Me and my gf are almost finished and it seems we've enjoyed it more than most players we talk to. That being said, I'd like to articulate some of our gripes in hopes of future improvement and discussion:
First and foremost, I often wonder if SE or CBIII have a common understanding or goal as to what audience they are attempting to appeal to. The game has shown itself to be at it's best when a balance is struck between serious/relatable themes and an accessible/joyous Fantasy aesthetic. So why does it seem that a significant amount of the dialogue is being written with a pre-teen audience in mind? It's not only irritating to have every emotion, thought, and lesson spelled out for us with all the nuance of a 9 year old who just learned what empathy is, it is unimmersive and frankly jarring when juxtaposed with the recurring atrocities or disasters we face every expansion. This game is 10 years old and requires a monthly subscription so I'd say it's pretty safe to assume most players are at least old enough to have their own debit card. I'm not asking for an existential dilemma at the level of the Ea with every expansion, just a general awareness from the writing team that a ven diagram of this fanbase and Bluey's would not be a perfect circle.
Secondly, coming off Endwalker's 6.0 MSQ, I think many of us were under the impression that Main Story Quests would feature more active participation from the player. We were shown CB3's potential for creating interesting gameplay scenarios within the confines of an MMO with Metal Gear Thancred, Freaky Friday Zenos, and numerous instanced battles to break up the monotonous "talk to _____" objectives. Yet, for some reason, we've taken a BIG step back here in terms of player input. No longer feeling like the culmination of long built up plot threads or rewards for our efforts, XIV cutscenes now suffer from Kingdom Hearts Syndrome, where each fade to black becomes a repetitive obstacle to our enjoyment. With no previous lore to build on this time around, a more streamlined story that paved way for novel gameplay opportunities would've done a better job of putting us in the shoes of the "adventurer" Yoshi P & Co. clearly want us to feel like post-Endwalker.
Finally, we are officially stuck in the past, folks. We have a highly marketable cast of characters in the Scions, and SE clearly doesn't want to do away with them. There is, in my opinion, an unfulfilled promise in the disbandment of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. What are they doing here? What exactly has changed since their supposed separation? How are we adding to our relationships with them? I can't think of a single bit of exposition any of them contributed to Dawntrail that I wouldn't rather have heard from Wuk Lamat, Erenville, or any of the plethora of characters who have an actual attachment to the places, people, and history of this new land we've set foot in. Why cheapen these characters with continued purposeless presence?
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First and foremost, I often wonder if SE or CBIII have a common understanding or goal as to what audience they are attempting to appeal to. The game has shown itself to be at it's best when a balance is struck between serious/relatable themes and an accessible/joyous Fantasy aesthetic. So why does it seem that a significant amount of the dialogue is being written with a pre-teen audience in mind? It's not only irritating to have every emotion, thought, and lesson spelled out for us with all the nuance of a 9 year old who just learned what empathy is, it is unimmersive and frankly jarring when juxtaposed with the recurring atrocities or disasters we face every expansion. This game is 10 years old and requires a monthly subscription so I'd say it's pretty safe to assume most players are at least old enough to have their own debit card. I'm not asking for an existential dilemma at the level of the Ea with every expansion, just a general awareness from the writing team that a ven diagram of this fanbase and Bluey's would not be a perfect circle.
Secondly, coming off Endwalker's 6.0 MSQ, I think many of us were under the impression that Main Story Quests would feature more active participation from the player. We were shown CB3's potential for creating interesting gameplay scenarios within the confines of an MMO with Metal Gear Thancred, Freaky Friday Zenos, and numerous instanced battles to break up the monotonous "talk to _____" objectives. Yet, for some reason, we've taken a BIG step back here in terms of player input. No longer feeling like the culmination of long built up plot threads or rewards for our efforts, XIV cutscenes now suffer from Kingdom Hearts Syndrome, where each fade to black becomes a repetitive obstacle to our enjoyment. With no previous lore to build on this time around, a more streamlined story that paved way for novel gameplay opportunities would've done a better job of putting us in the shoes of the "adventurer" Yoshi P & Co. clearly want us to feel like post-Endwalker.
Finally, we are officially stuck in the past, folks. We have a highly marketable cast of characters in the Scions, and SE clearly doesn't want to do away with them. There is, in my opinion, an unfulfilled promise in the disbandment of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. What are they doing here? What exactly has changed since their supposed separation? How are we adding to our relationships with them? I can't think of a single bit of exposition any of them contributed to Dawntrail that I wouldn't rather have heard from Wuk Lamat, Erenville, or any of the plethora of characters who have an actual attachment to the places, people, and history of this new land we've set foot in. Why cheapen these characters with continued purposeless presence?
Continue reading...