My character throughout FFXIV
An album featuring the journey along with several musings about the plot and themes
I started playing FFXIV just a bit after Shadowbringers released because I kept hearing about how amazing the story was. I had my doubts, honestly. It was both an MMO and Final Fantasy hadn't been truly great since maybe FFX, and I had already played through SWTOR which had some amazing class stories that I thought this couldn't match.
For ARR, I felt mostly vindicated, thinking it was a bland fantasy story that was barely at the level of the first few Final Fantasy games. Then Heavenward came and brought the storytelling to a whole nother level and showed me that the game had heart. At that point it had beaten a few FF's in terms of story. Then Stormblood came and I felt that was aggressively mediocre in terms of story.
And then Shadowbringers came.
And I feel like it might be one of my favorite Final Fantasy games of all time, my favorite MMO, and one of my favorite RPGs in general.
This whole thing felt like an absolute loveletter.
It was a loveletter to Final Fantasy in general. As much as I love Heavensward, it felt more like a really well-done western fantasy story than a true Final Fantasy. But this was Final Fantasy in every respect. You finally got that fully formed RPG party. You got to explore so many different crazy fantasy, almost alien environments. The serious moments were broken up by levity and whimsy, like the Il Mheg exploration and the dwarves. You got the giant bombastic setpieces like riding a giant flying whale and the building of a giant fuck-you titan that reached up to God. You killed God. And you even got some of that more morally grey modern Final Fantasy with the final dungeon and Emet-Selch, who felt like Ardyn II: Electric Boogaloo.
It felt like a loveletter to FFXIV. You got to see the results of Alisaie and Alphinaud's growth through HW and SB. You got to see the payoff of Thancred's arc and the redemption of Minfilia's character through Ryne. You got to see more sides of Urianger and Y'sthola. The villains you've been fighting from day one finally got their time in the sun, and how brilliantly did they shine. And the game rewards you for exploring all its content with the references to the Crystal Tower, Omega, and Alexander.
And most importantly. It's a loveletter to you.
In non-story related matters, Soken is still great. Felt like the ShB motif was reused a bit too much, but otherwise an incredible score. I absolutely loved his area themes. Between Amh Araeng, Rak'tika Greatwood, and the Tempest, Soken has just brought his absolute A-game.
Gameplay-wise the fights were still great and it's nice to see that fights are just as mechanically interesting as in Stormblood (Hades Normal in particular felt like a simplified O4S, which is still fairly complex for a story fight). The Thancred Duty stood out in particular as being my favorite Duty of the expansion, despite how simple his moveset was.
As for things I wasn't too keen on:
-Ran'jit: I didn't care for another villain who is oh shit he's too stronk, run away. I didn't care for it with Zenos, and I didn't care for it with him, especially since while Zenos had the Echo, this guy just had kung fu and a dragon that had no explanation. The game already had enough threat with the Lightwardens, your light contamination, and Emet-Selch. He felt less believable in comparison. I wish they focused more on his past with the Minifilia's because that would have made the confrontation with Thancred that much more meaningful.
-Pacing in some sections: While I liked Il Mheg as an excursion, it definitely felt too long and fetch quest-y and killed the initial pacing of ShB to me. Also not too big a fan of the Magnus portion of Amh Araeng, it felt a bit too drawn out and predictable.
-Sequel hook: Still not sure about how to feel about Zenos seeming to be the main villain again with his plan to absorb Zodiark. It kind of feels like such a lame endgame after dealing with Emet-Selch. That being said, I can see potential in him as the wildcard figure who fucks up everyone's plans in his desire to get a boner by fighting us again.
But no, seriously, what a journey. Not truly over, as I've got to do the Near Autotomatoes raid, Eden, and finish leveling my SMN/SCH so I can do the rest of the Role Quests, but I feel satisfied with all I've done.
tl;dr yo this expansion is great
submitted by /u/Deadeye117
[link] [comments]
Continue reading...
An album featuring the journey along with several musings about the plot and themes
I started playing FFXIV just a bit after Shadowbringers released because I kept hearing about how amazing the story was. I had my doubts, honestly. It was both an MMO and Final Fantasy hadn't been truly great since maybe FFX, and I had already played through SWTOR which had some amazing class stories that I thought this couldn't match.
For ARR, I felt mostly vindicated, thinking it was a bland fantasy story that was barely at the level of the first few Final Fantasy games. Then Heavenward came and brought the storytelling to a whole nother level and showed me that the game had heart. At that point it had beaten a few FF's in terms of story. Then Stormblood came and I felt that was aggressively mediocre in terms of story.
And then Shadowbringers came.
And I feel like it might be one of my favorite Final Fantasy games of all time, my favorite MMO, and one of my favorite RPGs in general.
This whole thing felt like an absolute loveletter.
It was a loveletter to Final Fantasy in general. As much as I love Heavensward, it felt more like a really well-done western fantasy story than a true Final Fantasy. But this was Final Fantasy in every respect. You finally got that fully formed RPG party. You got to explore so many different crazy fantasy, almost alien environments. The serious moments were broken up by levity and whimsy, like the Il Mheg exploration and the dwarves. You got the giant bombastic setpieces like riding a giant flying whale and the building of a giant fuck-you titan that reached up to God. You killed God. And you even got some of that more morally grey modern Final Fantasy with the final dungeon and Emet-Selch, who felt like Ardyn II: Electric Boogaloo.
It felt like a loveletter to FFXIV. You got to see the results of Alisaie and Alphinaud's growth through HW and SB. You got to see the payoff of Thancred's arc and the redemption of Minfilia's character through Ryne. You got to see more sides of Urianger and Y'sthola. The villains you've been fighting from day one finally got their time in the sun, and how brilliantly did they shine. And the game rewards you for exploring all its content with the references to the Crystal Tower, Omega, and Alexander.
And most importantly. It's a loveletter to you.
In non-story related matters, Soken is still great. Felt like the ShB motif was reused a bit too much, but otherwise an incredible score. I absolutely loved his area themes. Between Amh Araeng, Rak'tika Greatwood, and the Tempest, Soken has just brought his absolute A-game.
Gameplay-wise the fights were still great and it's nice to see that fights are just as mechanically interesting as in Stormblood (Hades Normal in particular felt like a simplified O4S, which is still fairly complex for a story fight). The Thancred Duty stood out in particular as being my favorite Duty of the expansion, despite how simple his moveset was.
As for things I wasn't too keen on:
-Ran'jit: I didn't care for another villain who is oh shit he's too stronk, run away. I didn't care for it with Zenos, and I didn't care for it with him, especially since while Zenos had the Echo, this guy just had kung fu and a dragon that had no explanation. The game already had enough threat with the Lightwardens, your light contamination, and Emet-Selch. He felt less believable in comparison. I wish they focused more on his past with the Minifilia's because that would have made the confrontation with Thancred that much more meaningful.
-Pacing in some sections: While I liked Il Mheg as an excursion, it definitely felt too long and fetch quest-y and killed the initial pacing of ShB to me. Also not too big a fan of the Magnus portion of Amh Araeng, it felt a bit too drawn out and predictable.
-Sequel hook: Still not sure about how to feel about Zenos seeming to be the main villain again with his plan to absorb Zodiark. It kind of feels like such a lame endgame after dealing with Emet-Selch. That being said, I can see potential in him as the wildcard figure who fucks up everyone's plans in his desire to get a boner by fighting us again.
But no, seriously, what a journey. Not truly over, as I've got to do the Near Autotomatoes raid, Eden, and finish leveling my SMN/SCH so I can do the rest of the Role Quests, but I feel satisfied with all I've done.
tl;dr yo this expansion is great
submitted by /u/Deadeye117
[link] [comments]
Continue reading...