The Critically Acclaimed MMORPG turns 12 Years outdated right now. Be part of us on a visit down reminiscence lane as our very personal Last Fantasy XIV addict recaps the journey thus far.
**Warning This Contains Minor Spoilers For Last Fantasy XIV**
This one. We’ll begin with this one.
Last Fantasy XIV initially launched on September 30, 2010, for the PC and was ultimately speculated to launch on the PlayStation 3. And after some public testing, the MMORPG ultimately opened its gates to little fanfare and was doomed from the beginning. After the success of Last Fantasy XI and the rise of the MMORPG within the mid-2000s an eventual second, a extra trendy try on the style appeared like a no-brainier for Sq. Enix.
There are various, many explanation why Last Fantasy XIV launched within the state it did. And if you need a deep dive into the sport’s troubled historical past and eventual rise to the very prime, I extremely counsel you try Noclip’s amazing documentary. However since yours actually occurs to be a kind of meteor survivors you will get a brief abridged model of all of this. To make a protracted story quick, Last Fantasy XIV was caught in what many would describe as an ideal storm. Throughout the nice melancholy of Japanese video video games of the late 2000s, Sq. Enix wrestle to outline its identification in an trade that had exploded proper below its eyes.
And as a lot as I want to keep away from namedropping it so early, World of Warcraft additionally performed an enormous function on this story. To today, the MMORPG style suffers from tribalism. The most important MMORPG tends to draw essentially the most gamers, one thing no different style has to cope with. Last Fantasy XI launched within the west in 2004 proper earlier than the arrival of what would become the best MMORPG of all time.
Later as World of Warcraft ran its course and continued to develop into infinity and past, Sq. Enix in all probability figured: in the event that they create a brand new next-gen MMORPG that may be loved on the console, they might get a few of that motion. There was only one difficulty, World of Warcraft was by no means well-liked in Japan, actually, it was by no means even formally localized over there. And so the builders of Last Fantasy XIV had by no means had any publicity to what a contemporary western MMORPG was like.
They figured they’d simply do what they did with Last Fantasy XI once more, simply with prettier graphics and a deep fight system — that they had struck gold! In spite of everything Last Fantasy XI was for a very long time the preferred MMORPG on the Japanese market and that will certainly work within the west proper?
One other key issue was in all probability the sheer confidence everybody had of their work. And do not get me fallacious Last Fantasy XIV 1.0 on paper ought to’ve been an ideal if considerably dated MMORPG. However when all of it got here collectively and there was no time until launch… you will launch a buggy mess with servers which are barely working. Now on-line video games breaking on day one is kind of widespread, however Last Fantasy XIV’s points on launch went far deeper than overworked servers and efficiency points.
Lots of the sport mechanics simply did not work collectively. As an alternative, it felt like many parts had been designed in their very own little vacuum. Stuff just like the timing-based gathering system not working in any respect with the sluggish server ticks. Or how the restrict on day by day Guildleves and EXP acquire penalties made leveling sluggish and painful. And there was additionally only a basic lack of polish, the sport wanted not less than one other half a yr and even longer. However hey, Last Fantasy XI was a damaged mess at launch, you’ll be able to simply patch it proper? The difficulty was solely that gaming tradition in 2010 had moved on far faster from a catastrophe than again in 2002.
Via all of this, there was a small however very devoted base of gamers that appeared previous the myriad of points. And for me, Last Fantasy XIV 1.0 wasn’t precisely a superb MMORPG, I’d wrestle to name it even a mediocre one. However beneath the unhealthy gameplay programs and poor efficiency, there was simply one thing that gripped us. Perhaps it was the world or the insane quantity of effort put into the few cutscenes. Eorzea rapidly grew to become a house to a couple warriors of sunshine who selected to remain and actually battle for his or her new house alongside the builders.
The Warrior of Mild
At this level, it turns into laborious to speak about Last Fantasy XIV with out the person that will ultimately develop into its beating coronary heart and soul. Naoki Yoshida the Director and Producer of Last Fantasy XIV. After the launch of 1.0 Sq. Enix struggled to determine what to do with their fledgling MMORPG. It was in some ways a failure and it got here on the tail-end of one of many firm’s worst years ever. They’d both need to patch the sport right into a playable state and go Free to Play to make their a refund… or attempt to repair the sport. In spite of everything, this was a numbered Last Fantasy title and it might endlessly be a stain on the status of the franchise.
For those who take an prolonged look into Yoshida’s profession he gave the impression to be the right match. Simply earlier than he joined the Last Fantasy XIV workforce he was mainly the director of Dragon Quest X, one other MMORPG that sadly by no means launched outdoors of Japan. Being an avid fan of the style Yoshida knew precisely methods to convey Last Fantasy XIV again on monitor, in an effort that will arguably spiral into one of many biggest glow-up tales on this trade.
Not solely did Yoshida and his workforce plan to repair the sport for its gamers, however they might additionally rebuild it from the bottom up to make sure that Eorzea would have a future. Take into consideration that for a second, nobody else had ever botched a sport launch so spectacularly that they felt like their solely manner ahead was to run one MMORPG for 2 years whereas additionally growing one other MMORPG to exchange it with. After all, Yoshida wasn’t alone on this endeavor. Your complete Last Fantasy XIV workforce deserves reward for it. And this may additionally lay the groundwork for why gamers have a lot goodwill in direction of the sport’s devs and producers.
On the time, nobody knew what was to come back and the adjustments additionally began to be mirrored within the story content material added to Last Fantasy XIV. Issues took a darkish flip within the realm of Eorzea, the Garlean Empire slowly made their presence often known as issues began to spiral uncontrolled. Gamers began to have nightmares and there was an ominous purple mild within the evening sky that grew bigger with each patch.
Over these two years, 1.0 began to form extra right into a playable expertise. Gameplay overhauls and simply extra stuff to do gave gamers hope that Last Fantasy XIV is on a superb monitor. However then we additionally obtained an announcement that 2.0 can be a separate title and Last Fantasy XIV would shut down its operations. By that time, Eorzea slowly spiraled into chaos. Monsters terrorized the cities and the story had develop into unhinged.
The Finish of an Period
A particular shout-out right here goes to the hunt ‘To Kill a Raven’ and the battle at Rivenroad. By that time, it was apparent that the mechanical moon Dalamund was going to crash into Eorzea on the command of the Garlean, Legatus Nael van Darnus. Gamers may now make a last-ditch effort to save lots of their house from sure doom and the encounter did ship on the promise of being a correct last boss. It was so good that we might even see a religious successor to it nearly two years later.
However killing the White Raven in the end solely delayed the inevitable. Dalamud was going to fall and there was nothing we may do to cease it. On daily basis now the purple moon would come nearer and nearer as monsters ran rampant and gamers united to place up protected zones.
To today, probably the most distinctive reminiscences I’ve in gaming is standing there with mates I had made the previous yr. I am going to always remember that moderately chilly November morning and the dread that hung over all our heads. We had by no means bothered to alternate contact data outdoors the sport, most of our communications and antics came about in a linkshell. It was the final time I met and spoke to a few of them and as Dalamud descended we cracked jokes and mentioned our goodbyes. Only a bunch of adventurers having a jolly good time earlier than the top.
None of us anticipated to be kicked out of the sport solely to be greeted with a 5 minute cinematic sending off 1.0 with a bang as an alternative of a whimper. Each finish marks a brand new starting. A daring promise for one thing we must wait one more yr.
A Realm Reborn
In comparison with the launch of 1.0, the air across the re-release of Last Fantasy XIV, now dubbed A Realm Reborn, was very completely different. There was simply this air of confidence round it, even with the buggy beta assessments and the rocky launch. So let me be clear right here, this MMORPG most individuals had given up on, not solely rose from the sure demise — A Realm Reborn was so well-liked on launch that they needed to cease promoting copies so as to get a grip on server congestion.
And laborious work paid off. A Realm Reborn felt and performed like what you’d count on from a contemporary MMORPG, whereas nonetheless upholding the clear affect from Last Fantasy XI. Sure, the cross-class system that required you to stage an Archer to love 40 to unlock the Black Mage job was sort of silly, but it surely was additionally one of many very distinctive quirks of XIV. I’d say again in A Realm Reborn the sport was much more mechanical in comparison with how it’s performed right now.
Gamers must meet sure stat necessities to stay via encounters, however they might additionally customise their characters in lots of ways in which felt significant. Even when that ultimately led to metas evolving and gamers optimizing all the pieces to perfection.
Certainly one of Last Fantasy XIVs greatest promoting factors was its story; an epic saga that will proceed the strands left over from 1.0, whereas additionally introducing new gamers to Eorzea and its many individuals. As we speak all of this appears moderately tame, particularly compared to newer content material. However it might additionally lay the muse for the way Last Fantasy XIV would construction its content material. Each characteristic and sort of content material got here with its personal quest and story that will floor it on this planet. Wish to discover ways to improve your gear with these funny-colored stones? Go to that goblin and let him and his crew educate you ways.
The presentation was a giant promoting level of the entire expertise and Last Fantasy XIV was nothing like its up to date MMOs. As an alternative, you bought a superb 30-40 hours of JRPG that carried you from the beginning all the best way to the extent 50 cap. Your journey was interwoven with content material that had you courageous dungeons and boss fights along with different gamers so as to succeed. Some MMO veterans didn’t like how XIV funneled them into content material, however this may later flip into the sport’s greatest power. As a result of in the event you can direct your participant’s expertise you’ll be able to level them in any route you need.
A Realm Reawakens
Now everybody who’s performed it would inform you that A Realm Reborn is a sluggish burn. And whereas the bottom sport is usually targeted on getting gamers settled on this planet and its present state of affairs. It’s the post-base sport content material, the two.x patches when Last Fantasy XIV actually begins to put the muse for the subsequent 10 years price of story. Those that braved the Binding Coils of Bahamut lastly received closure on these story threads leftover from 1.0 ending in a dramatic battle with the dread wyrm himself.
Each patch launched hours’ price of recent quests and tales, alongside extra boss trials and revamped variations of older dungeons. And again then Last Fantasy XIVs content material largely comprised of leveling different jobs and gearing them up. A typical MMORPG affair, it is nearly laughable how small patches had been as compared in comparison with the scale they’re right now.
However I do not suppose anybody would’ve anticipated the sort of story we received within the post-A Realm Reborn patches. You’d suppose after beating the large bads, Gaius van Baelsar and the Ascians, we might now work in direction of the subsequent huge enemy to beat. However most of these patches will even have us cope with the aftermath of our battle with the Ultima Weapon. You see, Eorzea is a small place in a big world, and earlier than we solely heard of different locations like Ala Mhigo and Sharlayan within the taste textual content.
Now our actions affected folks half the globe away, and we get launched to some refugees from Doma. So a superb chunk of time is spent not solely cleansing up leftover messes from 2.0 but additionally coping with the implications of our actions. The Garlean Empire is not only a token villain, neither are the Ascians. Even when we soundly defeat them, they don’t seem to be simply gone. We solely managed to place down one their many brokers. And coming to comprehend it’s going to take much more than simply the Warrior of Mild to cope with these issues is a giant a part of what makes XIV’s story so nice.
Sure, you play the hero of this story. However you are not a one matches all answer both. When you can slay primals, and beat the large unhealthy empire again, who’s gonna handle the refugees and victims of these conflicts? And who’s gonna be there when you’re off to some far-flung place? All of it slowly builds in direction of the finale in 2.5. Whereas additionally sowing the seeds that will lead us into the subsequent enlargement. And whereas the twist within the quest ‘The Parting Glass’ was nicely telegraphed for 2 patches by then, I do not suppose anybody anticipated them to go all the best way with it.
Within the span of simply 30 or so minutes of cutscenes all the pieces you’ve got labored in direction of, nearly everybody you understand, is simply scattered to the winds. And if it wasn’t for the unbridled enthusiasm of 1 good-looking Elezen, that feeling of hopelessness would’ve gotten to a few of us gamers as nicely. However what are you able to do whenever you’re knocked down and there’s no manner however ahead? You are likely to look Heavensward.
Be part of us subsequent time once we relive the Award-winning Heavensward enlargement and enterprise via Stormblood as Last Fantasy XIV continues to evolve into the MMORPG big it’s right now. For extra gaming information, give us a go to right here on ESTNN.
