Obviously I did not play it but I watched the cutscenes and wanted it marked. They are not very good cutscenes. Such is my dedication to my FF quest.

The funniest thing is that while the early scenes aren’t great, I do enjoy the tone, the path companion, the echo etc. Acceptably pleasant stuff. And you can tell the exact moment they all get sent home to play World of Warcraft by Yoshi-P because suddenly out of nowhere it’s all ancient civilisation super weapons, completely generic bad guy who wants to kill everyone for no reason, and every NPC is sucking you off for being the coolest greatest guy to ever live. Immediately like ah, i see you guys did some opposition research lmao.

A lot of people on here seem to think that this is A Realm Reborn. This is actually the vanilla release of Final Fantasy XIV before it got taken offline. You can no longer play this version of the game, so you're just gonna have to trust me when I say it was a boring, grindy unplayable mess. Even Square seems to think so, since they nuked this version of the game off the map and built the foundations for a Realm Reborn on its ashes. It's quite an interesting saga. Final Fantasy XIV went from one of the worst games I've ever played to perhaps my favorite MMO over the course of a decade. But this version of the game was just awful.

Final Fantasy XIV, a realm that teems with magical wonder and intricate storytelling, is a testament to both the heights of creativity and the depths of frustration. Within its sprawling landscapes, players embark on a journey that balances moments of awe with instances of exasperation, ultimately shaping a unique experience that varies from one adventurer to another.

At the heart of the game lies the enigmatic figure of Rivers Cuomo, a mere one-foot-tall enchanter armed with the power of telekinesis. While this premise might sound intriguing, the execution leaves much to be desired. The frustration of navigating the game world at a sluggish pace, akin to trudging through molasses at a paltry 5 frames per second, creates a stark contrast to the potential grandeur of this character's abilities.

Amidst this mix of brilliance and struggle, Final Fantasy XIV manages to stand above the likes of Team Fortress 2, a game notorious for its stagnant updates. Even at its weakest, FFXIV's worst version outshines the lackluster offerings of other titles, a testament to the dedication of its developers to provide consistent improvements and patches, epitomized by the updates up to version 1.23b.

Yet, it's essential to acknowledge the game's shortcomings. An infuriating lack of functionality can lead to moments of sheer frustration, leading players to humorously contemplate fleeing to the welcoming embrace of Team Fortress 2. This ironic perspective underlines the tumultuous relationship between the player and the game, oscillating between captivating immersion and baffling technical difficulties.

Final Fantasy XIV's journey is an emotional rollercoaster, a complex blend of awe and annoyance that creates a distinct flavor of gameplay. It's a world where a diminutive telekinetic maestro should be able to save a girl's father effortlessly, yet is bound by a sluggish reality. For those willing to endure its quirks, the magic of Eorzea can still enchant, even if the experience is more turbulent than anticipated. Rating: 7.5/10

Played the beta test and a bit of the live game in the months before it shut down. It was just as awful as everyone said. Gameplay was laggy and trash boring grindfest.

However there were a few upsides. The music was great, most of which was carried over to ARR. The models, textures, and animations were all fantastic but they had to be downgraded for performance reasons in ARR. It attempted to be a true successor to legacy MMOs rather than an online action game or JRPG experience as ARR went on to do.

There's still a yearning for a more holistic MMORPG experience that those older titles offered but hasn't been satisfied since, as evidenced by the interest in Classic WoW and OSRS. Unfortunately FFXIV 1.0 failed to achieve that.