[Coda]

I haven't played Brave Frontier to be able to compare them. Third-party comments I've seen suggest the game feels more like Final Fantasy than Brave Frontier, especially in terms of the combat system.

It's hard to tell how much nostalgia plays into my own opinion, because my opinion consistently has been that FF6 was the peak of the series and I find it difficult to associate the more recent games with my mental concept of "Final Fantasy." So is it nostalgia, or is it just a style of game that I like better? Not sure how I could answer that objectively.

I wouldn't worry about disposable income, though. I've put a grand total of $6 into the game so far -- $5 to pick up the starter bundle (that turned out to be relatively unnecessary) and $1 to make the "new items" bubble go away because I'm compulsive >.>; As I said, the game's difficulty curve to date is such that you really don't NEED the in-app purchases.

As for attention span... The story parts are paced well in terms of timing (though the story itself feels like it drags a bit in the desert area) and the grindy stuff I mentioned is completely optional and just running the daily quests is enough to keep your party at a reasonable level. (In fact, the gameplay might be more satisfying if you DON'T grind.)