Final Fantasy XIV, Part 9 (S L O W I N G D O W N: recapping the early game)

I wonder...

When I write these posts, am I writing a review, or is this a stream-of-consciousness thing? Or is this blog a digital scrapbook with lots of notes scribbled in the margins? Am I thinking critically about game mechanics and what makes a game fun to play, or am I just giving a shout-out whenever the game does something that amuses me? The answer, so far, has been, "Yes! Yes to everything!"

And truthfully, that will continue to be the case. But I'd like to try a little more focused approach, this time. So, let's focus on the story, specifically the early-game, for a bit.

If someone said to me, "What's the story like?" How would I respond? What value can I give, what meaning can I convey, to someone who wants to experience Final Fantasy XIV but isn't willing to marathon it from quarantine for a solid month?

I think it's a valid question. I love tabletop RPGs, and I'm always looking for new and exciting scenarios to add to my games. There are wheelbarrows full of lore, here, just waiting to be carted out of Final Fantasy and dumped into a weekly game of Dungeons & Dragons. They're largely anecdotal, like re-enacting the Hatching-tide celebration or giving your party's paladin a chocobo whistle, but it's a mistake to think that the decorations are the only things worth stealing. A Realm Reborn has a fine story structure, and the world-building is top notch, so let's get into it.

Get some popcorn, kupo. It's time to reminisce.

A Realm Reborn tells the story of an aspiring young professional who, through tenacity, luck, and strength of character, finds himself in the midst of a series of deadly conflicts. In each conflict, the professional rises to the challenge, meeting and resolving it in a dramatic fashion, usually through strength of arms, but occasionally by guile, charm, or sheer hard work. Violent resolutions are the professional's specialty, and the place where the most time and attention to detail is spent. But to say that the professional's tale glorifies violence would be misleading; to understand the professional's tale, we must understand the world in which he lives.

Eorzea is an enchanted land blessed by magical and technical wonders, but plagued by an endless instability. Civilization consists of several races of humanoids co-existing under various banners; A Realm Reborn focuses on the civilization of three city-states: Ul'dah, Limsa Lomisa, and Gridania.

Each of these city-states has its own distinct character: Ul'dah is a desert city where wealth and poverty coexist in stark contrast. Ul'dahns people pride themselves on their own ingenuity while turning a blind eye to obvious social problems. Outside the city walls, Ul'dahns are menaced by the amalj'aa, a beast-tribe of desert-dwelling lizardfolk who worship the primal Ifrit.

Limsa Lomisa is a coastal city, and also, a military autocracy: The Admiral's will is supreme. Luckily, Admiral Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn is a benevolent and wise ruler, and takes her job very seriously, so Limsa Lomisa is a prosperous and inviting realm. Lomisans are menaced by the sahagin, a beast-tribe of fishfolk who worship the primal Leviathan, and by the kobolds, who pray to mighty Titan.

Gridania is a forest city defined by slow-speaking elves and their culture. Gridanians are primarily concerned with sustainable living and survival. Their forest home, the Twelveswood, is enormous and often hostile place, so foresters, scouts, and archers have a prominent place in society. Gridanians are menaced by the ixal, a beast-tribe of birdfolk who worship the primal Garuda, and also by the sylphs, who worship the primal Ramuh.

The relationships between these city-states and the beast-tribes which harass them is central to the professional's tale.

Early in his career, the professional finds himself in one of these three city-states, and there begins his journey toward competency. In Drippy's case, he joined the Marauders' guild in Limsa Lomisa and received training from its teachers. He later went to Summerford Farms and spent an inordinate amount of time picking oranges and chasing off bees. It was essentially a summer job, but one where he still got to swing his battleaxe. Not exactly what I'd envisioned when I rolled up "water genasi pirate Conan" on the character screen, but hey, I can adapt. The game clearly had a story it wanted me to experience, and I would experience it at the writers' pace.

Alternatively, one could argue that the early game is almost totally unconcerned with pacing. The game throws a whole world at you and says, "Here, catch! If you get lost, there are about six-thousand tutorial missions. Good luck!" In a sense, the feeling of being an overwhelmed young professional just starting out on their chosen career is communicated splendidly.

The professional advances in their chosen field at their own pace until roughly level 17, when a series of serendipitous events line up, and (in Drippy's case) a gang of local kidnappers target a workman at Summerford Farms. Investigating his disappearance leads to the revelation that those kidnappers are, in fact, Serpent Reavers, an ancient cult dedicated to worshiping the primal Leviathan. They kidnap and sell slaves to the sahagin. Fighting and defeating them is the first real step along the hero's path - It's the place in the story where the professional meets his mentor and proves his value to her. This is about the time when Drippy met Y'shtola, the cultured conjurer, and fought alongside her against the Serpent Reavers.

As a twist, then: A masked mage appears. He is an agent of chaos, and he has a gripe with the professional. The mage is an Ascian, though that word holds no meaning for us at present. The professional has seen this mage before, both in dreams and in the waking world. The mage had summoned a golem to kill him during the professional's first fight with the Serpent Reavers, then vanished. After defeating the Reavers with the help of the local Lominsan guard, the Yellowjackets, the Ascian appears once again and summons a gargoyle, disappearing yet again before the professional can kill him.

After triumphing over these menacing enemies, word of the professional's skill spreads quickly. New organizations seek him out. The professional, for his part, welcomes the attention. He uses the opportunity to learns new skills and sharpen old ones. Drippy discovered, much to his surprise, that his actions had earned him an audience with the Admiral of Limsa Lominsa herself. The Yellowjackets must have sung his praises loudly indeed!

The Admiral greeted him warmly and told him she was pleased by his decisive actions against the Serpent Reavers, and furthermore, she wished to give him a ceremonial duty as a reward: He was to go to the other city-states and present each ruler with a hand-written letter from the Admiral, and thereby coordinate a memorial service for those who had died at Cartenau, a famous battle five years past. Drippy naturally agreed, and was given unrestricted access to the city's airships and sent along his way.

While all of this was a bit overwhelming for a humble axe-man like Drippy, as a player, I had been itching to get out of Limsa Lomisa. I digress, but as interesting as I've tried to make it all sound, these early quests bored me half-to-death. I bought this game to run raids and puzzle through tactical boss-fights with my friends, not harvest oranges at Summerford farms!

But now - airships! Freedom! We're leaving the starting zone and getting into the real meat-and-potatoes of the game. This is what I signed up for—the raids! Bring 'em on! Sastasha's first, where you fight against Sahagin raiders, and then it's Copperbell Mines, and Tam-Tara Deepcroft, and...

Ah, but we've lost the thread here, haven't we? Sufficed to say, the professional succeeds at his task. He travels to Ul'dah and Gridania and holds audience with their leaders. Drippy the diplomat. The leaders themselves are amenable to the Admiral's request, and take the opportunity to pontificate on the virtues of their respective city-states, but ultimately, the professional returns from his journey more worldly than when he left, and he delivers the good news to the Admiral.

Time slows down a little after that. The pressure lifts. There is yet the mystery of the masked mage, and plenty of work to be done, but the professional has done enough to earn a little vacation. Now Eorzea opens up, and dozens of new avenues present themselves for exploration.

After a few such adventures, a chance encounter in Ul'dah brings Y'shtola back into Drippy's tale. This event leads to the professional joining the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, a secretive order dedicated to defeating the primals: ancient beings of remarkable power who are worshipped as gods by the beast-tribes. It's a difficult task, and not everyone can do it, but the professional - who has been haunted and harassed by dream-like visions his entire life - has just the right make-up to be part of the team. On top of his personal qualities - dedication, heroism, selflessness - he has a supernatural gift. Minfilia, leader of the Scions, calls it the Echo. Those with the Echo have visions, and headaches, and all manner of troubles because of it, but also, they are immune to the primals' greatest weapon: Mind control. Y'shtola sussed it out of you. She saw you had the Echo during your battle with the Serpent Reavers, and saw, too, that you would be a perfect fit for the Scions after your heroics in the market square. So, the professional becomes, among other things, a Scion.

That's where the mid-game begins, and where this post about the early-game leaves off. Until next time, please, enjoy these screenshots devoid of any context: