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As we near the end of a 10-year saga in Final Fantasy 14's Endwalker expansion, the story takes a pause. A fan-favorite character bids farewell and reassures us that there's plenty we've yet to discover – the ruins beneath the waters of the Bounty, the treasure islands beyond the frozen waters of Blindfrost in Othard's north, the fabled golden cities of the New World, and so much more. Final Fantasy 14's first grand saga is coming to an end, but the rest of your story is still to be written.
While Square Enix intends for Emet-Selch's words to comfort fans and its own developers alike who are wondering what's next for the MMO, they also chart the course from where we've gone over the past year to what's next. Endwalker's post-expansion story started with a trip to the ruins below the Bounty, whereas our next expansion, Dawntrail, takes us to the fabled golden cities of the New World.
Given that Final Fantasy 14's latest story patch finishes with a callback to those very words as we prepare for Tural, I ask director and producer Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida if the monologue was one big teaser of things to come. "I’d say you can expect something," Yoshida says with a laugh. "Emet-Selch left those words to say 'you all still have much more to get done; move forward,' meanwhile understanding the compassion the Ancients received as kindness. So, it’s a message to say that there are still a lot of different adventures to come for the Warrior of Light and their comrades to be excited about, and it is also how we feel towards all our players as the development team. Please look forward to it!"
We're all going on a summer holiday
Naoki Yoshida is a Square Enix veteran who heads up Creative Business Unit III. Aside from serving as the producer and director of critically acclaimed MMO Final Fantasy 14, he has also filled similar roles on the likes of Final Fantasy 16.
Playing Final Fantasy 14 over the past decade as a Warrior of Light has meant taking up numerous roles on plenty of adventures – be it halting the march of imperialism, ending a 1,000-year war against dragons, or averting a world-threatening despair-induced apocalypse. The next role is that of a holiday goer, headed to Tural for some deserved reprieve and to sort a succession dispute as one contender's chosen champion.
While we're no strangers to traveling to foreign lands and aiding in local matters, Dawntrail ups the tension by dividing our long-standing allies on either side of that conflict. It's the sort of bad holiday that should make for a good expansion. Final Fantasy 14's first great saga saw a collection of adventures individual in nature somehow conclude with an expansion that stitched it all together, and it looks like our trip to Tural will start another saga guided by the same sense of wanderlust.
"This is something that I keep in mind with every expansion, but the important points were 'adventure,' 'surprise,' and 'expectations for the future,'" Yoshi-P says when asked about the importance of showing our Warrior of Light outside the decade-spanning saga. "Ten years have passed since the start of A Realm Reborn, and the team has worked together to continue the development and operations of the game to try and provide an adventure of surprise for all the players."
"The first culmination of this process was Endwalker, but this concept has not changed. We hope that we can continue to create another big saga, not only with this expansion but also beyond it, to give players an even greater sense of achievement, surprise, and excitement."
We hope that we can continue to create another big saga
While you won't find any Dawntrail story spoilers here, playing the expansion or one of the patches beyond may offer answers to one of the MMO's unsolved mysteries.
Final Fantasy 14 is no stranger to introducing people, locations, or MacGuffins and leaving them to linger. Post-A Realm Reborn content introduces you to refugees from Doma who don't come into focus until after you clear the Heavensward expansion and start Stormblood years later. The Crystal tower that hosts a once-optional raid post-A Realm Reborn becomes pivotal three expansions later after Shadowbringers brings it back into focus. Perhaps one of the longest mysteries we had to wait for was a key to ARR called The Heart of Sabik, which then went largely untouched until an Endwalker raid series 10 years later brought it back into the light
Plenty of mysteries have been solved and loose ends tied up, but not all. With that in mind, I ask Yoshida if the team heads into Dawntrail and beyond with a treasure trove of plot threads to draw on or a clean slate.
"Just because the first Hydaelyn-Zodiark saga has been completed, it does not mean that the world has changed; the adventures of the players will continue wherever they may go," he says. "As such, the mysteries we've left behind and the setting will continue to be refurbished to keep everyone excited. Some will be resolved immediately, some will be long overdue, and there is a big possibility that further mysteries will be presented in Dawntrail."
"So, we won't ever be starting from a blank slate, but on the contrary, we will continue to develop various stories and content so that everyone can always play with feelings refreshed."
MMO money MMO problems
The in-game tale of Final Fantasy 14 is secondary to the story of the MMO's development. The original Final Fantasy 14 launched to failure, leading to the introduction of Naoki Yoshida himself alongside an in-game apocalyptic event to signify we're starting over with a clean slate – a Realm Reborn, if you will.
Giving your Warrior of Light a role in the story has been an important feature of FF14's story and will continue to be, as will celebrating the wider Final Fantasy series at large. Like previous expansions, Dawntrail contains nods to the wider series. A subtler throwback is Final Fantasy 10's Pelupelu race, which will be a common sight in Tural. A larger-scale one will be a full-blown raid collaboration with Final Fantasy 11.
Yoshida tells me the idea of reimagining Final Fantasy 14 as a "theme park" for the wider series in part has been important since the MMO was reborn – given the contrasting feeling towards the maligned MMO and the beloved series at the time, it seemed wise. While Final Fantasy 14 has gone to stand on its own two feet as one of Square Enix's best and brightest since, the team doesn't plan to change its approach to incorporating the old while exploring the new.
"Of course, as FF14 is the 14th installment in the Final Fantasy series, we believe that the content and structure of the main story need to be unique," he says. "However, in accordance with the overall concept, we are aiming to make the overall game more exciting by paying homage to and drawing out the essence of various FF titles. Like the Japanese saying, 'Learn from the old and know the new,' we would like to continue to elevate the ideas of our predecessors into new FF titles."
Like the Japanese saying, 'Learn from the old and know the new'
Another key to keeping Final Fantasy 14's story fresh is the various writers who have come and gone over the years. The story of the award-winning Heavensward expansion was shaped in part by main scenario writer Kazutoyo Maehiro, who eventually became busy with Final Fantasy 16 as a creative director. Over that time we've seen other creative talents like Natsuko Ishikawa come through, who took up lead story designer roles on Shadowbringers and Endwalker. And that's only scratching the surface.
The influx of new ideas has kept Final Fantasy 14's story fresh, though how does the team keep the overall story coherent over a long length of time as writers come and go, especially as we turn to Dawntrail and the next big saga?
"There are many talented scenario writers working on FF14," Yoshida beams. "They all have their own unique styles, but always at the heart of our writing are some basic rules of world-building. These aren't meant to bind the writers, but they exist to give a sense of unity to the world and the adventure, and the framework of the main storyline is shaped by the writers and myself, meeting together and exchanging ideas over several days."
"Once a rough plot has been developed, including the general setting of the adventure, the flow of battles with enemies, and the themes we want to convey, the writers in charge of the story will flesh out the details. The story is then brushed up by the lead writers, who check and give advice, where I also give feedback. This style of 'all the main writers getting excited and helping to make the story the best it can be' is perhaps the secret to FF14's lengthy story being finished without wavering."
When it comes to how Square Enix might spice up Final Fantasy 14's story structure over the next decade, Yoshida gives little away. We've grown accustomed to seeing an expansion hurl us into conflict before we deal with the aftermath in post-expansion patches until it's time to ramp up to the next adventure. While Yoshida keeps his cards close to his chest, he admits the team is always looking for ways to go one better in the next expansion run.
"We take a look back each time and never stop thinking about what we did well, what we didn't do so well, and what we can do to pursue something new," he says. "So, we will continue to try and find different ways to make it fun for you all again."
With Final Fantasy 14's Dawntrail expansion due to arrive this summer, there's plenty to check out aside from a new story. The MMO is getting its first big graphics overhaul, and it's not just "to constantly get new players in." It also looks like Square Enix has learned from the Endwalker run, with a more varied endgame weapon grind on the way alongside social content more reminiscent of Final Fantasy 14's earlier days. To paraphrase Emet-Selch himself, there's plenty we've yet to see.
Final Fantasy 14 finally launches on Xbox this month, and while the MMO is free on Game Pass there's a massive caveat.
