10 Video Games That Got Really Good When You Stopped Playing

When developer and publisher Square Enix decided to make a follow-up to the surprisingly successful Final Fantasy XI - their first massively multiplayer entry in the legendary series - a large and passionate fanbase was already sold.

Unfortunately, FFXIV launched to overwhelming disappointment from fans and critics alike. The list of issues XIV launched with could fill a textbook, but suffice to say Square were confusingly completely unprepared for the game's traffic, resulting in server issues so severe that sales of the game had to be temporarily suspended.

Getting it back into the public's hands only highlighted the game's other shortcomings: a dated engine, a convoluted UI, and overall poor performance. Things got so bad that Square gave up trying to patch the game and instead just re-made it almost from scratch.

Relaunched as A Realm Reborn, the new and improved FFXIV featured a new engine, streamlined UI, a more diverse world, and a story that many consider one of the best in the series. In fact, many now consider XIV as a whole to be one of the best games in the series - quite the contrast to its launch.