History Awesome / FinalFantasyXIV

All the Ultimate Trials are this by definition, as they are retellings of the final bosses of the raid dungeons and main stories replayed as a HarderThanHard BossRush. The fights are certainly exaggerated from the truth, but it doesn't make the fights any less awesome and satisfying to conquer.

* Not to be outdone, the Warrior of Light's party gets their own CMOA towards the end of the Alpha Omega phase. Through the power of dynamis, the party can unleash multiple Level 3 {{Limit Break}}s, back-to-back. Not only is the Warrior breaking their limits, they're breaking them over and over! Keep in mind, this against a being in Alpha Omega that is digitally optimized into a perfect battle strategy, using the power of dynamis, with Alpha's CPU helping it finally understand mankind's emotions and their capabilities into perfect endings and beginnings. It could be, quite simply, the most powerful being that Elpis has ever seen in its long history. '''The Warrior of Light still wins.'''

* This trial explores the possibility of Omega continuing its testing beyond Alphascape, and it culminates with Omega ''harnessing Dynamis'' to continue testing out of sheer determination. It comes to fully understand its power, and takes in Alpha and his Dynamis energy to evolve into '''Alpha Omega''' a near-perfect being that understands endings and beginnings. And, by your character's name, it beckons you to see through this fight to the end.

[[folder:Meta/Events]]
* The game's success story itself is an awesome testament in itself. It started life struggling to put its toe in the market due to a myriad of design and technical problems, but after a whirlwind of restructuring, its popularity climbed the ranks to become a mainstream juggernaut.
** It also makes an interesting and awesome {{Foil}} in regards of who they were competing with: ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. During its inceptions, ''FFXIV'' was lauded as an attempt to kill ''[=WoW=]'', but it ''horribly failed''. After realizing this, Square-Enix decided to tear their old product apart and re-shape it into a new one, slowly rebuilding up their games more modestly, with more dedication, and less of overhype based on brand name since [[HumblePie their big failure humbled them.]] As eventually players of ''[=WoW=]'' became disillusioned of their own game due a lot of factors, ''FFXIV'' has been in a place where it's steady and had good going, enough to grow even bigger and more popular, welcoming a lot of disillusioned ''[=WoW=]'' players that wanted to make an exodus. You heard it right: ''FFXIV'' [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable finally fulfilled its purpose to be the]] "''[=WoW=]'' Killer", even if only partially because that game is still running but continuing to lose fans while this game gained a lot.
** Combining with [[Awesome/FinalFantasyXIVLegacyARealmReborn End of an Era cinematics]], in hindsight after how the game has been gaining ground ever since this one event, this can count as ''one'' to Bahamut. He might have destroyed one continent and has been given quite a bit of AdaptationalVillainy, but the destruction he caused breathed a new life to the franchise to become even better than before. When compared to his AlternateCompanyEquivalent [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Deathwing]], who also re-shaped his continent with their destruction but his destruction ended up setting in motion several schism between developers and community (and some other external issues) that caused his game to dwindle, Square actually made Bahamut's destructive event into something that saved the franchise. Even when he's at his worst, [[AccidentalHero Bahamut was kinda made to be 'the savior of the franchise'.]]
* In the 2016 Moonfire Faire event, one of the quests asked the player to weaken and capture three bomb monsters to be used later on. Due to oversight from the developers, the target monsters were open to being attacked by anyone. This had led to a lot of people constantly killing the bombs due to everyone attacking them at the same time and trolls killed the bombs on purpose just to piss people off. However, some Japanese servers had its players counter the problem by having every one form a line to wait their turn at capturing the bombs so that everyone can complete the quest fairly. The idea then spread to other servers outside Japan and everyone formed their own lines to make things fair.
* In the 2017 Frankfurt fanfest, The Primals (a band known for playing songs from the game) performed Rise, which plays in the 2nd half of the Alexander Prime fight. Halfway through the song, the whole band performs a timestop and freeze in place as if Alexander had stopped the flow of time as it does in the game.
* For 2017's April Fools Day, Square Enix uploaded a trailer for a De-make of the Alexander raids, set up as a ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'' styled game called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZJxYLoun7g Tactics Alexander.]] The spritework and soundtrack are ''immensely'' well-done for a simple joke that could've been mere screenshots on an announcement page.
* During one of the last live letter leading into Stormblood started showing off some of the job abilities that would be introduced. While it was all very nice, there was a collective mix of "[[BigOmg OH MY GOD!!!]]", hysterical cries of "[[BigWhat WHAT!?]]", and in one particular case [[https://youtu.be/0PxBOnkw3QQ?t=6m11s overjoyed and downright hysterical laughter]] when it was revealed that Summoners were ''actually getting the ability to summon Bahamut''.
* A collaboration event with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' was revealed at the Paris Fan Festival, with the Warrior of Light apparently going on a road trip with Noctis. Highlights of the trailer include them fighting Niflheim troops and fighting ''XV'''s version of Garuda together, with the [=WoL=] utilizing Noctis' warp strike at several points. And the very last shot of the trailer? A group of four people riding in the Regalia together before it switches to flight mode and soars off. That's right. We're getting XIV's first four-person mount in the form of Noct's CoolCar. [[MemeticMutation Get in, losers. We're farming primals.]]
* During the Tokyo [=FanFest=], Yoshi-P stated the Hrothgar and Viera wouldn't have headgear displayed due to limitations in their model design. The character team, however, thought otherwise and made at least 540 or so headgear pieces fitted for them anyway, ''in their spare time, behind Yoshi-P's back.'' Now that's dedication to their work.
* Shadowbringers is definitely throwing wide the gates of new abilities for their jobs, and this list is some of the standout examples.
** If you thought summoning Bahamut was insane, Summoners can now ''summon Phoenix''.
** Dark Knight, the posterboy of the expansion, can ''channel their inner darkness to summon a copy of themselves to fight alongside with.'' And if you look at your copy's armor, it's not just a clone. You can now summon ''Fray'' to aid you in battle!
** You know that big annoying Jump Niddhog used on you during his trial? The one with the heavy aoe damage and the impressive looking three rings? ''That's'' your level 80 dragoon skill now.
* In February 2020, Japanese magazine NHK [[https://www.siliconera.com/japans-favorite-final-fantasy-game-according-to-nhks-grand-poll-is-final-fantasy-x/ launched a massive popularity poll]] to see who were the favorite characters in the entire franchise, as chosen by several million fan votes. The biggest shock and a moment of awesome for ''XIV'' as a whole, #6 was Emet-Selch, beating out a massive majority of characters ''including [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]] and '''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII SEPHIROTH]]''''', cementing his place firmly as the most popular villain character in the ''entire'' FF franchise. Other contenders of note was Haurchefant at #12, just below Sephiroth, and in #20 The Crystal Exarch, just below Celes Chere from ''VI'', placing three characters from XIV in the top 20 overall.
** Something else to consider is that G'raha Tia placed at #58 on this same list. Those who have played XIV know that he and the Exarch are ''the same person'', meaning there is a good chance the vote on him was split and his actual place in the poll could be a lot higher.
** Also included in the article is a ranking for the franchise's games itself. Where does XIV stand? Out of the thirty shown, it made '''#5'''.
* One for the animation team is the tail end scenes in "Reflections in Crystal", where all the Scions are getting back in shape. Never has the animations look so lively and expressive, showing the team has really stepped up their game in that department, from Alisae's dejected grumbling and slumping, to G'raha's ears and tail.
* The trailer for ''Endwalker'' gave up something not yet seen..the twins are finally in CGI and they look '''amazing'''. A great way for Alphinaud to show off his new class, Sage!
** The final shot is enough to send chills down one's spine, with the [=WoL=] standing tall in Paladin armor with sword and shield at the ready, not simply the Champion of Eorzea now, but a HopeBringer for all of the Source, truly laying claim to the title "Warrior of Light".
** The full trailer only adds more awesome, from the music paying homage to each expansion that came before, EVERY Scion except Tataru and Krile represented in CGI, Estinien wiping out a flock of voidsent with Stardiver while standing beside [[UnexpectedCharacter Vrtra]] of the First Brood, the [[SceneryPorn gorgeous reveal]] of Old Sharlayan capped off by Y'shtola promising Fourchenault Leveilleur that the Scions will fight to the bitter end rather than merely 'live on' as Sharlayan intends to (which is especially cathartic in hindsight, given how much of a JerkAss Fourchenault is revealed to be in ''Death Unto Dawn: Part 2''), and finally the expanded view of the Warrior of Light on the moon involving him facing The First Beast from Amaurot and holding it off with his shield before slaying it with a single strike of his sword.
-->'''Y'shtola''': So... [[HeadInTheSandManagement Sharlayan would keep its council while the world is lost to ruin]]?\\
'''Fourchenault''': It would. Come what may, we shall live on. We ''must''.\\
'''Y'shtola''': Do as you must, then. [[DoNotGoGentle But we Scions will fight. Until the heavens fall.]] ''[[DefiantToTheEnd Until our last breath.]]''
* The ''Endwalker'' presentation as a whole was amazing, but a few of the highlights include:
** Naoki Yoshida crushing two rumors at once by announcing that not only was ''Endwalker'' ''NOT'' the final ''XIV'' expansion, but that he views the game as his life's work, and that he's not stepping down as director anytime soon.
** Natsuko Ishikawa is going to be the lead writer for ''Endwalker''--the same woman who wrote the DRK questline, and was the lead writer of ''Shadowbringers'', for which she was given a standing ovation!
* Furthering the above, the full presentation at Fanfest came with a colossal surprise: after stating in ''Shadowbringers'' that male-only Hrothgar and female-only Viera would be the last races to be added to the game, thanks to the efforts of the design team and overwhelming player demand, Yoshida revealed that male Viera would be added to the game in ''Endwalker'', with female Hrothgar to be added at a later date.
* At Fanfest 2021, composer Masayoshi Souken had been hospitalized for cancer shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, he still decided to work on music for the game, hiding his condition from most of the dev team so they could work without worry and making special arrangements so that he could keep composing from the hospital, including fan-favorite "To The Edge".
* Following a perfect storm of events, as well as general ''Endwalker'' Hype, the game exploded in popularity and ended up experiencing the largest NewbieBoom to date. The game ended up breaking its own concurrent player count on steam... only to then break that record again the very next day! Demand for the game surged to such an unexpected level that the game actually ended up briefly selling out of Digital Copies, and at one point, the servers got so congested with players that it became utterly impossible to create new characters on any server during peak hours. And this happened during a content lull when there was nothing new being added to the game! A combination of good word-of-mouth, attention from some big-time streamers, some smart PR moves on Square's part, and the overall quality of the game propelled ''Final Fantasy XIV'' to never-before-seen heights of popularity... and ''Endwalker'' wasn't even out yet!
* The ''Endwalker'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCVcgZ8dtD0 Job Action Trailer]] brings in swathes of fancy new moves for everyone, but these listed here are the highlights.
** If you thought Summoner summoning Phoenix was insane, their origins are fully realized by reshaping the job full circle and letting you summon Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda. No, not the Egis, proper manifestations of ''the primals themselves,'' even if you're using [[FunSize diminished extensions to dampen their danger]]. What's more, the main vector of their power now is the gems of the ''[[BadassAdorable Carbuncles]]''.
*** On that note, the L90 rotation will apparently feature first conjuring Bahamut, then using Carbuncle to cycle through the three primals (your pick of order), and then use the residual power of ''all four'' to conjure Phoenix. ''Nobody's'' going to be left out on dungeon forays.
** The Paladin, being the expansion's poster boy, gets an extension to their already shiny and powerful Confiteor. It gets not one, not two, but ''three'' extra steps, turning its finisher into a four-skill combo that brings down a rain of swords to smite your foes.
[[/folder]]

--->'Tis said that there are no ifs in history, yet man is wont to dream. Let us dream, then, of a future where [[TheLostLenore a dear comrade]] lived...

--->'''King Thordan:''' Hahahaha! By the power of mine enemy's eyes, I am become a god eternal!
--->Thus did a dreadful new divinity arise--one endowed with the irrepressible life force of two great wyrms...

-->'Tis said that there are no ifs in history, yet man is wont to dream. Let us dream, then, of a future where [[TheLostLenore a dear comrade]] lived...

-->'''King Thordan:''' Hahahaha! By the power of mine enemy's eyes, I am become a god eternal!
-->Thus did a dreadful new divinity arise--one endowed with the irrepressible life force of two great wyrms...

* After fighting your way through a vastly different timeline--one where King Thordan tempers members of the first brood, one where both Haurchefant and Ysayle survive the war, and one where Nidhogg is so thirsty for vengeance that he takes control of his brother Hraesvelgr via an Allagan neurolink--things finally seem stable. The Eyes slowly leave Estinien's body, freeing him of Nidhogg's influence and putting things back on their canon path...and then Thordan descends from the skies above. Letting out a maniacal laugh, it would seem his request that you spare him but one phase ago was merely part of his final scheme: to consume the eyes of Nidhogg and Hraesvelgr for himself and ascend to godhood. Drawing the eyes into himself, his body begins to adapt, adding more and more Dravanian features to himself and his armor, before he manifests two glowing blades of light and slashes at the party, causing the screen to shatter; not an Ultimate End, but an "Alternate End"! Welcome to the final boss of this ultimate, an unholy unity of man and dragon created by a tyrannical madman: ''Dragon-king Thordan.''

* After fighting your way through a vastly different timeline--one where King Thordan tempers members of the first brood, one where both Haurchefant and Ysayle survive the war, and one where Nidhogg is so thirsty for vengeance that he takes control of his brother Hraesvelgr via an Allagan neurolink--things finally seem stable. The Eyes slowly leave Estinien's body, freeing him of Nidhogg's influence and putting things back on their canon path...and then Thordan descends from the skies above. Letting out a maniacal laugh, it would seem his request that you spare him but one phase ago was merely part of his final scheme: to consume the eyes of Nidhogg and Hraesvelgr for himself and ascend to godhood. Drawing the eyes into himself, his body begins to adapt, adding more and more Dravanian features to his body and armor, before he manifests two glowing blades of light and slashes at the party, causing the screen to shatter! Welcome to the final boss of this ultimate, an unholy unity of man and dragon created by a tyrannical madman: ''Dragon-king Thordan.''

* After fighting your way through a vastly different timeline--one where King Thordan tempers members of the first brood, one where both Haurchefant and Ysayle survive the war, and one where Nidhogg is so thirsty for vengeance that he takes control of his brother Hraesvelgr via an Allagan neurolink--things finally seem stable. The Eyes slowly leave Estinien's body, freeing him of control and putting things back on their canon path...and then Thordan descends from the skies above. Letting out a maniacal laugh, it would seem his request that you spare him but one phase ago was merely part of his final scheme: to consume the eyes of Nidhogg and Hraesvelgr for himself and ascend to godhood. His body begins to adapt, adding more and more Dravanian features to him, before he manifests two glowing blades of lights and swipes at the party, causing the screen to shatter! Welcome to the final boss of this ultimate, an unholy unity of man and dragon created by a tyrannical madman: ''Dragon-king Thordan.''

-->Thus did one song draw to a close. But here and now, this minstrel shall perform another--a song of imagination transcending...

* Then, "White Raven" starts playing as a pillar from Dalmund fall to the floor, changing the landscape into the simulation of the Sixth Umbral Era, as you face Tempered Nael and her monsters.

* Though the fight is a retelling of the Dragonsong War, the Wandering Minstrel emphasizes it's a WhatIf scenario. So, what do you do to reimagine an alternate turn of events? After falling Nidhogg-possessed Estinien, the timeline suddenly rewinds back to Part 1 of the encounter, allowing you to do what many players wished to do back in ''Heavensward'': you get to ''save Haurchefant from his HeroicSacrifice''!

* In February 2020, Japanese magazine NHK [[https://www.siliconera.com/japans-favorite-final-fantasy-game-according-to-nhks-grand-poll-is-final-fantasy-x/ launched a massive popularity poll]] to see who were the favorite characters in the entire franchise, as chosen by several million fan votes. The biggest shock and a moment of awesome for ''XIV'' as a whole, #6 was Emet-Selch, beating out a massive majority of characters ''including [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]] and '''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII SEPHIROTH]]''''', cementing his place firmly as the most popular villain character in the ''entire'' FF franchise. Other contenders of note was Huarchefant at #12, just below Sephiroth, and in #20 The Crystal Exarch, just below Celes Chere from ''VI'', placing three characters from XIV in the top 20 overall.

* In February 2020, Japanese magazine NHK [[https://www.siliconera.com/japans-favorite-final-fantasy-game-according-to-nhks-grand-poll-is-final-fantasy-x/ launched a massive popularity poll]] to see who were the favorite characters in the entire franchise, as chosen by several million fan votes. The biggest shock and a moment of awesome for ''XIV'' as a whole, #6 was Emet-Selch, beating out a massive majority of characters ''including [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]] and '''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII SEPHIROTH]]''''', cementing his place firmly as the most popular villain character in the ''entire'' FF franchise. Other contenders of note was Huarchefant at #12, just below Sephiroth, and in #20 The Crystal Exarch, just below Celes Lockhart from ''VI'', placing three characters from XIV in the top 20 overall.

* Following a perfect storm of events, as well as general ''Endwalker'' Hype, the game exploded in popularity and ended up experiencing the largest NewbieBoom to date. The game ended up breaking its own concurrent player count on steam... only to then break that record again the very next day! Demand for the game surged to such an unexpected level that the game actually ended up briefly selling out of Digital Copies, and at one point, the servers got so congested with players that it became utterly impossible to create new characters on any server during peak hours. And this happened during a content lull when there was nothing new being added to the game! A combination of good word-of-mouth, attention from some big-time streamers, some smart PR moves on Square's part, and the overall quality of the game propelled ''Final Fantasy XIV'' to never-before-seen heights of popularity... and ''Endwalker'' isn't even out yet!

** If you thought Summoner summoning Phoenix was insane, their origins are fully realized by bringing it back full circle and letting you summon Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda. No, not the Egis, ''the whole damn primals''. Now that the threat of primals are abated, what was once your enemies are now under your command!

* ''[[Awesome/FinalFantssyXIVEndwalker Endwalker]]''

** The Paladin, being the expansion's poster boy, gets an extension to their already shiny and powerful Confiteor. It gets not one, not two, but ''four'' extra steps, turning its finisher into a five-skill combo that brings down a rain of swords to smite your foes with.

'''Y'shtola''': Do as you must, then. [[DoNoGoGentle But we Scions will fight. Until the heavens fall.]] ''[[DefiantToTheEnd Until our last breath.]]''

'''Y'shtola''': Do as you must, then. But we Scions will fight. Until the heavens fall. ''[[DoNotGoGentle Until our last breath]].''