I must confess I know essentially nothing about Final Fantasy XIV, as FF has become one of those game series I’ll cross the street to avoid. I do, though, admire both the relative honesty and the steely-eyed resolve in Square acknowledging that MMO spin-off FF XIV was such a screw-up that it had to be killed off – with plans to relaunch it as ‘A Realm Reborn’ and what they claim is tantamount to a brand new game. As is Square tradition, there’s an overwraught, highly technically accomplished cinematic to commemorate the end of FF XIV’s existing world. It’s a certainly a dramatic way to announce that all your characters are getting wiped.

So what happens after the apocalypse?





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I hope the same fate befalls whoever chose that music.

Later this year, Final Fantasy XIV becomes Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, which is being described as an enormous revision and a concerted effort to win back the jaded. Here’s another barrage of CGI teasing that, followed by some in-game footage of the new version.



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That looks like an MMO, alright. Quite a pretty one too. Another soundtrack that makes me want to kill myself, of course. Tell you what looks quite impressive – the highly flexible character creator, which looks as thought it could be the City of Heroes of games about child-faced people with hairdos that make them look like lagomorphs.



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OK, that’s enough videos for now. This goddamn coffee won’t drink itself, after all. Find out more about the rebornening of realms right here.