Final Fantasy 14has crossover events rather frequently, such as the recentFinal Fantasy 16event that saw Clive and Torgal arrive in Eorzea or theFall Guysevent that brought the frustratingly fun competition of not falling off the map to Warriors of Light everywhere. The nature ofFFXIV’sworld allows crossovers to be implemented rather easily andwithout needing extensive lore reasons to explain why characters from another world have appeared. Having multiple worlds exist in the universe ofFFXIVopens the door to endless crossover potential.
InFinal Fantasy 14, theworld was split into 14 shardsthousands of years ago, with the primary shard being called the Source, or Hydaelyn. Additionally, while floating possibilities fordirections to go afterFF14: Dawntrail, the game’s director mentioned traveling to different universes, such as taking a multiverse approach to potential future content. However, the question becomes whether these crossovers are good for the games involved, or if it would be better to take a different approach when it comes to bringing elements from other titles in the franchise intoFFXIV.
FFXIV Already Connects To Every Final Fantasy Game
The Power Of References
As a franchise,Final Fantasyhas a habit of referencing other games from the series in each game. The most common form this takes is recurring characters and summons, or primals, in the case ofFFXIV. However, the references can be incredibly subtle or not subtle at all, depending on how they’ve been implemented in the world ofFFXIV.Endwalkerhad several references toFinal Fantasy 4, with the Loporrits being a rather blatant reference to the Hummingways, which is also why every Loporrit’s name ends with “-way.”
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Even the final trial of 6.0 referencesFF4’sZeromus fight with the style of the arena and its placement in space beforeZeromus appears as an actual bossin post-Endwalkerpatch content. In fact, the patch content afterEndwalkeris filled with references toFF4, including entire locations like Troia, the elemental lords, Golbez, and using a re-orchestrated version of Sorrow and Loss, one of the main forms of the sad theme used inFF4that plays during cutscenes. The character designs also pay homage to Amano’s original artwork forFF4.
Likewise, while references toFF9can be found throughout the expansions,Dawntrailputs a heavier focus on them, including allusions to the game similar to the extent of allusions toFF4found inEndwalker.For example, the latter part of the expansion revolves around Alexandria, which is the name of the primary kingdom inFF9, and theAlexandria dungeon inDawntrailevenshows a form of architecture that resembles the kingdom fromFF9rather than the futuristic version that currently exists inFFXIV.
Of course, those are just a tiny example of thecountless allusions to otherFinal Fantasygamesfound withinFFXIV. The Hrothgar referencesFF10’sRonso race, Triple Triad is originally fromFF8, the Gold Saucer is fromFF7, Doma is originally fromFF6, Krile is based on Krile fromFF5, the Warriors of Darkness originate fromFF3, and of course, the Warrior of Light originates from the firstFinal Fantasy. As this list shows,FFXIVembodies the series' past and future.
References Can Be Better Than Crossover Events
Crossover Events Are More Limited
Events like theFall Guyscrossoverare a fun way to incorporate new activities, especially during the periods of time between significant patches and expansions, where players start to feel bored, having completed the content available to them. However, there’s a crucial difference between referencing other games inFFXIVand having crossover events. That’s whyreferences have a permanent placein the world ofFFXIV, having been implemented in a way that blends into that universe. Crossover events are limited, and players can miss out on them completely if they don’t participate within a certain time frame.
Crossovers can provide entertainment during a content drought while players wait for the next big patch or expansion.
Therefore, in terms of accessibility, references are better than crossover events. There’s no anxiety about the possibility of being unable to participate in a reference before it’s removed from the game, and players can revisit those references as many times as they want. Of course, crossover events also come with their own pros. References tend to be baked into the game’s content, but crossovers can provide entertainment during a content drought while players wait for the next big patch or expansion, helping them keep interest in the game during slow periods.
FFXIV’s World Should Stand On Its Own
It Has Its Own Merits
References help create a rich world inFinal Fantasy 14that’s fun for veterans of the series to explore. This method of including otherFinal Fantasytitles alsobenefits players who have only playedFFXIVby giving references to those games a natural place in the universe, so not knowing the reference doesn’t make it stand out as odd or break a player’s immersion. It also helps to build the larger world ofFFXIVby using the elements of other games in the series and reinventing them to have a new life in a different game.
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That’s not to say that there should never be another crossover inFFXIVagain, asthey have their own merits,and there are benefits to choosing a crossover instead of a reference, and vice versa. However, in the grand scheme of the game, references that are reinvented and given a natural place inFFXIVoffer more overall benefits by adding to the permanent content that’s available for players, meaning that somebody who starts playing in the future doesn’t need to feel like they missed out on content that might’ve interested them.
A series as old asFinal Fantasywith as many entries comes with a lot of potential for both references and crossover events. Then, the possibilities become endless when unrelated games, such asFall Guys, come up as potential crossover material. While that can be exciting, it also poses the problem of how many crossover events are too many, how often they should occur, and what should be a crossover event rather than a reference. Whether it’s better to have a reference or crossover event, one thing is certain:Final Fantasy 14won’t run out of content anytime soon.
