The current in-game event going on in Final Fantasy XIV is the redux of the Final Fantasy XV crossover where you can nab a few items for a limited time like the Regalia car as a mount, Noctis’ anime/scene kid hairdo, and a Noctis Triple Triad card — some legitimately cool stuff. But if you haven’t already, I highly recommend playing through the questline that’s also part of the “A Nocturne for Heroes” event where you help Noctis get back home after appearing in Eorzea because it completes a really neat connection between the two games.
Regardless of how you may feel about FFXV or the story of Noctis and his royal bro-d trip, the crossover quest showcases the growing ubiquitousness of FFXIV and how it represents all aspects of the franchise’s history. So, what happens is that the ever-present reporter in Ul’dah catches wind of a different kind of Magitek appearing in Thanalan, which is the same machinery from FFXV‘s Eos. Along with that comes Noctis and a broke-down Regalia. And while Cid marvels at the opportunity to work on foreign tech, you spend a little time with Noctis as he reflects on his home, friends, and the quirkiness of Eorzea.
It’s some fairly standard fare in terms of structure and tone, going around town, investigating the appearance of foreign Magitek, then eventually fighting alongside Noctis to take down an Iseultalon (a powerful Daemon from FFXV). You and Noctis setup camp out in the Black Shroud and he tells you his story as you two sit around a campfire, just like his royal bros would. But the quest kicks things up toward the end when reports surface of Garuda being summoned in Eorzea again. So now, you fight this familiar Primal again; just you and Noctis this time, though.
The coolest damn part is how you’re given the ability to do Link Strikes as a Duty Action during combat. Wait, that’s not the coolest part — it’s actually when you have to time your Link Strikes in tandem with Noctis to do real damage to Garuda and escape AoE attacks. Wait, nah, the coolest shit is the little in-battle cutscene that happens after you break from the Active Time Maneuver where Noctis does this wild combo using all his different weapon-types to land the final blow with you while the camera dynamically captures all the action. Or maybe it’s the fact that “Sunset Waltz / Valse di Fantastica” plays at the end of the whole thing.
Okay, really now, the thing that makes this crossover quest cool as hell, and more than just another in-game event, is when you look at it alongside FFXV‘s own crossover quest with FFXIV. In case you didn’t know, the relationship between the two games goes the other way around, too.
In December 2018, FFXV added a quest called “Adventurer from Another World” where a Miqo’te from Eorzea named Y’jhimei appears in Eos. She looks, dresses, and emotes just as Miqo’te do in FFXIV, and it brought a huge smile to my face. In this questline, you enter the scenario as if it’s a dungeon in FFXIV, the Garlean base theme song plays, you hear “Torn from the Heavens” in one battle, then fight Garuda after seeing Ixal trying to summon her. The imagery, concept, and music are all pulled straight from FFXIV — as the Garuda boss theme starts playing, you get the “Duty Commenced” text on screen, and even plays A Realm Reborn‘s quest-complete jingle after the fight.
But there’s a moment after defeating Garuda in FFXV that nods to the fact that Noctis may have been elsewhere or lost in another world, at least just for a minute in Eos’ time (and from Shadowbringers, we know that time flows differently between other realms). During the battle, Y’jhimei helps him summon his own version of Garuda to finish the fight, but he isn’t anywhere to be found once the violent winds sweep up the battlefield. He eventually warps back to the group as they panic, and Y’jhimei says to Noctis, “I was so afraid you’d been whisked away to my world this time!” And perhaps he was, trying to find his way back home like what we see in FFXIV‘s questline.
As the group is busy talking amongst themselves, Noctis hears Garuda’s voice in the distance, and one of the things she says is, “I was defeated by the gods and awakened by a traveler from another world.” Garuda then lends him the power to summon her in combat. If you complete the FFXIV crossover questline, you’ll know that this is the same Garuda who was testing his strength in Eorzea to grant him the power to summon her and create the portal to warp him back home.
FFXV‘s “Adventurer from Another World” crossover is an impressive embodiment of FFXIV‘s spirit all around and that’s so great to see in another Final Fantasy game. Alongside FFXIV‘s “A Nocturne for Heroes,” they create a satisfying and heartwarming connection between the two games that also nods to some of the things that make each of them special.
The way FFXIV looks at some of its events and story moments with an endearing lightheartedness and a slightly goofy edge is shown off in contrast to Noctis’ dead-seriousness, and it certainly comes through in the respective quests for both games. It reminds me that it’s one of the many things I love and appreciate about FFXIV. The true gift, however, is that Y’jhimei sticks around in FFXV after the quest as a shopkeeper who plays “Pa-Paya” in the background. Gods bless catgirls.
You have until October 18 to play through the “A Nocturne for Heroes” quests, get that sweet Noctis glam, and swoop up those lovely FFXV orchestration rolls in FFXIV. Get on it!
