Just so we are clear, I have played most every Final Fantasy game. Back when I was a wee one, I had the original Nintendo and was told that Final Fantasy was right up my alley. I was given the cartridge as a gift (yes, I said cartridge) and hit the power button. It was love at first play. I have played probably hundreds of games, but I keep coming back to this series. Final Fantasy 14 is an amazing entry into this family. It is an online MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, for my non nerdy folk out there), that just got its first major expansion, Heavensward from Square Enix.
Let me tell you a story about this expansion’s release to whet your appetites. While at work, I received a phone call from a friend in a panic. She asked if you could buy the collectors edition of Heavensward at a Gamestop. I was pretty sure, so I alerted my Gamestop peeps and got the confirm, but was told it needs to happen post haste. Texts were sent, cars were flown to local stores and my bestie wound up securing a copy 15 minutes later. A ‘thank you thank you thank you’ lunch was had and during that lunch she told me that the online system for ordering the game/CE (collectors edition) was down. That’s odd? Jumping onto the Lodestone feeds I noticed that when released, servers all over the world were being shut down upon releasing the game in its appropriate time zones. Europe’s went down, North America's were down, Australia down, etc. What was this, a DDoS attack? Anonymous? Y2K15? No, it was just so many people were ordering the expansion and all of its goodies, that the servers could not handle the traffic, and like the 91 freeway by my house, had to shut down. Ladies and gentlemen, pre-ordering the expansion for this game broke the internet (insert golf clap).
Sooooo what do you get with such a major colossal expansion that forcibly broke the inter-webs? Well I’m glad you asked, (if you didn’t I might not have a column or this article). Well first off you will finally get to move North to Ishgard and be involved in the Dragonsong War. A fascinating story to get you intrigued, but now to the goodies: level cap raising (50-60), a whole new race to play as (not telling, think dragon), about four new jobs (Astrologian, Dark Knight, Machinist), and I believe something in the realm of customizable airships for your free company!! (apologies for drooling on my keyboard) There will also be some new dungeons to get your adventure on, as well as some new raids, but for the hardcore Final Fantasy players out there, we get a nifty treat. Heavensward will have its own exclusive Primal, Ravana!
The collectors edition has some wonderful goodies with it. You will receive the standard goodies a lot of the Final Fantasy games have come with. A simply amazing art book detailing sketches and drawings of characters, landscapes, armor etc. A soundtrack that as par for the course of previous editions, is nothing short of exceptional. Great stuff, but I feel the real winning item in this box of goods is the collectible dragon mount figure. Detailed to perfection it will be a beautiful addition to any collection.
So there you have it folks. A story of how one little company from a long time ago has stood the test of time, created multiple games under the Final Fantasy brand and amassed a legion of followers. A legion of followers who are dying for the expansion to Square Enix’s online epic Final Fantasy 14, literally shut down internet servers on the day it released. I hope you pre-ordered yours. I know I got mine. Now to debate my fate until June 23rd, 2015. Should I go for machinist or samurai? Should I keep my Hyur male? I don‘t know, but I will keep watching this trailer until it comes out. You can browse through several Final Fantasy shiny things here too.