Final Fantasy XIV Hot Takes

[SeverianLyonesse]

The level of fan service is crazy. I've said this before in other threads, but I hope if ever there is another FF MMO, it tries to create and maintain its own identity vs. using past FF titles as a crutch. Then you have cross-overs which are shoe-horned into the game and get full raid series (looking at you, Nier). Makes no sense.

I know that there are FF staples that are generally found in most of their games, Chocobos, airships, Cid, Moogles, job types, certain mobs, etc, but XIV has gone far past the usual items.

The main story is still pretty solidly original. Looking at the most recent expansions, all of the MSQ content has been original except:

* EW: Loporrits, Anima, Magus Sisters, Ragnarok, I guess to some extent Zodiark and Venat even though they are references in name only.
* ShB: Crystal Tower, Dwarves, Hades, Warrior of Light, Angelo
* SB: Doma, Lakshmi, Omega v. Shinryu
* HW: Midgardsormr, Knights of the Round, Bismarck, Matoya

Still some 90+ percent of the worldbuilding is fairly original and unique to FF XIV. Yeah we have some combined elements like a massive empire ala VI/XII, sci-fi elements ala VII/VIII, job system ala III/V, and some core systems that draw heavily from popular titles like the materia system(which imo should be dropped). But it's the derivativeness is not as bad as people make it out to be.

Where the impression that XIV is not original stems from primarily the "side content" (which counterintuitively ends up providing the majority of the gameplay as each expansion's respective endgame):

* HW: Alexander raids (IX/XI), Warring Triad Trials (VI), to some extent the Shadows of Mhach raids
* SB: Omega raids (V/VI/I), Hell's Lid trials (Legends), Dalmasca raids (XII)
* ShB: Eden raids (VIII), Weapon trials (VII), Nier raids
* EW: Pandaemonium raids (II)

I think it is fine. I also think that a wholly original FF MMO would tank because it is the intertextuality that appeals to more players. And since XIV is like the uber-intertextual-FF I don't see any reason for SE to try to remake the same phenomenon again from the ground up.