Advertisement

Massively's comprehensive preview of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Eliot Lefebvre
- Contributing Editor
Updated ·3 min read
0
There's always a new adventure over the horizon.

Final Fantasy XIV is doing something that has never been done before. After launching to poor reception, the MMO appointed a new producer and director, Naoki Yoshida, who has been working tirelessly for two years to rebuild the game from the ground up. The launch version shut its servers down in November of last year, and since then players have been eagerly awaiting the release of the game's revitalized relaunch, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

In preparation for this relaunch, Yoshida spent the last week and a half touring the globe and meeting with the press to show off FFXIV in all its glory. After playing the game since launch and writing about it for three years, I was glad to attend the event and see the full spectrum of what the game has to offer in its relaunch. And there's a lot to be said about the game as a whole. It's the sort of thing that can't be contained in just one article or two.

So how about half a dozen? And a trio of videos to accompany the new benchmark program?



The battle is joined: Starting new and fighting through Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch
The first few moments of playing a new game are going to be crucial to any player. With an eye toward the game's original version, I went through the process of starting a new character, working through early quests, and seeing how the game plays at both lower and higher levels.

Land and Hand: Crafting and gathering in Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch
FFXIV's crafting and gathering systems have always been more involved than those of other games, and the relaunch continues this trent. Take a look at how the game makes crafting and gathering classes relevant and fun to play while clearing away some of the old version's cumbersome elements

Final Fantasy XIV's Yoshida on PvP, chocobos, and mobile apps
After playing the game, I had an opportunity to sit down with Naoki Yoshida and ask some questions about what I had seen, and in many cases what I hadn't yet seen. If you want to know more of what the game will feature beyond the beta, take a look.

Massively Exclusive: A dinner with Final Fantasy XIV's Naoki Yoshida
And after the last set of questions, I had a chance to sit down with the man himself to talk more about the process of taking a game and blowing it up just to remake it again. This is all about the process leading to that decision and what influences the relaunch we're getting.

Touring La Noscea and Thanalan in Final Fantasy XIV
My time spent at the Final Fantasy XIV tour didn't just include a preview of the areas to be found in the upcoming beta. No, we proud and few got the chance to also explore some of the game's other iconic areas, areas closed off at the start of the beta but slated for opening later on in the testing process.

Massively Exclusive: An in-depth look at Final Fantasy XI's new jobs
This year isn't quite as exciting for Final Fantasy XI as it is for Final Fantasy XIV, but it's still bringing a pretty big change to the status quo. Take a look at the full lineup of abilities and playstyles for both of the new jobs in the game's upcoming fifth expansion.