Bit late to the party with this one but my friends have gotten me into Final Fantasy XIV; i'm having a good time being in this world and interacting with people but man is this initial campaign a slog. There's apparently never been a better time to get into FFXIV due to sheer amount of content available now and if you pay, you can skip past this initial story altogether, but for free trial players and those that want to experience the full story, a realm reborn is your only in.
For those that don't know, this massive and now hugely popular MMORPG started as a disastrous 2010 release that cost square enix a fortune and nearly sunk them - a realm reborn is the 2013 release that completely replaced and remodelled the original, establishing a foundation that would go on to be one of the biggest comeback stories in the gaming industry's history and a quintessential MMO adored by millions. Unfortunately, however, a realm reborn presumably still carries a lot of the original release's problems and it is very clear that this is a game salvaged from another. Even after years of small improvements and quality of life features that I have been able to take advantage of today, getting through this is still a lot of work and a lot of commitment.
In terms of its strengths, it is absolutely worth commending that this is a game that does actually work on a lot of fundamental levels, the world is very cool and full of great design and visuals for its time. The level of customisation around your character, your controls, your preferred playstyle and UI is near endless, you really can make the game work for you - though granted I believe much of this was added later and it used to be more basic. The popularity of the game now also means that you can streamline the experience to a great extent and blast through it with the help of exp bonuses and the support extended by more experienced players. I myself am a pirate roegadyn and im having a good time roleplaying this hardened former pirate captain on a quest of redemption - it fits the maelstrom and their goals nicely and allowed me to get more invested, even if the story itself is asinine.
So on that note, this is where the game massively falls back - the story and characters are incredibly shallow and weak, the stakes and motivations feel contrived and lacking in impact, the pacing between quests is atrocious, the sheer amount of busywork and chores involved take tedium to new heights (and it was worse before ARR!) and unfortunately, the performances, writing and combat do leave a lot to be desired. If you're looking for a competent jrpg story to invest yourself in, look elsewhere or just get through this as fast as humanly possible, because with only the rarest of exceptions, it is not worth it at all. The tropes of classic final fantasy games are there in full effect but feel watered down or shoehorned in, many of its most important characters have 0 development or actual purpose to serve to the world and at many points the plot simply doesn't make sense - such as when it throws in a completely unnecessary twist villain late into the story or when your friends just kind of...materialise and help you take down lahabrea in the lifestream? You really have to forgo logic or any sense of tangible plot to try and follow along. All of this combined with some very basic character animations and drawn out sections of dialogue and cutscenes that very much insist upon themselves despite having little to say make this experience feel akin to playing a d&d campaign run by an ai.
At its best, ARR can have its share of fun boss fights (many of which, particularly in the late game, did receive major changes in fairness) some passable moments of drama, tension or stakes such as when the waking sands is attacked as well as some great music and emergent gameplay by nature of it being an MMO. Importantly, it also serves as the introduction to the games' major expansions, now the highlights of the experience which I very much look forward to delving into! Being done with ARR does feel like being released from shackles but I have a feeling it will be very worth it by the end!
For those that don't know, this massive and now hugely popular MMORPG started as a disastrous 2010 release that cost square enix a fortune and nearly sunk them - a realm reborn is the 2013 release that completely replaced and remodelled the original, establishing a foundation that would go on to be one of the biggest comeback stories in the gaming industry's history and a quintessential MMO adored by millions. Unfortunately, however, a realm reborn presumably still carries a lot of the original release's problems and it is very clear that this is a game salvaged from another. Even after years of small improvements and quality of life features that I have been able to take advantage of today, getting through this is still a lot of work and a lot of commitment.
In terms of its strengths, it is absolutely worth commending that this is a game that does actually work on a lot of fundamental levels, the world is very cool and full of great design and visuals for its time. The level of customisation around your character, your controls, your preferred playstyle and UI is near endless, you really can make the game work for you - though granted I believe much of this was added later and it used to be more basic. The popularity of the game now also means that you can streamline the experience to a great extent and blast through it with the help of exp bonuses and the support extended by more experienced players. I myself am a pirate roegadyn and im having a good time roleplaying this hardened former pirate captain on a quest of redemption - it fits the maelstrom and their goals nicely and allowed me to get more invested, even if the story itself is asinine.
So on that note, this is where the game massively falls back - the story and characters are incredibly shallow and weak, the stakes and motivations feel contrived and lacking in impact, the pacing between quests is atrocious, the sheer amount of busywork and chores involved take tedium to new heights (and it was worse before ARR!) and unfortunately, the performances, writing and combat do leave a lot to be desired. If you're looking for a competent jrpg story to invest yourself in, look elsewhere or just get through this as fast as humanly possible, because with only the rarest of exceptions, it is not worth it at all. The tropes of classic final fantasy games are there in full effect but feel watered down or shoehorned in, many of its most important characters have 0 development or actual purpose to serve to the world and at many points the plot simply doesn't make sense - such as when it throws in a completely unnecessary twist villain late into the story or when your friends just kind of...materialise and help you take down lahabrea in the lifestream? You really have to forgo logic or any sense of tangible plot to try and follow along. All of this combined with some very basic character animations and drawn out sections of dialogue and cutscenes that very much insist upon themselves despite having little to say make this experience feel akin to playing a d&d campaign run by an ai.
At its best, ARR can have its share of fun boss fights (many of which, particularly in the late game, did receive major changes in fairness) some passable moments of drama, tension or stakes such as when the waking sands is attacked as well as some great music and emergent gameplay by nature of it being an MMO. Importantly, it also serves as the introduction to the games' major expansions, now the highlights of the experience which I very much look forward to delving into! Being done with ARR does feel like being released from shackles but I have a feeling it will be very worth it by the end!