After a reboot and three special expansions, Final Fantasy XIV’s fourth addition, Endwalker, has a lot to live for, especially since it’s considered the epilogue to a storyline that’s been building since when version 1.0 no longer exists. I’m happy to report that Endwalker masterfully conveys a dense story filled with interesting twists, great character moments, and well-designed battles. Its culmination offers a satisfying conclusion to the conflict between the gods Hydaelyn and Zodiark and other themes that have been going on for more than a decade.
Endwalker not only reminisces about its previous expansions, but also revels in nostalgia for previous Final Fantasy games, which made for its memorable scenarios and great soundtrack. Dungeon bosses like the Magus sisters, and the fateful trip to the moon, have returned to Final Fantasy IV. While more recent additions like the tortured FFX summoning Anima have caught on elsewhere. Those with knowledge of the Final Fantasy series will enjoy the various installments, but you’ll definitely want to head into Endwalker for a good understanding of XIV’s story so far. This final chapter relies heavily on plots, stories, and characters from previous expansions, and unlike the previous Shadowbringers expansion, it doesn’t perform well as a standalone adventure.
The action in this expansion starts off slow, with much of the opening hour filled with cutscenes as you race from mission generator to destination in typical MMO fashion. But once the narrative setup is in place, the excitement rarely stops until the credits roll out. You’ll travel to the nation of scholars for a diplomatic mission in colorful, Indian-inspired Old Sharlayan, Radz-at-han and Thavanir and even to the moon and beyond. Each environment is a key to the developing story revolving around the cataclysm that ended the world.
I was struck by the dark tone of the story and how it intelligently handled complex topics. The initial visit to enemy territory in Garlemald is striking, as it deals with abandoned, malnourished, and distrustful communities that are caught up in a civil war when you, an invading force strategy, try to support them. Another duty of loyalty by soldiers swore to a crumbling nation around them also made a big impact. Despair and hopelessness are at the heart of much of the expansion’s plot and manifest in surprising ways.
Some missions require you to include different characters in your company, adding a sense of group adventure that is not usually found in MMORPGs. In these cases, I would take the opportunity to find specially marked points of interest for me to talk to my companions about their thoughts and feelings about the current situation. The storytelling isn’t flashy, but I appreciate the little ways that FFXIV makes the game more relatable.
The two new jobs available are stylish and exciting. Reaper, a new melee-DPS role, wields a killer scythe and neutralizes creatures in combat, relying on kinetic positional attacks for maximum damage. The Sage, on the other hand, is a new shield-deploying healing class that uses laser drones that fly around in stunning shapes as they shoot your allies with life-restoring and protective spells. their life. Both have proven to be very useful in teams and offer very different aesthetics and gameplay from similar Job archetypes.
Endwalker ushers in a spectacular end to a complicated ongoing story, a testament to how far it has come since its revival in A Realm Reborn. Fortunately, this is not the end, but the beginning of a new story that I can’t wait to experience in future patches and expansions. Having spent hundreds of hours with Final Fantasy XIV, it’s easily one of the best MMO experiences out there, and Endwalker has solidified it as my favorite Final Fantasy to date.
