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Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail Review - A Fresh Adventure in the FFXIV Universe | MMORPG.com
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Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail Review - A Fresh Adventure in the FFXIV Universe | MMORPG.com
Since its announcement last summer, Dawntrail promised a change of pace from the massive, decade-long story of FFXIV.
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The DT zones are gorgeous, the story is more fun and engaging, and the (non-Tuliyollal) music is fantastic. Of all the SB/EW content I've chewed through in the past months, only the Zero story arc holds a candle to anything in Dawntrail.
More than anything, I'd like to give a shout out to the Dawntrail side quests. They are so much more than just "Go touch that sparkle, and I'll give you some XP." OK, OK, so mechanically that is all they are (and all any FFXIV side quest will ever be), but the fiction behind the clicking is actually really cool. There is a lot of nice world-building going on here, and the way all the side quests in each zone interweave for a satisfying payoff at the end is exquisite.
I am NOT a fan some of the localization writing, but that has been an annoyance throughout the last three expansions. I doubt anything can ever be done about it. It's too hard to explain these gripes to native English speakers, so how could I ever get my point across to the decision-makers at Square-Enix?
If it was truly after 10 mins, then you didn't even made it off the boat LOL. So you saw nothing of the expansion and already draw your conclusion, before even setting foot in the expansion ROFL.
It was a weird take for sure. I almost expected to see this
"AI-generated from the text of customer reviews"
By the way, I don't know if you've seen her lately in any manner, but here's a picture of my catgirl.
I'm just really making sure.
Just check this person's post history, and you will see a lot of complaints about DEI and wokeness. It's not hard to connect the dots.
And like I said they would have learned that long before 10 minutes in the expansion. Just like people complaining about the same thing with Star Wars right now - makes no sense.
I miss the days when staff gave people personalized forum titles based on posting habits here lol. This poster in question would be "Major Cry-tit".
Now as for the downgrade in writing, this is not a Dawntrail problem. It began in EW, patch 6.1 or 6.2, I forget, but it has carried on since. I recall the scene with the Garlean Senator whining about problems that did not exists, as the prior patch had us solve these problems in side quests. For the first time, what we did in quests did not matter to the story. A break in cohesion, the first that I can recall at least. Too many cheap attempts at emotional story telling without an ounce of marinade, only to be mired deeper in poor execution.
I feel like this isn't any singular VA's fault, or any localizers fault. There is a problem with a lack of oversight, and I don't know why. It's as if those that would oversee the development of this MMO have been distracted. I don't know what it could be, but whatever it is I hope it gets resolved soon, so that things can back on track. As things stand right now, if it weren't for the efforts of Ozma and Soken, I would probably rate this expansion less than I did Dragon's Dogma 2. Man, the music for Dragon's Dogma 2 was so bad compared to its prequels.
The main writers for DT are not the same people who wrote SB and EW. I maintain that it's the localization, not the original writing, that has gone downhill. We saw the first hints of it in Shadowbringers, and it has steadily grown worse ever since.
I hope that future Final Fantasy games, especially the upcoming one, can recapture the magical storytelling that the series is famous for!
DT tends to shove new instant characters in your face and expect an immediate attachment. This doesn't work, resulting in a lack of empathy and emotional attachment.
Consequently, there is less response when something happens to them in the msq. Kind of a here today, gone tomorrow script.
Whilst some of the localities are lovely to look at, there can be a lack of continuity between them. You exit one only to be presented with something new for no particular reason apart from having some content filling the zone.
Characters from previous expansions seem to be thrown in now and again, purely for the sake of seeing a known face. It was though the writers didn't have confidence to branch out in an entirely new direction, but needed past character crutches to prop things up.
I would say the overall story is pretty weak, with several glaring plot holes. In terms of story writing, the poorest expansion to date.