Lopsho
This review contains spoilers
Peak for now.
The story and its presentation easily surpass some of the universally beloved mainline (?) Final Fantasy games for me. I love how writers portrayed uncertainty in your own beliefs and desire for justice without devolving it into some overly vague mess, it all comes off as very genuine, which I appreciate a lot. It felt so good to empathize with most characters, to get their motivation and frustration, and in turn they respond back by acting how I would want them to act, like Alphinaud challenging Hraesvelgr's hypocrisy, for example. I have to say, Edmont de Fortemps might be my favorite character in the whole game, his reaction to Haurchefant's death turned me into a puddle of tears, so I had to take a break from MSQ for some time. RIP Stephen Critchlow.
Some job quests remained pretty ass (WHM), while some finally offered something more than bare-bones class fantasy (DRK). Relic quest became million times better in gameplay, but I want my daddy Jalzahn back :(
The music is consistently good. Some of the field themes grabbing my attention to the point of stopping me doing anything for ~10 minutes straight, waiting for the track to loop back.
I see almost no stinkers in Heavensward duties, aside from The Aetherochemical Research Facility, mainly because I don't like Allagan design too much. The Shadow of Mhach alliance raid brought actual difference in aesthetic of each step compared to Crystal Tower. Some fights still pose challenge and can catch unprepared groups off guard, wiping the whole raid, which is refreshing for daily roulettes.
Alexander raid series just kept me smiling like an idiot while I was queueing for each tier. The slow buildup of boss themes that culminated in the last fight with the track Rise was genius. Also, I'm so glad that we can queue for them all in the Duty Finder starting with Heavensward, because finding groups for Coils in ARR was a major pain in the ass.
This expansion fixed the problems that I didn't even know were there in A Realm Reborn, and it's hard to imagine that something else might beat it, like fan favorite Shadowbringers, but I'll see for myself. Now, onto the Stormblood.
690 hours played between the start of Heavensward and start of Stormblood, 1104 hours played total
The story and its presentation easily surpass some of the universally beloved mainline (?) Final Fantasy games for me. I love how writers portrayed uncertainty in your own beliefs and desire for justice without devolving it into some overly vague mess, it all comes off as very genuine, which I appreciate a lot. It felt so good to empathize with most characters, to get their motivation and frustration, and in turn they respond back by acting how I would want them to act, like Alphinaud challenging Hraesvelgr's hypocrisy, for example. I have to say, Edmont de Fortemps might be my favorite character in the whole game, his reaction to Haurchefant's death turned me into a puddle of tears, so I had to take a break from MSQ for some time. RIP Stephen Critchlow.
Some job quests remained pretty ass (WHM), while some finally offered something more than bare-bones class fantasy (DRK). Relic quest became million times better in gameplay, but I want my daddy Jalzahn back :(
The music is consistently good. Some of the field themes grabbing my attention to the point of stopping me doing anything for ~10 minutes straight, waiting for the track to loop back.
I see almost no stinkers in Heavensward duties, aside from The Aetherochemical Research Facility, mainly because I don't like Allagan design too much. The Shadow of Mhach alliance raid brought actual difference in aesthetic of each step compared to Crystal Tower. Some fights still pose challenge and can catch unprepared groups off guard, wiping the whole raid, which is refreshing for daily roulettes.
Alexander raid series just kept me smiling like an idiot while I was queueing for each tier. The slow buildup of boss themes that culminated in the last fight with the track Rise was genius. Also, I'm so glad that we can queue for them all in the Duty Finder starting with Heavensward, because finding groups for Coils in ARR was a major pain in the ass.
This expansion fixed the problems that I didn't even know were there in A Realm Reborn, and it's hard to imagine that something else might beat it, like fan favorite Shadowbringers, but I'll see for myself. Now, onto the Stormblood.
690 hours played between the start of Heavensward and start of Stormblood, 1104 hours played total
At first, I was shocked to realize there is no world chat in this game, but then my friend list exceeded the one I had in years of playing WoW, so... the social aspect of FFXIV is incredible, even the absolute degenerates in Limsa, love them all.
Loved how the hard versions of previous dungeons didn't just increase the stats, but made substantial changes to the layout, mobs, bosses, and even story. Crystal Tower introduced me to the weird concept of splitting parties in a 24 man raid, for now it feels a bit awkward, but The Coils of Bahamut and Extreme Trials had some of the sickest boss fights I ever beat in any game.
As for the story, I adore the generic PS3 RPG vibe it gives, so for me, it wasn't a slog at all. Post-ARR showcased both cool and goofy ass animations, but I'm excited to see what Heavensward will bring.
I enjoyed almost everything about the game, but I have to give it 4/5, because of some annoyances I still have with the retainer system, some UI inconsistencies, the overall sluggishness of combat with weird delays on everything (I got accustomed to it, but my WoW brain requires something snappier)
ALMOST FORGOT THE MUSIC IS SICK I MEAN OF COURSE IT IS
Reached end credits of post-ARR in 415 hours of playtime
Loved how the hard versions of previous dungeons didn't just increase the stats, but made substantial changes to the layout, mobs, bosses, and even story. Crystal Tower introduced me to the weird concept of splitting parties in a 24 man raid, for now it feels a bit awkward, but The Coils of Bahamut and Extreme Trials had some of the sickest boss fights I ever beat in any game.
As for the story, I adore the generic PS3 RPG vibe it gives, so for me, it wasn't a slog at all. Post-ARR showcased both cool and goofy ass animations, but I'm excited to see what Heavensward will bring.
I enjoyed almost everything about the game, but I have to give it 4/5, because of some annoyances I still have with the retainer system, some UI inconsistencies, the overall sluggishness of combat with weird delays on everything (I got accustomed to it, but my WoW brain requires something snappier)
ALMOST FORGOT THE MUSIC IS SICK I MEAN OF COURSE IT IS
Reached end credits of post-ARR in 415 hours of playtime
2022
Performance is ass, graphics are ass, but it's fun and very chill. Definitely overhated.
GG, well played. You just need to work on your combos, movement, blocking, neutral, aggression, punishes, conversions, border escaping, aerial control, air combos, resets, DPs, reversals, deck, flowchart, electric wind god fist, footsies, option selects, frame traps, fuzzy guard, pressure, air tech, ground tech, anti-air, cancels, auto-pilot, backdash, roman cancels, block strings, BnBs, meter, chicken block, chip damage, corner carry, counters, skill issue, execution, frame data, friendship, gimmicks, throws, knockdowns, high profiles, low profiles, hit stun, IADs, juggles, korean backdash, mash, meaties, mind games, mixups, okizeme, crossups, poke, projectiles, mentality, reaction, knowledge, family, respect, safe jumps, salt, sandbagging, set play, shimmy, side steps, spirit orb management, homework, stamina, tech traps, trades, whiff punish, yomi and zoning.
2022
Probably the most satisfying 100% I've done. OST is some of the best I've heard. GOTY 2022.