Beauty and self reflection in darkness
Shadowbringers is a very unique and an emotionally tugging expansion for Final Fantasy XIV for which I put an ungodly amount of hours on during its run and now that Endwalker is on the horizon that I wanted to put my thoughts into words during the last 2 years playing this game. An overall great expansion with good content, amazing soundtrack by Soken, job changes that feel great and last but not least an amazing story that really rivals other Final Fantasy games that sadly comes with a huge price on your time.
The biggest reason this expansion is as beloved as it is the story, the characters and the soundtrack that comes as an culmination of everything that FFXIV was before. A new realm that brings along brand new and distinct areas make each trip to them feel unique compared to the contrast of Stormblood areas being half the areas looking the same with the same rock formations down to the color scheme of it all. The gorgeous pink flora of one area down to the whimsical and magical aura another area brings in this expansion. The story itself doesn't pull any punches compared to its predecessors and unfortunate pacing issues that the format of an MMO brings but the payoffs and some of them years in the making all the worthwhile here. A noticeable change is Soken having more free rein here as he mixes multiple genres in the soundtrack including rock, jazz, waltz and even electronic to an extent and manages to mesh well and really enhance some of the best moments this game has to offer. Jobs feel their most complete in this expansion and each of them manages to still something unique to the table as I leveled each one to 80. The post patch content is more varied this time around with the only noticeable sacrifice being no Palace of the Dead alternative but more it's combined with the relic/eureka system so you can work on your relics while leveling your 70+ classes as well.
Not much to say in terms of flaws other than the unfortunate circumstances that might not register as flaws to some people that enjoy the genre in general. To even get to this point in the game is a huge time investment if you really want what the story wants to offer and that's a big ask for some people. The game does also suffer from some pacing issues but they're rarely present and still important to the overall plot.
A lot of the flaws itself are pretty subjective in what you're into. The story is definitely worth it but it's a mountain to climb and that's only if you want to climb it. There is a reason this expansion is beloved as it is across the community and rightly so. The climb might be perilous but the peak is worth every second. There's a reason almost every friend you might have recommended this MMO to you if you're a fan of FF or japanese role playing games in general.
Become what you must.
Shadowbringers is a very unique and an emotionally tugging expansion for Final Fantasy XIV for which I put an ungodly amount of hours on during its run and now that Endwalker is on the horizon that I wanted to put my thoughts into words during the last 2 years playing this game. An overall great expansion with good content, amazing soundtrack by Soken, job changes that feel great and last but not least an amazing story that really rivals other Final Fantasy games that sadly comes with a huge price on your time.
The biggest reason this expansion is as beloved as it is the story, the characters and the soundtrack that comes as an culmination of everything that FFXIV was before. A new realm that brings along brand new and distinct areas make each trip to them feel unique compared to the contrast of Stormblood areas being half the areas looking the same with the same rock formations down to the color scheme of it all. The gorgeous pink flora of one area down to the whimsical and magical aura another area brings in this expansion. The story itself doesn't pull any punches compared to its predecessors and unfortunate pacing issues that the format of an MMO brings but the payoffs and some of them years in the making all the worthwhile here. A noticeable change is Soken having more free rein here as he mixes multiple genres in the soundtrack including rock, jazz, waltz and even electronic to an extent and manages to mesh well and really enhance some of the best moments this game has to offer. Jobs feel their most complete in this expansion and each of them manages to still something unique to the table as I leveled each one to 80. The post patch content is more varied this time around with the only noticeable sacrifice being no Palace of the Dead alternative but more it's combined with the relic/eureka system so you can work on your relics while leveling your 70+ classes as well.
Not much to say in terms of flaws other than the unfortunate circumstances that might not register as flaws to some people that enjoy the genre in general. To even get to this point in the game is a huge time investment if you really want what the story wants to offer and that's a big ask for some people. The game does also suffer from some pacing issues but they're rarely present and still important to the overall plot.
A lot of the flaws itself are pretty subjective in what you're into. The story is definitely worth it but it's a mountain to climb and that's only if you want to climb it. There is a reason this expansion is beloved as it is across the community and rightly so. The climb might be perilous but the peak is worth every second. There's a reason almost every friend you might have recommended this MMO to you if you're a fan of FF or japanese role playing games in general.
Become what you must.
2 Comments
Estinien honestly, he went through a lot. That said, it's pretty hard considering there's a lot of favorites.
Talketsu
2 years ago