First of all, this has turned into more than a bi-weekly post as I’ve been busy and not had as much time as I thought to compile the games. So for that I apologise, but promise that the frequency will improve.
The game… this months sees the 10th anniversary of one of Square Enix’s most prolific entries in the franchise - Final Fantasy XIV. On 27th August, 10 years ago, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was launched after a disastrous initial release of Final Fantasy XIV: Online three years prior on 10th September 30th, 2010. We all know how that story goes - disaster that almost sank Square Enix to arguably one of the most successful MMOs and a beacon in the franchise history. If you want to know more about that, NoClip created an excellent documentary that covers much of it.
Synopsis — A Realm Reborn and onwards
Upon arriving in their chosen city, the player character joins the Adventurer’s Guild and are marked by a power known as the Echo, designating them as a chosen representative of Hydaelyn, the world’s Mothercrystal. Over time as masked attackers appear, a secretive society led by Lahabrea is revealed, the adventurer battles primals, faces the Calamity’s resurgence through the Ultima Weapon, and forms alliances to aid various factions against external threats.
Continuing the journey, the adventurer assists in battles against Leviathan, confronts political intrigue in Ul’dah, aids Ishgard against a dragon attack, and endures both Ascian manipulation and internal strife. Amidst a banquet’s chaos, the sultana is poisoned, leading to turmoil. The Crystal Braves are exposed as traitors, Raubahn is imprisoned, and only the Warrior of Light and Alphinaud escape. Throughout these trials, the adventurer’s path intertwines with primals, Ascians, political power plays, and the ongoing struggle to fulfill their role as Hydaelyn’s chosen champion.
Beyond this the world opens up furthers with each expansion seeing the Warrior of Light attempt to bring further peace and grapple freedom from not only the Ascians, but also Zodiark and Hydaelyn herself. Continents are visited, worlds are explored, time is travelled and the universe is traversed.
More…
Key Releases
Final Fantasy XIV 1.0
- Windows
- September 30, 2010
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
-
PlayStation 3, Windows
- August 27, 2013
-
PlayStation 4
- April 14, 2014
-
macOS
- June 23, 2015
-
PlayStation 5
- May 25, 2021
-
Xbox Series X/S
- Q2 2024
Review Scores
| Source | ARR | HW | SB | SHB | EW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metacritic [PC] | 83 | 86 | 87 | 90 | 92 |
| OpenCritic | 86 | 85 | 88 | 90 | 93 |
Post Prompts
- Did you play the original game?
- Does being an online-only Final Fantasy game put you off playing it?
- Is there a piece of music that stands out for you?
- If there is one thing you would change, what is it?
- How many hours do you think you’ve sunk into this game?
The fact that it’s online only doesn’t put me off, what puts me off is paying full price for a game and then paying a subscription on top of that.
I’ve heard that the story is fantastic, but as long as that’s the model I’ll never play it.
You can play all the way through the first expansion at least, maybe the second one at this point, completely free.
I’d be interested to know how. Do you have to go through their website or something?
Looking at it through steam for example there’s no way to play for free.
https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com/na/
Thanks a lot! That’s pretty generous that they let you go up to level 60.
They’ve also announced that they’ll be increasing it to lv.70 and include the Stormblood expansion.
I think that’s understandable, I’ve found it’s worth it from my time playing for the amount of content that’s available and with the world being filled with a community of people.
It is a shame that people miss out on the story because of the cost though, it really is fantastic.