Recent reviews by ronin_duck

Disclaimer: This review is from somebody who has only finished ARR, Heavensward and Stormblood, and I will only be expressing my views on these expansions alone. It also contains spoilers for said expansions.

ARR: I'm not gonna lie. Story-wise, A Realm Reborn ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sucked. It starts out a slog, gets interesting, and becomes a slog again in the patch quests. The gameplay, however, was great, and only got better as the story went on. I actually really enjoyed the last part of the base game, and I can even confidently say Gaius was my favorite villain. The patches were a whole new level of boring up until the end. The last patch was a lot more enjoyable due to having the buildup that the rest of the expansion should have had. However, I won't say all bad things. While the story itself was handled badly and riddled with fetch quests, the worldbuilding, exposition and characters were all great (although they only got better as time went on). The only reason I went through the patches, however, is because of...

Heavensward: Beyond phenomenal, 20/10, literally the best thing I have ever played. It managed to expand on the gameplay of ARR for the better (plus access to level 60 jobs) and, in terms of story, it had some of the best moments in any FF game. The 4 (3?) major deaths in this expansion all slapped me in the face. (Although I will make it clear that Gosetsu's apparent death was more tragic than Haurchefant's). As a dragon appreciator, I particularly enjoyed the parts with the Dragonsong War. Unlike ARR, the primals were actually original, and this was when the quality of duties started to rise. The only parts that sort of fell off were the beginning (because of not many story points) and the final patch (because it feels more like Stormblood than Heavensward, not that that's a bad thing).

Stormblood: Stormblood was what ARR should have been. It started out a bit slow and maintained its slowness throughout most of the base expansion, but the story still had a good direction. The patch quests, on the other hand, took my expectations and shattered them underfoot. They opened the door for tons of story arcs each better than the whole base expansion. (The story arc featuring Yotsusyu and Asahi... *chefs kiss*), and ended it with a thrilling conclusion that ties into Shadowbringers. But let's talk about the gameplay. WHAT KIND OF DRUGS WERE THE DUTY DESIGNERS ON AND WHERE CAN I GET SOME? Other than Bardam's Mettle and Emanation, I enjoyed every dungeon and trial (ESPECIALLY trials) in this expansion. Did they hire someone new to make this? I can only fear what the next two expansions will be like in this aspect). Also, the music in Stormblood is better than ARR and HW combined (not including the Alexander raids).

[Audience: ]

☐ Kids
☐ 13+
☐ 18+
☑ Anyone can play
☐ Casual players
☑ Pro players

[Graphics: ]

☐ Potato
☐ Bad
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Great
☐ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece


☑ Full price
☐ Wait for sale
☐ Average
☐ Refund it if you can
☐ Don't do it
☐ It's FREE

[Requirements: ]

☐ Graphing calculator
☐ Minimum
☑ Medium
☐ Fast
☐ High end
☐ NASA computer

[Difficulty: ]

☐ A monkey could play it
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard
☐ Dark Souls (Death Wish mode)

[Game time/length ]

☐ Really short ( 0 - 10 hours)
☐ Short ( 10 - 20 hours)
☐ A good amount ( 20 - 25 hours)
☐ Long ( 25+ hours)
☑ Endless

[Story]

☐ It doesn't have
☑ Still better than Twilight
☐ Confusing AF
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Fantastic


[Bugs: ]

☐ Game itself is one big BUG
☐ Day 1 Cyberpunk
☐ Lot of bugs (wait for bug fixes)
☐ Few Bugs
☐ You can use them for speedruns
☑ Nothing

[DLC: ]

☐ The Sims 4
☐ Subscription service
☑ A bit too much
☐ Mostly free
☐ A good amount
☐ None

[Players: ]
Multiplayer: Yes (4-player offline and online)
Singleplayer: Yes

[Audience: ]

☐ Kids
☑ 13+
☐ 18+
☐ Anyone can play
☐ Casual players
☑ Pro players

[Graphics: ]

☐ Potato
☐ Bad
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Great
☑ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece


☑ Full price
☐ Wait for sale
☐ Average
☐ Refund it if you can
☐ Don't do it
☐ It's FREE

[Requirements: ]

☐ Graphing calculator
☐ Minimum
☐ Medium
☐ Fast
☑ High end
☐ NASA computer

[Difficulty: ]

☐ A monkey could play it
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard
☐ Dark Souls

[Game time/length ]

☐ Really short ( 0 - 10 hours)
☐ Short ( 10 - 20 hours)
☑ A good amount ( 20 - 25 hours) (STORY MODE)
☐ Long ( 25+ hours)
☑ Endless (ONLINE MODE)


[Story]

☐ It doesn't have
☐ Still better than Twilight
☐ Confusing AF
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Fantastic


[Bugs: ]

☐ Game itself is one big BUG
☐ Day 1 Cyberpunk
☐ Lot of bugs (wait for bug fixes)
☐ Few Bugs
☐ You can use them for speedruns
☑ Nothing

[DLC: ]

☐ The Sims 4
☐ Subscription service
☑ A bit too much
☐ Mostly free
☐ A good amount
☐ None

[Players: ]
Multiplayer: Yes (2-player online and offline)
Singleplayer: Yes

[Audience: ]

☐ Kids
☐ 13+
☐ 18+
☑ Anyone can play
☑ Casual players
☐ Pro players

[Graphics: ]

☐ Potato
☐ Bad
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Great
☐ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece


☑ Full price
☐ Wait for sale
☐ Average
☐ Refund it if you can
☐ Don't do it
☐ It's FREE

[Requirements: ]

☐ Graphing calculator
☐ Minimum
☑ Medium
☐ Fast
☐ High end
☐ NASA computer

[Difficulty: ]

☐ A monkey could play it
☑ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Hard
☑ Dark Souls (Death Wish mode)

[Game time/length ]

☐ Really short ( 0 - 10 hours)
☐ Short ( 10 - 20 hours)
☑ A good amount ( 20 - 25 hours) (Main game)
☐ Long ( 25+ hours)
☑ Endless (Mods)


[Story]

☐ It doesn't have
☐ Still better than Twilight
☐ Confusing AF
☑ Average
☐ Good
☐ Fantastic


[Bugs: ]

☐ Game itself is one big BUG
☐ Day 1 Cyberpunk
☐ Lot of bugs (wait for bug fixes)
☐ Few Bugs
☑ You can use them for speedruns
☐ Nothing

[DLC: ]

☐ The Sims 4
☐ Subscription service
☐ A bit too much
☐ Mostly free
☑ A good amount
☐ None

[Players: ]
Multiplayer: Yes (2-player offline, 50 online)
Singleplayer: Yes