Here's a thought. When your install base for the PS5 is roughly 30 million while on the PS4 it's nearly 100 million if not more, maybe just maybe DON'T MAKE IT A PS5 EXCLUSIVE

Equally baffling is they repeatedly pushed the fact Yoshida was lead director to likely grab the FFXIV audience. Y'know, the audience that primarily plays a PS4 and PC game.

SE basically shot themselves in both feet then went all surprised pikachu asking "why did that hurt???"

I feel like the title was made by someone else and not any of the members of this podcast. All four of them speak more or less positively towards the ending—with only mild skepticism whether Square Enix will pull through and make the sequel good. Only one of them seemed more hesitant about some of the plot changes but yeah, not one remotely implied the ending was "bad."

That all said, most of this podcast echoes my own feelings on the game. I'm still slightly on the fence with the ending but optimistic to an extent, if only because of how well they nailed everything else. Admittedly, there's a part of me genuinely excited I don't know what to expect from a 23 year old game I've beaten several times now. It's brought out discussion that wasn't around as much (or I wasn't apart of) in 1997.

I do think they could have handled the ending a bit better to stick that landing. Nonetheless, I'm still pretty sold on the story going forward.

@Kusann: You should youtube some of FFXIV's story. They have definitely gone back to their roots, as it is littered with references and the nostalgic flair the series used to be known for. That alone gives me confidence Square might finally have pulled their head out of their ass and adapted. Bravely Default only adds to the assurance.

@Shirotakahahshi While this does not extent to Gamespot specifically. There is a steam image going around that shows the majority of 'professional' reviewers played no more than a few hours and tossed together a hastily written review. Gamespot looks no different than theirs.

Oh, I neglected to mention. The multiplayer you so gallantly prop up as 'something you need to check out' has constant desync issues to the point of near unplayability and due to the exhausting turn length (which cannot be sped up), co-op Campaign is little more than an exercise in frustration.

As for graphical prowess. Interesting, seeing the majority seem to struggle getting above 20-30 FPS.

Top notch review. You certainly explained everything.

Wow, talk about disingenuous. About about horrendous AI, completely broken naval battles (ships actually sail through land) and streamlined political features that are both inconsequential and pointless? And those are merely a cusp of the issues. However, we shall gloss over each and pretend the game is amazing, right GameSpot? And you wonder why gamers criticise your reviews. This is precisely why. I recommend anyone who fancies an actual fair review to check out Angry Joe. He offers a balanced perspective, in lieu of pumping up a broken game to please advertisers.