Final Fantasy XIV doesn't actually have that good of a story

[Iscah]

I The third issue is that even in world-ending, cataclysmic events, there is no sense of urgency. This is partially because FF14 isn't as immersive as single player games. It's also because there are way too many Mary Sue moments in the game where you expect someone to die but they miraculously survive. After a few Mary Sue moments you just don't expect anyone to die anymore. Because of that there is not much tension to be felt in the story.

"Single-player games" aren't a monolithic genre. Are you talking big-budget action games specifically? That's not the same thing - and even that varies from game to game. (I am currently playing Horizon Zero Dawn and while the gameplay is very different, the quest structure is prettymuch the same as it is here - main quests, side quests and a map full of detours and minor errands to get derailed into.)

Anyway, I think the "lack of urgency" is just how RPGs have always operated. The best time to clear all the sidequests and 100% the game is right when the villain has made their move and the world is teetering on the brink of oblivion, because that's when you've got your airship and gear from the penultimate dungeon.

[tatatatatata]

"Single-player games" aren't a monolithic genre. Are you talking big-budget action games specifically? That's not the same thing - and even that varies from game to game. (I am currently playing Horizon Zero Dawn and while the gameplay is very different, the quest structure is prettymuch the same as it is here - main quests, side quests and a map full of detours and minor errands to get derailed into.)

Anyway, I think the "lack of urgency" is just how RPGs have always operated. The best time to clear all the sidequests and 100% the game is right when the villain has made their move and the world is teetering on the brink of oblivion, because that's when you've got your airship and gear from the penultimate dungeon.

I meant single player games in general. Horizon Zero Dawn is more immersive than FF14 because there is less UI clutter, more detailed character animations and rewarding exploration. The story isn't that great precisely because the quest structure is - as you've said - derailing. However my point was that single player games have an easier time getting the player immersed in the world. Even a bad open world game like Skyrim is more immersive than FF14. That's because FF14 is constrained by having to be an MMO.

In many Final Fantasy games there is a point of no return which makes you realize that the stakes have just gone up. For example, a city could be utterly destroyed in a cutscene and when you go back you can no longer shop or talk to NPCs there anymore. This creates tension in the story and makes the consequences of major events in the game feel "real". However FF14 can do no such thing because it is an MMO. This is an example of what I mean when I say FF14 cannot compete on the immersion front compared to single player games.

[Lanadra]

Even a bad open world game like Skyrim

>Bad
>Skyrim

[RyuDragnier]

>Bad
>Skyrim

IMO...they're actually right on that one, but that's because it doesn't have the same spirit as Oblivion, and I still haven't been able to get close to finishing a faction in Skyrim.

[Laphicet]

>Bad
>Skyrim

Someone hasn't played vanilla Skyrim in a while... or played some older open world games.

Skyrim has a lot of problems with internal inconsistencies and overall downgraded lore from previous Elder Scrolls games, as well as lacking gameplay and a gutted skill system compared to past entries in its own series. And that's without comparing it to countless other non-TES open world games even before Skyrim came out that had more depth and better stories.

People are just more forgiving of it due to it being an excellent modding platform as well as nostalgia.


As for this thread itself. Compared to other JRPGs, yeah FFXIV's story is kinda meh. But it's given a lot of praise for being so quality for a MMO, which are typically not known for their story.

Compare it to the story of other SQenix properties and it's... not so good. Only recent one I can think of with a worse story is Octopath and that's moreso due to it's disjointed nature of being 8 mini-stories and not due to being terribly written... and even then it's only marginally worse than ShB's story.

Hell even Bravely Default 2, with it's story that falls apart in the latter chapters, is still a more solid story with more interesting characters and plot than Shadowbringers.

[Haru304]

Someone hasn't played vanilla Skyrim in a while... or played some older open world games.

Skyrim has a lot of problems with internal inconsistencies and overall downgraded lore from previous Elder Scrolls games, as well as lacking gameplay and a gutted skill system compared to past entries in its own series. And that's without comparing it to countless other non-TES open world games even before Skyrim came out that had more depth and better stories.

People are just more forgiving of it due to it being an excellent modding platform as well as nostalgia.


As for this thread itself. Compared to other JRPGs, yeah FFXIV's story is kinda meh. But it's given a lot of praise for being so quality for a MMO, which are typically not known for their story.

Compare it to the story of other SQenix properties and it's... not so good. Only recent one I can think of with a worse story is Octopath and that's moreso due to it's disjointed nature of being 8 mini-stories and not due to being terribly written... and even then it's only marginally worse than ShB's story.

Hell even Bravely Default 2, with it's story that falls apart in the latter chapters, is still a more solid story with more interesting characters and plot than Shadowbringers.

And you know you can trust the opinion of this poster because they're a beloved character from the best Tales game! <^-^>

[TaleraRistain]

Anyway, I think the "lack of urgency" is just how RPGs have always operated. The best time to clear all the sidequests and 100% the game is right when the villain has made their move and the world is teetering on the brink of oblivion, because that's when you've got your airship and gear from the penultimate dungeon.

Exactly. There may be others, but the only game I can remember that actually codified the sense of urgency was Mass Effect 2 if you went and did side things after a certain story point. That game actively punished you for what RPGs had taught you to do for decades.

[_Koneko_]

Exactly. There may be others, but the only game I can remember that actually codified the sense of urgency was Mass Effect 2 if you went and did side things after a certain story point. That game actively punished you for what RPGs had taught you to do for decades.

and then came 3 and you realize nothing you did mattered :P

[TheMightyMollusk]

and then came 3 and you realize nothing you did mattered :P

If you ignore the rest of the game and just focus only on the endings, anyway.

[TaleraRistain]

and then came 3 and you realize nothing you did mattered :P

We do not speak of Mass Effect 3 and its cookie-cutter endings