Final Fantasy XIV Online Switch 2 Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
As gamers, we get to experience countless adventures through this medium, and some of the biggest have undoubtedly come from the Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy XIV Online has been around for quite some time, allowing adventurers from around the globe to explore the world of Eorzea, whether they want to become a powerful Black Mage, a stalwart Paladin, or simply spend their time fishing with a group of friends. Now, with Final Fantasy XIV coming to Nintendo Switch 2, that world is about to get bigger… and smaller. A massive multiplayer online game is being squeezed onto Nintendo’s hybrid console, giving players a whole new way to experience Eorzea. What’s It Like? Create your character, choose your job, and get online as we review Final Fantasy XIV Online for Nintendo Switch 2.
A quick disclaimer before we begin: I’ve levelled multiple Disciples of War, including Paladin and Black Mage, as well as several crafting and gathering professions to around level 70. I’m also currently into Heavensward with the main campaign. Even with all of that under my belt, there are still hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of Final Fantasy XIV ahead of me. So rather than pretending I can review everything this enormous MMO has to offer, this review focuses on my experience with the base FFXIV on Nintendo Switch 2.
Final Fantasy XIV weaves an epic tale across the world of Eorzea, placing you in the role of the Warrior of Light. What begins as a simple adventure soon grows into something much larger, as you’re drawn into the conflict surrounding the Garlean Empire, the mysterious Primals, and the fate of the realm. Along the way, you’ll meet the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, a group of adventurers and scholars who become your allies as you work together to protect Eorzea from the threats gathering around it. What I really love about Final Fantasy XIV is that, unlike many other MMOs, you are the Warrior of Light. The story revolves around your accomplishments, and the game regularly takes time to acknowledge what you’ve achieved. One of these moments comes relatively early in the game, around level 30, when an accomplishment of yours earns you an invitation to a dinner hosted by the Sultan of Ul’dah. It’s a small moment in the grand scheme of the story, but you’re treated as an honoured guest, with your achievements being recognised by some of the most important people in the city. You’re even given a unique earring that you can continue using for the next several levels. These moments do a fantastic job of making you feel like you’re actually part of the world, rather than simply existing within it.
Being an MMO, there’s plenty to do outside of the main overarching story, with plenty of side quests, professions, and leisurely activities to live your best life in Eorzea. Where Final Fantasy XIV deviates from traditional MMOs is that all of these activities fall under “Jobs”, and you can pick and choose any number of Jobs, including combat classes, all on the one character. At one stage, I decided to try my hand at being a spellcaster and enrolled to become a Thaumaturge, which simply required me to change my main-hand weapon to a staff after completing the introductory quests, and off I went. Final Fantasy XIV also has a clever way of catching you up. You can go to areas you’ve visited before and perform special quests called Leves, which give you repeatable quests that you can do to catch up quickly. If you get bored of that Job, simply change back to your old one by equipping different gear, or choose an entirely new one altogether.
This is also true of professions, which fall under two categories: gathering and crafting, which can even complement each other. Botany and Carpentry go hand in hand, Armourer and Blacksmith can make use of materials gathered through Mining, and even Fishing complements the Culinarian class. This crafting system is really well implemented. Instead of simply gathering items and pressing a button to create something, you have to increase build progress while also balancing quality and durability. Once you’ve crafted an item, you can then use Quick Synthesis if you want to save time, or manually create the item in order to try your skill at making a high-quality item with slightly better stats. It’s a system that gives you plenty of freedom to decide how you want to spend your time in Eorzea, whether that’s fighting monsters, gathering materials, crafting equipment, or simply picking up another Job and trying something completely different in the world .
And what a world it is! Eorzea is a gorgeous mix of biomes and locales that are simply stunning. There are the base game areas, which feature three capital cities. There’s the desert kingdom of Ul’dah and its surrounding areas, the forests and heavily wooded areas of Gridania, and the coastal metropolis of Limsa Lominsa, which is usually the busiest area in the base game. Then we have other cities like Ishgard, the capital of Heavensward, as well as countless other towns and locations from expansions that I haven’t even seen yet. And that’s one of the most exciting things about Final Fantasy XIV: even after everything I’ve experienced so far, I know there is still so much of this world that I haven’t even seen. There’s simply too much here to cover in a review without taking up hours of your time. There are raids, dungeons, auction houses, which you can hire helpers for, quests, logbooks to complete, and achievements. But for me, one of the greatest pleasures I have with Final Fantasy XIV is putting on a Spotify playlist and doing an Ocean Fishing charter, or crafting away in my favourite spot on the watermill in New Gridania. The game is not only what you make it, but what you want it to be.
Eorzea is a gorgeous world, and Final Fantasy XIV looks remarkably good on Switch 2. From the detailed character models and spell effects to the dynamic lighting and varied environments, there’s very little here that feels like it has been compromised to make the game work on Nintendo’s hardware. There is some light pixelation and the occasional bit of detail pop-in, but these are minor distractions, especially when playing in handheld mode. Considering just how large and busy this world can become, I think Square Enix has done an excellent job bringing Eorzea to Switch 2.
Performance is similarly impressive, with the game generally running between 35 and 45 FPS in populated areas, dropping towards 30 FPS in particularly busy locations like Limsa Lominsa, while instanced content can target 60 FPS. Loading between areas is also surprisingly quick, helping maintain the flow of exploration, and the fact that I can take this enormous MMO with me and play it comfortably in handheld mode is a huge win. I’ve gone into much more detail on the game’s visuals, framerate, loading times and handheld performance in my dedicated performance video, so if you want to see exactly how Final Fantasy XIV performs on Switch 2, be sure to check out our Final Fantasy XIV Switch 2 Graphics & Performance Tested video on the channel.
On top of its performance, I think it’s also important to acknowledge just how well Final Fantasy XIV has been adapted for console play, whether you’re using Joy-Con or a Pro Controller. You have several action bars that can be activated by holding down a trigger and then pressing a directional or face button for the specific skill you want to use. It works really well in my opinion, and I never felt like I was missing the precision of a keyboard and mouse. The game also supports a USB keyboard for communication, as well as Joy-Con mouse mode. The only real drawback I’ve found when playing on Switch is using the software keyboard to communicate, which can be time-consuming. Thankfully, in handheld mode, the touchscreen makes this much easier.
And then there’s the community, which I have found to be particularly outstanding in terms of patience and helpfulness. Even after returning from my hiatus, I had a rather embarrassing first tanking raid where I completely forgot to take aggro from Ifrit, something I’ll probably never live down, yet the other players were incredibly understanding. Just last night, I was doing an Ocean Fishing charter when we had a new player learning how to fish, and the group was helping them with hints and tips without any judgement. I’ve even had a high-level player link resources to me after I thanked them for calling out which baits to use in each area. If you don’t have any friends to play online with, or you’re worried about being judged based on your skill level, I think you can cast those worries aside here. Everyone I’ve encountered seems eager to help, and there are also systems like the Sprout Network, where newcomers can discuss the game, as well as player commendations that encourage positive behaviour.
For my adventurers looking into accessibility, there’s a myriad of options at your disposal, including UI customisation and scaling. You can create macros for communication and gameplay, enable visual filtering, add visual and audio cues, and isolate specific audio sources. As always, I recommend further research into whether Final Fantasy XIV Online suits your accessibility needs, and thankfully, there’s a generous free trial, so you can try before you buy. In terms of value, this free trial offers content up to Dawntrail, giving you an enormous amount of Final Fantasy XIV to experience before you need to spend any money, albiet with some social and earning limitations. The Starter Pack, which allows you to continue playing after the trial, costs around $22 AUD, while game time varies depending on the subscription option you choose, but averages out at around $15 per month once your initial 30 days are up.
We are continuing to see the Switch 2 bring outstanding ports to Nintendo’s hardware and challenge what we thought was possible on the system. Final Fantasy XIV Online feels like another huge step forward, bringing a game of such incredible scale to a hybrid console without feeling like a compromised experience. There’s so much to do, friends to make, things to craft, and dungeons to conquer… but there are also moments of quiet, zen-like fishing with new friends. Despite the gameplay being fantastic and the port being technically accomplished, it’s the wonderful community that makes this world so welcoming. Much like Eorzea itself, we’re seeing a bold new world open up on Nintendo Switch 2.
So, What’s it Like? Final Fantasy XIV Online is like World of Warcraft crossed with Final Fantasy.
I award it 92/100
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