Final Fantasy XIV/YMMV


 * And the Fandom Rejoiced:
 * From the few details leaked about the Garlean Empire, among them is confirmed their army's weapon-of-choice: Gunblades.
 * And now you can fight Ifrit for some pretty sweet gear.
 * Nobuo Uematsu scores an entire Final Fantasy game for the first time since the last century? Yes, please.
 * Broken Base:
 * As one might expect from a Final Fantasy game, the base is already shattered. You have the outspoken 'we're loving it' mob who are probably ignoring issues. In addition, there's the optimistic 'I'm having fun and waiting for more' group, who are willing to overlook some things and hope others are fixed soon. Then there's the 'I really want this to work, but it isn't' group, who see some faint promise in the game, but don't have a lot of faith that the developers will fix the large problems anytime soon. Lastly, there's the 'I dislike it, therefore no one can like it' group.
 * Not to mention those fans aren't happy to see another MMO in the main series, and would have preferred it to just be a spin-off. Possibly all the more vocal given there were already those miffed about there being an MMO in the main series at all.
 * In addition to this, there are also the diehard veterans of Final Fantasy XI who are angry that this game is not XI-2, and thus fill most of the player polls and suggestion boxes with requests for such in the vain hope that Yoshi P will capitulate to their demands.
 * 8.8:
 * Inverted! Square Enix, anticipating a bit of controversy included, along with the reviewer access codes they handed out to critics, what they described as a polite request to 'please wait three to four weeks' before posting reviews of the game, so they could fix up some issues.
 * The Japanese playerbase politely declined, giving it an average of 38% on review sites such as Amazon.co.jp.
 * GameSpot also decided to ignore the developers' request with a 4.0 review, including a derisive video review wherein the reviewer flat out says 'do not buy this game' and 'updates may address a multitude of flaws, but "fun" is not a feature that can be added with a simple patch.' Other reviews from IGN and Game Trailers are also negative, but are a bit more optimistic about future potential.
 * And then GameSpot cranks this Up to Eleven by awarding the game the dubious honor of Worst Game Everyone Played for 2010. It was also nominated for Most Disappointing Game, but lost to APB.
 * Put less charitably, this "polite request" shows that even before release they were well aware that the game would, in its current state, receive poor reviews... yet they still went ahead with the release anyway, rather than taking the time to produce something they could have more confidence in.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse:
 * Gaius only needed a single cutscene and less than twenty words of dialogue to become pretty much the most popular Final Fantasy XIV character - and get to such a point where even his presence in Duodecim is requested.
 * Let's not forget Sisipu, the only other NPC everyone apparently remembers by name.
 * Fan Nickname: Slightly altering every FFXI race and giving them new names doesn't stop many fans from calling them Elvaan, Tarutaru, Mithra and Galka.
 * Les Yay: The above mentioned prostitutes entertainers in Ul'dah don't mind offering their services to female player characters. Also, almost all of said performers happen to be Miqo'te.
 * Memetic Mutation: "4.0. Deal with it."
 * Most Annoying Sound: While creating your character, the game insists on sampling the voice chosen with a hearty "Ha ha!"
 * "Stop Having Fun!" Guys:
 * This comes with being a MMO.
 * Just TRY walking around town with any gear with an Optimal rank that's 10+ ranks above above your own. Yes, walking around town, don't even think about fighting or looking for a party.
 * If you're a Thaumaturge above rank 25, everyone will expect you to have the Protect and Shell spells...two Conjurer abilities. Granted, getting to rank 16 Conjurer is not a hard task.
 * Arguably everyone who posts on any public forum that he is still playing the game gets hit with this at one point or another.
 * Playing as a paladin. Paladins have excellent defense but not much else (at least until they are buffed in future patches,) meaning that their primary contribution to harder battles is their ability to tank hits and heal. Warriors, who combine good defense with the ability to clear dungeons by simply sneezing, are the preferred Prestige Class by most veterans, and as such are typically yelled for in town than PL Ds.
 * Tainted By the Preview:
 * Some beta testers canceled their pre-orders due to perceived problems, see Broken Base above.
 * The open beta didn't launch in due time, a "critical bug" having appeared. Nerd rage ensues.
 * Discussion of the game will inevitably bring about at least one person who will deride the game about major flaws that were patched out months ago. Hence, discussion of the game on Image Boards tend to have titles such as "4.0 is now 7.0" and some such.
 * Ugly Cute: The coblyns, which look like something straight out of Spore. The "cute" part is debatable.