Dawntrail Review – Dawntrail Blazing

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Review

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is the latest expansion in the long-running Final Fantasy XIV MMO. For those who haven’t played it, Final Fantasy XIV probably should have been titled Final Fantasy Online II. It’s been going since 2010, and after a very rocky first few years, it’s had 5 excellent expansions. Each expansion grew the plot, and it all came to a close with 2021’s phenomenal Endwalker finale.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail came out this month, even though Final Fantasy XIV’s story is over. Dawntrail has been described by Square-Enix as a “summer vacation” story. We’ve been told that we should expect something light before the next major story arc begins. When I started Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, I thought it was going to be a new area, with a couple new Job classes, and some new dungeons. It is all those things, but it’s also a game much greater than the sum of its parts.

Meet Wuk Lamat

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail begins with the Warrior of Light (your player-created character), traveling to a new continent called Tural. This new region is very Mexican- inspired. It’s gorgeous, and unique from any of Final Fantasy XIV’s other lands. The player meets Wuk Lamat, a Hrothgar, battling for rulership of Tural. I was surprised to find out that Wuk Lamat is actually Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail’s story protagonist. The Hero of Light is more of a supporter and observer.

In fact, Dawntrail’s story was my favorite part of the whole expansion. After all the epic-ness of Endwalker, I was expecting pure fluff. I am happy to write that Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail goes in some pretty epic and emotional directions. The Final Fantasy series sometimes shines above all other JRPGs when it comes to plot and characters, and Dawntrail nailed these aspects! The writing drew some really strong emotional reactions from me. I play JRPGs for the story, and tend to not like MMOs if they don’t have any plot driving them forwards. Dawntrail truly shines as a story-driven, single player MMO.

Two New Job Classes

The gameplay is still the same World of Warcraft-inspired MMORPG open world adventure people have grown to love. Nothing has changed. But there are two new Job classes: Pictomancer and Viper. Pictomancer is definitely the more unique of the two. It’s a flashy mage with powers similar to Relm in Final Fantasy VI. The player swings a paint brush through the air as their paintings come to life, and deal various kinds of bizarre attacks. Vipers are fast damage dealers that look like rejects from Assassin’s Creed. Though they appear thief-like, they wield two broadswords. Vipers are less unique than Pictomancers, but might provide a look that some players have really been looking for.

The visuals in Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail got a much-needed overhaul. Everything looks very crisp and smooth. Not game-changing, but a necessary upgrade if Square-Enix is going to be supporting the game through another major story arc. Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail’s music is incredible. There’s everything from classical, to jazz, to metal, to EDM. And there’s plenty of new music that really reflects the Mexican (and New Mexican) vibes of the game’s new region. There are some really creative melodies, and uses of a-typical instruments for JRPGs.

Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is a fantastic expansion to the best single player MMO today. There were some hiccups during the game’s prerelease, but since launch, everything’s gone very smoothly. Even on launch day, when traffic was at its height, it only took me 30 minutes to log on, which is a vast improvement from Endwalker’s launch. If you’re curious about playing Final Fantasy XIV, you’ve got hundreds of hours ahead of you, before you make it to Dawntrail’s content. But if you’re at all curious, Final Fantasy XIV is a great introductory MMO, and one that puts its story first. I happily recommend Final Fantast XIV: Dawntrail to all JRPG fans.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher***