This review contains spoilers
pushing Ardbert, G'raha, and Emet to the side THANCRED WATERS I HAVE FEELINGS FOR YOU
Memes aside, this expansion means so, so much to me. It is what got me into FFXIV, and into Final Fantasy as a whole. I immersed myself full force into ARR in the beginning for it, took my time through HW, suffered, and I do mean suffered, through SB for it. And it felt so worth it. When people say it is one of the best stories of all time, while I was skeptical of the claim at the time, it hardly feels like hyperbole the more time passes.
... I should say, that this review extends mostly to the main story quests from 5.0 to 5.3. 5.4 and onwards are what I see as interludes into Endwalker, and the side content, while good, is less up to par.
The Nier raids intrigued me as a Nier fan myself, and I think they brought an excellent selection of glamour items and orchestrion rolls. That being said, the story, for one that is supposed to connect directly to the main Nier storyline, feels as though it used said connection as an excuse to tell a different narrative. The raid content itself is fun though, it's no Ivalice saga in terms of fun, but it's still very enjoyable.
Speaking of Ivalice, I have not currently finished Bozja's storyline just yet, though I am getting there. So far, the content is extremely enjoyable, if not grueling at times. I do not have Eureka unlocked as of writing this, so I am inexperienced in this type of instanced content, even if Bozja is supposedly the easier of the two. As for story, again, have not finished, but it is somewhat intriguing. The Bozjan Incident is still one of my favorite instances in the whole game, topped only by a few in Endwalker.
Finally, to the Sorrow of Werlyt. Oh baby, this certainly was a story. In all honesty I don't have much to say on it as a whole experience, but the fights are alright, at least. Terncliff is a relaxing area to sit in and listen to the music of.
Regardless of the qualms I have with the surrounding content, the main meat and potatoes of Shadowbringers is such a joy to experience all the way through. Arguably the best expansion there is or will be, and that's counting my experience with Endwalker.
Stay the course. At journey's end, we will meet again. We will. We will.
Memes aside, this expansion means so, so much to me. It is what got me into FFXIV, and into Final Fantasy as a whole. I immersed myself full force into ARR in the beginning for it, took my time through HW, suffered, and I do mean suffered, through SB for it. And it felt so worth it. When people say it is one of the best stories of all time, while I was skeptical of the claim at the time, it hardly feels like hyperbole the more time passes.
... I should say, that this review extends mostly to the main story quests from 5.0 to 5.3. 5.4 and onwards are what I see as interludes into Endwalker, and the side content, while good, is less up to par.
The Nier raids intrigued me as a Nier fan myself, and I think they brought an excellent selection of glamour items and orchestrion rolls. That being said, the story, for one that is supposed to connect directly to the main Nier storyline, feels as though it used said connection as an excuse to tell a different narrative. The raid content itself is fun though, it's no Ivalice saga in terms of fun, but it's still very enjoyable.
Speaking of Ivalice, I have not currently finished Bozja's storyline just yet, though I am getting there. So far, the content is extremely enjoyable, if not grueling at times. I do not have Eureka unlocked as of writing this, so I am inexperienced in this type of instanced content, even if Bozja is supposedly the easier of the two. As for story, again, have not finished, but it is somewhat intriguing. The Bozjan Incident is still one of my favorite instances in the whole game, topped only by a few in Endwalker.
Finally, to the Sorrow of Werlyt. Oh baby, this certainly was a story. In all honesty I don't have much to say on it as a whole experience, but the fights are alright, at least. Terncliff is a relaxing area to sit in and listen to the music of.
Regardless of the qualms I have with the surrounding content, the main meat and potatoes of Shadowbringers is such a joy to experience all the way through. Arguably the best expansion there is or will be, and that's counting my experience with Endwalker.
Stay the course. At journey's end, we will meet again. We will. We will.