FFXIV: A DREAM Reborn (An opinion topic)

[Crystal Power]

So since the day's of Final Fantasy XI I was not the biggest fan of the thought of a FF MMO. I would always proclaim I love every FF I have played, while there are a few single player titles I have not tried but I am sure the trend would last. You see different from other people I do see flaws and negatives in each game, but I find and highlight plenty of positives and enjoy the games, resulting in some of the infamous titles such as FFX-2 and FFXIII being loved by me just as any other FF. To me I feel great being a FF fan and can say I have love each FF I have played.

Now there was a problem, the MMO's...

You see it was not really a hatred or dislike of the style of MMO's, but I have anxiety, including social anxiety. In return I made myself to believe I do not like any elements MMO's offer.

My sister and her husband have been getting quite a few games for themselves and the kids, Xbox One, Wii U, PS4, Skylanders and among that FFXIV. They really enjoyed the game, but they are known to love MMO's they play together, like World of Warcraft or League of Legends. I had stumbled upon the free trail of FFXIV, knowing that I could play with them I decided to download and try it, honestly not expecting the best. By the time I had my character made (Which was very fun, I LOVE character creation and this one is good) and the game was ready to play, her husband was at work and she was in bed, I took a courageous step and decided to *gulp* play alone!

From the very start, I was surprised how natural it felt, there was a story and the feeling was very FF. I was took to a scene that was not voiced like more recent FF titles, but as a person who grew up in the PS1 era, reading everything was fine, but I do feel like at times characters have far much to say that I do not bother to talk to all the NPC's as I would do in a single player RPG. The interface while looking very clustered and unflattering compared to single RPG's was actually not a problem, you really get to understand what each menu is for and it is very helpful and well organized for playing. The combat is smooth, I still do not understand certain ways how my Pugilist works but I am learning. The music is lovely, I have not heard much of course but I do wish it had more hype, I'm hoping to enter a town with "Luca from FFX like" music playing.

Overall I am overjoyed with this experience and this is my second day on the trail, I will be getting the full game, while paying for months I want to play. The big cons I can think of is paying, the reliability of constant internet, Comcast just doesn't seem to be reliable for us. And that you can't seem to go in dungeons without a party, this is not a real problem for most unless you have anxiety like I do.

In the end, I love FFXIV, and don't think so badly about the two MMO's being in the series and MMO's in general, hopefully I can play FFXI someday as well. It seems the day I not like a main FF is not near or to ever come. I'm glad to say I love each FF I've played.

Even though I had anxiety, The lesson is "Don't knock it till you tried it".

Thank you to all who have took the time to read this, it was more of a little personal problem/review so I do appreciate it. What are your thought on the MMO's? Do you also enjoy each main FF you have played???

 

[Crystal Power]

Thank you @LeonBlade and @Nikolasvanitas, I am glad you liked this.

 

[ScienceNonfiction]

You're a lot like me. I never got into XI or XIV or any other MMOs and the thought of having constantly to play with others bothered me. I try to avoid competitive situations or situations where I'm measured against others (can't really avoid the latter sadly, haha). I tend to have this awful line of thinking where if I can't be the best at something then I have to be the absolute worst. Middle ground isn't acceptable to me. Not just in games and hobbies, in real life too. And that's definitely hurt me in work and school. Really it's just hugely detrimental in general, both to myself and to others, so I've been trying to get more comfortable with just being average at things.

Anyway, I'm glad you tried it. It seems really fun. I was thinking about doing a free trial period as well. I'm only reluctant because I bet I'll want to keep playing after the free trial is done, but I don't want to pay the monthly fee. I'll let you know if I ever start playing it. I'd rather play with someone who's actually nice and can show me the ropes. Did you find that people got fed up easily with lower level players? Oh, and what system are you playing on by the way?

 

[Crystal Power]

Very similar @ScienceNonfiction , but when it comes to being competitive online (Or anything similar) I usually think I will constantly lose and feel down or in situations when you are a team I fear I will let the others down if my skills are not good enough.

I'd say you get the free trial and give it a try. It was a courageous move on my part and in the end I am satisfied with my decision and it helped me to love Final Fantasy more now that I can accept the MMO's since I don't have to worry of my anxiety holding me back.

If you feel the reason you haven't tried the MMO's are geter better then the trail is a good start, once you register after that very moment you have 14 days to play. I am also playing on PS3, but PS3/PS4/PC can all play together.

EDIT: No one said anything for being under leveled. So far I can work alone. ^^

 

[ScienceNonfiction]

Oh, can you really make significant progress alone? I thought you had to join a party for most of the content or to really enjoy the game. If that's not the case, I'm a little less reluctant to play, heh. I'll definitely let you know when I start the trial. It'll probably be this summer since that's when I'll have more time to play (gotta make the most of those 14 days!). I know there're a few others here who play XIV as well, perhaps we can all do something together? Not sure if it'll work due to time/level discrepancies, but maybe!

 

[Crystal Power]

My sister say's she can do most alone, but when she has to join a dungeon she must bring a party with her, of course if you have friends to invite there won't be a problem.

I'm fairly at the beginning so I have no need to force others to play with, but there are random enemies event called FATE when people work together to defeat the enemies, also a couple times people waved at me and one someone helped me battle. Also it would be good to play with someone I have known, that can make me more comfortable. Let me know if you get the trial, I will also inform you when I purchase the full game.

 

[buddhafied]

Glad you love the game. A Realm Reborn is honestly a labour of love from Yoshida and his team. I was in FFXIV 1.0 alpha, saw how horrible it was when the game released, witness the transition, experienced the calamity and shut down the server for the change, and finally the reborn realm. It still gives me chills to think of all that had been thru.

Don't worry too much about the content when you do need a little help from others, that's what the Duty Finder is for. It will pair you up with other players and since the game is set that experience players will have benefit to go back to do earlier dungeons, even I go back on a daily basis, so you will get a lot of help. Just let people know right at the beginning it's your first time, so they won't rush through them for you. Most groups are really nice.

Enjoy! I'm in Balmung server, in case you happens to be in it as well if you need help.

 

[Crystal Power]

Hey Thanks @buddhafied , you know all that actually have me curious to play FFXIV 1.0, just to see how it was. What was the issues with that version?

Anywho! I'm most definitely trying to get the full version very soon, can we add each other on PSN?

But I'm also trying to get FFXI on PS2, today I heard news that the PS2 version will be shut down March 2016. It will remain active on PC, and I know it sounds like a hassle on what I'm trying to do, but as being a huge Final Fantasy fan I want to experience it on PS2 as well.

 

[LeonBlade]

Sorry for not making a proper response yet. I've told this story before, but I guess I can tell it again.

When I was younger and had the fat PS2 I was at Walmart with my mom buying the online/hard drive adaptor so I could play Tony Hawk's Underground 2 and other games online (that game took up my life for a while but that's another story). At this time, I had only played Final Fantasy VII (my first and to this day still favorite FF game) and Final Fantasy X, so I was still very new to the series. When I saw Final Fantasy XI it immediately caught my attention and wanted to get it. My mom asked about the game for me and the guy told us that it was an online game and required a subscription fee to play, and so I wasn't able to get it at the time.

Fast forward to a few years ago before Final Fantasy XIII-2's launch and I was playing an MMO called Wakfu with my cousin, who shares the same passion for Final Fantasy as I do. We were having some fun, this is back when it was in Beta still and before it went with a subscription model (which it has now dropped and the game is dead basically). He took a break from playing the game to play Final Fantasy XIII-2 and eventually when we got back into the game we found that Wakfu wasn't free anymore and we were disappointed (the full game came out).

It was then that I found out about Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, I remembered seeing videos talking about how bad XIV originally was and didn't really keep up to date on MMOs or anything at all, Wakfu was my first MMO if you could count it one, and so I didn't really follow that scene. I saw that it was in Beta Phase 3 and they were opening up for PS3 players to play as well for the first time for XIV as 1.0 never had it. I applied for IGN Prime or something just to get a beta code, and I also applied in the PlayStation Store for one as well. Somehow I ended up with three beta codes, one for me, my cousin and my friend later on.

The day the beta testing finally went live I remember I downloaded the game and got everything ready, my cousin and I decided on Behemoth server as we thought they were cool. We made our characters and he picked Pugilist because he wanted to punch stuff, something about a game he was playing at the time. I picked Gladiator because I wanted a sword, I knew nothing about the tank role outside of the obvious and so this was a completely new experience for the both of us.

We were blown away by the cutscenes and the world. Everything was so big, we both managed to end up in Ul'dah by chance and loved the city, it reminds us both of Rabanastre from FFXII. We got hooked on the game and were completely blown away by it, we eventually played the beta phase 4 and then of course the full game.

Fast forward to the first ever fan festival for this game back in October. I wanted to go but had no way of going at the time, money was tight for me after getting screwed out of a job I was working on. I had to sell a few figures I was going to give to some friends and cancel a bunch of orders as well and had to pay cancellation fees for the pre-orders. Needless to say, I didn't really have the money for the trip. My friend in game however bought a ticket for her friend who at the last minute wasn't going anymore. I talked with her about it a few times and was really nervous. As someone who has been a nerd or a geek his whole life, I'm very shy and introverted, and never went out of state by myself, let alone out of my own house very often (this is getting personal now lol).

Eventually my parents both chipped in for a plane ticket with the money I did have and I was able to use the extra ticket my friend had bought. I flew out to Vegas and got to meet my friend (the one mentioned briefly earlier) who I had been best friends with since 2006 when we met on PS3 when it first came out. I'd never met him personally in real life before since we lived so many states away (I live in New York). He let me stay at his house while I was in Vegas for the fan fest and I stayed an extra few days to hang out with him (while also driving the ticket costs down).

I got to meet a few of my in game friends at the fan festival and was overwhelmed with such a change in scenery from my everyday boring life. Full of people that were just like me, fans of Final Fantasy and this game all together in one room. When the Heavensward trailer played for the first time I felt like I could cry with how amazing it was.

I'm rambling on at this point and getting sentimental, so I guess I'll cut things short here.

I had an amazing time at the fan festival, I got to meet my best friend for 8 years for the first time, lots of crazy things happened because of this game like they always seem to do with Final Fantasy. It takes me places both in my dreams and in reality. I form new friendships both with the characters and the people I play with, people I care about very much.

I'm looking forward to Heavensward and the future of this game and Final Fantasy in general. That's why I'm so happy to be a part of this community here on Mognet Central. I enjoy talking with all of you, even if we disagree, we all have one thing in common... our love for these games.

Oh, and sorry for the long post!

 

[Crystal Power]

Hey @LeonBlade I really appreciate your post about your experience and I'm glad you took the time to tell that story again for us to read! No need to apologize for typing I tend to get overboard with rambling too, and I was afraid after awhile when I made this topic I may have gotten to sentimental just as you thought, but it's great to see people like me who really love these games, I mean for me they are more than just something to kill time. They inspire me, and encourage me. Just as you said " It takes me places both in my dreams and in reality". I feel a bit silly but as I mention I have anxiety, I had to walk a block to get somewhere in a bad area in the town we live.. When I got out the car I imagine Aerith walking the harsh streets of Midgar, I felt so brave, I know some people will laugh at that..

We also share things in common as you mention how introvert you and shy you are, but Final Fantasy is helping me meet new people, helping inspire my dreams to create art and become a character designer as well as see my own game series made. I'm still at the bottom but this step with FFXIV is helping even more to battle my anxiety, being on facebook and forums like these and making new friends. I met my partner in a FF group on FB.

I know at one point I was a bit pessimistic with FFXV, which was out of character to what I said here "I do see flaws and negatives in each game, but I find and highlight plenty of positives and enjoy the games, resulting in some of the infamous titles such as FFX-2 and FFXIII being loved by me just as any other FF." but that feeling is back now after I was able to play this MMO, as I had mention because of my anxiety I had made myself to believe I hated MMO's to give an excuse to avoid them and just say I won't try it and so I won't have to say I won't like it. But the truth was I was afraid. But now I can accept the MMO's and enjoy FFXV as well like I enjoy all FF I play. Sorry, I love to express how Final Fantasy is amazing just as you do, but I guess my social anxiety make me feel the other members might start thinking I'm odd, so I'll leave it at that.

In the end, I'm a Final Fantasy Fan. And I'm happy to find people who share things in common, our love for these game.