The Definitive Dawntrail Review (Heavy Spoilers) & Main Scenario Retrospective

[MarotSatil]

Preface

Stop reading here if you don't want the entire Dawntrail expansion spoiled. You've been warned.

I am not actually one to use these forums myself, and I've not really not ran into a situation where I felt feedback was imperative (outside of the A Realm Reborn relic materia step when it was current content, that was pain incarnate), but Dawntrail I think has crossed that line.

Since the mechanical improvements to the game which arrived with the expansion are more or less universally genuine improvements, I also won't be touching upon those and instead focusing on the story, music, voice acting (English-only), characters, and other topics as they turn up while sorting everything chronologically via main story quest names for ease of consumption.

Before reading my wall of text review, there is some handy knowledge to be equipped with, and two short snippets of video I'd like you to watch in order to set the tone.

1. Two clips from Shadowbringers. The full video essay I've pulled them from is quite good as well, but it's rather long and I'd rather not burden you, dear reader, with the full thing:
   
   0:00-0:35 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la2Z40jFK9k
   35:30-36:33 - https://youtu.be/la2Z40jFK9k?list=LL&t=2130
   
   If you've completed Dawntrail, you already know why I had you watch these.
2. Square Enix has supposedly hired a notorious external cultural consulting firm known as Sweet Baby Inc. to provide guidance on how to implement and write various characters and cultural aspects in Dawntrail.
   
   Sweet Baby Inc. and other similar cultural consulting firms are now well-known to function as extortion agencies, both subtly and overtly threatening to blacklist companies from investments and kick up public relations disasters should the company not both pay them and do as they say with regard to modifying the company's productions as they see fit.

When One Door Closes... -> The Coming Dawn (Post-Endwalker)

• Let's be honest here, the warnings were written on the wall before the start for English-audio players with Sena Bryer's downright awful voice acting in her role as Wuk Lamat immediately upon introduction of the character herself.
• There's really nothing else of note about these prologue quests outside of the above, the glaring self-importance of Wuk Lamat's character, and the cringe lol so random xD early 2000's humor intrinsically tied to it.
• More on this as we go, of course.

A New World to Explore -> The Nation of Tuliyollal

• The sailing is actually pretty uneventful (relative to the Warrior of Light) and we even get an A Realm Reborn Leviathan mechanic throwback, it's pretty cool.
• Upon arriving in Tuliyollal, we fairly quickly notice some things.
• Big band jazz music (it's pretty fitting).
• Nobody on the entire continent seems to have a similar accent to Erenville.
• There are no Lalafells or Roegedyn.
• The full extent of the culture expressed can be summarized as lol tacos xD, a theme which also happens to be intrinsically tied to Wuk Lamat.
• We find out that despite everyone being out to murder each other for all of history until a few years ago, everyone but a few fringe groups at the furthest reaches of the wilderness hold absolutely no grudges toward one another and the entire city gets together twice a day to sing kumbaya together.
• Despite Alphinaud's entire personal character growth across A Realm Reborn and 4 additional expansions teaching both him and you that this is not how the world works, he happily approves of love and peace through words only whenever the subject is broached.
• Almost every location and point of interest is in some sort've pseudo-ancient-Latin American-inspired language.
• These locations have English translations and meanings, but you don't need to know those, you just need to memorize exactly where such rich locales as Uyupoga and Miyakabek'zu are and how to spell them on demand.
• If you can't remember the proper spelling and pronunciations of these locales, I have been informed by some cultural consultants that you may be a culturally insensitive bigot.

A City of Stairs -> A Saga In Stone

• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Meet the Cornservant: the expansion's true and very likable protagonist, ensuring no man suffers from hunger while his corn is available.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Learn about how Wuk Lamat's father, Gulool Ja Ja used the power of friendship to unite the continent and put an end to war & racism on Tural forever.

The Rite of Succession

• We're introduced in-person to Wuk Lamat's father, Gulool Ja Ja, whose sleeping Head of Wisdom turns out to have more personality than Wuk Lamat by the end of the story expansion despite Gulool Ja Ja's long history as a prior Mary Sue himself.
• We're introduced to the other claimants, all children of Gulool Ja Ja excluding Bakool Ja Ja, who was brought on via diversity arena:
• The Sharlayan fetishist Miqo'te from Silicon Valley who is implied to be an antagonist: Koana
• The sociopathic Mamool Ja who is clearly an antagonist: Zoraal Ja
• The two-headed and markedly uncivil Mamool Ja who is also clearly an antagonist: Bakool Ja Ja

To Kozama'uka -> Knowing the Hanuhanu

• We're introduced to the Hanuhanu, who are the birds-of-paradise flavor of the Vanu. They're pretty alright actually, but down on their luck and facing starvation due to a local natural disaster.
• The locales now have occasional English names?
• The soundtrack was ripped straight from Ty The Tasmanian Tiger (not an insult, just an odd choice).
• Turns out Thancred and Urianger have a favorable after-hours arrangement with Koana, in exchange for supporting his succession bid.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Plot twist: local Xbr'aal man knowingly and intentionally withholds information which could have resolved the Hanu's starvation issue. The deaths of at least one but probably many Hanu lies on his entire existence as a plot-device to move Wuk Lamat's journey along.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Through the power of friendship (see: the labor of everyone else) and despite an attempted sabotage by Bakool Ja Ja, Wuk Lamat relaxes on the float someone else repaired, receives her first (or second) succession cube™ and passes this leg of the succession journey.

To Urqopacha -> Knowing the Pelupelu

• We're introduced to the Pelupelu, who are like respectable Dunesfolk Lalafell (if these existed) with funny bird masks and normal human bodies. They're not particularly remarkable, but do raise alpaccas.
• The music here is very Final Fantasy. Very nice.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• You successfully helped Wuk Lamat trade a proverbial paperclip for a saddle through 32 other trades.
• For the first and last time in the story without author-assisted Mary Sue powers, Wuk Lamat does something for herself and tames an alpaca to receive her first (or second) succession cube™ and passes this leg of the succession journey.

The Success of Others -> For All Turali

• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Erenville makes arrangements for transportation to the land of the Moblins, cousins to the Goblins, who are obsessed with ceramic and also used to kidnap craftsmen to use them as for-profit slaves, but now pay them while attending to all of their needs instead. Idk Gulool Ja Ja pre-story Mary Sue shenanigans.
• There's a forgettable dungeon that could've been avoided if you just stayed on Erenville's raft while it was repaired.

A Leaking Workpot -> The Feat of Pots

• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Some chump fresh off the boat from Eorzea decides to work for the Moblins, completing this leg of the succession journey for Wuk Lamat and earning her another succession cube™.

A Father First

• Gulool Ja Ja challenges you to a friendly duel.
• You defeat him, but it was pretty fun and both of you walk away with even stronger mutual respect.

The Shape of Peace -> Sibling Rescue

• Wuk Lamat is kidnapped by Bakool Ja Ja because she's got brain problems, and you as well as Erenville and each of the Scions have brain damage, but only when the writer requires it.
• Koana is revealed as a non-antagonist and his character development begins.
• Bakool Ja Ja gets away with one of Wuk Lamat's succession cubes™.

History's Keepers -> The High Luminary

• You meet the Yok Huy, who historically enslaved the Pelupelu for all of time until a few years ago, but everyone's kinda chill about it now for some reason. Idk Gulool Ja Ja pre-story Mary Sue shenanigans.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Wuk Lamat completes another leg of the succession journey and earns yet another succession cube™ after you carry her up a mountain. The dungeon itself was pretty forgettable.
• Bakool Ja Ja intentionally frees the mass murder-bird-dragon who Gulool Ja Ja sealed away a few years ago after it murdered most of the continent.

An Echo of Madness -> The Feat of Ice

• You kill the murder-bird-dragon for Wuk Lamat, completing another leg of her succession journey and earning her another succession cube™.
• For some reason, nobody wants to kill Bakool Ja Ja afterwards. Pretty sure intentionally trying to get most of the continent killed is bad idk.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.

The Promise of Peace -> Taking a Stand

• You meet the Xbr'aal, they're essentially Hrothgar jungle-people.
• The most interesting zone theme so far.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• You gather the materials to make traditional steamed tacos (are you noticing yet?) and Krile cooks them, Wuk Lamat eats them and earns another succession cube™, completing this leg of the succession journey.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Plot twist: one of the Xbr'aal, Hunmu Rruk is Wuk Lamat's real father and gave her to Gulool Ja Ja to raise because the Mamool Ja (but only the ones in Mamool) are racist.
• Bakool Ja Ja kidnaps Hunmu Rruk.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Wuk Lamat Mary Sue's her way though a fight against Bakool Ja Ja and an army of mercenaries alone despite being unable to parry a single blow from him a week prior, recovering her stolen succession cube™ and releasing her father.

Into the Traverse -> Road to the Golden City

• You meet the (racist) Mamool Ja of Mamool.
• For some reason this sub-zone doesn't have its own theme, and the one it has is not really suited to it.
• This sub-zone may be the best looking area in the expansion.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• They have an eugenics program for rearing two-headed Mamool Ja which yields mostly stillborns whom are placed into dead baby storage™.
• This program gave Bakool Ja Ja PTSD so he agrees to help you if you end it.
• Racism and dead baby storage™ is resolved by introducing new crops from Sharlayan.
• Zoraal Ja is disqualified from the succession for attacking the succession elector after losing a fight against Gulool Ja Ja's shade.
• You defeat a shade of Gulool Ja Ja alongside Koana who has abandoned his succession claim in order to support Wuk Lamat, earning her the final succession cube™ and completing the final succession trial.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Dead baby storage™ is actually the location of The Golden City.

Dawn of a New Tomorrow -> Ever Greater, Ever Brighter

• Both Wuk Lamat and Koana become Dawnservants since Wuk Lamat has brain problems.
• Gulool Ja Ja's Head of Wisdom was dead all along, not asleep.
• In spite of this, The Head of Wisdom was still a more interesting character than Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.

The Long Road to Xak'Tural -> One With Nature

• Awesome road trip to Xak Tural (North America) with Erenville to visit his mother.
• It's pretty disappointing actually because it is the most absolutely bland and inoffensive interpretation of a Texas-Mexico cross that anyone has ever laid eyes on, complete with voice actors who shift between accents during the same dialogue section, Native American parallels with no depth, and Johnny Bravo.
• They really should've just done the Japan thing where they go with an over the top interpretation of the culture where it's both funny and makes the culture way more impressive than it actually is in reality (see: the manga Nick & Lever), offending absolutely nobody in the process.
• At least Wuk Lamat's not here.
• I suspect the cultural consulting influence hit this region the hardest because they both hate everything North America as well as the fact that Wuk Lamat isn't here.
• Even in spite of these issues Erenville is a good lad and putting an end to some organized banditry with him was great fun.
• The sheriff's voice actor gets an honorable mention as he fits this region incredibly well, unlike most everyone else.

On Track -> And the Land Would Tremble

• Remember the Amh Araeng trolley guys from Shadowbringers that most people loved? You get to work with their Source counterparts to repair a train, who are just as great.
• You don't get to ride on the train after repairing it solely for the purpose of advancing the plot.
• Zoraal Ja made a Faustian pact with an entity from beyond the portal to The Golden City and both encased a region in Xak Tural in lightning energy and launched an assault on Tuliyollal.
• While murdering a fair portion of Tuliyollal's populace, Zoraal Ja also kills Gulool Ja Ja.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat. (Are you catching on yet?)
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.

No Time for Tears -> All Aboard

• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• You build an explosive battering ram war-train (hell yeah) with the Source counterparts of the trolley guys (hell yeah again) and G'raha to break through the lightning bubble. It's a shame that you can probably count the high points of this expansion on one hand.
• Until there's a Black Gospel and High School Musical crossover music jumpscare completely ruining the mood of the scene???
• Wuk Lamat gets to be a Mary Sue again during the cutscene.
• Cyberpunk dungeon, the music is pretty cool.

The Land of Levin -> Embracing Oblivion

• You find yourself in Alexandria, a kingdom transported from another reflection.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• 30 years have passed inside of the bubble since it appeared, and the Turali populace of the region has fully integrated with the Alexandrians.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• The Alexandrians have created a soul-recycling near-dystopia complete with memory erasure.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Erenville's mother, Cahciua, is the leader of a resistance movement.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• You meet the queen of Alexandria, Sphene, who is sketchy as all hell but lets you into Solution 9, the residential district of Alexandria's city.

Solution Nine -> At a Crossroads

• Solution 9 looks like Phantasy Star Online 2 was somehow chimerically spliced into some sort-of off-brand GPU marketing.
• You tour Solution 9 with Sphene as the guide.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• It turns out that some people in Alexandria suffer from an aetherial imbalance towards lightning, resembling (just like tempering) astral aetherial imbalance, leading many to be either crippled or paralyzed.
• Nobody in our collective cares to point out that we discovered the cure to this problem via the porxies.
• I think either the writer never played the game or the cultural consulting firm wanted disabled representation.
• Zoraal Ja at some point in the 30 year bubble window had a son whom he abandoned shortly after birth, named Gulool Ja by Cahciua.
• Who is the mother of this child? Doesn't matter.
• Gulool Ja is looked after by a former knight in a robot body named Otis, who is a very likable character modeled after Steiner from Final Fantasy IX.
• In this expansion, being a likable character means you have to die to make way for Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.

The Protector and the Destroyer -> The Resilient Son

• Sphene is revealed to be complicit in the massacre of the Turali peoples.
• Zoraal Ja kidnaps his son
• Gulool Ja and starts having the Alexandrian people murdered to steal their souls for personal power, thus turning on Sphene himself.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Otis dies defending Sphene (what a plot twist).
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• You kill Zoraal Ja and he names his son his successor as king.
• Sphene reiterates that she's going to kill everyone outside of Alexandria and use their souls for energy (we already knew, lady).

A New Family -> Dawntrail

• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• You pursue Sphene through the gate to The Golden City in dead baby storage™, using Krile's earring and Gulool Ja's authority.
• This brings you to dead people memory storage™, or just Living Memory for short.
• Sphene begins going into terminator mode to murder billions of people across multiple reflections.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• You take a slow-moving tour (with absolutely zero urgency) of each district and have a few melodramatic moments before shutting them down.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• It's revealed by Krile's parents that some of the Plainsfolk Lalafells originally from the South Sea Isles are probably dimensional travelers originating from the Source who fled to Alexandria's reflection during the Fifth Umbral Calamity. The remainder who didn't flee dimensions likely later founded Nym.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• The monotone and forced-non-accent reading of Cahciua's lines by her voice actor ruined any sort've emotional impact during her interactions with Erenville prior to shutting down her district. Genuinely upsetting for the wrong reasons entirely.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• Speak with Wuk Lamat.
• You would have killed Sphene in terminator mode but Wuk Lamat experienced another Mary Sue moment.
• Black Gospel and High School Musical crossover music jumpscare pt. 2: Electric Boogaloo.
• Seriously, this song (it's called Smile, and I'm not smiling while listening to it during these cutscenes) is so far out of place thematically and compositionaly for the context and settings it's used in; I can't imagine how anyone thought it was a good idea.
• The end.
• Just kidding, speak with Wuk Lamat Lyse 2.0.
• All-in-all, Estinien had a pretty good vacation on Tural.

pls forward to YoshiP, and thank you for reading.

[Croweyes]

Yeah, pretty much all this. I fully agree.

Final Fantasy XIV/Square Enix as been compromised.
Story quality has taking a massive hit.

Thank you for your effort in making this post, it was well done.
Only time will tell on what their next move is. Hopefully for the better.

[Kaldaka]

I truly could not agree more with this post.

Though there were some very intriguing sections to the story it was often unable to deliver a literary standard above that of the constant feel that I was reading a two-bit fanfic which unfortunately made me want to start spamming escape to skip past it as much as possible - this I considered a cardinal sin even through Stormblood of all unholy things. Followed up by the absolutely TERRIBLE voice acting throughout the entire expansion and forced cultural appropriation I can't help but feel that this expansion does not belong in the Final Fantasy franchise, especially not in association with XIV's long and florid history.

Of course, not all of it was terrible. Erenville was an ok companion when Wuk Lamat permitted him more than three words, Cornservant brings a smile, some of the music was enjoyable (I particularly like the settlement theme as it feels like it was inspired by the old ps1? game Grandia). Perhaps for the first time in a long time I thoroughly enjoy boss battles, the mechanics are interesting and enjoyable (as long as we don't include Deadwalk into this statement). Cinematography is gripping and animation is excellent.
However, as it is a game that revolves around it's core story, these things should not be its saving grace, let alone the unstable foundation that holds it up.

Things I think would have made this experience better:
(Obviously these things can't happen, but I feel they would have made it a far more enjoyable experience).

- Change the writer: Give characters other than Wuk Lamat the chance to breathe and shine and have an actual reason to be there - As it stands they may as well not have ever have gotten on the boat as the entire experience is entirely Wuk Lamat and everyone else is an unjustified extra. Even WoL has become nothing but a glorified babysitter on what felt like a bad joke in an attempt to provide a meme of a holiday/relaxed experience.
- Replace the majority of the Dawntrail VA's. Finding people with actual acting ability would be a good start.
-----VA's I felt did a good job: The Scions, Erevville, Zoraal Ja, The old catto sherif in Texas, Gulool Ja ja, Gulool Ja.
- Review the music selection: There is a scattered vibrance to the ost, however the diversity feels as though it has been lost. Often music trickled into the backgrounds or felt as though it didn't fit. I.e: Yak T'el's Lower area (Mamool region).
-- PLEASE DELETE THE FILES OF THE CREDIT SONG! It sounded like rubbish kareoke and was so bad I had eradicated it from my memory until I saw the guy below me mention it--

The conclusion I came to by the end of this expansion was this:
I genuinely cannot in my wildest dreams believe there is a story I like LESS than Stormblood.

PS: Did anyone else realise until 95/96 we were playing pokemon?
Starter Pokemon: Red Lion, Green Cat, Blue Lizard.
Objective: Collect 8 gym badges to challenge the previous champion and become "the very best".

[RatCopter]

It's funny when you sit down and really think about the parts of this expansion that would have been pushing the stated agenda of companies like Sweet Baby Inc, e.g.;

- Wuk Lamat's voice actor, likely hired through nepotism by a lady with neon-coloured hair and a history of pushing for DEI related garbage
- the infantile "diversity is our strength because the food thoooooo" throughout the entire story
- the utter lack of consequences from previous conflict or conflict from differences in culture, except when it's specifically to make the Mamool Ja look stupid for being racist or whatever
- the only food eaten ever is apparently tacos, which is the extent of cultural understanding of southern america for left leaning americans
- the dumbing down and marginalization of characters that have existed before SBI's influence on Squeenix
- that bloody awful song in the credits

You realise that a significant portion of the terrible things in this expansion is a result of their involvement.

Hell, the only praise Dawntrail has gotten is purely focused on the combat mechanics of the game, which SBI have no control over because they are a company of grifters that have no talent. Crazy.

[fulminating]

This has just occurred to me reading your post, but didn’t the nu-vanu have the same issue (terrible farmland because aether) as the mamools, and already have it solved? Why not introduce them to each other and show us this tural beast tribe cooperation rather than having the sharlayaboo solution?

[weebtext]

I think you forgot the part where you speak with Wuk Lamat.

[Aurumis]

I just hope SE and Yoshi-p says goodbye to the Sweet Baby Inc and read our critiques about the story and finally change the last writter to one that actually knows how to writte because, this is horrible.

I also hated the credits song, wtf is that... it doesn't even fit the game.

[Bellybell]

also why did Zoraal Ja switch from a stoic general to a wuss is remain mystery

[Sheriyana]

Spot on except I still haven't heard anyone give a good explanation as to why the jazz fits for Tuliyollal. Nothing about this primitive South America inspired city implies jazz, absolutely nothing at all.

[MatthiusAbysswalker]

DisneyTrail was indeed god awful.