MMORPG's FFXIV Offical Review 7/18/2011

[Neoscrilla]

You can tell that the reviewer didnt play the game very long, yet the review is pretty spot on. Who gives a shit about the "upcoming changes." This game was such a mess when it launched and still is that it is sickening. Since this is from a reviewer's point of view who has limited time with the game, I will offer up a story/feeling toward the game and at SE as a whole. ***Holy Shit...Spoilered because of length, after I started writing this I just had way too much to get off my chest***

tl;dr: iMad

Spoiler: show

I was and still am a huge FF fan. I started back when it was first released for the NES, but once I played III on the SNES (VI for you purists), I was hooked. I own and have played every FF release, save for Crisis Core and the FF Adventure games for the old Game Boy. I loved the series so much, I started purchasing other Square games, such as Chrono Trigger, etc. FF introduced me to RPGs, and made me try other games like Dragon Warrior on the NES (Dragon Quest) and so on and so forth. FFXI was my first MMO, and I had no interest in MMOs until I heard there was going to be a FF one. I got the PS2 HDD, the game, and that was all she wrote. I played that game for close to 6 years, and even though I dont play anymore, I hold that game very dear to my heart.

When word of XIV broke, like many FF fans and players of XI, I was very excited. I remember the horror days of POL, PS2 limitations, the shitty network adapter and craptastic graphics on the PS2, the DDoS attacks, the 10 hour updates, etc. Even with all that, XI was like nothing that I ever experienced in a game. The world was HUGE, and to this date no game has given me the same sense of accomplishement that XI did. It WAS Final Fantasy. Getting Novio back when JoL took hours was one of my high points in gaming (lame I know, but hey, that was my end all, be all goal back then, lol). I was the typical Square bandwagoner, and when they merged with Enix and made XI, along with my appreciation of DQ and all of its iterations all but cemented my loyalty to this company. Beta came for XIV and after years of dedication, I was ready to move on from XI. I had never been so excited for a game, and I landed a closed beta code from a friend I played with on XI (<3 Aydindril). My computer chugged with it at the lowest possible settings, and it lagged bad and was almost unplayable, but that didnt stop me from playing it. I went and bought a new computer SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS GAME and got into open beta. I played every single day until release. I knew there were bugs, I knew that some things just didnt work, but it was my first beta ever, and every time that I wondered what the hell was going on, I remembered back to XI years ago and all of the issues it had and how rewarding the actual game was to me. I had put all of my eggs in one basket, quitting XI, and forming a "End Game Oriented" LS prior to launch. All things were in place, drawing from my experiences in XI. Website, 20+ members at launch, etc. I vetted my members, telling them that this was going to be a very involved LS and they all knew what our intentions were. Most of the people I met making the transition to XIV were just like me: hardcore XI players that just had played it for years and wanted XIV to be XI plus a whole lot more.

Then launch came........Game was awesome at first to me, and my LS mates and co-leaders felt the same. Couldnt believe how beautiful it was. Then we actually started to PLAY the game. Even though nobody wanted to admit it, it was the same as beta, complete with all the tedious menus, uninspired gameplay, etc. I and we looked passed it, again remembering the early days of XI, insisting to ourselves that it would get way better. We plugged on, got rank 50s in battle classes, crafting classes, gathering classes. We grew and grew as a LS, and refined our approach. We had adapted to the stupid way leves were set up with the 36 hour cooldown, and we also tested xp gains on leves, quickly resorting to "get the same leves each reset, cancel them before they are done so we can reset them." This was okay for awhile, even though in the back of our minds we knew that the shit wasnt fun. The story aspect of the game was great, and just looked too pretty to deny. That being said, I knew that the game was not very functional, classes had no identities, areas were beautiful but empty and uninspired. Travel was painful, long, and sadistic. The Market Ward system sucked, crafting was fun at first but also sucked. I was a BLM in XI and wanted to be such in XIV, rolled CON and watched as the Spirit Darts out hit the nukes........ >.>. I was pissed, but I and we carried this on for close to 6 months.

As time went on, more and more people disappeared. Mostly casuals, but towards the end, those same people that we vetted in were starting to leave. These were the same people who loved FF and XI the way I did, and they just couldnt handle it anymore. I remember being very sad when they left, but in my mind I couldnt blame them. Being a LS leader, I had promised alot to my members, and assured them that I would be here through thick and thin, the good and the bad. The XIII came out. People's opinions vary, but I loved this game as I do all FF games, and it it softened the blow of XIV's lack of content. As of that moment, co-leaders and core members alike had just quit the game. Those of us who were left were stressed out at the loss of our friends our loss of innocence towards this game. I still vowed to not leave, and many people counted on me for that. Eventually it just became too much to bear, as it had made me be too hard on the people who stuck with it and with me. A long time friend from XI that had joined with me proposed that me and him go back to XI. I declined simply because I felt that I couldnt go back after being gone for so long.

At around this time I was looking at MMO sites and was searching for something. I never had any intention of playing another MMO, but playing one for so long made me feel that I had to play one, lol. I stumbled upon Rift and its open beta, so I decided to try it out. I had a blast in beta, and was comforted in the fact that it "worked." Interface was good, speedy, gameplay was fast and fun. One glaring fact remained though: it wasnt FF. It wasnt what I had been looking for, but it was flat out a good game. After beta and before launch of RIFT, I went back to XIV. That ended up being the last straw for me. I felt offended and slighted badly with it. I felt that all my dedication and patience with this game was being used to mock me in a way. Now I will never give up on the FF franchise because I grew up on it and it was such a big part of my gaming life, but with XIV I could see the writing on the wall. One CE edition later, Tanaka got canned, game was so bad it went F2P, and no real changes or content was coming. Reviews and general consensus of the game was scathing. “Worst MMO launch in history” was said. For 6 months I waited for it to improve. It didnt. As hard as it was I cut my losses and quit XIV. Quit on the LS I founded. Quit on the people who stuck with it and with me. Not a day goes by that it upsets me, but in hindsight I did the right thing.

I now play RIFT and Eden Eternal. I do endgame 4 times a week on RIFT, and just grind on Eden. I enjoy it alot. I conceed that it is nothing like XI was, accomplishments largely dont mean as much, even with all we have achieved in RIFT. Its just not the same. XI had that close knit community where you actually had a rep, XIV would have too, and does to an extent. As time goes on I do miss XIV in a way, but as I play RIFT and see many many additions to the content, fixes, and general state of the game, it makes me loathe SE for what they did to XIV. This was supposed to be the game that carried me through the next few years like XI did. Now I'm on RIFT and honestly cannot see myself playing it for very long.

I have realized that XIV will never be what it could be/should have been. No matter what they do, so many people have left or feel like me that they simply will not come back. When they re release this on PS3, if ever, it wont succeed. It has such a bad air around it that I dont think anything can save it. I learned that once most people quit a MMO, they dont come back. Seeing how it is 9 months later, being F2P, and LOSING MEMBERS STILL, once it does go to a payment model, it will be all over. Nobody in their right mind would pay for this unless it was a PS3 player that didnt experience XIV when it actually launched.

SE deserves all the failure they get with this game. They enlisted Tanaka, who didnt draw any resources or experience from what was achieved with XI. They didnt listen to the player base when they needed to. They didnt keep in tune with the MMO market to see what works and what doesnt work, or what people like or dont like. They did it like a normal FF game, where they make each one completely different (save for direct sequal versions, X-2, XIII-2). While great in theory, its not realistic in practice. This resulted in a game that had all of the potential for something great, squandered by stubborness and stupidness. I will never forgive SE for that. Fuck you.

Even though my feelings for this game are as such, I will still be buying XIII-2, and will buy their next MMO when it comes. I continue to watch the updates to XIV, compare them with other MMOs and facepalm. While in the MMO world this game is considered a joke, to me and the many people like me, it was much, much more of a disappointment.

[Kaylia]

^
Nice rant.

People who refuses to try others mmo, and insist that ffxiv is the only one that is made for them should take a few notes.

[Nevex]

Ever considered that people might not care about MMORPGs but do care about FF games?
I refuse to touch any MMORPG without the FF name on it and I'm not playing FFXIV anymore but I can see why fans insist that it might eventually become a solid game. FFXI did after all.

[Agito]

Blizzards' next mmorpg which has been in developement for a very long time will be released before FFXIV ever becomes a good game. Before FFXIV was even announced, everyone knew that Square Enix and Blizzard were the only two companies capable of creating the true next gen mmorpg. Square Enix messed up and now, only Blizzard can create the holy grail that we've all been searching for. Every other mmorpg out there is nothing more than a filler until we're blessed by the heavenly god with our saviour which is Blizzards' mmorpg.

[Hyan]

Hallelujah

[Kaylia]

Ever considered that people might not care about MMORPGs but do care about FF games?
I refuse to touch any MMORPG without the FF name on it and I'm not playing FFXIV anymore but I can see why fans insist that it might eventually become a solid game. FFXI did after all.

I'm pretty sure I did. People having nonsensical emotional attachment to a particular brand is in fact one of the main cause of stupid opinions you see on the net.

[Lucavi]

Ever considered that people might not care about MMORPGs but do care about FF games?
I refuse to touch any MMORPG without the FF name on it and I'm not playing FFXIV anymore but I can see why fans insist that it might eventually become a solid game. FFXI did after all.

The official forums are full of people just like the ones you write about and are yourself. I don't think it was really necessary to pull the "have you ever considered?" card when there are plenty of your time on those forums, complaining about every change that attempts to move this game out of the stone age and into the modern era.

[ronin sparthos]

Blizzards' next mmorpg which has been in developement for a very long time will be released before FFXIV ever becomes a good game. Before FFXIV was even announced, everyone knew that Square Enix and Blizzard were the only two companies capable of creating the true next gen mmorpg. Square Enix messed up and now, only Blizzard can create the holy grail that we've all been searching for. Every other mmorpg out there is nothing more than a filler until we're blessed by the heavenly god with our saviour which is Blizzards' mmorpg.

Doesn't SE have a third MMO in the pipes? That'll be the WoW killer for sure.

[Hyan]

I'm pretty sure I did. People having nonsensical emotional attachment to a particular brand is in fact one of the main cause of stupid opinions you see on the net.

Damn, if only you could remove humanity out of the equation! Everything would be so simple and clear.

At least you can always ridicule it.

[Sta]

I was a FFreak from day one. The only reason i bought a PS2 was to play FF10, the only reason i bought a PS3 was to play 13, the only reason i got a PC for myself is because i saw FFXI... i even remember begging my brother to use his CC and i would pay him the monthly out of paper-route money lol. but FFXI broke me in to a ton of other MMOs when i quit it after 5 years. WoW>Aion>WoW>LOTRO>Aion>Rift>Aion>FF14>WoW>Aion>FF 14. That was my cycle and it shows that other MMOs are just short term games that just fill the time like Agito said, I'm enjoying 14... hate a few things about it that will be fixed. When they are fixed this game will be my new XI that i spend 5-6 years playing.
People that honestly, deep down think that FF14 will never be worth playing again are just a little blind-sighted by their frustration that FF14 isnt as awesome as they wanted it. I'm sure 90% of the people will be back and loving it in December. Maybe

[CasualPlayer]

Doesn't SE have a third MMO in the pipes? That'll be the WoW killer for sure.

I lol'd.

Also the review in OP was spot on.

I think this game has passed the point where negative publicity hurts it at least. Any news is good at this point since it keeps the game relevant.

[Alderaan]

I was a FFreak from day one. The only reason i bought a PS2 was to play FF10, the only reason i bought a PS3 was to play 13, the only reason i got a PC for myself is because i saw FFXI... i even remember begging my brother to use his CC and i would pay him the monthly out of paper-route money lol. but FFXI broke me in to a ton of other MMOs when i quit it after 5 years. WoW>Aion>WoW>LOTRO>Aion>Rift>Aion>FF14>WoW>Aion>FF 14. That was my cycle and it shows that other MMOs are just short term games that just fill the time like Agito said, I'm enjoying 14... hate a few things about it that will be fixed. When they are fixed this game will be my new XI that i spend 5-6 years playing.
People that honestly, deep down think that FF14 will never be worth playing again are just a little blind-sighted by their frustration that FF14 isnt as awesome as they wanted it. I'm sure 90% of the people will be back and loving it in December. Maybe

The reason for all that is everything took so fucking long to get in XI that people don't want to give that up when they finally get it. For some reason people get turned off when they go to other MMO's and actually get rewarded for their time. I personally enjoy the fact that i don't have to make a game a second job like i did in XI. Fuck ever doing that shit again. After stepping back and honestly evaluating my 5-6 years in XI, i realized that it was the people that i played with that i enjoyed, not so much the actual game. That's what i miss, but that's on the player to create. Arbitrarily forcing a community on people with forced dynamics no longer works. People have options and will go elsewhere.

I do agree that with this new guy at the helm that players FF fans will come back once his vision is realized. The problem is no one outside of that will be back. Perhaps that's how it should be?

[Zetanio]

I'm sure 90% of the people will be back and loving it in December. Maybe

I'm honestly not trying to troll but do you really believe ANY part of that? With the track record of SE's previous MMO and their very slow-moving and inefficient patch/update system, I'd be more keen to believe that FFXIV will HAVE to be F2P forever to maintain any kind of sub base.

[Correction]

"How dare he review an evolving product!"

"How dare he review it before the miracle patch where everything is fixed so it gets a 6 instead of a 5."

"How dare he review it this late into its lifecycle!"

"How dare he not give SE the benefit of the doubt!"

Did I cover everything?

[miokomioko]

she*

[Sta]

I'm honestly not trying to troll but do you really believe ANY part of that? With the track record of SE's previous MMO and their very slow-moving and inefficient patch/update system, I'd be more keen to believe that FFXIV will HAVE to be F2P forever to maintain any kind of sub base.

Tbh, I want it to happen more than I think it's going to happen. The image I have in my head is: SE performs 4 miracle patches that attract players back by the thousands. It's a damn huge business and with any huge business suffering losses the management should step in and say "sort your shit out, read these reviews and data and make this shit work. I don't give a shit that you want to change the market system, give them a bitching AH and remove those retarded leve cooldowns. Players wanna play, not stand around a leveling classes they have no interest in."

But this is just me dreaming. Probably not going to happen any time before Diablo3 is out, so idc untill im bored with D3

[Lordender]

Disclaimer: I'm not defending 14 or SE, I still think its a massive pile of shit of a "game" that I am skeptical will ever turn around.


This was probably the wrong time to review the "game" before the 1st revamp patch went live, what was the point? the "game" is basically being rewrote from the ground up and is going to continue to be shitty until 4-5 more major patches come out and only by then the "game" will be "reviewable properly". The current state of the "game" has hardly changed much since release, this next patch is the start of the major revamp process.

I believe by the time 1.21-1.22 comes(whenever that is) we will have a proper battle system where stats/enmity/jobs work in party gameplay, transportion of some kind, questhub expansions. Will any of that be good? who fucking knows, at least there is something to actually review, lol.


This is like me reviewing a Katrina home that still needs drywall, floor tiles that still need to be implemented still.

[Correction]

There will always be a call to 'wait' to review an MMO and they make no fucking sense, ever. It's the Summer Lull, during which few AAA titles get released so reviewers have time for long-term projects like an MMO or lengthy SRPG. The math is against FFXIV having a viable install base indefinitely; Waiting until XMas rolls around and there are 15 new games getting reviews makes zero editorial sense.

[miokomioko]

This is like me reviewing a Katrina home that still needs drywall, floor tiles that still need to be implemented still.

All while assuring the public that the home will never be decent and simultaneously praising a different builder for working on a home they personally want to eventually live in. Wat.

The timing was just stupid in the big picture and this, along with her lack of recognition or even a drop of what's going on with the development team, proves she either wrote this 6 months ago (when she joined MMORPG.com), hasn't bothered to research what's going on with the title even the tiniest bit before trying to dissuade anyone from trying the game out, let alone keeping an eye on its progress. Anyone actually familiar with the genre should know better than to make irresponsible absolute remarks like such.

Amateur shit.

It's mostly me being 'imad' because this game is already an uphill battle for Yoshi-P and while, yes, I do personally want it to succeed, it just does not need idiots giving it more bad publicity by suggesting people avoid it like the plague when it's in its critical stages of reform. At least acknowledge that it's being reformed at all! Not doing so for one company and doing so for another is pretty poor journalism.

(the bolded part was the point that I was making from the start, for you trigger-happy trolls)

[Charismatic]

All while assuring the public that the home will never be decent and simultaneously praising a different builder for working on a home they personally want to eventually live in. Wat.

I don't think we read the same review.