What's Final Fantasy?

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Originally Posted by Shai

You know, one thing that is hard to convey in an MMO is "world-changing."

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Good points.

I would add that FFXI did a decent job with 'world-changing' events considering the hurdles that an MMO provides. The Zilart and Aht Urgan storylines had some drastic implications to the world of Vana'diel, but it all happened behind the scenes.

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Originally Posted by Shai

The conjecture was - since the merge SE has made worse Final Fantasies and you're saying the same thing using different words as a defense. SE has made some pretty bad choices since 2000. Vaan is one of them.

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I said one thing about FFXII. You can say that in general, SE has weakened since their PSX days pre-Enix merger, but I've always thought that every Final Fantasy entry(well, everyone excluding XIV in its current state) has been solid. I'm probably one of the few FFX-2 defenders out there.

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Originally Posted by Malakhim

I said one thing about FFXII. You can say that in general, SE has weakened since their PSX days pre-Enix merger, but I've always thought that every Final Fantasy entry(well, everyone excluding XIV in its current state) has been solid. I'm probably one of the few FFX-2 defenders out there.

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I'm sure the gameplay in X-2 was solid, but the music was soooo horrible for me I couldn't play past the beginning.

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Originally Posted by Sonic_the_Hedgehog

I'm sure the gameplay in X-2 was solid, but the music was soooo horrible for me I couldn't play past the beginning.

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I loved the ambient music all throughout FFX-2, and all the cheesy "Charlies Angels"-esque stuff as well. God forbid a game not take itself seriously. :p

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Originally Posted by Malakhim

I loved the ambient music all throughout FFX-2, and all the cheesy "Charlies Angels"-esque stuff as well. God forbid a game not take itself seriously. :p

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I knew what they were trying to do, but I just couldn't stand it and this is coming from a guy that likes pop music. >_<

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Originally Posted by Sonic_the_Hedgehog

I knew what they were trying to do, but I just couldn't stand it and this is coming from a guy that likes pop music. >_<

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What can I do for you?! Ohhh what can I do for you!?

That aside, I like all the Final Fantasies except 7, 8, and 13. They have a distinctly different feel in them...almost every other entry in the series is more steampunk high-fantasy style, and then 7 and 8 come along and are modern, 9 is back to steampunk, 10 has futuristic stuff but the world ignores it because it's a "sin" (cwutididthar), 11 is back to steampunk, 12 is steampunk with giant airships, and then....13 was really beautiful but the whole Cocoon world was a bunch of gears and super futuristic stuff. And also fuck Hope.

ANYWAYS, I'm more into the steampunk/high fantasy setting of FF. That plays a big role in how I perceive the game.

On the lack of explorable territory: perhaps the biggest issue is that although the world of FFXIV is impressive, there isn't much to see in it. It is a combination of the copy-paste terrain with the fact that there are only 5 texture sets for landscapes.

One of the things that struck me about the world of Eorzea is the lack of history in it - especially when compared to FFXI.

Whereas the life of a player in Vana'diel was spent uncovering a very rich past buried in the landscapes, cities, and dungeons.. the world of Eorzea is a frontier world. There are no monolithic structures from ancient civilizations or tombs of fallen kings, nor are there ancient libraries with sealed magic, or cursed temples with puzzles and traps in FFXIV. Rather, the focus is either the (rather mundane) issues of the present such as industry and politics or on omens of future threats.

The focus on the present and future may also be one of the reasons why the cities in this game seem so dead. As the main outposts on a frontier world, they are designed more for industry and trade than for culture and enjoyment of the citizenry. As they are, the starting nations serve little purpose outside from being glorified outfitters for adventurers.

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Originally Posted by Zantetsuken

On the lack of explorable territory: perhaps the biggest issue is that although the world of FFXIV is impressive, there isn't much to see in it. It is a combination of the copy-paste terrain with the fact that there are only 5 texture sets for landscapes.

One of the things that struck me about the world of Eorzea is the lack of history in it - especially when compared to FFXI.

Whereas the life of a player in Vana'diel was spent uncovering a very rich past buried in the landscapes, cities, and dungeons.. the world of Eorzea is a frontier world. There are no monolithic structures from ancient civilizations or ruins containing the ghosts of fallen warriors in FFXIV. Rather, the focus is either on the present issues (which often seem a bit trivial) or on omens of future threats.

The focus on the present and future may also be one of the reasons why the cities in this game seem so dead. As the main outposts on a frontier world, they are designed more for industry and trade than for culture and enjoyment of the citizenry. As they are, the starting nations serve little purpose outside from being glorified outfitters for adventurers.

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The cities are not on the frontier. The frontier is Mor'dhona. Even Coerthas is not a frontier, as it is where Ishguard is. The closest frontier right now is Mor'dhona and I think that and maybe Mistbeard Cove are it. Quest hubs, which will be implemented "soon," are going to be the settlements that lead you to quests on the frontier.

Considering that maps of the Eorzean continent appeared for the first time a mere 70 years ago according to the story, I would call it a frontier world.

But regardless, other than the ruins of the ship in Mor Dhona and the structures around Ishgard, there is virtually nothing on the landscape that would lead one to believe that any sort of civilization had been there for more than half a century.

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Originally Posted by Zantetsuken

Considering that maps of the Eorzean continent appeared for the first time a mere 70 years ago according to the story, I would call it a frontier world.

But regardless, other than the ruins of the ship in Mor Dhona and the structures around Ishgard, there is virtually nothing would lead one to believe that Eorzea has had any civilization in it older than half a century.

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70 years for such a small world...