With the return of the FFXV event in FFXIV, it reminds me the series collab events are some of the best on offer and I can’t wait for the FFXVI one.
Square Enix recently announced that the Final Fantasy 15 collaboration event, A Nocturne for Heroes, will soon return to Final Fantasy 14. It’s one of the most well loved limited time events the game has ever had, likely due to the highly coveted Regalia Type-G mount you can earn.
There are other rewards, too, such as Noctis’s outfit, hairstyle, some FF15-themed Orchestrion Rolls, and a Triple Triad card, but a sleek black car that can fit four players and fly is the real draw here. Naturally, when new and returning players venture into Final Fantasy 14 and realise they missed out on such a gem, they’re disappointed. Since its initial launch in 2019, the event has returned once before in 2021, marking this as its third iteration, so at least it resurfaces semi-frequently to keep players happy. You still can’t buy the mount in the online store though.
I’ve already completed the event, so the rewards are moot for me now, but what intrigues me more is seeing all the players who get to experience A Nocturne for Heroes for the first time. While many of the FF14 seasonal events these days are pretty straightforward & nothing great, nothing terrible & the collaboration events with other Final Fantasy games stand out as some of the best to date in terms of both narrative and rewards.
There have been three so far, Final Fantasy 11, Final Fantasy 13, and Final Fantasy 15, and we have a Final Fantasy 16 collab event on the horizon too. In fact, FF11 actually had two events, Burgeoning Dread and The Maiden’s Rhapsody. These are the weakest of the bunch, likely because they were the first, but as an avid FF11 player back in the day, being able to catch up with Shantotto in Eorzea was a nice touch. Doubly nice was the Shantotto Minion reward.
By the time the FF13 event Lightning Strikes landed in 2013, the bar had been raised considerably. This event was written by Motomu Toriyama, director of the Final Fantasy 13 trilogy, and offered a side story with more depth than your usual event, split over several chapters and two distinct parts. There were also plenty of FF13-themed rewards, such as weapons and gear, to go around.
For fans of FF13, beyond the obvious appearance of Lightning, there are many easter eggs to enjoy throughout that pay homage to the entire saga, such as the victory fanfare from Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 playing when you complete FATEs, or the font changing to suit the trio of games. When the FF15 event debuted in 2019, it maintained this level of quality and even threw in some line changes for players who had previously completed the Lightning Strikes event. Once again, there were little nods and easy to miss references for players to appreciate.
One of the best easter eggs is that FF15 had its own FF14 collab event around the same time, Adventurer from Another World, which earns players a new FF14-themed outfit for Noctis where he appears as a Miqo’te in racial starting gear. At one point during the event in FF14, Noctis is browsing the racial starter gear store in Gridania, implying this is where he nabbed his new threads. Little details like this show the love and attention that goes into delivering these events and how committed the team is to providing enjoyable fan service.
The return of A Nocturne for Heroes is making me even more excited about the upcoming launch of the FF16 event. If the team maintains the level of quality from the previous series collabs, the FF16 event could be something truly special. If you haven’t checked out the FF15 event before, make sure you don’t miss it when it returns on February 29, and more importantly, don’t forget to bag that mount.
If you'll be participating in the A Nocturne for Heroes event for the first time, we have a complete guide right here .
