Originally Posted by
Usho
It failed because the director at the time tried to make the game like a clone of XI, but didn't fully capture what made FFXI fun and exciting. You don't clone a game after another game, but instead get inspiration from it and model the game after it but in a more modern and convenient feel. 1.0 might not have been perfect, BUT it at least TRIED to be a game that players who enjoyed FFXI could enjoy. 1.0 had amazing music, nice backgrounds and leves felt fun compared to the meh we have now. That's the FFXIV I fell in love with! Not the Bland artifical feel that 2.0 onwards represents.
I will admit, Yoshi-Pees did save the game with 2.0, however, the story was bland as sh*t and felt really sluggish with no real feeling. Kinda like a copy paste of the old mixed with new but felt artificial. And 3.0 onwards followed the same formula Yoshi-Peeses set from 2.0 with no real diversity, no big changes for the overall experience and old content was repackaged as new but in reality it was just old sh*t disguised as new sh*t with a repetitive formula and lackluster progression and little to no world dynamics that makes exploration more exciting. That's not how to make a game.
And for you, Junsei, as well as the other white knights who consistently defend what the game has become and will continue to be, to say it proves successful shows that you are fine with the lackluster and repetitiveness and that you apparently play with a blindfold on. It's sad to me, but then again it's your opinion and unfortunately I have to accept that. If you are fine with what the game is and what it is continuing to be with no signs of change at all, then more power to you and the other white knights, but for me and many others, we deserve a game AND a director who will bring change to the game and make it more exciting and non predictable, and not some WoW clone, but it's own standalone game that is WORTHY of the title: Final Fantasy!
/2 cents