
Special Collaboration Announcement
Undeniably, the biggest shock of the day came when the developers finally announced what the special collaboration would be. The crowd was called together as Fujimoto and Hirono directed their attention towards the projector screen. A video commenced that revealed it would be none other than pop superstar Katy Perry. The screen showed Perry in an elegant blue dress texting some of our heroes from the game like Lid and Fina (and even a Chocobo).
Things went to a whole new level when suddenly, Katy Perry herself walked onto the stage, donned in a flowing green, fantastical outfit. She talked about what it was like to become a pixelated version of herself for the game. Then, some fans were allowed to come up on stage, ask her a question, and take a selfie with her. In pure pop-star presence, Perry took full control of this event, grabbing attendee’s phones to snap the selfies, and even once adjusting Hirono’s microphone.
This collaboration event will begin next week and will allow players to get a free 5* base version of Katy Perry.
Revenge of the Rainbows
Last year, producer Fujimoto attempted to pull some rainbow crystals for some players. He did not have a lot of luck. This time, however, he was ready. He claimed that he had been meditating underneath water and walked the audience through his vivid visualization to make rainbows appear.
Five lucky fans were invited on stage for a pull. Sadly, the first four netted nothing. Fujimoto knew he needed to up his ante. He called upon the power of the audience for energy. Then, he flipped up the hood of his trademark rainbow jacket and tightened the strings so that it covered his face. The crowd began to chant “Rainbow! Rainbow!” He pulled. It came down gold but still, without wavering, he hit the screen as the gold crystal cracked into the sought after rainbow.
Out popped Olive. All was well in the world.
Brave Sketchvius
One of the more popular events from last year returned: Brave Sketchvius. It was a telephone-like game where groups gathered single-file. The first person would be given what to draw, and then the next in line had to copy that drawing. The person at the end of the line would have to guess what the drawing was.
There were three rounds, each one adding more people to the “telephone line” making it more likely to mess it up at some point. The first was surprisingly smooth, with fans and the producers alike doing a great job at depicting the deadly Malboro enemy. Round two ran into trouble, as what began as the fairy Timmy somehow turned into a moogle. Luckily the image was tracked back and correctly guessed in the end.
The final round brought another surprise, as legendary artist Kazuko Shibuya was invited on stage. She went first, of course. The group ran into trouble again when the drawing was rather indecipherable somewhere in the middle of the group. It turned into the esper Carbuncle, which unfortunately was not correct. Again, the team was saved by backtracking to the beginning, where the true sketch was revealed to be Anima!
The Finishing Touches
Towards the end of the night, the producers left the stage to interact with the fans. One unsuspecting adventurer had Hirono crash his summon session he was doing on the Fan Festa tablets. Then, the Japanese and Global Producers went toe-to-toe in a summon session, with Fujimoto once again donning his rainbow hoodie. The ritual proved true once again, as he managed a rainbow, while Hirono did not. However, Hirono would have his revenge at the obstacle course, where the two raced each other, this time with the Japanese Producer coming out victorious. Then the two split up to take pictures (and do more ticket summons) with fans. It was obvious that the two were genuinely enjoying their time.
Finally, the night ended with a high-energy concert from The Orders. The fans were having so much fun that Claic declared an encore, to which the group went into an extended jam of Amigo de Chocobo. Then the entire crew of panelists took the stage to a roaring applause. Rewards were tallied up and they are massive. Even those that did not go will surely be pleased with all the goodies Fan Festa provided.
Last Word on Day Two of FFBE Fan Festa
The goodbye to this event was so bittersweet. Many fans traveled so far, but undoubtedly got their money’s worth. The event spanned over two entire days, each one lasting well over nine hours. All involved were tired, but despite this would have stuck around for even another day. The organizers did an excellent job keeping things fresh and moving the entire time. The producers showed their loyal fanbase that they listen to their voices with all of the upcoming content. Hironi and Fujimoto let everyone know that this had inspired them to keep working hard to provide the best game they can to all who support it.
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