Final Fantasy is a series that has been in the gaming sphere for a very very long time. With each iteration of the series came new characters, new stories and new mechanics though there are some that stood the test of time. Despite almost all Final Fantasy games having stories and worlds that are not directly connected, there are still bits that stay the same. From Phoenix Downs to Dark Mages there are things that pop out of different Final Fantasy games. In this article we’ll showcase you all of the references from Final Fantasy 11 that made it to 14.
Final Fantasy XIV: References From Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy 14 had massive success over the couple of years and for good reason. It’s a solid MMORPG that is held together by great stories, a great community and a passionate team behind it. This isn’t the first time Final Fantasy had an MMO though, back in 2002 there was another MMO in the series and that was Final Fantasy 11.
There are a lot of different things that Final Fantasy 14 took directly or has been influenced from Final Fantasy 11 and here are some of the most notable ones.
Races
Final Fantasy 11 had 5 races, the Elvann, the Tarutaru, the Hume, Galka and Mithra, with the last two having only one gender available, male Galkas and Female Mithra. From the image above you can easily tell that this was this was the basis for the races in Final Fantasy 14.
In fact at the start of FF14 there was only male Roegadyn and female Miqo’te and the opposite genders were only introduced in A Realm Reborn.
Jobs and Skills
It’s not just the races, a lot of the jobs and skills in Final Fantasy 14 were either directly taken from Final Fantasy 11 or were heavily inspired by it. The Machinist in FF14 is a great example since it’s a mixture between FF11’s Corsair and Puppet Master jobs. The Carbuncle’s model in FF14 is a direct copy of the one in FF11.
Both games also share some spell effects, and some even have direct ports to FF14. For example the White Mage in both games has the skill Benediction while Paladins in both games had a version of an Invulnerability skill; with FF11 having Invincible and FF14 having Hallowed Ground.
Going back to the Carbuncle both FF14 and FF11 also had Searing Light as a spell that the Carbuncle could cast, although it was soon changed in FF14 so that it’s cast by the player now.
The World
Not only are there things that are the same for players and jobs but also the world the games take place. This is already pretty common in the Final Fantasy series to share some commonalities with monsters of the world like how Chocobos are common throughout the series.
In both MMOs it’s the same with some monsters being present in both games. Of course we won’t be going through all of them since that’ll just make this article into a laundry list.
There are also references to certain items from the previous game. For example, Admiral Merlwyb’s weapon is called the “Death Penalty” which is named after to Corsair’s mythic weapon in Final Fantasy 11. Kan-E-Senna’s staff is also another weapon from FF11 the “Claustrum.”
Not only in weapons but there’s also references in many of the quests, for example in the Ninja quest line in FF14 Oboro will tell you the password for the Ninja headquarters. You’ll need to reply “Kaede” after they say “Ayame,” these names are characters from the Ninja quest line in FF11.
Then there are entire quests that revolve around characters from the previous MMO. There is a collaboration event between the two MMOs called “The Maiden’s Rhapsody” and here’s your warning for spoilers for both games.
The event involves a character Iroha, a central character in the Rhapsody of Vana’diel story line in FF11. She’s looking for a way to get back to her world and the hero of light, that means you, need to help her get back.
You’ll go through entire areas and fights that a reminicent to the fights and places that was in Final Fantasy 11. At the very end of the event Iroha comments that when looking at the Warrior of Light she’s reminded of the Adventurer, her master and the your character in Final Fantasy 11. It’s a cool throwback and a heartwarming line for players who have played both games since Iroha is talking to the same person.
That’s the end of the spoilers and the end of this article. There’s a lot of references and direct inspirations from the previous MMO to the next and if you want to see more you can check out this video right here: Final Fantasy XI References in Final Fantasy XIV – YouTube
Many thanks to Autobalance for showing everyone every bit of references FF14 got from FF11. The Final Fantasy series will always have callbacks to previous games, it’s a tradition to the series and to the traditionalist nature of Japanese RPG design.
Some things may change, graphics and gameplay may evolve but there are some things that stay the same. There will always be a great evil in the world, and a great hero to slay it. Along with cat girls, we can’t forget about those.
ALSO READ: Final Fantasy XIV: FULL Sage Job Guide
