My fondness for Shadowbringers is very damning of Final Fantasy 14, the concept of storytelling, and myself as a person.
The writing of FF14 is obviously very focused on making the world feel good, and including new kinds of funny little guys. It excells at both of those things. Little individual character interactions are on point. Unfortunately 14 has basically never managed to make a satisfying character or story arc ever and the Shadowbringers story is almost entirely exposition and worldbuilding so it's VERY BORING! I am being expected to think the scions are super cool dudes and love to see them do stuff and I simply do not. I am expected to love everyone telling me that the boring, nonexistent main character is the coolest guy in the world, and therefore I, the player, am cool. I do not! I am expected to be interested in the absolutely insane conservative 'hard work is its own reward you lazy poors' story. I am not.
Credit where it's due though Thancred became the first scion to get a character arc that wasn't completely blown and I love that for him. Deserved a W. Emet-Selch is a great big ham of a villain and I love him too. I want to pinch his cheeks.
The story here has real "tutorial for the multiplayer mode" vibes is what I'm saying, but none of that matters because at the end of it you get a cool anime powerup and then a perfect kickass music cue happens and I'm like hell yeah! Does it actually make any sense or mean anything? Nope! The conflict is on the same level as the really stupid Star Trek episodes for making up a moral quandary with no basis in reality and then having people talk about it but a cool thing happens and you hit the boss so hard that it fixes everything for no reason and that rules. I love this shit. It's just vibes that's all you need. Storytelling is all about the vibes buds.
Special shoutouts to the fae, love them.
The writing of FF14 is obviously very focused on making the world feel good, and including new kinds of funny little guys. It excells at both of those things. Little individual character interactions are on point. Unfortunately 14 has basically never managed to make a satisfying character or story arc ever and the Shadowbringers story is almost entirely exposition and worldbuilding so it's VERY BORING! I am being expected to think the scions are super cool dudes and love to see them do stuff and I simply do not. I am expected to love everyone telling me that the boring, nonexistent main character is the coolest guy in the world, and therefore I, the player, am cool. I do not! I am expected to be interested in the absolutely insane conservative 'hard work is its own reward you lazy poors' story. I am not.
Credit where it's due though Thancred became the first scion to get a character arc that wasn't completely blown and I love that for him. Deserved a W. Emet-Selch is a great big ham of a villain and I love him too. I want to pinch his cheeks.
The story here has real "tutorial for the multiplayer mode" vibes is what I'm saying, but none of that matters because at the end of it you get a cool anime powerup and then a perfect kickass music cue happens and I'm like hell yeah! Does it actually make any sense or mean anything? Nope! The conflict is on the same level as the really stupid Star Trek episodes for making up a moral quandary with no basis in reality and then having people talk about it but a cool thing happens and you hit the boss so hard that it fixes everything for no reason and that rules. I love this shit. It's just vibes that's all you need. Storytelling is all about the vibes buds.
Special shoutouts to the fae, love them.