This is everything I wanted FFXI to be. This expansion is actually fun! The characters are endearing, the plot isn't needlessly complicated, and the sense of adventure is pretty good too. The storyline does have two admittedly atrocious quests (the one where you have to spend four hours trekking in and out of the arrapago reef if you want to get a home point, and the one battlefield where Naja accompanies you and dies at the drop of a hat).

I really liked the story of this expansion too. It wasn't anything particularly groundbreaking, but the twist on setting it around the conflict between two fan-favorite summons was really cool.

Aht Urghan was also the only town int he game where I wanted to explore and talk to people. I actually did a few sidequests because I liked the vibe of the place. It may have something to do with the fact that Aht Urghan isn't as large as the other colossal towns in the game.

However, having to pay coins to travel through the undersea ruins got old fast, and since the only way to get more is to do assault mission with other players (and no-one plays this game in 2022), I would have preferred if they just dropped it.