Final Fantasy XIV is a very successful MMORPG. As a matter of fact, its story of failure and redemption is probably one of the most uplifting if not the most inspiring in the history of the genre.
It’s not unlikely for MMORPGs in general and Final Fantasy XIV in particular to be played by well-known personalities, but recently, Square Enix’s super-popular (and exceptionally profitable) game has drawn the attention of a very special VIP.
Until about a month ago Hironobu Sakaguchi, who many know as the creator and father of the Final Fantasy series, tweeted mostly about his latest game Fantasian, beautiful illustrations, or pictures of gorgeous vistas.
On September 27, 2021, Sakaguchi-san installed the free trial of Final Fantasy XIV, likely to prepare for an upcoming panel with the game’s producer and director Naoki Yoshida at Tokyo Game Show.
He picked his server and created a character, a lalafell. Since then, Sakaguchi-san’s Twitter timeline has never been the same.
Do keep in mind that below you may find spoilers if you have not finished the story of Final Fantasy XIV up to this point.
He was soon joined by veteran player (and Final Fantasy Tactics/XII director, on top of the writer of FFXIV’s Return to Ivalice and Save the Queen scenarios) Yasumi Matsuno, who gave him a million gil to help him get started, on top of showing him around.
Soon Square Enix hooked Sakaguchi-san up with a full-fledged account and a day after joining he was officially a player and level 11. He immediately started wearing the Warrior of Light helmet from the original Final Fantasy.
He then cleared the first couple of dungeons thanks to Matsuno-san’s healing.
On September 30, Sakaguchi-san unlocked his very own Chocobo buddy.
Between October 3 and 4 he unlocked his Paladin job and reached level 40.
The day after, Titan was no more.
One more day, and it was Garuda’s turn to fall, followed by Ultima Weapon.
Of course, Sakaguchi-san’s presence was starting to draw quite a bit of attention, and in the span of a couple of days, he powered through Good King Moggle Mog XII, Leviathan, and Ramuh.
A few days after, he was fighting his way through the Crystal tower, which certainly brought back memories. Sakaguchi-san’s favorite boss was Amon, as it strongly reminded him of Yoshitaka Amano’s illustrations. Odin was also cleared.
After wiping once against Cloud of Darkness, Sakaguchi-san managed to complete the Crystal Tower story.
And just like that, roughly two weeks after joining, Sakaguchi-san was ready to start Final Fantasy XIV’s first expansion, Heavensward.
Through many fights like Ravana, Bismark, and Knights of the Round, Sakaguchi-reached the ending of Heavensward in no time at all.
After the end of Heavensward, achieved after a sleepless night just in time to attend his daughter’s wedding, Sakaguchi-san declared to the world his love for Final Fantasy XIV.
After fights, including the Omega raids, it was time for him to tackle Shadowbringers and visit Kugane.
Over just a few days, Sakaguchi-san pretty much obliterated the second expansion and all of its post-launch content.
On October 24 he was ready to face the challenge of the latest expansion, Shadowbringers.
Expressing his appreciation for the story and design, Sakaguchi-san chewed through the content at breakneck speed, aided by Matsuno-san, and exactly a month after joining the game, he hit the current level 80 cap.
More story content and battle followed, alongside emotional moments thanks to the music.
On October 29, Sakaguchi-san was in the final stretch of the Shadowbringers’ story. He reached the lost city of Amaurot and defeated Hades. The original content of the Shadowbringers expansion was cleared a mere 32 days after he joined the game.
… And yet the adventure continued, as Sakaguchi-san, amazed by the many activities FFXIV provides, started the post-launch Shadowbringers content, including the Eden raids and the battle against a familiar enemy.
And we have finally reached the present. Today Sakaguchi-san reached the end of the story so far, readying himself for the next expansion Endwalker.
While he mentions that there are still lots of subquests to do, and starting tomorrow he’ll face more adventures, he reached this point in a mere 34 days.
This article includes only a small portion of Sakaguchi-san’s tweets, and you can surely expect many more. You can find most of them here.
The new Final Fantasy XIV expansion Endwalker will release on November 23, 2021, for PS5, PS4, and PC. A benchmark has been released for PC, including the male viera character creation. You can also read our hands-on preview.
If you want to see more about it, you can check out the latest details from a few weeks ago, the reveal of the extended trailer and the reaper job, and that of the male viera, locations, and release date.
You can also take a look at plenty of images, the original announcement, tons of initial details, and the first official screenshots and art.
Final Fantasy XIV is currently available for PlayStation 4, PS5, and PC. The upgrade to PS5 is offered free of charge to those who own the PS4 version.
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