Wark Digest #176 - To The Crossroads
Welcome back to the Wark Digest, your weekly newsletter of new developments and historical insights from the Final Fantasy universe. I’m Chris, aka Hoogathy, and this week our fan vote hits fever pitch, Yoshi-P dishes on which main game he’d remake, and we look at what’s in store for FFXIV this fall.
This week’s newsletter is 1593 words, a 5-minute read.
Three Over Six
In a new interview with Sports Illustrated, Naoki Yoshida gave his personal insights on a couple issues related to Final Fantasy, and in the process created some buzz about a long-desired remake…
What they’re saying:
As an outsider when FFXIV 1.0 launched, Yoshida reflected that “there really wasn’t much typical FF-ness that you would expect,” and that he saw the same sentiment echoed by the media and players
This led to his vision of FFXIV as “a theme park for the franchise, of sorts”—and since FFIX hadn’t had as much representation, they chose to feature it now
When asked what classic FF he’d like to remake, Yoshida said “The one that I would like to make myself would be Final Fantasy III, I think. Of course, I do know there are requests for Final Fantasy IX to be made, but when you think about FFIX, it’s a game with huge volume […] I wonder if it’s possible to remake that as a single title. It’s a difficult one. It is a tough question.”
To Yoshida, the future of FFXIV is “to have as many players as possible enjoy the game across all devices,” so the team will continue expanding the content and forms of play to appeal to as many players as possible
There’s nothing to share yet on the prospect of a FFXVI port for Xbox Series—while CS3 “are not in a position to be able to share anything” yet, “it’s not as if there’s zero hope”
What we thought:
Yoshida’s theme park vision has been pretty well realized, without feeling too much like a theme park per se… or at least when it comes to the MSQ
Okay, if Yoshi-P wants to remake FFIII, sign me up immediately
The love for FFIII is palpable in FFXIV, from the Crystal Tower to the entire story of Shadowbringers, and more
There may already have been the 3D remake, and technically the Pixel Remaster, but I’d love to see what he could do with that world and engine
Yet, here we go again with the “it would take multiple games” excuse
FFIX is huge, sure, but does it warrant the FFVII Remake approach, with multiple games to reimagine its story?
Most fans just want a minor coat of paint, not a completely new house
It’s clear that this is something he’s considered before
There is a certain degree of “this is what my boss told me to say” energy as well, especially on the latter two points
What’s next? Yoshida concluded with a message to fans: “I want to say thank you to all of our players. They’ve provided passionate support, not just for us but for other Square Enix games as well, and they’ve really gotten us through tough times. So, more than anything, I would like to say thank you so much to our players.
In the Final Fantasy franchise we have support from all of our fans and also the media, and the same goes for Final Fantasy 16 as well. But I would just like to say that Square Enix is working really hard to provide new experiences and releasing new games. We are going through some tough times at the moment, but we very much appreciate the support of our players.”
Thundaga Round!
Halloween is already arriving in Ever Crisis: Vincent and Caith Sith have unique outfits and new weapons, while Zack and Glenn’s costumes from last year return
The Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster collection hits stores in North America and elsewhere next Tuesday, October 8th, for those hoping for a physical copy
Final Fantasy XVI will be getting its own official lore book, called “Logos,” made to look like an in-game text
Meanwhile the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Ultimania Plus has re-emerged from Square Enix’s publishing department, with a new release date window: this November (long, long after it should’ve been out)
From Dawntrail to the Crossroads
Last weekend at the Tokyo Game Show, Yoshi-P and community producer Toshio Murouchi conducted the latest Live Letter broadcast… live on stage, and detailed what we can expect from FFXIV’s patch 7.1.
What they’re saying:
Patch 7.1, also dubbed “Crossroads,” is the first main content drop since Dawntrail launched in July, continuing the main scenario and some other quest lines:
MSQ screenshots tease our Scion allies meeting with representatives of Tural’s newly reformed government
To help you train from level 90-100, the bird-masked Pelupelu people of Urqopacha will offer daily quests as the new Allied Society reps
There will be culminating quests for those who have completed all of the Role Quests, and for those who have completed the crafting and gathering quests
Inconceivably, the Inconceivably Further Hildibrand Adventures will pick up in Solution Nine, for those who have braved this sprawling chain of missions
A new Expert Dungeon, “Yuweyawata Field Station,” will be included
On the higher end of difficulty, players can brave a new Extreme “Minstrel’s Ballad” Trial based on Dawntrail’s final boss, an Unreal Trial against Byakko, and a new Ultimate Trial, “Futures Rewritten (Ultimate)”
Chaotic Alliance Raids will turn up the difficulty on the 24-player Alliance Raids; those who can overcome the new mechanics in this reworked spin on the “World of Darkness” duty can earn unique rewards that have yet to be announced
Perhaps most intriguing is the Final Fantasy XI tie-in, “Jeuno: The First Walk;” this Alliance Raid features a FFXIV interpretation of the Grand Duchy of Jeuno, and if their presence in the update’s official key art is anything to go off of, Prishe and the Shadow Lord will likely make an appearance
The Dawntrail OST is available for preorder now before its English release in November, and you can also pay to watch footage from The Primals’ latest concert
Meanwhile the Standard Rulebook for the FFXIV TTRPG will be on sale in English on February 28, 2025
What we thought:
Somehow it feels like ages since Dawntrail arrived, and it will be interesting to see how the story progresses through the cycle of mid-expansion patches
Big expansion releases like Dawntrail or Endwalker are the major tentpoles of the main scenario, but really, the patch cycles are the day-to-day life of the game, where players spend most of their time
Endgame players should find a lot to keep them occupied, at least close to the patch’s launch, with all of these high-end trials
FFXI is a no-brainer for a FFXIV collab, and it’s amazing that it’s taken this long for their streams to cross; we can’t wait to see what brings Prishe into the story, and how this raid series will pay homage to the MMORPG that forged this game’s path
The rewards for the Chaotic Alliance Raid must be special—Yoshida says there will be incentives for players to replay the battle and guide newcomers through it
These will fall more toward Savage difficulty, not Extreme
“Chaotic” will surely prove an apt title, as regular Alliance Raids are chaotic enough as it is, just having 24 players; spiking the difficulty will be like pouring gasoline on an open flame
What’s next? Patch 7.1 is scheduled for a release in mid-November.
Around the Union
This week we’re polling commenters again with “7 Most Obscure Monsters in Final Fantasy (Commenter Edition)”! The aliens and anthropomorphic vegetables have taken control for this list of the most obscure random foes to ever appear in this series. Did your favourite still not make the cut? Let us know in the comments!
Or, if you’re looking for something more super, check out the latest supercut, “The Complete Evolution of Superbosses!” The complete tale of these godly foes, weighing in at over 3 hours, makes for great background entertainment.
And last but not least, the results are in from round two of our Wark Digest fan vote tournament, and while I expected this outcome, I thought it might have been a little closer! With FFVI taking the cake with over half the votes, the real contest was for 2nd place, and at least that race was close:
Final Fantasy VI - 55%
Final Fantasy IV - 20%
Final Fantasy V - 18%
I haven't played any of these - 6%
However, this brings us to what I expect could be the fiercest contest of the preliminary voting: the PS1 “golden era.” VII, VIII, and IX have some devoted fanbases, but which will take this crown? If you want to help your favourite earn more votes, be sure to share this week’s issue with your like-minded friends—and don’t worry, my Ivalice stans, Tactics will have its chance!
Now you’re up to speed! From the whole team at Final Fantasy Union, thank you for subscribing. Please let us know what you think of our coverage, and what you’d like to see covered in our weekly installments. As ever, if you’ve enjoyed our work, please share it with your friends!
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Until next time, kupo!
