Summary
Spoilers for theFinal Fantasy 16collaboration inFinal Fantasy 14ahead.
It doesn’t take much for players to notice the striking similarities betweenFinal Fantasy 16andFinal Fantasy 14, be it through the character designs, shared worldbuilding concepts, the importance of eikons (or primal), and others. Because of these similarities, fans have been quick on the draw to ask about whenFinal Fantasy 16andFinal Fantasy 14would crossover, and after many months of waiting and wondering, that crossover has finally arrived.
Thequestline that unitesFF14andFF16is rather standard fair for the game, but that doesn’t make it any less special as players are enjoying an adventure with Clive about finding himself and self-forgiveness. Tying directly into the story and themes ofFinal Fantasy 16, Clive’s adventures in Eorzea come to a head with a fight against the Eikon Ifrit, which is very different from the primal the MMO’s players are familiar with. In the end, the event makes it a point to highlight one important detail that’s been around since the demand for the crossover began.
Final Fantasy 14 Uses the Wandering Minstrel To Incredible Comedic Effect in The Path Infernal
The Importance of the Wandering Minstrel in Final Fantasy 14
Playing the critically acclaimed MMO sees players befriending a wide cast of characters from temporary acquaintances for smaller stories to the reoccurring characters of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, and somewhere in between sits the Wandering Minstrel. The Wandering Minstrel is an NPC known for handing out the most difficult optional quests,such asFF14’s savage and ultimate raidswhile using his musical prowess to recreate story quests while using artistic liberties to make them even tougher for the Warrior of Light.
There’s more to him than just serving as a quest-giver, as he plays an important part in a number of limited-time quests. Through the recent The Rising quest from 2023, it’s made clear that the Wandering Minstrel is a stand-in forFinal Fantasy 14’s director and producer, Naoki Yoshida, who thanks players for allowing him to tell their stories through the game itself. Since 2023’s The Rising event was made to celebrate A Realm Reborn’s 10th anniversary, seeing it off with a character who’s been in the game since the original version came to its climactic end.
The Importance of Naoki Yoshida With Final Fantasy 16
Naoki Yoshida’s importance doesn’t end at the Wandering Minstrel, as Yoshida is famously known as the director and producer ofFinal Fantasy 16as well as the critically acclaimed MMO. The obviousconnection between bothFinal Fantasytitleswas one of the big contributors to the demand for the collaboration event, which Yoshida had been asked about in interviews for both games.
Instead of answering these desires directly, Yoshi-P decided to consistently say he had to ask “the other Yoshida working on the other game” for his consent.
It became a bit of a running joke after a while, and apparently he (or someone on the dev team) sought out a way to immortalize his sense of humor. After The Path Infernal comes to a close and Clive finds his way back to his star, the Wandering Minstrel comments that he’d love tochronicle Clive’s story, but that job “belongs to someone else.” It’s rather obvious that this statement is meant to be one more moment of poking fun at who the Wandering Minstrel stands in for, which is the Yoshi-P who createdFinal Fantasy 14as there’s “another Yoshida” working onFF16.
Final Fantasy 14 (2010)
WHERE TO PLAY
Begin your adventure in FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm RebornCreate your very own Warrior of Light and embark upon a quest to deliver the land from an eternity of Darkness.Take to the skies in FINAL FANTASY XIV: HeavenswardTake your first steps in the reclusive nation of Ishgard, locked in a seemingly never-ending struggle with dragons.Rekindle the fires of hope in FINAL FANTASY XIV: StormbloodJourney to the East and rise up against the might of the Garlean Empire.Become the darkness in FINAL FANTASY XIV: ShadowbringersTravel to a world where light ushers all unto oblivion. But hope is not yet lost, for where there is light there is shadow.Journey to the very stars above in FINAL FANTASY XIV: EndwalkerA great calamity has been building - a second advent of the Final Days. The Warrior of Light must journey ever higher and stand firm as hope’s last bastion.Set forth for new horizons in FINAL FANTASY XIV: DawntrailBlue seas, clear skies, and boundless possibilities await! Explore uncharted territories with familiar faces as hope’s light dawns once more.
