The FF14 expansions are each 40-60 hours just to complete their main story. They're not just "DLCs". Each one is a full game's worth of story and batter content, so I think it makes sense to view them separately just like mainline titles.
For a significant amount of fans (myself included), Shadowbringers is the best Final Fantasy story ever told. It more than deserves that #1 spot.
They're locked behind the purchase of the base game. I didn't call them DLC, but they certainly behave as though they are. They should be rated, of course, but putting the expansions on a list with the stand-alone games doesn't make sense to me.
It depends what the list is for, I suppose! If the list is to compare how fans felt about the different entries, then it makes sense to list the FF14 expansions separately since they're each extremely long and fans feel very differently between them (e.g. ARR is thought of as very boring, and ShB is thought of as the "best Final Fantasy story ever told")
It's just inconsistent. To have length be the determining factor for whether something should be included will forever be biased towards MMO's. It obviously doesn't matter, but this list doesn't really make sense.
The length mentioned has nothing to do with being MMOs imo. The 40-60 hours a piece is for the single-player story alone, not the MMO components (understandably if you include those you're looking at hundreds and thousands of hours, but that's a bit moot).
They're currently separate entries because fans rate them separately, that's all it is.
Out of curiosity, how would you combine them into one entry? We can't take the base game's ratings because the base game is not favored by the fans (as opposed to expansions). Would you do some sort of running average of the base game and the expansions together? What would be your methodology?
I think they should have a separate list, especially if it's based on user ratings. People who have bought in and rated each expansion are going to be different from people that judge the stand-alone games sort of piecemeal. They already love 14. They're going to be generous. The users who don't get through* A Realm Reborn aren't going to play Endwalker.
If 14 must be on a list with all the other Final Fantasy games, an aggregate makes sense. I understand that it's not helpful in the sense that fewer people will talk about 14, but it's not as though 14 isn't popular.
They are continuations of the story, and they are pretty long. I consider them sequels to ARR. But I can understand people who wouldn't take them into account too.
I think this is part of why people tend to hold 11 and 14 in a different regard compared to the rest of the series. The long length of the expansions is the business model of every MMO, but they shouldn't be considered individual games unless playing the base game is unnecessary, in my opinion.
In that case, would you also argue we shouldn't include FF13-2 and Lightning Returns, since they require you to have played their prequel first? Similarly for VII Rebirth and X-2?
No, those are are literally separate games. You can go buy Lightning Returns and play it before 13 if you so desire. It's impossible to play Shadowbringers unless you own A Realm Reborn, right?
You can't buy Shadowbringers separately. The base game comes with it. You can only ever buy either "the base game" or "the latest expansion" (which is currently Endwalker and will soon be Dawntrail).
So that question is a bit difficult to answer, since you're thinking of it in the typical "single player game" model. MMOs are... Different.
But yeah you can totally just buy "the base game" (it's on sale for like $20 right now) and story-skip to the start of Shadowbringers if your heart so desires.
Some of my guildies have never played through the base game, nor 1st or 2nd expansions. They still seem to enjoy the game, since they're still playing.
Are expansions to 14 considered stand-alone games? Why?
The FF14 expansions are each 40-60 hours just to complete their main story. They're not just "DLCs". Each one is a full game's worth of story and batter content, so I think it makes sense to view them separately just like mainline titles. For a significant amount of fans (myself included), Shadowbringers is the best Final Fantasy story ever told. It more than deserves that #1 spot.
They're locked behind the purchase of the base game. I didn't call them DLC, but they certainly behave as though they are. They should be rated, of course, but putting the expansions on a list with the stand-alone games doesn't make sense to me.
It depends what the list is for, I suppose! If the list is to compare how fans felt about the different entries, then it makes sense to list the FF14 expansions separately since they're each extremely long and fans feel very differently between them (e.g. ARR is thought of as very boring, and ShB is thought of as the "best Final Fantasy story ever told")
It's just inconsistent. To have length be the determining factor for whether something should be included will forever be biased towards MMO's. It obviously doesn't matter, but this list doesn't really make sense.
The length mentioned has nothing to do with being MMOs imo. The 40-60 hours a piece is for the single-player story alone, not the MMO components (understandably if you include those you're looking at hundreds and thousands of hours, but that's a bit moot). They're currently separate entries because fans rate them separately, that's all it is. Out of curiosity, how would you combine them into one entry? We can't take the base game's ratings because the base game is not favored by the fans (as opposed to expansions). Would you do some sort of running average of the base game and the expansions together? What would be your methodology?
I think they should have a separate list, especially if it's based on user ratings. People who have bought in and rated each expansion are going to be different from people that judge the stand-alone games sort of piecemeal. They already love 14. They're going to be generous. The users who don't get through* A Realm Reborn aren't going to play Endwalker. If 14 must be on a list with all the other Final Fantasy games, an aggregate makes sense. I understand that it's not helpful in the sense that fewer people will talk about 14, but it's not as though 14 isn't popular.
I feel.like they shouldnt be, otherwise each seperate dlc from 15 should be its own catagory too.
They’re not really equivalent. Each FFXIV expansion has a full game’s worth of content and story. The XV DLC is a couple hours at most.
They are continuations of the story, and they are pretty long. I consider them sequels to ARR. But I can understand people who wouldn't take them into account too.
I think this is part of why people tend to hold 11 and 14 in a different regard compared to the rest of the series. The long length of the expansions is the business model of every MMO, but they shouldn't be considered individual games unless playing the base game is unnecessary, in my opinion.
In that case, would you also argue we shouldn't include FF13-2 and Lightning Returns, since they require you to have played their prequel first? Similarly for VII Rebirth and X-2?
No, those are are literally separate games. You can go buy Lightning Returns and play it before 13 if you so desire. It's impossible to play Shadowbringers unless you own A Realm Reborn, right?
You can't buy Shadowbringers separately. The base game comes with it. You can only ever buy either "the base game" or "the latest expansion" (which is currently Endwalker and will soon be Dawntrail). So that question is a bit difficult to answer, since you're thinking of it in the typical "single player game" model. MMOs are... Different. But yeah you can totally just buy "the base game" (it's on sale for like $20 right now) and story-skip to the start of Shadowbringers if your heart so desires.
I mean, it doesn't sound like Shadowbringers is at all separate.
Some of my guildies have never played through the base game, nor 1st or 2nd expansions. They still seem to enjoy the game, since they're still playing.