In case you missed my previous post about the keynote, the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest is underway in Berlin. I posted many updates in this previous post, but one of them was so important that I had to post it separately, regardless of how important they were to other people. In the second half of the talk, Naoki Yoshida revealed the theme of the 8-player raid accompanying Final Fantasy XIV: Evercold. This is, of course, different from the 24-player game, which we know will be based on the Evangelion anime, and follows the triumph that was Arcadion.
Called Beyond the Lifestream, this next series will be a crossover with the Final Fantasy VII Remake series. The moment was marked by the introduction on stage of the director of the series, Naoki Hamaguchi. Information was scarce, as expected, from a reveal we won’t even see until mid-to-late this year. But there have been several teases about what characters might appear and what storylines will present themselves in an open and friendly conversation between the two Naokis on stage.
What we know at this point is that it will start releasing from patch 8.01 and will follow the usual three-tier system. So that means 12 raids of increasing difficulty against what one would assume are a selection of iconic bosses from the Remake series. Also speaking of difficulty, this raid series will also have the previously revealed third difficulty, with the new difficulty falling between Normal and Wild. In addition, the story and artistic direction of the raids are supervised by the Remake series team, with Tetsuya Nomura obviously acting for the latter.
But that’s not all, since Naoki Yoshida has revealed a new attraction coming to the Gold Saucer. For some confusing, but certainly not obtrusive, 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 complete a series of typing challenges. This is confirmed to rely on knowledge of the games, with specific words relating to the games and with Barrett and Tifa glamor items as rewards. This will be launched on the 28thth October 2026 as part of patch 7.56.
If anything, it gives me one more reason to finally finish Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, and it definitely comes at a good time with the third game in the trilogy releasing next spring. To be honest, as long as all of this results in more glamor options, and maybe a few weapons, I’m all for it. But what do you think of the Final Fantasy VII Remake series coming to Final Fantasy XIV?
