Final Fantasy XIV wasn’t always one of the best MMORPGs. In fact, its development story is one of the most interesting in video game history. Before A Realm Reborn, Final Fantasy XIV existed in 2010 in a very different form than how fans know it today. It certainly serves as an inspirational story of how a project can burn down but then rise like a phoenix from its ashes. With the original game gone today, it is easy for new players to never learn this interesting history.
In 2010, Final Fantasy XIV was a disaster with terrible reviews on every end as well as fan backlash. It was nothing like the game it is today. However, many current players wished they could’ve experienced it. After all, it did lead up to one of the most unique experiences players got in an MMORPG: Dalamund’s explosion.
10 Players Didn’t Have Chocobos Or Sprinting
One of the many major issues the 2010 game had is that players had to walk everywhere. Today, players can’t imagine Final Fantasy XIV without a mount to ride on, or at least a sprint button. But the original had none of these things.
Players had to walk to their destinations, which was realistic but far less fun. A common complaint of the 2010 game is that it tried to be realistic and in doing so, sacrificed a lot of what makes video games fun.
9 It Had A Fatigue System
This mechanic actually felt like it discouraged players from playing the game as long as they wanted. The fatigue system in the 2010 game made it so the player gained less and less experience after a certain time limit. The system was put in place to prevent excessive leveling so that players with a lot of time on their hands wouldn’t have an unfair advantage.
Like the lack of chocobos and sprinting, this mechanic made the game far less fun to play. After all, people with a lot of time on their hands are usually those who are most looking to get into into an MMO game.
8 There Wasn’t Much Story
In terms of story, there is some but not much. Anything that was juicy didn’t really come up until it was decided that the game needed severe changes. Luckily, players can easily find the cutscenes of the 2010 game on places like Youtube. It does get a little into Minfilia and F’lhaminn’s backstory, Y’shtola is around, and of course Louisoix is alive. However, don’t expect much. Back then the game didn’t even have the epic boss fights or the beautiful dungeons players are now familiar with. The game didn’t even have jobs like Paladin and White Mage until its updates!
Hardcore fans of the story may want to watch these cutscenes if they never have. However, A Realm Reborn was made with the purpose of welcoming new players without having to know the story of the 2010 game.
7 The Terrible Reviews Severely Affected Square Enix
Square Enix lost a lot of money over the failures of Final Fantasy XIV. The 30 day free trial got extended in order for players to give the game more chances as it got updates. Both the producer and director of the game stepped down.
The company reduced its projected income for the year by a whooping 90 percent. The company issued a ton of apologies to players and felt like they broke a trust between the company and Final Fantasy fans.
6 Naoki Yoshida Took Over To Try To Save The MMO
Naoki Yoshida, also known as Yoshi-P, is the main hero of the story of Final Fantasy XIV’s development. He was not a part of the original Final Fantasy team and worked on the Dragon Quest games. He replaced both the director and producers’ positions after they stepped down and was put in charge of saving Final Fantasy XIV.
According to various interviews, Yoshi-P quickly weeded out anyone who had lost faith in the game. He and the people who remained had a ton of work to do and he needed people who really believed that the game could be saved.
5 The Game Was Rebuilt From Scratch While Also Getting Updated
Yoshi-P decided that the 2010 game had too many issues and they would need to build a new game from the ground up. However, he didn’t want to betray fans who were still playing the game, so Square Enix also provided updates to the game to make sure that it was playable and fun while they also worked on the new Final Fantasy XIV.
The updates fixed a good deal. Yoshi-P also made the decision that the 2010 version will eventually need to be deleted despite the updates. Due to this, the updates could get pretty wild and the update team had a lot of creative freedom since it was all going to be destroyed anyway.
4 The Game Was Rebuilt In Just Two Years
According to Yoshi-P, he and a lot of staff got little sleep and worked themselves to the bone in the two years it took to make A Realm Reborn. In this period of time, it did cause a delay in other Square Enix titles. While they managed to get it done in two years, they also wanted to be careful to not release it too early.
It had to be ready when released, or else the blacklash could destroy the company after already failing its fans once.
3 Players Got To Watch The Moon Explode
The most interesting part of the original Final Fantasy XIV is how the story intertwined with its servers being taken down. As it kept getting updated, the moon got closer and closet to the planet and turned an ominous red color. Players could hear the spooky but beautiful echo of the games’ signature music “Answers.”
At the countdown, some players fought battles while others just watched the moon and waited. At shutdown, they got the epic cutscene of a primal coming out of the moon and destroying everything. It served to both destroy the servers as well as be a trailer for A Realm Reborn. Many veteran fans admitted to shedding some tears when this cutscene played, as they did not know what was in store. Whatever it was, it looked beautiful.
2 The Game No Longer Exists
To those who never played the 2010 Final Fantasy XIV, there is no way to do so anymore. It seems that part of the decision Square Enix had to destroy the old servers was also to completely move on from their mistakes.
It also truly rewards the loyal players who never lost faith in the company and game, as only they can tell the story of Dalamunds’ explosion and what the 2010 version was like.
1 Players That Stuck Around Since 2010 Have A Tattoo On Their Characters
The last reward Square Enix gave the players of the 2010 version is that their characters got permanently marked with a tattoo. If you play Final Fantasy XIV and see players with a design between their back shoulders, that means they played the original game.
They even got to keep their characters, as they get teleported to safety in the story when Dalamund explodes.
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