Final Fantasy 14 is Square Enix’ Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) which was initially released in 2013 on windows and PS3, which was considered a replacement for a previous 2010 release which was universally panned for its UI, gameplay and it gave off this feeling of being unfinished at places even though this 2010 version was in development for 5 years.
The 2013 version was developed with a new engine, reworked storylines and an interface overhaul. This version was universally praised and Square Enix even attributed 2014 profits largely to the following achieved by the latest version of the game. The game is one of the most played MMORPGs on steam and has had four previous major expansions which concluded a 10 saga filled with intense story arcs, catastrophic changes to the world of final fantasy 14 and a passionate playerbase hungry for more.
The fifth expansion titled Dawntrail was released on July 2nd of this year with critics praising it for all it had to offer and Square Enix’ continued mastery of telling a compelling story. However, for regular players it seemed quite the opposite, it currently sits as “Mixed” on steam reviews with players commenting on how this expansion felt bland and sort of directionless compared to the previous expansions.
What was Wrong with this Expansion?
Almost all negative reviews on steam point to the story of this expansion, it being full of uninteresting characters and the politics among the characters being unexpectedly slow and thus boring to playthrough.
Some veteran players did already expect the expansion experience to be like this as it is afterall trying to usher in a new direction to the overarching story after the last expansion was an effective conclusion to a 10 year saga.
Where players feel that it made mistakes is in how it was trying to get the player familiarized with the new set of characters and races introduced and the tension, conflict and politics that exist between them. Many players went in expecting action from the beginning only to be met by missions and side quests that are more narrative heavy than combat.
Players also complained of character inconsistencies, characters who are expected to argue or try to get justification on certain actions committed in the past seem to rather be not as concerned about them. Such Wuk Lamat, the main character we follow, would sometimes try to justify certain actions which go against her moral code or what she portrayed as something she would not tolerate, at times she would brush it off and/or plainly ignore them in her pursuit. It becomes more frustrating when there aren’t any moments where she realizes that she is contradicting herself and learning from her mistakes.
What is the Premise this Time?
Since it is trying to introduce a brand new setting this time, a new continent is introduced called Tural, where we help Wuk Lamat win a series of trials which would give her the title of Dawnservant replacing the previous old ruler of the land.
Here instead of being combat focused the trials are more inline with being lessons which would test one’s leadership skills thus testing whether or not he/she is worthy of being a Dawnservant. The lessons also work to introduce the player to the culture and practices of this new continent along with the diverse races that exist which were based on the Latin American countries.
While we help Wuk Lamat to succeed her father by completing the trials, the story makes it clear there are other competitors who are just as determined to take the seat, each with their own visions and ideas to improve or change the existing status quo for better or worse.
For example Wuk Lamat’s brother Koana, is someone who aims to improve society with foreign science he encountered, another sibling is more heavy-handed, wanting to achieve peace by any means necessary, including war on those unyielding while a character called Bakool Ja Ja is bent on returning to the times of when the weak served the strong.
Conclusion: It’s the First of Many Better Expansions to Come
While there are a sizable number of players not that happy with this newest expansion the reasoning for it is pretty clear. It is mainly trying to set up a new foundation to tell more compelling stories which are sure to reach the peaks that Final Fantasy 14’s previous expansions did.
Critics said it themselves, the world building done in this expansion was superb while it has its flaws it does also have its fair share of exciting moments nonetheless.There is no doubt coming expansions will certainly pick things up back to where they were and will deliver players what they came to expect from this game in the last 10 years.
