Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Review
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 8:02 pm
In the beginning there was Final Fantasy XIV, and it was not good. For most games, the story would’ve ended there. But Square Enix, perhaps feeling that its prized franchise's name was in danger of becoming too literal, undertook a mammoth effort to keep Final Fantasy’s legacy from being marred by such a disaster. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is the resulting do-over, and it’s a huge success on both PC and PlayStation 3. Beautiful, fun, and only a bit uneven in the late game, this dramatic reinvention easily establishes itself as one of the most sincere and effective apologies in gaming history.
First there's the continent of Eorzea itself, a stunning world of forests, deserts, and coasts that often delivers wallpaper-worthy moments, such as a the sight of watching the sun rise over the waters of the resort of Costa Del Sol. It's filled with weather effects ranging from simple fog to torrential rainstorms and even humdrum overcast days. It's even easy to get around in, thanks for aetheryte crystals that serve as teleportation locations at every major town, although the zones remain large enough that the immersion of walking or riding isn't lost amid crowded portals. True to Final Fantasy tradition, Masayoshi Soken's entirely new musical score is a constant pleasure, and it jumps smoothly from soothing tracks to heavy metal riffs on bosses like Titan. I also note that my character can sit down on most surfaces that looked as though they were made for sitting – a test I use to determine how much attention a world designer pays to detail. A Realm Reborn passes that test.
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First there's the continent of Eorzea itself, a stunning world of forests, deserts, and coasts that often delivers wallpaper-worthy moments, such as a the sight of watching the sun rise over the waters of the resort of Costa Del Sol. It's filled with weather effects ranging from simple fog to torrential rainstorms and even humdrum overcast days. It's even easy to get around in, thanks for aetheryte crystals that serve as teleportation locations at every major town, although the zones remain large enough that the immersion of walking or riding isn't lost amid crowded portals. True to Final Fantasy tradition, Masayoshi Soken's entirely new musical score is a constant pleasure, and it jumps smoothly from soothing tracks to heavy metal riffs on bosses like Titan. I also note that my character can sit down on most surfaces that looked as though they were made for sitting – a test I use to determine how much attention a world designer pays to detail. A Realm Reborn passes that test.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...