Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

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The PS3 version of the game -the version I am reviewing -is almost as good as the PC version but has some significant differences. First the PS3 version of the game graphically speaking is very much inferior to the PC version. I would compare the PS3 graphics to that of a low end PC. Secondly, in order to keep the frame rate somewhat stable the developers decided to cut frames of animation from NPCS, and other player characters while playing on PS3. This means that when you are running around in the world or in town and you run into other players or NPC's you will see them running looking quite strange. To put it bluntly it looks like everyone running around is Mr. Game & Watch. You get about 1/2 the frames of animation that you would normally get on the PC version and it makes the PS3 version feel a lot less smooth. Don't get me wrong however, your character still very fluid and fully animated. The developers made sure that YOUR character was fully animated and had the most graphical detail out of the entire displayable game world. The Frame rate is decent most of the time but when you get into large events with more than 5 people trying to kill monsters at the same time it does drop down below 30. If you are around more than about 8 people fighting at the same time it will only display the 4-5 closest to you at any given moment in order to keep your frame rate at least roughly above 20. The game is perfectly playable in any situation and these few differences between the two versions should only detour those players who feel they have to have the most graphically impressive and buttery smooth version of the game. If you have a PC that could only run this game on low and maybe even medium-low mix settings then the PS3 version is likely not going to be a bad alternative. If however your computer can handle the game at medium or medium high / high settings then you are better off getting it for PC.

The rest of the game is identical to every other review out there so go and read those for a description of the product itself. I just wanted to make note of these few differences between the PS3 and PC versions.

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If you played the original FFXIV a few years ago, throw everything about your experience with that out the window. A Realm Reborn (ARR) is what Square Enix needed this to be; a total 180.

Battle System:

Starting with FFXI and running through the original XIV, the battles had been... boring, for lack of a better word. It was basically you could do a fight while watching TV, looking over every 45 seconds to see if you have enough TP built up to hit your macro.

FFXIV battles are much more like World of Warcraft (or other modern MMOs.) The red circles show up to show what the area of the enemies attack is (if it's a cone it will show the cone, etc.) and you have to avoid it. The pace is much quicker. You have your hotbars to show your skills, and the interface is resizable (Medium-Large-Small sizes for each window.) There are combos between some of your skills, so you get used to using them in a certain order but there isn't a need for 15 hotbars on your screen like in WoW. I'd say it's a pretty happy balance between being stale and being overloaded with too much to do. I'm very happy with this.

Classes:

Okay, so there are jobs and there are classes. You start out with basic classes, and once you hit 30 in one class and 15 in another (the combinations vary) you can undertake a quest to gain a job. The job is just a crystal that you equip, and it gives you access/turns you into that class while you have that gear set on. Each class is tied to a weapon-type. If you played FFXI, then it's pretty much the same thing but more streamlined. Basically, to switch to a different class or job, you just need to switch to a specific type of weapon. For example, to change into a Dragoon you would equip a polearm. To switch to a Black Mage, just equip a wand.

One of my favorite things about ARR is this feature. You don't need to go to a town or talk to a NPC. How many times have you been in a dungeon/instance and the tank or healer had to leave? As long as you're not in combat, you can switch classes. Also, once you get to a high enough level (I think it's 15) you can bring a number of skills from one class/job to your current one. Quick example: Conjurer gets Protection at level 8 and you switch over to a Warrior. You can choose to bring Protection to cast on yourself while your a Warrior.

Community:

I played FFXI for 2 years and that community is very mature and extremely helpful. ARR is the new shiny toy in the genre. The community is helpful and nice. I would be shocked if the community doesn't replicate FFXI community after a month.

PVP:

Square is going to add two forms of PvP to A Realm Reborn. The first is a `casual' form of PvP set to launch with the game. This will allow players to do battle in 4v4 or 8v8 arrangements.

Square Enix is also making unique gear sets and even separate PvP skills available as rewards for participating in PvP. The second will feature large scale battles. There is no open world PVP.

Like every highly anticipated MMO, it has been difficult at times to log in. This is like the new ride at the theme park or the best place to get Sunday morning breakfast in your town. Everyone knows about it and is trying to get a spot. This is a thread among every MMO. SWTOR had 3 hour wait queues and GW2 was up there for a while. No MMO has a perfect launch.

PS3 and PC play on the same servers, so you can party with your friends regardless of what you're playing on.

I've been playing Final Fantasy since the original on the NES, with my favorite being FF6. The music, classes, story and environment are all here. I stepped into ARR with a very cautious mindset.

As an old-school Final Fantasy fan, I'm happy to say that this game reminds me of the glory years back on the NES, SNES and PS1.

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I really loved playing this game. It was a lot of fun... what I could see of it. The character creation, the gameplay, the storyline, the Final Fantasy world, the battle system, everything was really well done.

But... Many users are experiencing a flickering image in the game, myself included. Different parts of the screen flicker randomly and non-stop. The picture decays, gets worse, and eventually goes completely black (except for the dialog boxes which look just fine).

I tried a number of settings changes to try to downgrade the graphics output of the game and the PS3, but neither helped. I contacted Square-Enix for tech support, but I haven't heard back for over a week (not surprising, as they've been struggling to simply keep the game servers stable at this point).

I've seen the suggestion from some that the flickering image is because of a damaged graphics processor in the PS3, but no other games (modern games included) have this issue. How could it be that numerous users can play other games fine, but suddenly have a damaged GPU as soon as we put FFXIV into the system?

I wonder if this issue is related to the fact that I have a launch-day PS3. Is the hardware less capable on this older version of the PS3 than on more recent models, and Square-Enix didn't test on it?

The other big disappointment: Do a search on Amazon's product description for this game for "fees" or "subscription". You won't find either. But after the first 30 days, a subscription is required, at a minimum cost of $12.99/mo for 6 months. Dare I say, bait and switch? A mandatory $77.94 to be able to play the game you already paid $40 for? I know this isn't unprecedented in the world of MMOs. But, neither is free-to-play MMOs that only charge for add-ons, expansion packs, etc. And honestly, it's a hefty price for a casual gamer who only gets on a few times a month. So, I'm disappointed at the price, but I'm frustrated that it's not even mentioned in the game description. That said, I was reluctantly willing to pay the piper, as I was extremely enthusiastic to play what looks to be an amazing game, but since it doesn't work on my PS3, I'm not going to be doing that.

I have a PS4 on order. Maybe I'll come back to the game once that's delivered. But, for now, I can't play when every few seconds to a few minutes, the game goes to black and I can't do anything until I restart or use the HUD to try making my way to another area of the game so the screen will reload.

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I love FInal Fantasy 14: ARR. It's a traditional-feeling MMORPG with enough twists to make it unique, addicting, and just plain fun. But one thing holds it back -the elitist community members.

After I hit level 50 and started learning the new dungeons/Primal fights, I found myself being paired with more and more people who were ruthless with their criticism. Not only would they say nasty things about a person struggling with their toon (i.e. character), they would then blacklist (i.e. ban) these people who didn't do well so that these folks would no longer have others to team with. I've been told this attitude is pervasive in all MMORPGs, but seriously, it's got to stop. It's a game. FF14: ARR's Duty Finder tool is supposed to be the answer to this problem but being paired with random people has yet to work for me and others I've come across, especially with the Hard Mode Primal Fights or Coil. I'd rather pay to play a single player game and have fun, than be subjected to text abuse while trying to learn a new fight/dungeon.

At this point I've cancelled my subscription and account to FF14: ARR, and don't plan on going back. I enjoyed my time in Eorzea and while I found a few people who were genuinely nice, my negative encounters coupled with an over reliance on other people to do end-game events, really ruined what had otherwise been a phenomenal experience.

Last thought: Try it out for the 30 Day Trial, but be sure to find a friendly Free Company (i.e. Guild) to do end game events with.

Toon: Justice Marshall, Lvl 50 DRG

Server: Malboro

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Can one of the crappiest MMORPG's turn it around and become one of the greatest?

---Story---

The story of FFXIV is initially told in the opening cutscene and is continued to be told as the player advances in missions, here's a breakdown of the story with the assistance of Wikipedia:

"Seeking control over the peaceful realm of Eorzea and its abundant crystal resources, the more advanced civilization of the Garlean Empire invades the realm from the north. In retaliation, despite their differences and anatgonisms, the city-states of Eorzea reinstate the Grand Companies--comprehensive centers of command which combine the cities' military and economic assets.

8th Imperial Legion Legatus Nael van Darnus, has his own agenda, insanely bent on purging all he sees as impurities, Nael orchestrated Project Meteor to summon the lesser moon Dalamud and wipe out all life. This forces the Grand Companies to put aside deep-rooted differences and consolidate their forces under the banner of the Eorzean Alliance. At the behest of this new confederation, adventurers from across the realm take up arms and march to the floating islands of Rivenroad to defeat Nael after he absorbed Dalamud's power.However, despite the mad imperial's death, Dalamud continues its descent to Eorzea.

In a final bid to save Eorzea, the Grand Companies turn to the Archon Louisoix, an enigmatic scholar hailing from the forgotten city-state of Sharlayan. Louisoix devises a plan to summon the power of the Twelve, Eorzea's pantheon of guardian deities, to banish Dalamud back to the heavens. But for this to succeed, the rite needs to be performed directly beneath the point of Dalamud's impact: A vast swathe of barren lowlands in central Eorzea known as the Carteneau Flats.

The battle ceases when Dalamud enters the atmosphere while revealed to be a prison created to contain the elder primal, Bahamut. Freed after aeons of imprisonment, Bahamut jump starts the Seventh Umbral Era while unleashing his wrath upon the realm.

Louisoix attempts the ritual to seal Bahamut in vain. Seeing his death certain in the Primal unleashing his ultimate attack, Louisoix summons the last of his strength to call upon the Twelves' power to send the survivors (including the player) into an ethereal rift, where they will be untouched by the passage of time, until it is once again safe for them to emerge and rebuild their ruined land."

---Gameplay---

The gameplay is like most, if not all, MMORPG titles, the player can form parties, join guilds, run dungeons and participate in PvP. Of course, there are various trades the player can perform such as weaving, alchemy, blacksmithing and more, these offer items that might be harder to obtain otherwise and can earn you a nice sum of Gil for rarer items (if sold to players, NPCs offer little to nothing).

The player can freely* switch what class they are, you are not tied to one type. The exception being when you first start, you'll have to reach level 10 and complete your class quests in order to switch, from there you can join a new guild and start working on that class (some skills earned from the previous classes carry over to your new class, but more on that later).

Once you've reached level 10, you can join Guildhests, which are essentially mini dungeons. If you are level 10 in a trade, you can take Guildhests to earn exp and Gil that will help you level faster in said class. Upon completing the required quests, dungeons can also be entered (the first is available at level 15).

---Graphics---

The graphics look pretty good considering how much of a hiccup the first version went trhough. Although since the game is also on the PC, and therefore made FOR the PC, the PS3 version does tend to suffer a few graphical errors, such as the rare bug of enemies not appearing properly on screen, or party members seemingly disappearing despite them being right in-front of you.

When using the chat feature, characters mouths will move with your text, so this is a minute detail, but one that I find pretty cool non-the-less. Facial expressions are well-done as well, so be sure to try them out when you get the chance to do so.

The game has had a nice over-haul since it originally released some years ago, the new graphics engine shows quite well on many characters and skill effects.

---Controls, Voice and Audio---

The controls on the console are a tad tough to learn at first, so I'll try to run them down as thoroughly as possible.

The Cross button is your selector, although since you likely won't have a cursor to use (although you can opt for that), you'll need to be looking at the person you want to talk with, although the game is pretty good at figuring out what you're trying to do.

The Triangle button is simply used for jumping, so there's no need to go into depth on that, it is what it is.

The Circle button allows you to deselect your current target and cancel out of various menus. Simple.

The Square button allows for quick access of the map, which will be very handy when doing quests as the location of various monsters, items, etc will be shown on there.

The d-pad is used to cycle through enemies and friendlies, it takes some getting used to in order to 'master' using it.

All of these buttons take on a different role when either of the R2 or L2 bumpers are held, this brings up your hotbar for skills, items, etc that you may have registered to those slots (they also your the d-pad, so in total you'll have 16 available slots, but you can also have more than one hotbar, so cycling through them gives even more options). Confusing? Undoubtedly, however the games tutorial runs you through the basics quite well.

As any Final Fantasy fan can hope to expect, the music is well performed, during standard battles, you may recognize the music (it's more reminiscent of the older games on the NES, SNES and such). When riding a Chocobo, as well as other mounts I would assume, you are treated the Chocobo music. Music in town and on the field are quite elegant and, to some degree, soothing and rhythmic.

Voice acting is scarce, the intro and small cutscenes are the only place they really occur at, but they are done well when they are done. The only other time you get to hear voices is from the various grunts that characters make, so don't expect much when it comes to voices.

---Other---

As I mentioned earlier, you are not restricted to one class and can switch once you've completed your current classes level 10 class quest (you usually get a quest at level 1, level 5, level 10 and so on). The classes you can choose from are many, from fighting classes (such as Gladiator, Pugilist, Arcanist and many more) to trades (such as Weaver, Alchemist, Blacksmith, etc). The latter are, as you may have guessed by the term 'trade' non-combat classes and are used to make armor, potions and other nick-naks that can be used by combat classes. When you start a new class, you revert to level 1 within your new class but retain the level in the previous class, so returning to your previous class will allow you to continue where you left off at.

The game has what are called 'Fates', if you've played Rift, they are like rifts, randomly generated missions where you and other players work to meet a goal, generally killing a certain number of enemies. The more you contribute, the larger your exp and Gil reward will be.

There are also unique chats called 'Linkshells', which can consist of up to 128 players that are not necessarily a guild or friends, but can use the chat feature to chat solely with each other and no one outside of the Shell can read your chat, it's basically a giant party chat.

Most of the negativity that has been generated was during the beta, people would complain that servers were constantly down or laggy, this has since been rectified and almost all of the game works as intended. If you see a review that says otherwise, look at the date, anything prior to Sept 13th is unreliable.

And yes, this is a subscription based game, but you get 30 days free.

---Overall---

This is a great MMORPG that has a lot to offer and much to do. With free expansions coming, this is a must have for fans of Final Fantasy or MMO's. I know I'll be cancelling my WoW sub so I can enjoy this great game.

9.0/10.0

Pros

+ An all-around great MMO

+ Great music score

+ Interesting class system

+ Guildhests are a fun way to level up quickly

+ Linkshells offer a great way to stay in touch with people you like, but not enough so that you want to add them as friends or join their guild

Cons

Picking an enemy out of the crowd is sometimes unbearable

Gold spammers are plentiful

If you don't have a keyboard, typing is a hassle

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