I could sit here and write out a long, nuanced review expositing why I hated almost every second of this expansion, but instead I will effortlessly and precisely explain the issues with Stormblood using but a single sentence: Lyse fucking sucks.
The decision to split this expansion evenly between two regions was a mistake and both sides suffered for it. While I love the Othard sections and the characters within (the Azim Steppe gets special mention here, being penned by the ever-winning Natsuko Ishikawa) in the end they felt a bit rushed and half-baked despite having taken up a solid half of the expansion – pacing is the name of the game, folks. It's an issue FFXIV has always had, though Heavensward was a great deal better about it for the most part. Ala Mhigo as a whole is just a mess of poor writing, insensitive at best and outright offensive at worst. I'm not going to get into it in any great degree of detail but again, Lyse is the corporeal embodiment of everything wrong with Stormblood. It's hilarious to me that they drop her like a bad habit the second the post-Stormblood patch content starts rolling out.
2.5 stars for the Othard sections, 0 stars for the Ala Mhigo section – but a consolation half-star on account of the dungeons and (most of the) trials being the best that FFXIV has had to offer up to this point. Seriously, they're incredibly fun and quite visually striking (not to mention full of love for Final Fantasy VI, one of my favorite Final Fantasy titles) in a way that I almost forgot about my issues with the story and non-party duties while playing through them.
Yotsuyu had girl power when she made that dude kill his own parents.
The decision to split this expansion evenly between two regions was a mistake and both sides suffered for it. While I love the Othard sections and the characters within (the Azim Steppe gets special mention here, being penned by the ever-winning Natsuko Ishikawa) in the end they felt a bit rushed and half-baked despite having taken up a solid half of the expansion – pacing is the name of the game, folks. It's an issue FFXIV has always had, though Heavensward was a great deal better about it for the most part. Ala Mhigo as a whole is just a mess of poor writing, insensitive at best and outright offensive at worst. I'm not going to get into it in any great degree of detail but again, Lyse is the corporeal embodiment of everything wrong with Stormblood. It's hilarious to me that they drop her like a bad habit the second the post-Stormblood patch content starts rolling out.
2.5 stars for the Othard sections, 0 stars for the Ala Mhigo section – but a consolation half-star on account of the dungeons and (most of the) trials being the best that FFXIV has had to offer up to this point. Seriously, they're incredibly fun and quite visually striking (not to mention full of love for Final Fantasy VI, one of my favorite Final Fantasy titles) in a way that I almost forgot about my issues with the story and non-party duties while playing through them.
Yotsuyu had girl power when she made that dude kill his own parents.