Dawntrails doesn’t feel like Final Fantasy

[aveyond-dreams]

After a long hiatus wherein was I mostly preoccupied with playing through FFXVI multiple times I finally managed to catch up on what was going on with FFXVI and what was in store for the future. After my mostly positive experience with FFXVI, I was hopeful that CBU3 would follow on with some of the ideas and concepts there and bring that same sort of spirit back to FFXIV after how this expansion has gone down, with mismatched themes and way too much of a focus on allegedly light-hearted/funny stuff that never really landed well with me.

Then I saw the Dawntrails trailer.

I’m so sorry, but I really struggle to make sense of what I was made to witness. I had to endure months of people telling me how “FFXVI isn’t a real FF!” which I mostly disagreed with even though it was missing key stuff like party members and a sufficiently fleshed out magic system, then I see this and finally feel like I’ve seen a situation where that sentiment is applicable.

I have no idea who wanted to see more of the Mamool Ja let alone their empire which looks to be little more than another copypasted jungle zone that doesn’t have much in the way of design to it besides making everything out of sticks and adding tropical plants everywhere. This is so different from the sort of impressive locations like the city of Ishgard proper or the baleful glow off Eulmore’s towers back in previous CGI trailers.

The ship could’ve been cool but again why does the WoL look like that guy from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies? Just like Samurai seemingly can’t be allowed to rock a signature Samurai armor look in this game it seems we can’t get Corsair-style pirates either and instead have to settle for whatever this vision is, and it’s not a very impressive one. Then the twins and the other scions showed up eating tacos no less – I’m pretty sure in an earlier post of mine I verbatim warned that something like this would be in FFXIV’s future and it seems I was right.

I don’t mind it when FF games advertise some of the lighter elements like the minigames we just saw in the FFVII Rebirth trailer, but you have to give me something in the way of a world and plot hook/characters to go along with it. Going on yet another adventure with a cast whose growth has completely stagnated at best and in the worst case scenario of the twins has repeatedly gone backwards and forwards isn’t going to cut it. The scions helping the New World choose a ruler? Did no one raise an eyebrow at how strange the idea is at its core and how tone deaf it is? As if the scions didn’t already have a reputation for toppling whatever government they view as bad anyways, except now we have to do it for the lizard people that the playerbase cares less for than the Duskwights everyone forgot about in Gelmorra.

The unbearable goofiness and lack of an interesting hook aside, content as I’m sure most people have finally woken up to is a major issue that doesn’t look like its being taken seriously or will be resolved anytime soon. At a surface level I think I came across one list that showed what content is planned for Dawntrails which would seem more than Endwalker but the likeliest scenario is still having to wait until 7.35 in 2025 for things like a new relic zone or Deep Dungeon that has worthwhile rewards, because Eureka Orthos sure didn’t.

I am just mystified as to how CBU3 redeemed themselves in my eyes when it came to all the things FFXVI did right only to completely throw all of that away with what we’re seeing in Dawntrails. Inserting refs from FFX and hopefully not to the extent that FFIV was forced into Endwalker isn’t going to save this expansion without something strong enough to prop it up.

No wonder I keep hearing people cheered loudest for the 2 dye channel announcement. There was nothing else of interest to be excited about. A “summer vacation” expansion is the last thing we needed after how much light hearted burgers, cafes at the end of the universe, and Tweetingways we were subjected to this expansion. We wanted our Final Fantasy game back. Not this.

[Ivtrix]

OH GOD NOT HIM

[Connor]

Is this what Meteion saw and made her say ‘screw this’?

[4clubbedace]

ah hell this again

[Szylver]

Are you from the future?

[Axxion]

OH GOD NOT HIM

i do not know why but this alone made my day

[ZephyrMenodora]

OH GOD NOT HIM

These forums are a delightful collection of some strange people.

[Boblawblah]

Just let him do his thing, he'll disappear soon enough. I will say though, Westerners and our insistence on having to make our individual voices stand out instead of adding to other voices gets a bit tiring sometimes.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

Wow, not surprised to see THIS kind of thread again....Didn't take Long at all when he came back lol (To a game he said he was quitting)
But I guess he's done with FFXVI, so back to the FFXIV Forums

[Daddyslittlevampire]

how would you even know its not even out yet lol all we got was a 2 second trailer lol