Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail had the difficult task of opening a new saga in Naoki Yoshida’s work: let’s find out if it succeeded in our review.
On August 27, 2013, Naoki Yoshida and Square Enix’s Creative Studio 3 opened the gates of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn for the first time, still unknowingly laying the foundations for one of the most beloved MMORPGs of all time. More than in the innovative gameplay systems or the social component, the enormous success of the project found its roots in a particular element that usually plays a secondary role in titles of this genre: it was in fact the narration and the construction of the world of Etheirys that made an impact on the hearts of the public, carving in stone the rules of what, even today, is considered by many fans as one of the best chapters of Final Fantasy ever when it comes to the story and characterization of the characters, and which for this very reason has managed to prosper for over ten years.
However, all stories must have an end, and the end of the great story inaugurated by A Realm Reborn coincided with the latest expansion Endwalker. After sowing questions and crumbs of information for over a decade, the authors of the studio have brought the curtain down on the gigantic story of the Scions, the Ascians, Hydaelyn and Zodiark, crafting a perfect epilogue but at the same time turning the future of the project into a hot potato. Now that all the knots have come to a head, what will be the fate of the millions of Warriors of Light around the world? How can you reopen a story that is equally impactful? Creative Studio 3, and Naoki Yoshida first and foremost, have stated on several occasions that they intend to continue for another ten years: let’s find out how they intend to do it in the review of Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail, the latest expansion set on the continent of Tural .
Dawntrail and Main Scenario Quest
For the first time in the history of Final Fantasy XIV, the central figure of Dawntrail’s Main Scenario Quest is not the Warrior of Light but Wuk Lamat , a Hrothgar warrior who, in addition to representing a sort of new Lyse, is also the deus ex machina designed to lead us to explore the tropical continent of Tural.
Candidate for succession to the throne of the nation of Tuliyollal, she will ask the player and their companions Krile, Alphinaud and Alisaie to participate with her in the contest that will determine the next ruler of the kingdom, starting a story of which Wuk Lamat will remain the absolute protagonist for the entire adventure. Gulool Ja Ja, the warrior’s adoptive father and still reigning ruler of Tuliyollal, will pit his heirs against each other in a no-holds-barred competition in search of the mysterious Golden City : the first to find and force entry to this legendary place will effectively become his direct successor.
As per tradition, the narrative of Dawntrail can be divided into two large macro segments: while the first part concerns the search for the Golden City and is designed to slowly introduce all the regions, the inhabitants and the many cultures that color the landscapes of Tural, the second hides the classic unexpected twists that will end up completely overturning the premises of the expansion, making the intervention of the most powerful fighter in Eorzea indispensable. Naoki Yoshida personally asked us not to discuss the second part of the expansion in detail, so we won’t, but know that it is characterized by a clear change of tone compared to the holiday climate, it brings to the table some very deep themes even if not entirely original for the fourteenth chapter, but above all it puts the spotlight on large references to the Final Fantasy saga, in particular to one of the most beloved chapters of all time .
Overall, it is a plot characterized by light and shadow: the character of Wuk Lamat, for example, is quite cumbersome, remains anchored to the tropes of the classic “shonen heroine” and could prove to be a big obstacle for any fan tied to the role of protagonist historically covered by the Warrior of Light. Likewise, the pace of the narration leaves much to be desired during the opening of the expansion , a moment in which the plot becomes more didactic than ever through a succession of dialogues and animated sequences that – with the noble purpose of describing the new continent and its different cultures – often end up transforming the player into a passive third wheel who is assigned extremely simple tasks.
That said, there is room for some moments of great emotional power , especially in the second half of the adventure, when you reach the last areas of Dawntrail and the atmosphere suddenly gets closer not only to the legacy of Final Fantasy 14, but to the very soul of the saga. Despite the slight feeling of deja-vu that ends up penalizing some sequences, Dawntrail manages to find its balance, which was not at all a given, especially given the particular condition of the Warrior of Light: when you have traveled to the edge of the cosmos to defeat the most terrible entity in the universe, it is very difficult for a new earthly threat to instill real fear.
All things considered, it is very complicated to evaluate the experience offered by this expansion: on the one hand, the entire community was aware that it would be a new, measured beginning aimed at introducing an unpublished story, but on the other hand, it is difficult to shake off the feeling of being in the presence of a “filler” chapter with just a few interesting sparks. Even today, the story of A Realm Reborn is spoken of as the weakest in the Hydaelyn and Zodiark saga, and it is highly likely that this will also prove to be the fate of Dawntrail. For its part, the Main Scenario Quest did not fail to introduce a narrative “MacGuffin” with the potential to literally open ten years of new content and worlds never seen before, which was probably the most important goal that the authors had set themselves.
Gameplay and Jobs
While the gameplay tied to the Main Scenario Quest has long been in need of reworking and still has the same shortcomings, above all the lack of action and actively engaging and complex situations outside of the classic collection missions, in the case of Dawntrail it is necessary to make a further distinction.
The lead-up to this content was in fact marked by the emergence of several dissenting voices regarding the changes that began with Endwalker at the base of the Job philosophy, which would be going through a process of homogenization and simplification such as to empty them of their essence and consequently make the so-called “Battle Content” unattractive. In this specific case, the separation between the fights as separate entities and the gameplay related to the individual Jobs has become more marked than ever.
Dawntrail features excellently designed Dungeon and Trial fights, among the best we have encountered in recent times : the mechanics are always intuitive, a quick glance at the scenario is enough to understand what is happening and react accordingly, the dangers are never limited to the classic telegraphed attacks to dodge and always offer an adequate and stimulating level of challenge. This is an indication of a clear leap forward in the design of the fights : Naoki Yoshida had expressed his desire to work mainly on the design of the battles before dedicating himself to the restructuring of the classes, and given the premises we can only hope for the Raids that will be published in the coming weeks.
On the Job front, however, the issue is much more delicate: first of all, Viper and Pictomancer are the two latest arrivals to the party, respectively a melee DPS and a magic DPS that represent almost unicums within the selection. The Pictomancer inspired by Relm from Final Fantasy VI , in particular, happens to be at the moment the only Job with a certain variety in its rotation, integrating through its animated paintings precisely that component of choice and freedom that has been progressively reduced – and in some cases completely eliminated – within the confines of its direct competitors. Similarly, the Viper – whose aesthetic was taken from the figure of Gidan Tribal – presents itself as the fastest and most complex class among the melee variants, to the point of making its colleagues almost boring.
One of the main problems of this expansion lies precisely in the changes that have affected most of the pre-existing Jobs and that, in addition to maintaining the homogenization unchanged, have in some cases changed their dynamics in a negative way. The most emblematic examples are those of Monk and Black Mage: if the first has been struggling to find its own identity for a long time and there has practically not been a single expansion in which it has not been radically reworked without displeasing its supporters, that of Black Mage is a case bordering on the inexplicable. Considered for years as a sort of manifesto of how a successful Job should present itself due to the ease of use, the peak of skill needed to exploit it to the fullest and the flexibility of its rotation, in this version 7.0 it has been deprived of precisely these distinctive elements.
This speech could also be extended to the Astrologian, but in general the path seems to be traced and most of the Jobs have limited themselves to receiving small adjustments and just a few extra “bombs” to add damage to their classic final abilities. In short, the activities offered by Dawntrail are a concrete testimony to the goodness of the path taken by the developers, while in the case of the Jobs – leaving aside Viper and Pictomancer – it has happened very rarely that the community was so averse to the proposed changes, therefore the hope is that the team will choose to get to grips with their functioning during the most imminent patches.
The new face of Final Fantasy 14
Despite an evidently preparatory narrative, Dawntrail matures anchored to all the elements that made Final Fantasy 14 what it is today, starting from the artistic direction and the undeniable beauty of the settings .
The city-state of Tuliyollal is a sight for sore eyes, the mountains of Urqopacha seem to have been taken straight from a fantasy postcard of the Andes, the waterfalls of Kozama’Uka are a modern-day photograph of the settings of the eleventh chapter, Shaaloani brings a pinch of the Wild West into the equation, and all this without taking into account the scenarios encountered in the second half of the adventure, from the hyper-technological skyscrapers of the city of Solution Nine to the splendid panoramas of the last area, a place that is nothing short of full of emotions.
It is almost superfluous to mention the soundtrack by Masayoshi Soken, which does not limit itself to holding up the foundations of the atmospheres, but ends up loading with impact entire narrative sequences that would absolutely not reach the same strength without such a contribution. Between jazz backgrounds, lo-fi ambient music, piano riffs, electronic boss themes and dozens of other variations, it is always an immense pleasure to enjoy the fruits of the work of one of the best composers of video game music of our time who on this occasion, in our opinion, has framed one of his best performances.
If the quality level of the music and the artistic direction does not represent a great novelty, the technical component does: Dawntrail arrives accompanied by a complete and radical renewal of the graphics sector that significantly enhances the quality of the textures, the lighting system and the management of the shadows, greatly improving the impact of the image at the cost of some performance drops for the PC configurations less in step with the times, which in general should not have too many problems maintaining 60 fps. What is certain is that the new areas have been designed precisely to focus on the visual impact, the same fate has befallen the armor, the weapons and even the bosses, who present themselves in dazzling form.
Of course, the expansions for Final Fantasy 14 are by no means limited to the launch content , which in fact only represents an appetizer: in the coming weeks and months, a slew of new features will be added, starting with the eight-player Raid The Arcadion, which will be the first addition to the offering, then moving on to the highly anticipated instance inspired by the eleventh chapter of the saga, and finally arriving at a new Ultimate, the limited Beastmaster Job, new lifestyle activities and a new large-scale Eureka/Bozja-style enterprise.
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail – Launch Trailer
Even more importantly, the 7.X patches will have the difficult task of laying the narrative groundwork for the future of the Warrior of Light story, with the ultimate goal of setting the stage for a decade of new stories and, very likely, solidifying Dawntrail as a fantastic expansion on the combat front if less ambitious than usual on the writing front .