Tag: Final Fantasy XIV

Review – Eorzea Academy

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

Review – Eorzea Academy

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

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Review – Encyclopaedia Eorzea Volume III

Posted February 6, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Encyclopaedia Eorzea Volume III

Encyclopaedia Eorzea volume III

by Square Enix

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 304
Rating: five-stars
Synopsis:

The third volume of the official Final Fantasy XIV lore books, written and compiled by the Final Fantasy XIV development team! This deluxe hardcover tome comprises records of adventures that transcend the bounds of space and time, from the ancient world to the very stars above.

Offering an astonishing amount of information covering the Shadowbringers and Endwalker expansions, this third volume of Encyclopaedia Eorzea brings readers further into the realms of the global hit video game. Hundreds of richly illustrated, full-color pages present detailed explorations of the events that occurred in Etheirys, Norvrandt, and the sea of stars, as well as comprehensive descriptions of their histories, peoples, lands, and more.

An unending source of knowledge and inspiration to all those who seek truths across and beyond our star.

As ever, Encyclopaedia Eorzea‘s third volume is a wonderful expansion/repository of the lore for Final Fantasy XIV’s increasingly complex world. This volume covers the places and peoples of the Shadowbringers and Endwalker expansions, giving us titbits of insight into the history of the First (the world we occupy during the Shadowbringers expansion), and the life of the Ancients (which impacts most heavily on the Endwalker expansion)… along with the lives of other tribes and peoples we meet along the way, like the Lopporits.

If you’re a casual player, you might not be interested in reading cover-to-cover, but it can be useful for a quick recap of the plot or of characters. Even being a relatively non-casual player, some of that stuff was helpful to me because I’ve forgotten some of the incidental characters.

If you’re a fan of the Ancients, there’s some fascinating stuff here about them. For example, Venat’s sword — and the fact that while Hythlodaeus may call himself a middling mage, he’s in fact very adept with aether. It provides a bit of additional insight on the characters, for sure, including the beloved ambystoma (listed ahead of Hermes, in fact).

The book comes with an insert giving you a code for the Wind-up Forchenault minion for your FFXIV account, which I have redeemed promptly!

Rating: 5/5

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

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

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

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

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Review – Encyclopaedia Eorzea Volume II

Posted January 16, 2024 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Encyclopaedia Eorzea Volume II

Encyclopaedia Eorzea volume II

by Square Enix

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 303
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Dedicated to those for whom the pursuit of knowledge is a never-ending journey.

In the mere two years since the release of our first official lore book, the world of FINAL FANTASY XIV has grown to encompass not only the untraversed corners of Eorzea, but the far-reaching lands of an entire new continent to the east. With new horizons come new discoveries, and so it is with great pleasure that we bring you the second volume of Square Enix’s best-selling Encyclopædia Eorzea, containing 300 pages of newly compiled information on the realms we proudly call our second home.

The Encyclopaedia Eorzea books are amazing companions to the game, showing off some of the depth of the background lore, sneaking in some images showing how the designs were developed, showing off the weapons from a given expansion, etc.

Volume II covers up to the end of Stormblood, the third expansion, and includes a plot summary for all of those events — which was pretty handy when I realised I had no idea what had become of a particular character amongst all of that. There are recaps on specific characters linked to various regions, background on the history of the regions, details on the tribes (such as the Namazu), etc. Pretty good resource if you’re really into the lore of the game!

As ever with this kind of thing, it’s probably not of much interest if you don’t play the game, though if you’re curious about it, then you might take a peek to get an idea of the depth of lore and world-building out there to explore.

It also comes with an item code, providing you with a chance to own Matoya’s Hat for your character to wear. NB: it isn’t dyeable; it can be kept in your armoire and doesn’t need to go into your glamour chest. Yes, my code’s been claimed.

Rating: 4/5

 

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

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

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

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

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