Final Fantasy XIV: One Year After Resurrection .

Generally an MMORPG gets only one chance. Whether it succeeds or fails is based on innumerable factors, but either way there’s only one opportunity to make a difference. Final Fantasy XIV failed in its initial run, but a two year shutdown and a full redesign of the game has brought it back from the dead to become a two million plus player base where one of my greatest problems is getting people onto my server because it’s just too damn full. Now, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has been running for a year straight. How have things changed in the game? How are they celebrating their one-year anniversary? Perhaps most importantly, what’s their intent from here on out? Today, we’ll see how a phoenix of a game celebrates.

Final Fantasy XIV has gone through a significant number of changes since both its initial release and its re-release as A Realm Reborn. The greatest of these is its existence as one of the few cross-system MMORPGs. Final Fantasy XIV originally had such a massive graphical focus that it was unable to function on the PlayStation 3. Systems were set in place that were cumbersome for the player to use, such as the “Guardian’s Favor” system that allowed some quests to occasionally be activated for double value. This was wonderful when players had it, which was barely an hour every two days if used commonly. The game was so poorly received that a shareholder who owned 1% stock of Square Enix sold it the day after release for $26 million in frustration.

However, Square Enix has never been a company to rest on defeats. In under three years’ time, they rebuilt the game from the ground up, and released a title worthy of the Final Fantasy name and more.

Woo! It’s time to party! No, the world-killing abominations can wait, let’s get DRUNK!

When ARR first came out, it immediately met the first promise of Final Fantasy XIV – a PlayStation 3 release on the same servers as the PC. However, the game was more than just a port. What was a slow and cumbersome combat system still remained slower than the average MMO’s combat, but instead replaced speed of button presses with required reflexes on the field. Standing in place and throwing numbers at each other was no longer a successful way to play, because even in the first dungeons the game would throw area-of-effect spells that would at least do significant damage and severely incapacitate your character. This only gets more complex as the player levels up, until multiple seconds will pass in high-level combat where you’re dodging and weaving, rather than doing any particular damage. The first major raid, the Crystal Tower, required precise reflexes and accurate placement of mobs and players within mere moments, lest any particular boss decide half of your 24-man group needed to be pasted against the wall. ARR wasn’t content with simple gameplay though, and released a storyline with a charming cast of known characters, offering a story experience that was worthy of the name Final Fantasy. The game has evolved since then, with each patch continuing the story further and adding new raids and dungeons. As of this article’s release, ARR has a nine-piece dungeon with two difficulty modes, six Primal fights (a single, swift boss fight) with one more on the open world as a random spawn, and more than a dozen dungeons of varying difficulty at its maximum level. Truly, the game has come a long way from its start.

Not that Square Enix is too keen on celebrating that fact, though. The current event going on, the Moonfire Faire, is supposed to be the yearly celebration of the game’s resurrection. However, it’s less of a game-wide celebration and more of a quiet gathering in a few small points. The Moonfire Faire consists of three events offering no rewards save for a few yukatas and a new dance.  It’s nothing particularly fascinating, but it does bring some life to the world. The quests are a bit dull, mostly consisting of doing some small menial task like trying to hit a bomb into a fireworks launcher or running around and putting out out-of-control fireworks with a mount. However, one of the more enjoyable events comes at night, when every city sets off fireworks. With the game’s dedication to looking pretty, this is perhaps my favorite part of the event. It’s silly that sitting back and simply watching fireworks in a video game can be enjoyable, but it is in reality as well. Why not find pleasure in the small things? All in all, Square Enix never does a lot for their events, and the Moonfire Faire is no different. However, that doesn’t mean they’re sitting on their laurels.

A beautiful burst of blue light over Limsa Lominsa.

Final Fantasy XIV has a lot of growing left to do, and that’s seen in the plans for the next couple of years. One new class, Ninja, is coming out with the next major patch (if you want a small sample of what’s to come, this is where you need to go). Afterwards, a major expansion is planned that is apparently going to double the content available in the game. This expansion has been stated to be available for all systems currently active, though at some point in the future the PS3’s support will be dropped. Other jobs are also going to be introduced in the expansion pack, which will hopefully assist with the current lack of healers and tanks in the game. However, Square has always been a quiet company. Remember, these are the people who have games in development for nearly a decade’s time in Final Fantasy Versus XIII, yet barely said anything until the game was changed to Final Fantasy XV. They’re good at keeping information close to the vest. Needless to say though, if their intent is to double the game content, they’re going to be bringing out more in one expansion than most MMOs do in two, so I for one am looking forward to it.

Onward and upwards, adventurers.

A year ago, Square Enix managed to do what nearly no other MMO has managed, and resurrect their game from the dead. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has grown into one of the most populated MMOs in recent history, and it’s showing no signs of slowing. So here’s to a good year passed, and another year forward. Cheers Square. Keep up the good work.