FFXIV – 4.1, The Legend Returns

I dragged myself away from Guild Wars 2 for a little while to play through the FFXIV 4.1 Main Scenario Quest, “The Legend Returns.” I’m so happy to be caught up with FFXIV and be in a position to play these patches when they come out, instead of rushing to catch up later. I didn’t even have to get any new gear. This is probably the first time I’ve ever been so caught up in any game.

Story spoilers below if you haven’t played it yet.

First of all, let me quickly say that the difference between the story development in Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy XIV is night and day. FFXIV is extremely character-driven, while GW2 seems much more plot-driven. Not to play favorites or anything, but character-driven stories are objectively, unquestionably much better. :)

Overall I felt like The Legend Returns started weak and ended strong. Until the very last quest, I felt like we were ping-ponging all over the place (not unlike GW2 hehe) with no real direction. Then everything tied together, and I was honestly surprised at how it turned out.

But: I’m a little concerned about what they are doing with Lyse. While I like Raubahn a lot, I feel like bringing him back to Ala Mhigo undercuts what I feel like is Lyse’s main story arc-growing into a strong leader in her own right. How is she going to do that with Raubahn looming over her shoulder?

It’s possible that Lyse could become the civilian leader, while Raubahn confines himself to the military. Given the new democratic structure of Ala Mhigo, that makes sense. Lyse showed signs of growing again, at least as a diplomat. But I’m just … worried about it. Raubahn is a huge presence on-screen, while Lyse isn’t. She as a character could easily get lost behind his massive shadow.

I did not expect Raubahn to end up back in Ala Mhigo. I was 100% sure that they were setting us up for Raubahn to die at the end of this patch. (I thought he would die before the end of Stormblood too, since he gave his sword to his son.) Frankly I think that would have been a better story choice. It would force Lyse to grow into the leader she needs to be, without any crutches. Failing that, I thought they would surely send Raubahn back to Ul’dah, to give Lyse the room she needed to grow. (She even said it herself, something like, “what will I do if Raubahn leaves?”)

But enough about that.

Initially I questioned the choice of frivolously putting a new dungeon (an “adventure”) at the very beginning. It was a bit of a turn-off. (I don’t play the MSQ to unlock new dungeons, I play it to learn more about the characters and their stories! And, you know, because you have to play it.) In retrospect, given the serious nature of the rest of the story, it made more sense. And people who don’t care about the story at all probably appreciated it.

I was very happy to see more of Fordola and her backstory. I think I mentioned that I wanted to know more about her character after Stormblood. I liked that they showed us a sort of bond between Arenvald and Fordola, which may or may not develop in the future. If nothing else, they are two sides of the same coin: Two people from the same background, “of an age,” who made radically different life choices.

I was glad to see Fordola have a redemptive moment, and I was glad to see that she chose it. (I am a sucker for redemption stories, though.) I think they played the “angry mob’s” reaction pretty well, represented by that one old man. It was a small step, but a positive one. What’s next for The Butcher?

What the heck is going on with Yotsuyu?? She must have lost her memory or something. When they kept the camera on her face after Gosetsu left, I fully expected her expression to change from child-like surprise to an evil smirk, but it didn’t. Some sort of post-traumatic childhood regression I guess. How will her redemptive storyline compare and contrast with Fordola’s?

And I guess somebody must have dug up Zenos’ body or something. They offhandedly mentioned something about his grave site, and then at the end we saw a couple of Imperial folks talking about rumors that he never died in the first place. Palace intrigue!

P.S. The new dungeon was okay I guess. I PUGged it, stumbled and bumbled through it, then forgot about it five minutes later.

P.P.S. Am I crazy, or have they done something to improve the graphical quality of the cut scenes? Several times I remember thinking, “This looks better than usual.” Particularly the scenes in Fordola’s cell. Something about the lighting perhaps.