Some of my closest friends tried getting me into Final Fantasy 14 for a very, very long time. I always brushed it off, as I didn’t really understand why people were so infatuated with MMOs in general. Now, I come before you to ask: Did you know that the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV has a free trial, and includes the entirety of A Realm Reborn AND the award-winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 with no restrictions on playtime? Sign up, and enjoy Eorzea today!
Chetus Jetus Is Now a Permanent Fixture in This House
If I was going to jump into Final Fantasy 14, it was going to have to be in the most memorable way possible. That’s where my Chetus Jetus comes into play, the Lalafel that has seen me through roughly 300 hours of adventure so far. Traveling far and wide from the European servers of Phantom to the North American land of Excalibur, he’s been all over the world. And before you ask, statues do crumble for him.
Chetus Jetus is just a little guy, but he’s got a big heart and an even bigger attitude. He’s seen adventures, general depravity, and more things than I can currently recall. Chetus is also a Warrior of Light, as my 300 hours have been split between Raids, Dungeons, and working my way through the Main Story Quest.
I didn’t know the sheer amount of stuff that players could do in Final Fantasy 14. I figured it was just going to be running around the world and engaging in what looked like slapfights with other enemies. If I had known I could go fishing, I would have 10,000 hours in this game years ago. Any game that has fishing is an instant time stealer for me, VR games included.
Chetus Is the Name, and Dancing Is His Game
At this point, I would say roughly 100 hours of my journey with Chetus has been socializing with other random players. Even the other day, Chetus and Toko Loko (pictured above in the leather diaper) were just chilling, hitting the Bee’s Knees on the Steps of Ul’Dah. Suddenly, another Lalafel seemingly appears out of nowhere and is now dancing with us.
We’re shooting the breeze, when suddenly a Viera comes out of nowhere. Viera are bunny girls, and the recent addition to our Lalafel party starts chatting them up. I whip out a boiled egg and snack on it, and the Viera takes notice. She brings out a slice of pizza. Suddenly, it’s a fight to the death using Ninjitsu skills in the plaza to see who gets it. It’s all happening so fast, and with two Lalafels on my side begging for pizza, we can’t lose.
The community, for the most part, is the best part of this game. Seeing folks from all around the world from different places in life congregate together at Limsa Lominsa is heartwarming. Bands are playing popular tunes from the real world, while players frantically hit the proper rhythmic keys on their device of choice. It’s incredibly surreal to see the amount of time people put into their specific digital avatar of choice and give them a life and personality of their own.
Raids, Battles, and More, Oh My!
There is so much under the surface here. It’s honestly astonishing the amount of content you can get for free, and so much more under the monthly subscription. Sure, I was one of those people who always scoffed at the idea of paying monthly to play a game. Now? I understand.
No matter if it’s hanging with a friend and just fishing while we swap stories over Discord, fighting monsters in the wild, or diving into the latest event, Final Fantasy 14 has grown on me so much over the past year that I’ve been playing. I was out of the circle for a while, but I’m back in full force.
Chetus Jetus is a traveling Ninja now, and I’ve grown quite fond of him. He’s become a master of all trades, both literally and figuratively. Countless hours have been spent polishing gems into masterful works of art. Fishing has also recently taken over my free time. And that’s not even speaking about his other classes.
The post I Never Understood the MMO Hype, Then I Tried ‘Final Fantasy 14’ appeared first on VICE.
The post I Never Understood the MMO Hype, Then I Tried ‘Final Fantasy 14’ appeared first on VICE.
