Final Fantasy XIV

Added on June 06, 2024

It is very hard to discuss Final Fantasy XIV due to its nature as an MMO. It is extremely large, and each different storyline may have had a completely different writing team. As a result, I'll give broad statements, and then delve into specific spoilers for major questlines.

Final Fantasy XIV has overarching themes about faith and emotion that begin as small details, and build into the major themes of the game. In the early main storyline, individuals invoke their gods out of grief or fury, and have their calls answered in a tragic way. As the plot progresses, this builds into direct discussion about mental health.

The main story would get this game included on the list regardless, but the Dark Knight storyline makes it even more important to include. In XIV, there is a storyline for every Job that the player can acquire, and this includes the Dark Knights. The Dark Knight storyline is an incredible depiction of plurality.

Level 30-50 Dark Knight Spoilers

In short, in the Dark Knight quest line, the player character becomes plural. This is partially fantasy plurality (as the alters take physical form and were partially caused by magical means), and partially traumagenic plurality (as they were caused by trauma and stress). Though the quest line occasionally pretends to fall into tropes (an "evil" alter), the topic is always handled with grace and respect, and tropes are subverted in system-accurate ways (the "evil" alter is a stubborn Protector archetype). The Dark Knight class may have a grim, darm, edgy aesthetic, but its quest series presents the most thoughtful examination of the player character's stress and trauma, and has an overall positive outlook.

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# trauma # plurality # traumagenic plurality # fantasy plurality # highly reviewed # nova loves # not indie