Is FFXIV "too original"... Or not original at all?

We've been hearing Square Enix brag about it left and right, up and down, from all corners of the globe.

"FFXIV is Original"

"FFXIV has new unique system"

"FFXIV never before this"

"FFXIV never before that"

"FFXIV this and that like no one else".

Well, from what we know and are learning so far things might not be as unique as they are cracked up to be. But that might just be what we need. Wait, what? Let me explain...

First of all, Square Enix kept bragging about their "Guild Leve" system. Guild leve this, Guild Leve that. About how innovative it is in the world of MMORPG's. Sadly, that's not the case. Guild Leve is more or less simple questing as most people know it in most MMORPGs. Sure, you can disguise it by letting a "special NPC" hand out the "guild leves" but all they really are is quests, at least so far. But from the way they are looking and the way we can see them progressing it's nothing other MMORPG's have not done before. It's a bit of text and fluff, telling you what to go do, why you're doing it and you receive a reward at the end for your hard work. Some time's it's EXP, some times Armor and Weapons, some times it's strait up currency. But this is nothing new to the spectrum of MMORPGs or even FFXI for that matter.

Now, is that bad? Not necessarily. In fact, if they make it good it might work out quite well. A big gripe in FFXI was that there was not enough of these sort of things. It's a system that works well and for good reason. They come in all shapes, sizes and rewards. My only complaint is that I don't see why they couldn't be added as simple quests with cut scenes (ohh how I love my cut scenes). But maybe I'm just spoiled from FFXI, where every damn thing has a cut scene and a story to it. I don't particularly enjoy simply reading a piece of paper explaining why I'm killing something and for who, I like to go deeper into it to make it more interesting. Could this be Square Enix's laziness once again? There's no doubt you know of their knack at being so if you've played FFXI for any considerable amount of time (the most recent expansions are good examples). However, only time will tell how good or bad this system is and how it works and how the player base likes it.

But that's not all folks!

There's more to discuss that is original indeed! However...



Sadly it's true and with some aspects it seems Square Enix is trying to be a little bit too unique. For example, the Camera and Movement controls. As of right now, no one likes them. WoW players, FFXI players, other MMORPG players, no one, everyone pretty much despises them and for proper reason. The controls not only do not allow you to make good use out of the keyboard, but also the mouse. They pretty much force you into using a game pad and even then it's clunky. Not only that, but the combat and targeting system is just god awful, it really is, and this is coming from a enormous fanboy who really wants this game to turn out great. Some things simply take the playability down and ruin the fun you could be having. Some times, it's best to just stick with some things if they work... Jeez, I wonder if that's why they stuck with the same races..? Or could it be... Anyways... From what we have heard, Square Enix is going to be making some adjustments to this. Let's just hope they are worthwhile and fix the monstrosity which is the control, combat, and camera system.

I have much hope and faith in Square Enix. Nothing is final until the game actually comes out and even then it will take time to work out all the kinks. Let your opinion and voice be heard so Square Enix can give us what we want and how we want it.