FF XIV Reviews

From JP Amazon.com, translation by me:

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1,012 人中、985人 (97.3%) の方が、｢このレビューが参考になった｣と投票しています。

1★

うまくいけば金の卵を産む鶏になれた逸材。不況の今、
まさしく、スクウェアエニックスにとって希望となりえた商品だったはず。
どうしてこうなった。プレイするたびにこの言葉が思い出されます。
リーヴくらいしか楽しむものの無い薄っぺらな内容。グラフィック以外褒められない内容。

でも、発売前、発売後数日までは私も期待していました。FF14には
すべてのスクエニファンも同じ気持ちだったと思います。
ただ、最近のソフト群を見てもSFC時代の傑作の足元にも及ばない作品ばかり。
んー、もう私たちファンが知っている、スクエニは存在しないのでしょうか。
ぶれずに株主優先、ユーザー軽視の立場を崩さない社長の和田さん。
ラーメンなう、なんていってないでFF14に関して話して欲しいものです。
１度ユーザーの言葉を受け止めて、真摯に対応して欲しいです。

ポケモンやマリオが任天堂の顔であるように
いわばメーカーの顔であるFF。その正式ナンバリングタイトルでこの出来。
すべてのスクエニファンは怒るべきだと思います。ファンだからこそ強く言うべき。
１度痛い目を見ないと関係者達は理解しないのかもしれません。

中国に擦り寄ったと思われるシステム、アイテム名など
国産ゲームにあるまじき仕様が多数。メンテで日本語パッチがあたっても相変わらず変な日本語だし。
産業としてのゲーム業界が厳しい淵にある中で日本企業が日本人ユーザーを軽視していいのでしょうか。

最後になりますが、10/1時点で運営側がオンラインゲームとしてやってはいけない対応連発してます。
終末の雰囲気が出ているこのゲームをプレイするなら、いい意味で終末世界なFallout3の方がお勧め。
幻だったかのようです、FC、SFC、PS時代のスクエニ作品は。あの頃の作品は夢を与えてくれてました。
想えば、今20、30代の人たちはスクウェアとエニックスに思い入れがあったはず。
14でFFブランドが最後になるとは当時誰が予想したでしょうか。本当に悲しいです。

駄文長文失礼しました。ファンだからこそ強く言ってる事関係者の皆様には分かって欲しいです。

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985 out of 1,012 (97.3%) users referenced this review as helpful:

1★

Had this gone well, it could have remained the goose that laid the
golden egg. In this recession, SquareEnix certainly must have
hoped as much.

Every time I play, I ask myself "How did this happen?"

Cheap and shallow game content, with nothing fun to do except
leves. A game with nothing worthy of praise but the graphics.

Even still, before launch and for days afterward, I kept my hopes
up. I'm sure every SquareEnix fan did the same for FF14. But
recently they've put out nothing but trash that doesn't come close
to their earlier masterpieces. We fans know: SquareEnix no
longer exists. Instead we have a company President in Wada who
openly despises his users, and puts the shareholders first. Just
once, I wish they would sincerely listen to their users instead.

Final Fantasy is the public face of SquareEnix, just like Pokemon
and Mario are for Nintendo. That's how you treat official
numbered titles. Every SquareEnix fan should be outraged. Fans
should say it most strongly especially because they're
fans. If we don't make them see, they will never understand.

This game is rife with systems, item names, etc that point squarely
to them cozying up to China in a way that no domestic game should
do. Even when maintenance patch notes are in Japanese to begin
with, they are poorly translated and hard to understand. Is it a
good idea for a Japanese company to be ignoring its Japanese users
at a point in time where games are struggling as an industry in
general?

Finally, it's clear the 10/1 release date was purely because
management said they needed to launch an online title by then. If
you want to play a game that feels so much like the bleak end of
an era, I recommend you go play Fallout 3. I look back on the
SquareEnix of the NES, SNES, and Playstation eras like the ghost
of a bygone age. I'm sure every fan in their 20's and 30's has to
feel the same. Who would have thought 14 could turn out to be the
end of the brand entirely? It's pretty depressing.

I apologize for my poorly-written ramble. I just hope that by
being so blunt, they might eventually listen.

ouch

A Japanese company cozying up to a Chinese audience, that can't be seen as good over there.

I would defend the game, but I'm too busy enjoying playing it. Everyone who got the collectors edition in the linkshell is enjoying it too.

It lacks content, but then I'm not even level 20 yet so I wouldn't be participating in the content. It's more fun levelling in XIV than it is in XI too.

i'm with Flion on this. the only thing, that woul dmake this game just way better..would be to fix the effing menu lag, other then that, it's pretty good.

Had an idea tho... what if they added true advanced classes. let's say Gladiator became Paladin, and lacer-dragoon, Maurader... something. i think that would be pretty neat. get it to level 50, and it becomes alot better, to show off your awsome.

I'd really like that. Get Gladiator to level 50, you now have the choice of being Gladiator or Paladin when you equip a sword.

Good idea!

The game is all right in my opinion, but this only because I know many things will be fixed. It's just of a question of how long. There are many aspects I'm not enjoying.

It's *** up when I log back into XI and can actually praise the lag free and workable interface. I have a quiet place to craft, sort my inventory, it doesn't take 7 seconds to move an item to or from my MH, it doesn't take 9 seconds to sale something to an NPC. There's a *** AH for christ sake, and actual quests issues by NPCs. I really hate that there really seem to be next to no quests other than timed repeatable leves, "solo" main scenario missions in XIV, and level 20 leves for classes. It's a different take on the system for sure.

There are many things that just take away from the world. While the battle system is somewhat interesting It's frustrating having to spam what I feel like should be an auto-attack, it's basically asking me to perform an additional non-strategic and mindless step to be able to battle. Additional button presses if you will. Along with the lag, I find myself just mashing buttons most of the time hoping that the command will go through. If they wanted it to be strategic they should have just made an option to toggle auto attack on/off.

I'm very curious and interested as to how this is going to span out for "big" battles or end game fights. There are many aspects of the battle system that just seem like it's not going to work or feel fun. We'll have to wait and see though. That's the last thing, I wonder how long it'll be before we actually start seeing new content, or how long before the finish the bug patches. I'm only still playing because I think the game might get better at some point in time, but for the moment it is only mildly fun and many times more frustrating than XI in my own opinion.

Just menu lag, and inventory sort. Really my two complaints.

should've just made FFXI with FFXIV graphics and improved servers to support both versions of old graphics and the new. then readvertise to make it look like a new game

ditto x2. What i dont get is that they had the menu lag sorta fixed right before open beta! D:< im angry and confus :/


ahaha hahahaahh, thats cute...

Didn't everyone know? This is the accumulation of 8 years of learning from XI and studying other MMOs!

EA & Mythic found a similar problem when they released Warhammer Online expecting a vast majority of their DAoC players to transfer over. within a few months they had to reduce their servers and completely merge Asian and European ones to North America. The main problem was the development company (EA&Mythic) didn't listen to their fan base/users and went along with a WoW/Diablo II look while using some elements from DAoC.
Square Enix really needs to come out with something thats both innovative and unique that keeps the current game experience fun instead of just trying to mimic ideas from other MMO's

Volkom i agree with you. I would have loved to have seen just a better looking version of XI lol. However, i am enjoying my time for the most part in XIV. Just really wish there was an auction house...the market wards...are just awful.

The good: Minus the bad British accents, the characters are likable and very Final Fantasy-esque. It's admittedly refreshing to have the harsh world of slutty Mi'qote, perverted pirates, and crazed forest loonies.

The Bad: Unfortunately, the wondrousness of the world is lost in the Leve-grinding boredom that is leveling. The "New" is wearing down fast and I find myself just logging out to play something else more and more often. Luckily, I can still make progress playing casually, so maybe in time it'll pick up.

The Ugly: Two Words- Map Generator. Whether it's simplicity or laziness, it does get kinda redundant seeing the same shapes over and over and over and over again while running from camp to camp.

That's minor compared to the current lack of User-friendliness. The Market Wards are a pain in the ***. I'd hate to pull a WoW card, but quite frankly, their AH was incredibly user-friendly. It would be nice to see the search/compare options implemented. Hell, it should've been there for Release if not before.

Trade options and crafting are other things that are annoying. You get all these cool recipes from leves, but you're stuck looking them up, writing them down, memorizing them, or asking friends what they are constantly. Is it really so difficult to have an in-game option for recipes?

Finally, of course, the laggy menus and lack of Auto-Sort. Seriously, SE, don't say you learned something when you've shown no proof of it. Actions > Words

==

@Volkom: Whenever I hear things about the game, the interview/press release or whatever it was where they stated they learned from AoC, XI, WoW, etc pops into my head. I don't expect, or even want, direct mimicry, but what works works.

More or less:

Well the game is horrible, reviewers cant lie! Its AoC/WAR all over again!

it's unfair to judge an MMO until it really takes off. some start out slow, some hit it off very quickly, then fail miserably later on. people need to give it a chance, let them fix what works, and what doesn't.. i'm happy to see what this game becomes in the future

i really like the game, biggest thing that annoys me is how many people just declare "the game is terrible". its cool if you don't like it but, your opinion isn't a fact. i will admit the game has a lot of issues that I'm disappointed weren't fixed better in beta... like how the market ward is pretty much the exact same now as it was in alpha even after the massive amounts of complaints since then, and the menu lag which is much better but in the long run gets irritating. and the world feels so empty, i mean there are hundreds of npcs but... they don't do anything >.> wierds me out a bit.

but the core elements of the game i really like, i love the active battle system that keeps you always doing something even if your a DD. the leves are pretty repetitive now but SE has said many times they will get progressively complex, and they remind me of the monster hunter quest system and i love that game XD. the story unfolds slow, but having REAL CSs with voice acting really shocked and impressed me.

my opinion... the game will get bad reviews for a while, but i believe it will be a major MMO title that will be very successful... but it may take a year or so for that to happen.

and to all the people that basically say "lolSE is HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE" well... they probably make more money in a week then you will in your life >.> just to say, just because you say something like "they been going downhill since they merged with enix" you can say that... but it don't make it a fact. so many people bashed XIII terribly saying it WAS a miserably game... i loved it, all my friends loved it, it made a bit of money too, hell i still play it from time to time. plus all the other succesful games they've made since the merge. (all kingdom hearts after 1, crisis core, dirge of cerberus, dissidia, dragon quest IX, hell even X-2 was fairly successful.)

anyway... SE wont just let XIV sink, they will keep doing what they need to do to make it better, i REALLY doubt SE would drop an FF title before its truly done. i enjoy XIV, i know many people that do, people that like games post reviews less than people that hate games. same goes with movies, books, whatever. my server's population is always higher than bismarcks (at the same time) and bismarck aint a small server.

so that's my thoughts on it... if you don't like the game, don't play it, but there's no need to go around telling everyone they'd be stupid to even try it (may not have been said here but i hear it a lot)

The problem is, if their reviews suck for so long, the only players that will be able to experience the content SE finally fixes when they get off their 'milk the consumer' chair, will be the ones that have been padding their wallets for the year of bad reviews.

Word of mouth from fellow players make or break a game. If enough people say "This game is terrible" the game wont last.


If you look back at the games from the SNES / Playstation Era, the stories were much better than the games today, characters had depth, there was more to do in console games that XIII's straight up linear grindfest. Square has let their epic storytelling fade for pretty graphics. Gone are the days where games entrap you with a story, make you feel for the characters, route for them as you run them across the entire world to save it. Now it's all half assed story with shiny pretty graphics, and it just doesn't cut it.

Yes, XIII had some rather nice systems, i liked the summon system, but the Crystal level up system was an over used system that's been used in basically every FF since 10 (and sorry, i dont count X-2 as a FF game) License grid, Crystal grid, and X's sphere grid, it's all the same thing essentially.

I think the main reason they delayed it for PS3 could be because they felt in was unfinished, PC version that is, so they still got a back card to draw people back in when the PS3 version comes, reviewers will have to review the PS3 version aswell, so they still got some sort of comeback. But there will always be haters, I know there's plenty of just haters, some people talking crap about the game that made you wonder "WTF is he talking about", just the other day there was some guy shouting "WoW is the first and best MMO" spamming for like 20 mins on camp skull valley, which really makes you wonder.

As with everyone, lag is the main point I dislike about the game. This wasn't meant to be a ramble but I guess there are a lot of dislikes that I'm dealing with.

Lag Pt. 1 NPCs, PCs take forever to load in any area.

Lag Pt. 2 I was exploring a higher level area and was unknowingly experiencing lag. No mobs around! Yay! Run run run... I'm dead... WTF? Took 5000 points of damage and mobs finally spawned.

Menus. ***! They take forever to load and respond. Checking Bazaars? 10 secs for the Bazaar menu to load then 10 more for the list of items to populate then 10 more if you want to examine a particular item. As this is the only way to buy non NPC items, its ridiculous to expect people to go through 50-200 retainers.

Search. Where the hell is this ***? This is basic functionality.

/target. Again where the hell?

/map. Yay! There is a text command to bring up the map! Why can't I see my party members on it?

Chat log. The "hold" option in XI is needed. There is no quick way to fullscreen the chat log and scroll up either. If I'm in a battle and people are trying to talk to me, ***gets lost.

Engaging a mob. Again with the lag. You click your attack button (active mode) and have to wait for the server to say "Ok, you can now attack!" Then the button mashing begins... hopefully it will recognize your attack command...

Changing jobs. Changing jobs on the fly is awesome+3. Why can't the servers store where my attack commands are? Why do I have to reset everything when I change jobs? I know I can macro this stuff, but that is redundant. Everything is now serverside, action command saving/placement is just a no brainer.

Item damage. I like the fact that gear isn't 100% forever. However, when gear is damaged it is very vague. There should be some message or icon to specify which item is damaged.

I just hope everyone posting this stuff is also logging in to SE and typing all this(or at least copy/pasting)it in the ff14 feed back section (which I'm sure most aren't doing)...if you really want a change make it happen...FYI I already sent a wall of text to Se's ff14 feed back I'd advise every one else to do the same.



https://support.na.square-enix.com/form.php?id=902&la=1&p=0&fo=288

I just copied and pasted mine into that site. Thanks for the link.

Its like they are continuing the beta but slapped a box/price tag on it lol.

Edit: So its ready for consoles and ***...

agreed

This is why nothing good ever comes from China, You mean it was made in Japan!? Yeah.. Right <_<

Honestly though, my only 2 complains are as follows:

1) A search function in the market wards. It would be rather easy for the bulletin board to show the items available in that ward and upon selecting the item, the board will give you a list of which Retainers are currently selling that item.

2) Implement of Chocobos/airships. This is a no brainer. My anima has been revolving around 20-30 since I got in the game so idc if the chocobos are sick and dying, I happen to need one.

Now, I understand there is a lot of content that is not there that is being planned. I've seen the screenshots and read the info. I also know that FFXI was in pretty much the same shape when it was released in Japan. This is why I'm not making a big deal about it is because I know that come PS3 release, most of these complaints will be non-existent.

I've heard rumors that china worked on this game partially or they are really trying to please Chinese players. If thats the case its expected to be complete *** >_<

I can't really super defend the game, but I am enjoying playing it. Then again I'm a level 6 after re-starting my character, and only hitting lvl 10 before, and play only a few hours a week at the moment. For me there is plenty of content as stuff I haven't figured out yet.

I think back on 11 and think of, what was there to do when I was this level in 11 besides level up or partake in little quests or get started on city missions... and if this was like the original JP release of 11 (correct me if I'm wrong but I did look it up and believe this is right) there was no zilart, so it's not like in the first release of 11 there was a ton of stuff to do. Maybe everyone has just forgotten that there wasn't a lot of content when 11 came out and only a few jobs and things to do and that 14 is just in the same boat. And now look where it is today... I think that maybe people were expecting that 14 would have more initial content than 11 did. When I started 11 zilart was available and I can say without that content I would have gotten bored after awhile with the pre-zilart stuff.

Honestly though I was a bit shocked when I was selected for beta for 14, played for a bit, saw all the flaws and errors, and then heard it was being released the next month. I really think they should have hung on to the game a few more months and added some more content, or at least held it back to fix some issues with the current game, and cut down the time between the initial release and the expansion that is probably inevitably coming some day.

I think with adjustments the game basics are there, but I can see content running out fast... I get the feel when I play the game that there are all these building blocks put into place for things to do, conflicts to develop, a story and so on, but that part of it is missing from the actual implementation. So how long will we have to wait? I would imagine with enough complaints about the way the game currently runs that should be fixed through random patches and what not, but if 11 is any indicator it will probably be months before the first expansion. Jp windows version of 11 was release in Nov 2002, then zilart in April 2003.

I'll keep playing but I am working on a e-mail/letter of sorts with my complaints about the game to go paste on that feedback section... if they hear enough complaints they will have to change, or at least unveil what they are planning or people are going to eventually end up cancelling accounts.

The game needs A LOT of work, or rather content, but I still look back on if I got 11 without zillart and had to wait 4 months for that expansion within 2 months I would have been almost out of stuff to do... maybe even sooner.

1.look at it this way, first off look who is playing 14 atm.

A.System requirements are way too high for the average player's pc/laptop. The average person is not paying 1k+ to play a game.

B. Most Se FF14 money will come from console/ps3 players. There
will be many more willing to pay $300 plus game Vs ($1k+) pc and game.

C. PC users got screwed for 14 it seems like their target market realistically is ps3 which does not drop until march.

D. You high end gamers are the minority and se knows that if your playing on a high end PC(1k+) that you can afford and will pay 7$-13$ a month for a retail beta.

Its seems like Se is milking the wallets of high end gamers and don't care because they know most of their sales will come from ps3.
So why not make some xtra $$$ off the rich nerds while they prepare to finish the game for their target audience ps3...

Fyi don't kill the messenger I'm just point out facts I do not in anyway agree with this way of thinking but if you look outside the box its obvious...