It’s time to look to the future, not the past.
Final Fantasy XIV’s “break the glass” moment has finally arrived – the one everyone knew was coming sooner or later. The raid series for Evercold will revolve around Final Fantasy VII Remake. Yes, it was only a matter of time until the most well-known Final Fantasy game appeared in the MMO, but I also recognize that if there was ever a time to do it, it’s with Final Fantasy VII: Revelation right around the corner.
While I don’t look at Final Fantasy VII’s inclusion as cynically as some (it was bound to happen sooner or later), I do think it digs into a core design decision Square Enix has taken with this game, and one I continually wonder if it’ll be able to sustain – the Theme Park approach.
“Theme Park” is a sort of colloquialism used to describe a lot of modern MMO design. The idea is that the experience of playing an MMO is much like going to a theme park, with an amalgamation of different little siloed pieces of content that you complete before moving on to the next. While you can often pick and choose which pieces of content you engage with, much like rides, much of modern MMO design isn’t about freeform sandbox design. Where games like Star Wars Galaxies or Ultima Online provided environments where you create your own stories, modern FFXIV or World of Warcraft presents you with sort of pre-made events specifically tuned to what certain players like; things like PvP, crafting and farming, instanced raids, etc. There’s ceaseless debate on the continued viability of theme park MMOs, but for all intents and purposes, content functions like an attraction here.
But I’ve always felt FFXIV takes that idea a step further, by also being a Final Fantasy Theme Park within the trappings of an MMO. FFXIV constantly uses aesthetics of past games, characters of past games, dungeons of past games, and even the themes of past games. The entire climax of Dawntrail takes place in Final Fantasy IX’s Kingdom of Alexandria, with similar existentialist themes on the nature of life and memory.
As FFXIV gets older, it seems to be leaning into this theme park idea harder, providing entirely separate modes for creating outposts on planets, what seems like an entire sub-game for the upcoming Beastmaster, and yes, integrating Final Fantasy VII and Neon Genesis Evangelion into raids.
And while I see why people enjoy those aspects, I start to wonder how sustainable that practice really is. Does that theme park approach become more constricting as an MMO ages? Does it put off new players, who might not be familiar with Final Fantasy, from jumping in? I suspect the answer is at least partially yes to both those questions.
As someone who adores Final Fantasy – it’s the most important entertainment series in my life – we need to accept that Final Fantasy doesn’t have the cultural cachet it used to. A significant portion of the fanbase is aging 30 to 40-year-olds, hoping to find a dose of nostalgia that reminds them of the past. The series has been chasing that nostalgia for years, trying to rediscover what made Final Fantasy so special, with remakes, crossover games like Dissidia, and an endless stream of anniversary products. But the only way Final Fantasy will truly rediscover itself is by pushing forward, experimenting, and finding a new identity.
To me, that’s always been apparent with FFXIV. Its biggest achievements are in the moments it took chances: Haurchefant’s gut-wrenching death in Heavensward, subverting the Warrior of Light trope in Shadowbringers, crafting a delightfully distinct villain with Emet Selch, expanding on the actual lore of Eorzea’s gods with the Myths of the Realm raids. Even the goofy slapstick humor of Hildebrand’s quests represents something unique and distinct about this entry, a bizarre comedic slant that’s unlike anything in the rest of the series. FFXIV has the capacity for incredible original storytelling, but too often it tries to be a Final Fantasy smorgasbord, rather than simply being itself.
It’s no secret FFXIV’s player numbers declined after Dawntrail; it naturally happens post-expansion, but is also likely indicative of where MMOs, and the game industry at large, are right now. Unfortunately, Square Enix is still in a spot where it needs FFXIV to be a hit. I’m personally extremely hopeful for a lot of the changes Evercold is making, particularly the reinvigoration of the combat systems, making them more active with Evolved Mode, and completely rebooting the interface and daily system.
Many of those things are systemic changes coming that have needed to happen for a while, but it also feels like Square Enix is leaning even harder on that theme park-style design, especially in terms of incorporating past titles, and that’s a dangerous path to go down. Too much of FFXIV’s unique identity is being sanded off to try and hone in on that nostalgia. The proof, of course, will be in the execution of Evercold. I don’t want to instantly disregard an entire raid series just because of the concept – especially considering the Return to Ivalice raids are still the pinnacle of what this MMO has achieved. But it’s a worrying trend I hope the development team is at least cognizant of.
See, the problem with theme parks is the novelty starts to wear off the older you get. Your feet hurt from walking around too much, and the shiny, austere presentation that used to wow you as a kid now looks cheap and worn down – the roller coaster makes your back spasm, and after the 30th time you’ve ridden one, it’s just not as special. And while you may not be able to recapture those adrenaline rushes of your childhood, the joy of life is in trying something new – go to a local farmer’s market, try a pottery class, take up pickleball. You’re older, and life is different, but that’s okay. Try something new, and you might like it. And maybe getting out of the comfort zone is just the push FFXIV needs, too.
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