MASSIVE MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW
When I was doing the first story quests in Amh Araeng (with the Mord in Mord Souq, before you meet Alisaie), I was worried that my favorite game had gone to hell. The writing and direction felt tacky and try-hard, like it had been handed off to SE's B-team. But then Tesleen... happened, and from then on Shadowbringers was peak FF14.
However, I get the exact same vibes from 5.3 as I got from those terrible early quests with the Mord. The events of the story were amazing, and a fitting conclusion to Shadowbringers, but the dialog and cutscene direction feels fundamentally different to what came before, and entirely for the worse. The music in cutscenes was way too schmalzy, the characters were over-emotive... and a lot of the characters just felt off. It's hard to say why, but in the final scenes on the First, Alisaie, Alphinaud, and Y'shtola especially all felt out of character. Not through what they said, necessarily, but how they said it.
There were other problems. The exposition drop leading up to the fight with Elidibus felt rushed and forced. We had no farewell scenes dedicated to Lyna or Ryne in particular, despite them both permanently losing their closest family in our return to the Source. We really don't need a wacky over-acted Asahi meat-puppet.
Overall, it feels like the story is now being told with much less art and subtlety. I don't know if it's a result of the team having to work from home with less coordination, or if they were just rushed due to disruption of workflow, or if the writing and cutscene direction have actually been handed off to new people. But 5.3 was a major artistic downgrade for FF14, even if the fights, new music, and basic arc of the story are still top-notch. It kind of ruined the ending of Shadowbringers for me, and I hope it doesn't represent the new normal for FF14 going into the future.
Continue reading...
When I was doing the first story quests in Amh Araeng (with the Mord in Mord Souq, before you meet Alisaie), I was worried that my favorite game had gone to hell. The writing and direction felt tacky and try-hard, like it had been handed off to SE's B-team. But then Tesleen... happened, and from then on Shadowbringers was peak FF14.
However, I get the exact same vibes from 5.3 as I got from those terrible early quests with the Mord. The events of the story were amazing, and a fitting conclusion to Shadowbringers, but the dialog and cutscene direction feels fundamentally different to what came before, and entirely for the worse. The music in cutscenes was way too schmalzy, the characters were over-emotive... and a lot of the characters just felt off. It's hard to say why, but in the final scenes on the First, Alisaie, Alphinaud, and Y'shtola especially all felt out of character. Not through what they said, necessarily, but how they said it.
There were other problems. The exposition drop leading up to the fight with Elidibus felt rushed and forced. We had no farewell scenes dedicated to Lyna or Ryne in particular, despite them both permanently losing their closest family in our return to the Source. We really don't need a wacky over-acted Asahi meat-puppet.
Overall, it feels like the story is now being told with much less art and subtlety. I don't know if it's a result of the team having to work from home with less coordination, or if they were just rushed due to disruption of workflow, or if the writing and cutscene direction have actually been handed off to new people. But 5.3 was a major artistic downgrade for FF14, even if the fights, new music, and basic arc of the story are still top-notch. It kind of ruined the ending of Shadowbringers for me, and I hope it doesn't represent the new normal for FF14 going into the future.
Continue reading...