Twitter
    Shindig
    • Reviews
      • Game Reviews
      • Tech Reviews
      • Book Reviews
    • News
      • Game News
      • Tech News
    • Features
    • Games
      • Reviews
      • News
      • Indie Games
      • Guides
      • Games by Platform
        • Nintendo
          • Nintendo Switch
          • Nintendo 3DS
        • PlayStation
          • PlayStation 5
          • PlayStation 4
          • PlayStation VR
          • PlayStation Vita
        • Xbox
          • Xbox Series X|S
          • Xbox One
        • PC
        • Mobile
    • Tech
      • Reviews
      • News
    • Books
      • Reviews
      • Manga
      • Comics
    • Film & TV
      • Film
      • TV
    • Collectibles
    • More
      • Humour
      • Food
      • Music
      • Art
      • Competitions
    Twitter
    Shindig
    PlayStation 4

    Final Fantasy XIV’s The Rising 2017 event is a delight

    Matt RyanBy Matt RyanAugust 29, 2017

    On Saturday (or Sunday, depending on your timezone), Square Enix launched a new in-game event in Final Fantasy XIV. “The Rising: A Missing Minstrel and a Perilous Pest Problem” – or simply “The Rising 2017” – is a celebration of the fourth anniversary of the launch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and follows on from similar commemoration events from the past three years. It’s utterly delightful.

    The Rising 2017 continues the theme from last year’s event of fighting strange, mechanical insectoids called bugs. The 2016 event had you fighting the bugs yourself in a special FATE; it was a comical nod to the ongoing job of the game’s development team in squashing (development) bugs, and a neat acknowledgement of the role that players have in helping with that task.

    This year, you don’t fight the bugs yourself – in fact, there’s no combat whatsoever throughout the quest line. Instead, you’re sent on a mission to find the Wandering Minstrel, who’s gone missing, only to find the remains of some destroyed bugs and a strange teleportation device. When you activate the device – because what kind of adventurer doesn’t use a mysterious device with no idea of what will happen – you find yourself whisked away to a strange dungeon, where the Wandering Minstrel is stranded.

    What follows had me grinning from ear to ear: escaping from this place involves working your way through the Cheap Dungeon in a first-person dungeon crawl. It calls to mind old games like Wizardry and Might and Magic, and even plays out in deliberately low-fi presentation. There’s no combat, so it’s purely a maze game, and it includes an auto-mapping feature, so there’s no need to worry about it getting too frustrating. The Cheap Dungeon spans two floors, and escape involves figuring out a seven-letter password with clues scattered about the place. It’s not hard, but it’s a huge amount of fun, and it makes me want a whole game in this style – be that as a Final Fantasy XIV mini-game, or a standalone thing.

    It’s also full of neat little Easter eggs, like notes on the walls that poke fun at the developers’ Sisyphean task of squashing out and endless stream of bugs. There’s also a nod to Final Fantasy XI’s famous (infamous?) Mordion Jail, where the characters of players who broke the game’s terms of service could be imprisoned and their transport skills disabled so they can’t escape; before going into the Cheap Dungeon itself you find yourself in a locked cell with the Wandering Minstrel, who laments the disabling of his teleportation magicks.

    The best Easter egg comes once you complete the dungeon though. I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoiling it, but there’s an adorable cutscene that just filled my heart with warm fuzzies. Anyone who did last year’s event will know what to expect, but if you missed The Rising 2016 – as I did, and I’m sure did many other players who returned for Stormblood – then you’re in for a treat.

    So go forth, my fellow Warriors of Light, and enjoy The Rising 2017! The event runs until Thursday, September 14 at 7:59 am (PDT), and you can start it by visiting an NPC called Nonora at the Ruby Road Exchange in Ul’dah. Full details are available on the Lodestone.

    Event Final Fantasy XIV MMORPG Square Enix
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Matt Ryan
    • Website
    • Twitter

    Matt is a writer based in Wellington. He loves all things pop culture, and is fascinated by its place in history and the wider social context.

    Related Posts

    Quick Hits: Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters – the Famicom Era

    May 16, 2023

    Review: Harvestella (Switch) 

    8 January 27, 2023

    Review: Tactics Ogre: Reborn (Switch) 

    9 November 15, 2022
    What's Hot

    Here’s the full song list for Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival

    June 23, 2022

    Here are the full track lists for Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun and Drum Session

    August 10, 2018

    Here’s the full song list for Let’s Sing 2023 with Hits from Australia and NZ

    September 30, 2022

    The problems with Fire Emblem Fates’ same-sex marriage

    July 2, 2015
    Latest from Twitter
    My Tweets
    Affiliates
    Contact Us

    Feel free to drop us a message!

    Email: [email protected]
    Twitter: @ShindigNZ

    Friends of Shindig
    DigitallyDownloaded.net
    The Spinoff
    Tech-Gaming
    • Contact
    • Reviews Policy
    • Write for Shindig
    © 2023 Shindig Media. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

     

    Loading Comments...