Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi P says that 'if you ask me whether I was surprised' by the mixed response to Dawntrail, the answer is 'no, not really.'

Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail is a game that has been simmering in the minds and hearts of its fans for some time. While I've enjoyed everything else, the main quest line has made me less enthusiastic than usual.

It has complex issues. Dawntrail is one of those annoying mixed bags that I can't get out of my head. It has some great ideas and some really fun moments. But its plot beats are executed in a way that is so messy, it almost ruins the whole thing. Dawntrail is ultimately hampered by a shaky script and a failure to give its cast the attention they deserve. This is a shame.

I was able to speak to the director of the game, Naoki Yoshida Yoshi-P, in person at Gamescom. I asked him how he felt (in slightly more diplomatic words) about the fanbase’s response and he seemed to be quite reflective of the story’s successes and failures. Yoshi-P was interviewed by an interpreter, who translated his responses on the spot.

Yoshi-P says, "This is a game and it's entertainment. You'll always get mixed reactions to entertainment." "A second reason is that we reached the climax of a long-running, spanning tale with Endwalker. I had predicted to some extent that we would get a mixed response.

"If you ask me if I was really shocked, the answer is that I wasn't."

Yoshi-P's expectation of a conflicted reaction is interesting. This is entirely reasonable, given the weight of expectations that Shadowbringers and Endwalker placed on its shoulders. Yoshi-P says that the main problem with Dawntrail was pacing.

"The concept was to travel to a different land, where we would see new cultures, races, and characters. Both in the development team as well as from my side, this concept was in mind when it came to cleanly and attentively introducing new aspects to the players."

Yoshi-P, however, notes that although many people enjoyed the new horizons, others felt that the pace was less than ideal: "There were people who thought that the tempo of some of the main scenario scenes was slow." They wanted to move on to the more exciting parts of plot at a quicker pace.

He admits that some story beats could have been diverted to side quests. If anyone was interested in learning about [them], they could play the sidequests at their leisure and enjoy them at their pace.

We did receive feedback from people who wanted the battle content to be tackled faster. We will use this feedback as a learning experience and process.

Yoshi-P commented on the mixed reviews of Wuk Lamat. She's been a scapegoat in the eyes of many Dawntrail fans for all that's wrong with the story, but my general opinion is she's fine. She's a walking bag full of symptoms for the other shortcomings of Dawntrail.

Yoshi-P observed that the character initially struggled to fulfill the role of Dawnservant, which was usually manifested by bouts of seasickness or a lack of knowledge about her people outside of Tural.

"We depicted Wuk Lamat as someone who was a little insecure towards her parents, but also towards her siblings. I think this contributed to the slowness and frustration.

"Maybe if we had portrayed her more confidently, we wouldn't have come across this kind of situation. In that respect, I feel we did something very bad for Wuk Lama as a character. This experience made me realize that it is important to take into account these things when it comes time to showcase the character to players."

I agree with PC Gamer contributor Daniella Luscious that Dawntrail's Endgame is more impressive than its story. I love the wrestling kayfabe in the Arcadion and I can't wait to explore the new zones. I thought Endwalker's patch cycle was lacking. While the story of FF14 is important, it is not everything. The game that I will be playing over the next two years is solid.