Grave Gamer News & Views — a realm reborn

Final Fantasy XIV is ’A Realm Reborn’

If you’re one of the few participants to jump onto Square Enix’s second MMO within the Final Fantasy series when it released way back in September of 2010, you may have noticed something awfully suspicious: the game sucked.

Final Fantasy XIV sucked so much that it even derailed the PS3 port’s release from March of 2011 to “eventually” (“eventually” in this case meaning “when the game stops being terrible”).  Looking to rectify the product’s wrongdoings – and recapture some of the surprise success that made fellow MMO FFXI the most profitable title in the franchise – Square promised a full-on restructuring of the game, tentatively called 2.0.

Now, the efforts behind 2.0 have come to be, rebranded as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.  The update is a massive undertaking that, to name a few fixes, alters the battle regimen, introduces a new map system, adds new client software, and includes an additional graphics engine.  A Realm Reborn marks a very apparent shift for FFXIV; so much so that it almost seems like a different game altogether, one certainly more suited for the Final Fantasy name.

Alpha testing for A Realm Reborn is scheduled for September with a not-quite-solid Winter release in mind for the final build.  And, Sony fans, I know you’ve been waiting patiently and politely through this article so here’s your feel good of the day: Square Enix has remarked that that FFXIV port sitting on the back burner will drop for the PS3 sometime after the PC version’s humungous update, and it will certainly reflect all of the additions A Realm Reborn claims stake to.

Ah, Versus XIII isn’t dead, XIV Online will stop sucking soon…Things are looking up, Final Fantasy fans – Hmm?  You want them to remake VII?  Listen, fixing a crappy game is already like moving a mountain.  Remaking one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, a title so revered that many already consider it to be perfect?  Bigger mountain.