Review: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

It’s been almost three years since I purchased the Collector’s Edition of Final Fantasy XIV. At the time I couldn’t have been more excited. Six years of playing World of Warcraft on and off and trying every alternative under the sun had left me craving something new, and what better than an MMO set in the charming world of Final Fantasy. It’s worth noting that I was a huge Final Fantasy XI fan. I played it at launch and reached level cap quicker than I would care to admit to.

Unfortunately, FFXIV turned out to be a disaster, and one that myself and many others would mark as one of the greatest disappointments in gaming history. So when Square Enix announced that it would be rebuilding the game from the ground up I was happy but reserved. I knew just like the development team did that it would require an exceptional amount of effort to successfully rectify the game’s shortcomings. Now that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is here, has Square Enix conquered its greatest challenge yet?

As with all Final Fantasy games, FFXIV: A Realm Reborn emphasizes its story. Placing you and your allies against the invading Garlean forces, you’ll be quick to make friends and enemies. The game’s character design and presentation summon light nostalgia for Final Fantasy XII, but this is in a different world entirely. The majority of the game’s character interactions are placed in real-time motion cutscenes, some of which are voice acted. While the minimal voice acting creates inconsistency, the cutscenes bring the game’s diverse cast to life. Even if you don’t follow the story word-for-word, you’ll become familiar with the game’s most key characters, so when it comes time to battle with and against them, you’ll have context.

The story in FFXIV: A Realm Reborn never leaves you out to dry. Plot development proceeds with just about each new level earned. There are some great battles to be fought even early on in the story arch. The appearance of Ifrit and other iconic figures further reminds you that you’re playing a Final Fantasy game. However, some might dislike the pacing. A small but noticeable portion of the story missions feel trivial with lots of travel time and menial tasks given in-between. If nothing else they’re worth the effort if only to see and experience what happens next.

FFXIV: A Realm Reborn is busting from the seams with content. The first 10-15 levels are a tutorials of sorts to ease-in even the most inexperienced MMO players, but from 15 and beyond the content is unrelenting. You’ll be using the Duty Finder to queue up for Guildhests and dungeons, choosing which Grand Company to join, earning your beloved companion Chocobo—who you can ride and use in battle—, and traveling between the gorgeous capital cities using airships. This is all before level 25, mind you. From then until the level cap of 50 the game makes a strong effort to always introduce something new to you. Completing hunting logs requires some exploration of the game’s massive zones but is rewarded heavily. Unlocking your first job is a highlight of the experience, as is defeating your first primal.  Most substantial are FATEs, which are essentially public quests. They are scattered throughout every zone and present not only great opportunities for experience and reward, but bring players together for a social experience without the headaches of parties. This might be a re-launch of FFXIV, but the content is every MMO fan’s dream.

FFXIV: A Realm Reborn‘s combat system is flashy but not revolutionary. It is a tab-target game with the same style of spell rotations and cooldowns as many other games of past and present. Spell effects are gorgeous and make using abilities feel much more substantial. It’s slow-paced, though. There’s some waiting around between skills, especially during the early levels, and the small number of action-oriented abilities makes this a much more methodical experience. On the plus side, as you unlock more skills you’ll become increasingly concerned with using the correct abilities at the right time, which isn’t easy when you have three full bars of skills. Since the game’s global cooldown is 2.5 seconds, if you make any mistakes they are amplified.

One great benefit to the game’s combat style is its friendliness to console players. It’s rare that an MMO makes its way to consoles, but to have one with this much depth is unprecedented. While the game takes some getting used to on a gamepad, it’s fully functional. Even then, console gamers have the choice of plugging-in a keyboard and mouse if desired. The end result of this is a game that is approachable by much more than just a PC gamer audience. You’ll have an easier time talking friends and family into playing the game with you when you don’t have to worry about building them a gaming PC—assuming they don’t have one, of course.

Arguably the best part of FFXIV: A Realm Reborn is its class system. There are eight classes to choose from at the beginning of the game which range from the stout Gladiator to the powerful Thaumaturge. Upon hitting level 10 you’ll be able to switch to any of the other classes and level them up as well, all on one character. You can then utilize skills from the other classes you’ve played. Upon hitting level 30 with a class you can even unlock a job. Jobs are very specialized in their role and are particularly potent for groups. While this all might seem confusing, it’s a fantastic system that lets you play as anything whenever you want, and offers reward for those who put in the time. So long are the days of making alts with weird character names and losing all the progress of your main character.

Eorzea has been brilliantly redesigned. From its forests to its deserts, you’ll be met with beautiful vistas whether you’re playing on a PC or console. A day-night cycle adds a sense of life to the world, and so does the impressive weather system. This same level of quality is present in the game’s menus and character models as well.  There are the little details like being able to see earrings equipped on your character that add nice touches to the game.

As great as the game looks, it sounds just as good. The soundtrack lives up to the Final Fantasy name with wonderfully composed tracks that encapsulate the mood of each city and zone. Sound effects are crisp and give extra weight to attack and spell delivery. Unlike other games in the genre, you’ll hear chatter and commotion when in large groups of players. FFXIV: A Realm Reborn‘s world is easy to fall in love with.

Where other games make MMO play a chore, it’s fun to log-in to FFXIV: A Realm Reborn. Collecting gear isn’t an inventory nightmare due to the armory system which grants inventory slots exclusively for equippable items. The group finder eliminates spamming in general chat to find groups—although DPS classes will be waiting a while in queue. You can customize the layout of the UI easily from the menu. Travel is made easy with airships, mounts, teleports, and more. If you run out of quests while leveling additional classes there are Leves, Guildleves, and more pools of content to dig from. The list goes on and on.

Square Enix has somehow managed to completely revitalize Final Fantasy XIV. The result is a Final Fantasy MMO that does the series justice. While there are hints of its original form, every single quality, from gameplay to presentation, has undergone drastic transformation. Enthusiasts of the series, old and new, will find fan-service from the subtle to the obvious. Everyone looking to play a modern MMO will find a stellar game that incorporates all the features they expect from a fully developed MMO. Its gameplay and story are a departure from the fast-paced games of present, but this is a superb online game that is an exemplary display of why Final Fantasy and the MMO genre are a match made in heaven.

Jonathan Leack is the Gaming Editor for CraveOnline. You can follow him on Twitter @jleack.

We received one review copy of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn from Square Enix for PC. We were held to the embargo date of Tuesday, August 27th, 2013.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Screenshots