Reviews from

in the past


This review covers everything up through Patch 6.58, though I won't be discussing the story much as I think it's more subjective and something you should just see for yourself. I also want to mention I am not well-versed in MMORPGs, having only played a bit of MapleStory before this. I am aware that many other MMOs, including FF11, have (or had years ago) more in-depth gearing, combat, and social systems compared to this game. I'm merely looking at FF14 for what it is at the time of writing (2024). If you are a seasoned MMO player looking for a recommendation, maybe read something else.

This game, for me anyway, is everything I could want out of a Final Fantasy and Animal Crossing game all at once. The world is simultaneously enormous and richly detailed, with more expansive lore than any previous FF. There's a huge variety of locales, races, and creatures, all quite reminiscent of FF1-6. Every zone, city, and dungeon is visually and musically distinct. The combat is simplistic in terms of decision-making and player inputs, focusing instead on dodging increasingly complex attacks. When you're up against higher-end bosses, the game loop is actually more reminiscent of Punch-Out. You go in, die a bunch, learn the puzzle, then try to execute it. The hard part is doing the dance with 7 other people. It doesn't feel much like an RPG despite all the numbers flying everywhere, but it is a lot of fun. The story moves at a glacial pace, but it's always entertaining and remains intriguing throughout. Even ARR has its moments, and a lot of smaller threads here are followed up in later expansions. I think it does a good job of introducing Eorzea and characterizing its inhabitants. This is the most engrossing world I've been in since Xenogears, though obviously the writing is nowhere near as strong as that game.

The biggest issues of the game are structural ones that have arisen out of the need to constantly feed in fresh new "content" at such a regular pace. Every expansion opens up with a split questline, dungeons are always Lv. X1, X3, X5, X7, X9, and X0, trials are always Lv. X3, X9, X0. There are always 6 zones with 10 aether currents each. There's always 5 patches afterwards, and you always know when the next raids and gear will drop. The Scions can't die because they need to be on the cover illustrations for every expansion. There can't be any cataclysmic events because you still need to be able to teleport to Limsa and check the market board. It's extremely consistent and predictable to a fault, for sure handy when planning to play or take breaks, but it makes it difficult to write a compelling story around.

But an MMORPG is more than just its story. I think people do this game a disservice when they claim that FF14 is simply a single-player JRPG with MMO features. If they made a single-player offline version of this, leaving as much as they could the same, I think most people would find it dull, myself included. Even with the antisocial Duty Finder and newly-finished Duty Support system, it's clear that this game is still designed for multiplayer. But that isn't a bad thing, far from it. I think the developers have their priorities straight here, and it's better to focus on the gameplay and social elements to keep the game alive. It's impressive that the team has been able to keep the plot going as smoothly as it has despite the MMO structure, Shadowbringers and Endwalker have shown they're willing to take more risks on this front. If you wanted a more concise, single-player oriented plot, there are other FF games that offer this instead.

The multiplayer elements are where the game really shines the most. There's the obvious stuff like raiding together with friends, but for me the biggest strength is simply being able to meet new people and form lasting bonds with them while playing as my custom-created character. It really emphasizes the actual role-playing aspect of FF which isn't really a common feeling outside of FF1, 3, and 11, and it really sells the idea that I'm playing as my own adventurer in this world. I get to experience my own individual story on top of the one the writers provide me. The world always feels so bustling and full of life, even if this is mostly limited to cities and the Gold Saucer.

Speaking of which, this game is rife with engaging side content. Crafting, housing, and clothing customization are considerably more in-depth than Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a game whose only strong suits are crafting, housing, and clothing customization. Triple Triad, Mahjong, and Verminion are practically their own entirely separate games. PvP is kinda janky, but it's still a fun distraction, even moreso with a group of friends. Savage and Ultimate raids are some of the most difficult challenges in any FF. The Sightseeing Log provides some interesting platforming challenges. There's dozens more things I haven't even tried yet like Palace of the Dead which have their own unique mechanics and goals. And those are just the group activities the developers provide for you. Players have created their own multiplayer experiences through hunt trains, public concerts, and venues - from cozy cafés to nightclubs.

Around every corner, it always feels like there's some fun activity to do with your friends, and I think that is what makes the game so special to me. It's a game made for you to sit back and enjoy the moment, to soak in the world, and to make new friends. Remarkably, FF14 does a good job catering to both social and antisocial players, too, so if you don't want to interact with anyone you rarely ever have to. The US version of Animal Crossing on GameCube had this tagline on the back that always stood out to me: "the real-life game that happens every second of every day, whether you're there or not." Since Wild World, I don't think any game has made me feel that way until FF14.

Realm Reborn's main story quest really felt like a Trails Of story where 80% of the game is fluff and pretty tedious but the ending sinks its hooks in you and you have no choice but to continue on with the expansions to see where it goes.

I don't know if I'd recommend XIV but I'm definitely hooked. Its one of those "it gets good after 100 hours" kind of experiences. In the long run I have a feeling I'll be going "I should have played a bunch of other games in that time instead of spending all this time playing this" but we'll see.

Quando lançou pode ser que tinha seus problemas, eu só sei que jogando hoje em dia percebo que qualquer problema foi amplamente resolvido. A história principal é gigante e maravilhosa, digna de um bom FF, o jogo se torna hiper profundo com o passar das horas e a maior crítica que li por enquanto ao estado atual foi a de que tem pouco conteúdo a ser feito (crítica feita por alguns jogadores com mais de dez mil horas de jogo), enfim, absolutamente o melhor mmo que já joguei e vai ser meu mmo por um bom tempo.

Going to treat this review as soley A Realm Reborn because that does not have it's own thing here so for future reference this only reflects ARR and nothing else.

If I really end up falling in love with the later expansions I may change the score but for now it stays.

FFXIV was a game I'd always wanted to play but it being such a daunting task put me off it for a long while, but when I saw a limited time FFXVI quest I felt I'd regret not doing that now because I really liked XVI, so with a month to do it I decided I'd boot up XIV and with the free trial I really had no limit to rush or anything but I still really wanted that quest. I've now managed to beat ARR and honestly I really liked it and am very hyped for future expansions. So I guess I'm a MMO player

And another reason I got into the game now was also because Dawntrail seems to be IX inspired and FFIX is my favourite game ever made so like I kinda had to play Dawntrail....

Review time: Story was by far the weakest aspect of the game, I wouldn't say it was terrible but as a FF plot it's bad and is really one of my least favourite plots. Now in terms of the main characters I quite like the Scion of the Seventh Dawn they be cool and they all (mostly) grew on me, the Lalafell Paplamylo (? hard name to write) is one I didn't really like and the elf one that speaks in poems or whatever was also kinda ehh, but everyone else was really good. I love Y'sholta despite having relativly minimal presence IDK I just really liked her. Minafila was cool (also kinda unimportant but I can't really tell if she fights or not I'm guessing not but also?). Yda and the guy who gets possessed are pretty cool too. I also quite like the Lallafell who is the receptionist she's cool. Though I gotta say the villians in ARR Suck like they are just BAD, they have no presence in the story bar a cutscene at the start and then like every primal raid they might show up and be like ooohohoh I'm EVIIILLLL and I'm sooo strong, and like they are so boring... The VA work for the main guy is cool but I just don't care about them at all they're just so boring. The whole main plot is not good yet oddly I still kinda love it, I just like the Scions they're cool and I like them so I can forgive most of the plot for being ehh. I guess it sucks that a game you hear so much about how good the writing is has such a rocky 50 - 70+ hour start. I guess I'll see how the writing improves in the expansions.

As someone new to MMOs I found combat to be shockingly fun, I always thought it'd be boring but I ended up really enjoying it, I don't really have much else to say but it was fun. I like that all the various crafting things are jobs with their own levels and skills because that seems so unnesccary but I kinda love it, I love being able to say I'm a level 20 Fisherman because it so silly.

uhhhh.... MSQ is fun but special shout outs to the dungeon where I go aquire Goblin Cheese what a fun time. Side Quests vary from nothing terrible quests to pretty cool. Shame that I just ignore all non plus side quests now becasue there really is no point in doing them because there is so many and they are nothing quests. the + quests can have some crazy cool rewards or just be nothing basically but they're typically enjoyable.

The game very much feels like it's going to be vastly better in the expansions because there's clearly traces of a good story and there are some good characters, and the gameplay is already really good so hyped for the expansions.

This game is very hard to write about ngl, doesn't help I suck at writing but there is so much to say on a game this long I suppose oh well, game be good story be ehhh, characters be good, music be good. I'm sure the rest of the game be good(er)

I will never finish it and that's okay. I never want it to end. Love you Yoshi-P <3


ARR is charming mid that sets the stage. Wasn't too taken by the aesthetics or storytelling at the time and I find the patch quests quite dreadful, but big respect for it bringing back the game.

I give it 10 stars and it includes Coils of Bahamut that took it to whole another level. Sadly I did it it unsynced with top some good player that helped me 1hko everything, but story was worth it. 50 hours of story of this game is tedious/boring. I love this game.
I did all additional dungeons and 99% of the quests that unlock content, also have been in 2 grand companies.

How to make someone play an MMO who does not like them? Add a great story. The brilliant soundtrack doesn't hurt either.

(I'm not reviewing every expac separately fuck that, this review is for the overall package)
Quite possibly my favourite story in any game ever made, be warned that it takes a looooong time to get to that point though. Especially the first expansion being the massive slog that it is. Kind of falls flat as an MMO in my opinion though since there's nothing really worth working towards unless you're a hardcore raider (And even then all you really get is stat increases), but definitely consider if you want a massive world and a massive storyline to get invested in, although keep in mind that story isn't very consistent in quality since it swaps around writers multiple times. Also has some fantastic boss fights and a soundtrack that is like if Toby Fox had a AAA budget.

Joguei umas 20 horas e cansei.

Por mais cansativa e muitas vezes monótona que tenha sido, A Realm Reborn fez um bom trabalho em me introduzir a Eorzea e seus povos, sociedades e conflitos, fundamentando um alicerce que tenho certeza que será essencial no desdobrar da narrativa a qual fico feliz de só ter começado, pois os pontos altos de ARR foram mais que suficientes para me deixarem bastante animado para continuar essa jornada.

hold on let me check my playtime

PLEASE HELP ADVICE NEEDED
This is genuinely so ridiculous to me. I have always loved the concept of an MMO. I have tried so many hoping to get into it. I grind a couple tens of hours and then stop. I thought this would be it dude. I put 140 hours just trying to beat A Realm Reborn. I tried on a first character and got near the end of the story. Stopped because shit just got so boring and grindy. Started again this year with hype for focusing on the story and taking my time. I finally got the first credits roll. After hours of majority side quests that are just fetch quests. I cannot stand how much filler there is. Its worse than a freaking shonen anime except you cant just put it on in the background. The amount of a time waster this is is insane to me. I was hoping to plow through the story to get to heavansward onward which ive heard is awesome. BUT I STILL HAVE 30% more quests to go after rolling the freaking credits!!! PLEASE TELL ME ITS WORTH IT. SOMEONE TELL ME IF THE STORY IS GONNA GET GOOD ENOUGH TO THE POINT WHERE I SHOULD KEEP PLAYING IT. I THOUGHT THE STORY SO FAR WAS FINE AND SOMETIMES FUN BUT THAT SHIT WAS SO MID OVERALL!!! PLEASEEEE HELP ME!
I loved the character customization and the dungeons are fun and im so hyped to do reaper and dark knight but thats not for another hundred hours +. Should I stop while I can?

O meu MMO favorito, simples assim. Acho ele perfeito e vou continuar jogando ele até o servidores fecharem, sem dúvida alguma!

História, música, personagens, raids, classes... tudo é perfeito nesse jogo pra mim, e só continua melhorando patch após patch. Recomendo forte!

i'm putting this game as retired on my list, but even i don't believe that's true

my favourite mmorpg that's currently available to play, despite the insane amount of flaws it comes from being an mmorpg, i think that if you find an mmorpg befitting to you, it is a game that will stick to your heart forever, and to me, it is this one. it is by no means perfect, it has an awful social system for example, but the writing even if it can feel off at times, the soundtrack, and overall just the experience is something that no mmorpgs at the moment have particularly given to me by that amount. an amazing MMORPG, even if it isn't flawless.

It get's really good after 200 hours bro i promisse

Reviewing each extension separately so this is only a criticism of the content up to the end of A Realm Reborn:

Not gonna lie, I understand why I picked up and dropped this game on 4 separate occasion since 2014: the content of ARR, be it the story, dungeon or side content, is actually horrendous. I'm only sticking with it and powering through it because I know it gets better later on and will be worth my time.

My biggest criticism is that I don't really understand how this rework of 1.0 saved the game and made it popular. I didn't play 1.0 myself back then but the more I learn about it, the more I realize it was a far better game than ARR ever could be. I want FINAL FANTASY god damnit, not "WoW-lite for people that prefers cute aesthetics".

Hopefully I'm done with the worst parts and it will only get better from here on out. I've grown attached to my WoL so I can't stop now.

FF14 is the best mmorpg at the moment.
It has an immense amount of good content, great lore, the most complex raids and the best soundtrack of any mmorpg.
The only downside I would put is that it can be overwhelming for newbies right now by the amount of things available to the game, but if you adapt is amazing.

More and more I think about this, and on a replay, I find A Realm Reborn rather lovable. It’s a simple Final Fantasy story, it feels like a throwback to the origins of the series, whether that be 1 or 3, it has that very same ‘big adventure’ feeling, and there’s nothing more heartwarming than going around just being a nice little guy, completing side quests and helping people. There’s a magic in simplicity and I think ARR encapsulates that.

It's somewhat trite to say at this point since everybody seems to say it but Final Fantasy XIV has one of the best stories of the entire series with a fantastic cast and a weapons grade soundtrack.

(this is about A Realm Reborn btw)

The game at basis is AMAZING, but the main story (the "first" part of many others) can feel a chore and nothing really interesting (beside some primals fight) happens until 3/4 of the game.
After that...hooooo boy. Got definitely emotional. And I still have to beat all the rest!

Puta MMO FODA, sem palavras pra descrever a qualidade.

9/10
this is probably the coolest mmo imo


I'm rating Final Fantasy XIV as a whole, and not just A Realm Reborn, which I'll do soon.

This game is quite THE ADVENTURE, its probably the best current MMO, it has an absolutely amazing and unforgettable story and sountrack and the people you'll meet along the way will change you forever.

One of the best Final Fantasy games ever.

O segundo melhor MMORPG que já joguei. Suas qualidades são inúmeras e, seus defeitos, pouquíssimos. Com certeza é o MMO com melhor narrativa e momentos impactantes, mas peca um pouco no conteúdo online (para fazer com amigos) e seu mundo não passa uma sensação de "sandbox" tão boa, por ser um conjunto de áreas instanciadas. Tirando isso, toda a gameplay, cenários e sistemas funcionam em perfeito conjunto.

Marking this since I finished "A Realm Reborn" the first segment of the story and saw Credits. I mained White Mage and had a blast, only running into trouble with some heavy single player DPS moments that I had trouble getting the damage out for. I am gonna definitely keep playing but the first majour story bit is done!

its mid but i can watch its always sunny while grinding :)