Genre: Game

Review – Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker: The Art of Resurrection – Beyond the Veil

Posted October 1, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker: The Art of Resurrection - Beyond the Veil

by Square Enix

Genres: Game, Non-fiction
Pages: 336
Rating: three-stars

Synopsis:
The second volume of a two-volume set of the official art books for the global hit game Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, featuring hundreds of pages of full-color art and an exclusive item code!

Featuring roughly 800 pieces of artwork created during the development of the critically acclaimed Endwalker expansion, The Art of Resurrection -Beyond the Veil- is a visual feast for players and fans of Final Fantasy XIV! This deluxe, large-format volume covers content through Patch 6.5, including Myths of the Realm, Pandæmonium, and Island Sanctuary. It also features detailed illustrations of characters, equipment, dungeons, trials, and more across hundreds of pages. Volume two of a two-volume set with The Art of Resurrection -Among the Stars-.

The Beyond the Veil installment of Final Fantasy XIV’s two artbooks for Endwalker features the patch content, basically everything from 6.01 onwards. It includes the character and location designs for the Myths of the Realm raids and the Pandaemonium raids, along with the main scenario quests from 6.01 onwards.

As usual it also features the art from various events like the Moonfire Faire, all the new gear that’s been added, new minions (the Hythlodaeus minion art is adorable), etc. There’s no commentary really, except for some quick paragraphs from the artists at the back, so it really is just the art — I really liked the one that had some comments included, but they seem to have moved away from that these days.

That said, of course the art is gorgeous.

It comes with the Zodiark Idol minion code. Before anyone asks, yes, I’ve claimed the code and it is not available for giveaway or sale.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Final

Review – Eorzea Academy

Posted February 15, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Final Fantasy XIV: Eorzea Academy

by Esora Amaichi

Genres: Fantasy, Game, Graphic Novels
Pages: 192
Rating: four-stars

Synopsis:
Join all your favorite Final Fantasy XIV characters in this rollicking, modern-day high school comedy!

Alisaie is a student attending Eorzea Academy, an exclusive institution created by the merger of former rival schools the Academy of Light and the Academy of Darkness. However, frequent quarrels between the students prove that a bitter divide remains between the Class of Light and the Class of Darkness. Worried about the ongoing conflict, headmistress Tataru decides it's time for some bold solutions to raise morale. Let the school games begin!

Eorzea Academy is a fun manga placing Final Fantasy XIV’s Scions of the Seventh Dawn in a school setting as the Class of Light, alongside the Class of Darkness, after a recent merger between two schools. Headmistress Tataru has a plan to get people to cooperate and forge a friendly rivalry between the two classes, which (of course) leads to plenty of hijinks.

If you don’t yet know the characters of Final Fantasy XIV, this probably isn’t for you. If you do… well, then you get to see them all running around in an alternative universe as students, with lots of funny moments that reference their canon appearances. Estinien never does his homework, G’raha seems to have a crush on him, Alphinaud’s a goodie-goodie, Y’shtola’s secretly nicknamed “mommy”… If you know the characters, then it’s worth a smile.

Obviously it’s pretty light stuff, and even Zenos, Yotsuyu and Asahi aren’t so bad here (fans of any of them as villains might be disappointed). I found it fun to see the references to the game, and the art is cute.

Rating: 4/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Esora Amaichi, Final Fantasy XIV, manga

Review – Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers: The Art of Reflection – Histories Forsaken

Posted January 29, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers: The Art of Reflection - Histories Forsaken

by Square Enix

Genres: Game, Non-fiction
Pages: 304
Rating: three-stars

Synopsis:
A gorgeous, oversized, full-color art book showcasing the artwork from the massively popular online video game Final Fantasy XIV.

Delve into the breathtaking world of Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers in this deluxe volume featuring hundreds of beautiful illustrations of characters, environments, equipment, and more. Offering concept art, reference images, and messages from the artists, this book is a must-have not only for fans of the game but for any who appreciate top-tier game art.

The artbook for Final Fantasy XIV’s Shadowbringers expansion is just as beautiful as you’d expect, and features a lot of stuff you might not otherwise see: various character designs, promo art for past events, and details from the dungeon designs (which was probably my favourite part). It’s all gorgeously reproduced here, and the book comes with the Dulia-Chai minion. (Yes, I’ve redeemed mine, so no, it’s not for sale.)

I was a little sad though, because unlike the Heavensward book, there are no comments from Yoshi-P or the art or development teams. It’s just the images. There’s a lot of detail here, don’t get me wrong, but I found the little bits of commentary in the Heavensward book — there wasn’t a lot of it, but there was some — really charming, helpful, and illuminating.

It’s a lovely book, though, just bear that in mind.

Rating: 3/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Final Fantasy XIV

Review – Final Fantasy XIV Heavensward: The Art of Ishgard – Stone and Steel

Posted January 3, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Final Fantasy XIV Heavensward: The Art of Ishgard - Stone and Steel

by Square Enix

Genres: Game, Non-fiction
Pages: 304
Rating: five-stars

Synopsis:
A brand-new FINAL FANTASY XIV official art book showcasing the artwork that became the foundation for the aesthetics of the “Heavensward” expansion.

This artbook is totally gorgeous, as you’d expect, and it also comes with little notes from the artists about the pieces — or sometimes a comment here and there from Yoshi-P! If you’re a fan of the game design and you’re interested in a closer look, then this is definitely a must.

There’s a range of stuff here; full-colour pics from later stages of development, along with some of the concept sketches. Some things have more notes than others, taking apart the image a little to demonstrate some of the choices made or the requirements given; there’s quite a bit showing the process of design for the Au-Ra, for example.

It also comes with the code for a Wind-Up Relm minion. Yes, I claimed mine, so no, it’s not for sale. ^^;

Rating: 5/5

Tags: book reviews, books, Final Fantasy XIV