kobun
2018
A coop QTE video game that actually wants to be a 5 hour long movie.
The cooperation aspect is engaging at first, but it becomes uninteresting too quick. The story is at times exciting and dramatic, but it drags on for too long for a predictable twist and dull ending. The optional interactions throughout the game, the inane dialogues and the minigames, manage to keep it somewhat more interesting.
On a more positive note, it has some surprisingly good graphics, camera work and voice acting, considering how it was made by a brand new studio composed by developers with little experience. And I guess I also need to compliment the controls of the third person shooting segment, which are... well, they're not good, but they're also not terrible as I initially expected.
The cooperation aspect is engaging at first, but it becomes uninteresting too quick. The story is at times exciting and dramatic, but it drags on for too long for a predictable twist and dull ending. The optional interactions throughout the game, the inane dialogues and the minigames, manage to keep it somewhat more interesting.
On a more positive note, it has some surprisingly good graphics, camera work and voice acting, considering how it was made by a brand new studio composed by developers with little experience. And I guess I also need to compliment the controls of the third person shooting segment, which are... well, they're not good, but they're also not terrible as I initially expected.
After literally hundreds of hours of gameplay and literally hundreds of mandatory quests, I reached the critically acclaimed ShB expansion. And it's... definitely better than the previous expansions, but I feel it was way too overrated. Too many people selling it as "one of the best FF's, even among the single player titles", which is a major exaggeration.
For starters, ShB isn't some kind of mechanical or narrative revolution. In a lot of ways it sticks with the old formula of HW, much like SB did. Ok, then, what did ShB do right? In 3 words: world, presentation and closure.
This expansion pack is set in a completely new region, which, unlike Gyr Abania and the Far East, allowed them to tell stories without having to worry about the constraints of a previously stablished lore. All the player knows is that it exists, that it's in a way linked to Eorzea, and that it was almost destroyed by the Ascians if not for the sacrifice of a group of characters. Anything else is fair game. Hence, the world.
ShB does a better job than previous expac's in showing the current decadent state of the world (Kholusia, basically) and the dangers that the sin eaters present to the population (remember a certain transformation scene right at the beginning of the expac?). Fight scenes, through a mix of good art style, well edited cutscenes, fantastic soundtrack and gameplay balance (no power creep here, since, y'know, it's the most current content), all feel more creative, more dangerous, and more rewarding upon victory. Hence, the presentation.
Much like the previous expansion packs (and unlike the base game), the story gives a clear objective and sticks with it: to rid the world from the sin eaters and prevent the next umbral calamity. As the game progresses, the player becomes aware of events that explain why so many conflicts, old and new, have transpired over the course of history. A lot of plot elements that were foreshadowed since ARR and throughout the expac's are finally elaborated, and the ensuing battles end this particular chapter that has been worked on for literally years of content updates since patch 2.0. Hence, the closure.
So yeah, ShB does a lot right compared to previous expac's or the base game. But I won't kid myself thinking that a plot about a fat egotistical manchild leading a decadent life is in any way deep. That a story about the main character being the only one capable of fighting the big bad monsters without becoming corruped is really that different than what the player has been doing since ARR. That one of the main antagonists being almost undefeatable and showing up in the most inconvenient times (up until he was defeated just like an average enemy) made for an interesting plot development. That having characters die and come back to life is in any way good for a story narrative. That having the story stretched through hundreds of quests makes it more engaging.
There's more I could say, but these walls of text are getting tiresome. I'm done.
For starters, ShB isn't some kind of mechanical or narrative revolution. In a lot of ways it sticks with the old formula of HW, much like SB did. Ok, then, what did ShB do right? In 3 words: world, presentation and closure.
This expansion pack is set in a completely new region, which, unlike Gyr Abania and the Far East, allowed them to tell stories without having to worry about the constraints of a previously stablished lore. All the player knows is that it exists, that it's in a way linked to Eorzea, and that it was almost destroyed by the Ascians if not for the sacrifice of a group of characters. Anything else is fair game. Hence, the world.
ShB does a better job than previous expac's in showing the current decadent state of the world (Kholusia, basically) and the dangers that the sin eaters present to the population (remember a certain transformation scene right at the beginning of the expac?). Fight scenes, through a mix of good art style, well edited cutscenes, fantastic soundtrack and gameplay balance (no power creep here, since, y'know, it's the most current content), all feel more creative, more dangerous, and more rewarding upon victory. Hence, the presentation.
Much like the previous expansion packs (and unlike the base game), the story gives a clear objective and sticks with it: to rid the world from the sin eaters and prevent the next umbral calamity. As the game progresses, the player becomes aware of events that explain why so many conflicts, old and new, have transpired over the course of history. A lot of plot elements that were foreshadowed since ARR and throughout the expac's are finally elaborated, and the ensuing battles end this particular chapter that has been worked on for literally years of content updates since patch 2.0. Hence, the closure.
So yeah, ShB does a lot right compared to previous expac's or the base game. But I won't kid myself thinking that a plot about a fat egotistical manchild leading a decadent life is in any way deep. That a story about the main character being the only one capable of fighting the big bad monsters without becoming corruped is really that different than what the player has been doing since ARR. That one of the main antagonists being almost undefeatable and showing up in the most inconvenient times (up until he was defeated just like an average enemy) made for an interesting plot development. That having characters die and come back to life is in any way good for a story narrative. That having the story stretched through hundreds of quests makes it more engaging.
There's more I could say, but these walls of text are getting tiresome. I'm done.
My hot take for SB is that the main story would've been much better received if they had forgotten this whole "fight on two fronts" nonsense and focused their efforts on either Gyr Abania or the Far East exclusively, instead of spreading it out on two different regions (that are very far away from each other).
While I agree with the general sentiment that SB is inferior to HW, plot-wise, I'm also baffled how the game community worships Yotsuyu and Zenos. Two boring characters that somehow get a pass because "she has a tragic backstory" and uh... checks notes ...because "he has a lotta junk in the trunk"? Anyway, I'm almost ok with Yotsuyu, but I absolutely hate Zenos.
After HW it seems the devs found a sweet spot for content delivery, so mechanically SB feels more of the same. This is slightly improved by having a somewhat more challenging content, since SB is a bit closer to the current power cap than ARR and HW.
One aspect that SB improved significantly were the raids. The Omega raids have a silly plot about a thing that only briefly shows up during post-HW, but to balance that, the raid is FILLED with FFV and FFVI fanservice. The Ivalice raids, as the name suggests, is chock-full with FFXII and FFT references. The bosses, soundtrack, and even the gear aesthetics, they did not fail to bring a smile to the jaded FFXIV player that I am.
Despite greatly enjoying the new raid series, overall I felt very apathetic towards this expansion pack.
While I agree with the general sentiment that SB is inferior to HW, plot-wise, I'm also baffled how the game community worships Yotsuyu and Zenos. Two boring characters that somehow get a pass because "she has a tragic backstory" and uh... checks notes ...because "he has a lotta junk in the trunk"? Anyway, I'm almost ok with Yotsuyu, but I absolutely hate Zenos.
After HW it seems the devs found a sweet spot for content delivery, so mechanically SB feels more of the same. This is slightly improved by having a somewhat more challenging content, since SB is a bit closer to the current power cap than ARR and HW.
One aspect that SB improved significantly were the raids. The Omega raids have a silly plot about a thing that only briefly shows up during post-HW, but to balance that, the raid is FILLED with FFV and FFVI fanservice. The Ivalice raids, as the name suggests, is chock-full with FFXII and FFT references. The bosses, soundtrack, and even the gear aesthetics, they did not fail to bring a smile to the jaded FFXIV player that I am.
Despite greatly enjoying the new raid series, overall I felt very apathetic towards this expansion pack.
Back when HW was being advertised, I didn't have much faith (heh) in this expansion pack. During ARR I had already spent a bunch of time doing quests in Coerthas Central Highlands, so I expected more of the same: more power tripping aristocratic douchebags, more blind religious zealots, and more dull snowy maps. So I lost interest and stopped playing the game altogether somewhere around patch 2.4. Coming back to it 4 years later, turns out I was wrong: HW doesn't have that much snow.
The common sentiment among FFXIV players is that HW is when the game finally gets good, but I just can't agree.
(another wall of text incoming, sorry, not sorry)
The plot is predictable in a lot of ways (as I already mentioned above). The major twist near the end of ARR is dealt with almost too easily and too quickly. One major antagonist is defeated without much ado thanks to a thing that was briefly introduced back in ARR (and said thing will constantly come back again and again to offer neat solutions to major problems) by a character that almost nobody remembers anymore (yes I am still bitter about Moenbryda). And the final battle against the big bad with an awesome theme song and improved visual and audio effects... barely requires any effort from the player and ends too quickly.
The most interesting part of the HW story is when a certain group of adventurers show up...
On a more positive note, HW gets some points for having a more focused story than ARR. In hindsight, the plot of the base game does follow a logical sequence, but for someone experiencing it the first time it can feel a little disjointed. The player simply jumps between one primal to another until they face the Garleans, with minimal foreshadowing. In comparison, HW's objective is quite clear: end the war between Ishgard and the dragons, and it sticks with it throughout the main story quests.
Some of the gameplay issues that were present on ARR still remain in HW. Too many boring quests (though lessened in number, I'll give them that), and linear corridor dungeons that barely offer any challenge or meaningful mechanics. The power creep affecting every old dungeon, trial and raid is felt the most on the last boss of HW, as already mentioned, which really ruins the fight that is supposed to be super climatic and bring closure for all the troubles that the player is subjected to during the main story quest. Once the actual battle starts you barely need to anything to win the fight.
On ARR there was this neat raid called Crystal Tower, which featured a lot of FFIII fanservice and an awesome soundtrack of top tier tunes remastered. The equivalent of HW is the Mhach raid, which has barely any FF references and it's easy to forget it exists. On top of that, the events of the CT raid become very important to the plot later in the game while Mhach... does not. The only thing it offers is some brief information on the War of the Magi, which is just a small backstory detail.
So, what did HW do right? For starters: the Dark Knight. The DRK job quests are easily the best of the whole game, in part thanks to showing some self-awareness of the nature of the game.
It also seems that they have learned their lesson with the Bahamut raid, and made Alexander (the HW equivalent) more accessible to casual players looking to experience the story. If only they would bother to fix the old Bahamut raids in the same manner...
A mostly predictable expansion pack with (supposedly) improved mechanics and less FF fanservice than before. Oh, and also it's free I guess.
The common sentiment among FFXIV players is that HW is when the game finally gets good, but I just can't agree.
(another wall of text incoming, sorry, not sorry)
The plot is predictable in a lot of ways (as I already mentioned above). The major twist near the end of ARR is dealt with almost too easily and too quickly. One major antagonist is defeated without much ado thanks to a thing that was briefly introduced back in ARR (and said thing will constantly come back again and again to offer neat solutions to major problems) by a character that almost nobody remembers anymore (yes I am still bitter about Moenbryda). And the final battle against the big bad with an awesome theme song and improved visual and audio effects... barely requires any effort from the player and ends too quickly.
The most interesting part of the HW story is when a certain group of adventurers show up...
On a more positive note, HW gets some points for having a more focused story than ARR. In hindsight, the plot of the base game does follow a logical sequence, but for someone experiencing it the first time it can feel a little disjointed. The player simply jumps between one primal to another until they face the Garleans, with minimal foreshadowing. In comparison, HW's objective is quite clear: end the war between Ishgard and the dragons, and it sticks with it throughout the main story quests.
Some of the gameplay issues that were present on ARR still remain in HW. Too many boring quests (though lessened in number, I'll give them that), and linear corridor dungeons that barely offer any challenge or meaningful mechanics. The power creep affecting every old dungeon, trial and raid is felt the most on the last boss of HW, as already mentioned, which really ruins the fight that is supposed to be super climatic and bring closure for all the troubles that the player is subjected to during the main story quest. Once the actual battle starts you barely need to anything to win the fight.
On ARR there was this neat raid called Crystal Tower, which featured a lot of FFIII fanservice and an awesome soundtrack of top tier tunes remastered. The equivalent of HW is the Mhach raid, which has barely any FF references and it's easy to forget it exists. On top of that, the events of the CT raid become very important to the plot later in the game while Mhach... does not. The only thing it offers is some brief information on the War of the Magi, which is just a small backstory detail.
So, what did HW do right? For starters: the Dark Knight. The DRK job quests are easily the best of the whole game, in part thanks to showing some self-awareness of the nature of the game.
It also seems that they have learned their lesson with the Bahamut raid, and made Alexander (the HW equivalent) more accessible to casual players looking to experience the story. If only they would bother to fix the old Bahamut raids in the same manner...
A mostly predictable expansion pack with (supposedly) improved mechanics and less FF fanservice than before. Oh, and also it's free I guess.
I am practically the "played a game for thousands of hours, thinks it's trash" meme incarnate. To clarify, I don't think the game is trash, but I'd struggle to recommend it to brand new players.
(fair warning, I wrote a lot of words here, probably way more than I'll ever care to on any other game I'll log on this website)
I first played this back in 2014 before Heavensward was released and had already spent a large amount of hours in this game. The game looked oh so pretty (and still does, despite the dated engine and graphical limitations), it was full of references to older Final Fantasy games, and the core gameplay of cooperating with other players to tackle various types of dungeons, boss fights and open world events was so addictive. But the more I played, the more apparent its issues became.
While the world was full of neat little details and backstory, the main story was very simplistic, and this becomes even more grating as the game is full of silly quests, which makes the plot progression even longer. This doubles down as a negative towards the gameplay as well, for these numerous quests are mechanically simple (kill 'x' monsters, fetch 'y' items, go talk with that person and then come back) and they offer meager rewards.
Thinking about getting through these mind-numbing quests to get to the "good part" that is the endgame reminds me of the old internet arguments surrounding FFXIII: "it gets better after 25 hours!", except FFXIV took waaaay longer than that (and now, 3 expansion packs later, it takes even longer). And after defeating the silly main story villains and getting to the endgame? I'd meet a lot of toxic and/or lazy players. I'm not even talking about Extreme trials or the Binding Coil of Bahamut, no, just trying to run "casual" content like Pharos Sirius or The Lost City of Amdapor was a struggle. It sure felt good when everyone worked together to beat Diabolos, or one of the EX primals, or Twintania. But more often than not I'd get people playing the blaming game, insulting each other, and then abandoning the group (which would most likely disband afterwards due to low morale). On top of all that I was paying a monthly subscription to play this game with all these faults.
It's the year of 2019 when, among all the Shadowbringers hype, I finally decided to go back to FFXIV. I'm not going to comment much about the expansion packs here. As far as the base game is concerned, it is still a slog to progress (you may have heard they removed some of these quests somewhere mid 2020, but it still takes way too long to progress). The power creep makes old dungeons, like the aforementioned ones, much easier to beat, which is... a mixed bag. On one hand newer players can progress much more easily than before, but on the other they're much more boring and won't be teaching the newer players anything about the importance of mechanics, or the importance of combat rotations, or the importance of working on your gear.
On top of that, the old EX trials and the Coil raids are pretty much abandoned (but the former are still required for quest completion, and the later has a pretty interesting story, surrounding the events of 1.0 and the fan-favorite character Alisaie, that many players will simply miss altogether). What a fantastic experience for brand new players it must be, to join an EX primal after a long queue wait, only to be yelled by a "mentor" telling you to stop queue'ing for older EX primals (you can thank the Mentor Roulette for that).
But on the bright side now you can experience all that for free.
(fair warning, I wrote a lot of words here, probably way more than I'll ever care to on any other game I'll log on this website)
I first played this back in 2014 before Heavensward was released and had already spent a large amount of hours in this game. The game looked oh so pretty (and still does, despite the dated engine and graphical limitations), it was full of references to older Final Fantasy games, and the core gameplay of cooperating with other players to tackle various types of dungeons, boss fights and open world events was so addictive. But the more I played, the more apparent its issues became.
While the world was full of neat little details and backstory, the main story was very simplistic, and this becomes even more grating as the game is full of silly quests, which makes the plot progression even longer. This doubles down as a negative towards the gameplay as well, for these numerous quests are mechanically simple (kill 'x' monsters, fetch 'y' items, go talk with that person and then come back) and they offer meager rewards.
Thinking about getting through these mind-numbing quests to get to the "good part" that is the endgame reminds me of the old internet arguments surrounding FFXIII: "it gets better after 25 hours!", except FFXIV took waaaay longer than that (and now, 3 expansion packs later, it takes even longer). And after defeating the silly main story villains and getting to the endgame? I'd meet a lot of toxic and/or lazy players. I'm not even talking about Extreme trials or the Binding Coil of Bahamut, no, just trying to run "casual" content like Pharos Sirius or The Lost City of Amdapor was a struggle. It sure felt good when everyone worked together to beat Diabolos, or one of the EX primals, or Twintania. But more often than not I'd get people playing the blaming game, insulting each other, and then abandoning the group (which would most likely disband afterwards due to low morale). On top of all that I was paying a monthly subscription to play this game with all these faults.
It's the year of 2019 when, among all the Shadowbringers hype, I finally decided to go back to FFXIV. I'm not going to comment much about the expansion packs here. As far as the base game is concerned, it is still a slog to progress (you may have heard they removed some of these quests somewhere mid 2020, but it still takes way too long to progress). The power creep makes old dungeons, like the aforementioned ones, much easier to beat, which is... a mixed bag. On one hand newer players can progress much more easily than before, but on the other they're much more boring and won't be teaching the newer players anything about the importance of mechanics, or the importance of combat rotations, or the importance of working on your gear.
On top of that, the old EX trials and the Coil raids are pretty much abandoned (but the former are still required for quest completion, and the later has a pretty interesting story, surrounding the events of 1.0 and the fan-favorite character Alisaie, that many players will simply miss altogether). What a fantastic experience for brand new players it must be, to join an EX primal after a long queue wait, only to be yelled by a "mentor" telling you to stop queue'ing for older EX primals (you can thank the Mentor Roulette for that).
But on the bright side now you can experience all that for free.