Final Fantasy XIV is one of the biggest MMORPGs on the planet, giving millions of players access to an absurd number of activities that span the main game and its five expansions. And it’s not like those expansions are irrelevant, as players will still need to go through their fifty+ hour stories, not to mention each has their own unique side activities.
With the release of Final Fantasy XIV on the Nintendo Switch 2, this is the first time an MMORPG of this scale has appeared on a handheld device, and it’s impressive that it works as well as it does.
We must talk about the initial couple of days of Final Fantasy XIV on the Nintendo Switch 2, only because it did not start particularly well. When it was released, the game worked well, but there was one issue: the load times were horrendous. Getting into an instance or even reviving from a death took a staggering fifteen to twenty seconds. That’s in comparison to the couple of seconds it normally does.
Going into The Ageless Necropolis, for example, there is an instance where each player is sent to an individual instance with a doom timer. When we did this, our doom timer was delayed by seventeen seconds, and getting out took the exact amount of time. This happened all while the rest of the party didn’t know what was happening.
Thankfully, this was remedied very quickly by Square Enix with a patch a few days later, but if it was something that really damped the initial launch of the handheld version. Thankfully, the developers recognized it might have a couple of issues out the gate, which is why they have also included the first month subscription free.
In terms of functionality, Final Fantasy XIV has always worked fantastically on a controller. It is probably the MMORPG with the best-utilized controller support, and this transitions nicely to the Switch 2. The JoyCons 2 works great, although we recommend a Pro controller for those looking to expand to higher-end content such as Savage Raids or Ultimates.
On top of that, JoyCon 2’s mouse functionality works surprisingly well, which seems perfect for a game such as this, being able to mix and match movement on the joystick while camera and actions on the mouse. If that doesn’t suit one’s fancy, players are able to hook up keyboards and mice, making this a perfect option for those who don’t have a laptop or Steam Deck.
While not Square Enix’s fault entirely, we do wish there was a way to save certain phrases. If you’re not using a keyboard for typing, using the Switch 2’s internal keyboard isn’t the best option unless you’re using the touch functionality, and even then, it’s not the best. We wish there was a way to save certain phrases or commands, especially ones that involve cycling the special character menu.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://hardcoregamer.com/ffxiv-switch-2-exceeds-expectations/
