In case you missed my previous post around the keynote address, Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest is underway in Berlin. I posted a lot of the updates in that previous post, but one was so big I had to post about it separately, regardless of how big they may be to other people. In the latter half of the keynote, Naoki Yoshida revealed the theme of the 8-player raid coming with Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold. This is, of course, different from the 24-player, which we know will be based on anime property Evangelion, and is following the triumph that was the Arcadion.
With the name Beyond the Lifestream, this next series will be a crossover with the Final Fantasy VII Remake series. The moment was marked by the introduction of the Director of the series, Naoki Hamaguchi to the stage. The information was scant, as you would expect, from a reveal that we aren’t going to even see until the mid-to-tail end of the year. But there were several teases of what characters might appear and what scenarios will be faced in an open and friendly conversation between the two Naokis on the stage.
What we do know at this point is that it will start releasing as of Patch 8.01 and will follow the usual three-tier system. So that will mean 12 raids of increasing difficulty against what we could assume will be a selection of iconic bosses from the Remake series. Speaking of difficulty too, this raid series will have the previously revealed third difficulty as well, with the new difficulty fitting between Normal and Savage. Also, the story and art direction of the raids are being overseen by the Remake series team, with Tetsuya Nomura obviously stepping in for the latter.
That wasn’t all though, as Naoki Yoshida revealed a new attraction coming to the Gold Saucer. For some baffling, but certainly not unwelcome, reason … this will be a typing mini-game. Called Keybound Brawler, the first iteration will be Final Fantasy VII themed, allowing up to four players to tackle an array of typing challenges. This is confirmed to draw upon knowledge of the games, with specific words related to the games and has Barrett and Tifa glamour items as rewards. This will launch on 28th October 2026 as part of Patch 7.56.
If anything, this gives me more of a reason to finally finish Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and it definitely hits the right note with the release next Spring of the third game in the trilogy. To be honest, as long as all this results in more glamour options, and maybe some weapons, I’m all on board. But what do you think about the Final Fantasy VII Remake series coming to Final Fantasy XIV?
