Before I dive into this week’s column, I want to start things off by noting a weird aspect of storytelling that’s true in Final Fantasy XIV as much as anywhere else: Excellent execution where it counts more can be way more important than sub-par execution where it counts less. Every single FFXIV expansion, for example, has a place wherein the players are faffing about and basically running in place to fill time before the next dungeon. That is inevitable. But if the storytelling and buildup on either side of that segment is good enough, you’re not going to really notice it.
I bring this up because last week, obviously, I spent my time talking about the parts of Dawntrail that are genuine struggles or fail to completely land, often due to extra reliance on subtext or just the complexities of fitting in a two-part plot into the space available. This week, I want to talk about the parts that really do work because it seems clear to me that this wasn’t an accident; it was an effort to hit the landings strongly enough that the weaker moments are easy to overlook.
The themes are incredibly strong and relevant
FFXIV expansion stories are always dense with ideas, but Dawntrail is actually really interesting in the way that it structures its themes of memory and past glories. It’s here where the dual-part structure is really justified because the first half of the entire expansion is about recognizing why the past was awesome and about how respecting those who came before you is incredibly important. The second, though, is all about the ways that being unable and unwilling to let go of the past can become noxious and painful. You have to navigate both spaces, to let go of the past while keeping it in your memories.
Comparisons to the game itself are, as always, no doubt intentional and relevant. But beyond even that, there is a lot of nuance at play. Zoraal Ja, for example, is a prime example of prioritizing an imagined past over an actual present. He doesn’t know how to deal with the present beyond comparing it to his idealized past and trying to surpass it. By contrast, Koana is just as forward-focused, but he realizes the merit of understanding the past and how his own approach failed to grasp the relevance.
Heck, the last zone even leans in on this aspect because it gives us every form of memory we could possibly ask for. Otis in Living Memory is not the person we knew, just a simulacrum, where Cahciua is exactly the person Erenville knew. And Krile’s parents… she can’t know because she never knew them before. Our own Chris wrote an excellent piece about the layers at play within the last zone, but it’s the culmination of an entire story that’s been musing on memory and teaching lessons about it the whole time through.
The story knows who it’s focusing on
Alphinaud and Alisaie being part of Wuk Lamat’s party feels almost incidental, and I’m glad about that. Heck, Thancred and Urianger are there for when we need them and to give Koana a couple of pep talks, and that’s also just as good. This isn’t their story. It exists to focus on Wuk Lamat, Krile, and Erenville as our protagonists and Zoraal Ja and Sphene as our main antagonists. Simple as that.
People have gotten uppity about the idea that we didn’t actually see some major rift forming between the Scions who were out of focus or that the WoL wasn’t as central in the story, but both of these are missing the point. Endwalker and the void-based story for the patches were both very focused on bringing the WoL and the Scions to a resting point. It’s not that there’s nowhere else to go with these characters; it’s that sometimes stories featuring characters just feature characters doing a job. Captain Jean-Luc Picard spends seven seasons as the captain of the USS Enterprise and undergoes very little character growth, yet he’s so memorable in that role that people were pumped to get a new series focused just on Picard with no knowledge of what the show would even be about.
But Krile has been a major character for years who never got a chance to do anything noteworthy. Wuk Lamat and Erenville bring a distinct energy to the group (even if Erenville does have some problems, the idea of him delivering where it counts is understandable). Sphene and Zoraal Ja do not feel like the antagonists who have taken center stage over the past several expansions.
It’s true that this is not another story wherein the Scions go to a place, deal with a problem, and then kill the bad guy at the end. But that’s all right with me. And I am entirely all right with not having to beat up Thancred. Yes, me, the person who avowedly doesn’t like Thancred! He’s not our enemy! I would much rather have a low-stakes rivalry that goes away than spend a story fighting people over nothing.
There’s less forced comedy and more sitting with your thoughts
Both Shadowbringers and Endwalker had what were clearly designed to be the tension-breaking comedy sections where the tension got ratcheted down. They… didn’t really work, for a lot of reasons. I’ve talked before about how there is a distinct tendency to have certain jokes that run too long for both expansions without enough actual amusement, but it goes even further than that. It is, at the end of the day, not a lethal problem but one that is felt consistently. But Dawntrail doesn’t do that.
This isn’t to say the expansion doesn’t have comedy, just that it’s more integrated with the flow of the story as a whole. Even the segment that I have critiqued before as being a bit of a drag (our first visit to Shaaloani) is still less about telling a bunch of disconnected jokes or doing something that doesn’t matter. It’s definitely low on point related to the rest of the expansion’s themes, but it isn’t somehow pointless or superfluous. More often the game lets you focus on how you’re feeling about the world and the things that are going on instead of focusing on absurd cul-de-sacs.
In some ways this has a fairly light impact on the story flow, but in another way it also makes the entire ride feel more cohesive. There’s not a part of the map dedicated to the absurd portion of the narrative, just a lot of places where different things happen. The Pelupelu and the Moblins, two people who would have been prime fodder for endless jokes, are instead treated with respect and dignity as complex and important parts of the overall tapestry. Heck, the most comedic interlude comes after the main story, when we can all use a bit of scree.
The stakes and setpieces feel reasonable and real
One of the big things that was always going to be important for an expansion following Endwalker was managing the stakes. This is a tricky double-edged sword. We, as players, need to feel as if there’s an actual reason to engage with whatever problems we’re dealing with, but we also need to acknowledge the fact that the Warrior of Light has a whole heck of a lot of resources to call upon. It’s hard to create a threat that both seems as if it’s going to be a serious problem and at the same time doesn’t fall into a constant escalation.
Dawntrail nails this. The stakes and the threats are real, but they’re also not apocalyptic, and as soon as Zoraal Ja holds back after his first attack we have a pretty good sense that he’s shot his shot to the extend he’s able. Seeing our allies both familiar and newer helped serve as a fun reminder of that fact. Alexandria faced a much more united world than what he had thought, and we were never at serious risk from him… but the risk to Tuliyollal and the people therein was always real, and indeed that was what the stakes were always really about.
The setpieces of the expansion feel engaging, novel, and fun even though the world is not in danger. And yes, that is a part of the whole “summer vacation” vibe. We’re here to have a good time, which for us means fighting some big monsters, seeing new places, exploring dungeons, and the like. That’s fun for us. Fun can be riding a train charging into the mouth of an unknown dome while shooting robots. But there’s no one singing the song that will end the world and all life out in the distance. It’s just a regular sort of danger. Pretty cool, right?
Feedback, as always, is welcome in the comments down below or via mail to eliot@massivelyop.com. Next week, I’m going to wrap this series up (for real, I mean it) by talking about why I definitely would not say Dawntrail is the best expansion the game has ever had, but I might actually like it more than its predecessors. Stay tuned.
Wisdom of Nym: The story beats that really work in Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
Wisdom of Nym: The actual storytelling issues with Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s Arcadion brings the noise
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail’s delightfully light role quests
The Soapbox: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail, mortality, remembrance, and last chances
Wisdom of Nym: Spoiler-free impressions of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail’s leveling dungeons
First Impresions: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail is a dense summer getaway for the MMORPG
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail’s relatively smooth early access isn’t a sign of doom
The Nymian civilization hosted an immense amount of knowledge and learning, but so much of it has been lost to the people of Eorzea. That doesn’t stop Eliot Lefebvre from scrutinizing Final Fantasy XIV each week in Wisdom of Nym, hosting guides, discussion, and opinions without so much as a trace of rancor.
