It seems impossible to believe that the first players set foot in Final Fantasy XIV’s beautifully crafted world over a decade ago.
Even for the most avid fans of MMO’s and the Final Fantasy franchise in particular though, the original version of the game was one with serious issues. Despite its stunning visuals, the game play mechanics were overly complex, the battle system convoluted and the crafting and economy simply too intricate to be fun.
These were all issues that updates alone couldn’t solve and drastic action was needed to salvage both the game itself and Square Enix’s reputation within an industry it had dominated for many years.
The decision to take the game offline and re-work it from the ground up was a brave one, however working that whole process into the game’s main storyline proved to be an act of genius.
A Realm Reborn
In the summer of 2013, a new team, led by Naoki Yoshida unveiled the results of their long, hard labours under the brightest possible spotlight and the highest levels of expectation; to re-imagine, rebuild and reinvent the original game.
The spirit of that original game was still there, but the user interface was more intuitive, the mechanics more user friendly and the environments easier to navigate. FFXIV A Real Reborn was everything the original could have been and the scene was set for players to immerse themselves in a world like no other.
The Seventh Astral Era had arrived and as the new game celebrated its one-year anniversary it was clear that Square Enix finally had the game they wanted.
A living, expanding world
That was almost eight years ago, today after regular updates to the main overarching storyline, new content quests and dungeons Eorzea is as busy and vibrant as ever.
Those intervening years have also seen a number of expansions. The first, Heavensward came a couple of years after the remade game’s release, virtually doubling it in size and introducing three new job classes and much anticipated flying mounts.
The year of 2015 also saw the release of a zone aimed at providing something that few other MMO’s could, mini games aimed at a more mature player.
The Gold Saucer
In patch 2.51, introduced in 2015, the FFXIV development team introduced an entire zone dedicated to the amusement park known as The Manderville Gold Saucer, where players could pit their wits against games such as Chocobo breeding and racing, Card Games, Mahjong and Minion Battles.
The Gold Saucer was a bold move by Square Enix, but when it comes to catering for a more mature player base who wanted something different, it was a move that paid off. Games tactics and wit have always appealed to people of all ages, as we can see here.
Fast forward another two years and the second expansion was released, Stormblood took players to new city states and increased the maximum level to 70 along with new mage classes and the Samurai class available to play.
Shadowbringers was the games third expansion, taking the players beyond Eorzea to a new dimension and challenging them to save it, along with two new playable races, both of which were a nod to past Final Fantasy games in the Viera and Hrothgar (FFXII and FFX respectively.)
A fourth expansion, Endwalker is due for release in the autumn of 2021 after delays caused by the Coronavirus pandemic and of course, expectation is high.
After over a decade, Square Enix have managed to keep Eorzea a beautiful, challenging and engaging place for the players who call it home, they have achieved that through one, really important thing…
Eorzea is a world that has grown and matured with its players.
Something for everyone
A decade is a long time to remain faithful to one particular game, yet the majority of players logging on to the FFXIV servers today are players who have been there from the early days.
That isn’t to say that FFXIV A Realm Reborn is a game in decline, far from it; it is still one of the few MMO’s to continue successfully with a monthly subscription model.
Its continued success owes a lot to understanding that as a player base ages, so do the things they enjoy doing online. Those players who began playing in their late teens or early twenties for example, will now be around 30 years old, with jobs, other commitments and a lot less time on their hands…
Playing MMO games to relax is just as important as playing them for excitement or the thrill of undertaking a large group dungeon or raid. Eorzea and its inhabitants can take part in crafting across every conceivable profession, along with mining, botany or fishing.
Playing solo, kicking back and simply relaxing isn’t hard in Eorzea,
Giving those players something laid back and fun, with a slightly more mature feel and worthwhile rewards has helped to keep them logging in time and again and it has meant that, despite those initial early problems, Final Fantasy XIV has risen triumphantly from the ashes to become a genuine online RPG with something for everyone.
