Summary
- Fans of Final Fantasy 14 speculate that the iconic villain Jenova from Final Fantasy 7 may appear in the upcoming expansion, Dawntrail, based on hints given during the game's second Fan Festival in London.
- The expansion takes place in Tural, a continent inspired by real-life places in South America, and features a map with a large impact crater resembling the Chicxulub crater believed to have caused the extinction of dinosaurs.
- Director Naoki Yoshida revealed images and hints of a new zone called Shaaloani and a high-tech dungeon featuring a blue pod and a massive mech called the Eliminator, drawing connections to different appearances of Jenova in Final Fantasy 7. Fans are eagerly speculating on the secrets and connections within these reveals.
The latest theory among Final Fantasy 14 fans is that Jenova, the iconic villain from Final Fantasy 7, may be making an appearance in Dawntrail. This hypothesis came by connecting a bunch of hints Final Fantasy 14 gave fans during its second Fan Festival in London.
Dawntrail, Final Fantasy 14’s fifth expansion, takes place in Tural, a continent that has historically been referred to as the New World by most Eorzeans. The zones, cultures, and landscapes of the region take direct inspiration from real-life places in South America.
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During FanFest, Final Fantasy 14 revealed some new images and hints for the expansion. While most of it has been kept deliberately vague, director and producer Naoki Yoshida repeatedly referred to massive secrets in the expansion. As players combed the various pictures, they noticed the map of Tural looks like it has massive impact crater from a meteor–similar to the Chicxulub crater in the Yucatan peninsula widely believed to be responsible for the mass-extinction of the dinosaurs. With her title of “The Calamity from the Skies,” Jenova is the first thing that came to mind for many players.
This mystery goes even deeper. During the convention, Final Fantasy 14 revealed Shaaloani, a new zone teeming with ceruleum fuel. However, Yoshida was careful to cover up a part of the key art, as it would apparently be a huge spoiler, though he claimed later images could give hints as to what might be there. Then, later in the keynote speech, he revealed a mysterious, high-tech dungeon featuring a blue pod, and a massive mech of some kind called the Eliminator–both of which evoke different appearances of Jenova in Final Fantasy 7.
Fans are going wild with the speculation from these images and clues. Top theories seem to be that Jenova fell on Tural during one of the Calamities in Final Fantasy 14, while some even believe Ultima, the High Seraph, or even the ceruleum itself, may be connected to her.
Most Final Fantasy 14 expansions pepper in references to previous games in the franchise, but Final Fantasy 7 has yet to get a lot of attention yet. With Dawntrail being Final Fantasy 14 7.0, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth coming out next year as well, a Jenova appearance in the critically-acclaimed MMO would be perfect and timely. That said, it is important to remember this is all purely speculation at the moment. Luckily, with Tokyo FanFest taking place on January 7, 2024, and the expansion set to launch in early summer, fans won’t have to wait long to see if their theories were correct.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5, with an Xbox Series X/S version launching in Spring 2024.