Alexandria Theme "A Trail Unending" - FFXIV OST

[@GreigaBeastDS]

Something that really fucks me up is that we never see the real Sphene. We meet the Endless Queen, made by Preservation to rule Alexandria for an eternity. We see a sculpture of her on the Meso Terminal, but we don’t know if that resembles her original self or if that’s an embellishment. In these dungeon scenes, we never see her in person, always getting there too late or forced to move on.

[@shadowthehedgehog181]

@@GreigaBeastDS I think that's by design. The real Sphene is an unseen character

[@Genjiiro]

Yeah, as the Endless version of Otis says, the war darkened the Queen with grief near her end. That version they brought back was their ideal benevolent ruler but also someone who would do ANYTHING to protect her people, even if it meant sacrificing thousands of others in Tural to sustain them.

[@myhrazayn]

@@Genjiiro and I guess another gut puncher was the fact that I had the impression that the Lightning Nuke weapon killed her, but sidequests reveal that she died a slow death from Aetheric Poisoning,

[@hideharu-xiii8852]

@@myhrazaynProbably brought about by the crash we see in the Alexandria dungeon right?

[@myhrazayn]

@@hideharu-xiii8852 The airships? The one that got hit protected hers below, it was more of after they detonated the lightning nuke that pretty much ravaged everything was when she fell sick (I believe), Everkeep's construction started before they managed to preserve her, (3rd part)

[@turntapeover5749]

Its as if YoshiP has a made a mission to make us cry in the last dungeon of an expansion since Shadowbringers.

[@sharkgirling]

be it wandering a distant star, bleached with sin, living, loving life and it's denizens, and silencing the song of oblivion, or shepherding the pain to it's much needed rest, we bear the torch, lit with memories of worlds long lost, and smiles long since faded this burden of creation is ours to carry

[@brandonnull6795]

I love that this dungeon and Living Memory in general is the logical extreme of Emet-Selch’s “Remember that we once lived.” Sphene wishes to make sure that her people are never forgotten so badly that she ends up deleting all of her memories of them so that they can be “remembered” as Endless.

[@dumbsterdives]

and even then, remembered by who? i think the most important note of how tragic her story is how futile everything shes doing is. the only person who can actually remember the people to keep them "alive" is herself thanis to the regulators, and if she deletes all her cherished memories to be able to preserve them then there's already nothing left to preserve. She's so caught up in preserving the Endless that she doesn't even notice they're already gone.

[@sparthyslaysstuff2405]

@@dumbsterdives Well yeah, she's a rogue AI and her programming was faulty. Kinda like a certain birdgirl at the end of the universe.

[@ZeronesZG]

​@@sparthyslaysstuff2405 I disagree with her programming being faulty, everything points to Preservation intentionally chaining her down and limiting her options, inevitably leading down this path. Krile's parents even said they always intended to plunder aether from other worlds using the key.

[@wtfdidijustwatch1017]

@@ZeronesZG Krile's parents said Queen Sphene had always intended to plunder other worlds for Aether to sustain the constant flow of endless. Not the parents themselves. I know this is exactly what you were saying, but the lack of specifics threw me off a bit. Ignore my comment 👍

[@FalkRaegos]

I will not deny that I was in shambles when the "dungeon unlocked" message appeared on my screen, FF9 was the first game I ever played and seeing it now in XIV fills me with joy.

[@LontEnCaras]

same. I was pretty shocked, when I first stumbled upon the ruins of Alexandria.

[@jvstice56]

You aren't the only one who was a hot mess before this dungeon, then when we see Alexandria in ruins.

[@ramza285]

Seeing Alexandria destroyed again, destroyed my heart. And continues to do so each and everytime I get this dungeon in expert.

[@LuriTV]

they devastated Final Fantasy 1 in Shadowbringers. Now they did the same to Final Fantasy 9. I swear the devs have no respect for destroying your memories.

[@Nosidda]

This may not be what the developers intended, but I have a personal headcanon that all the past events we see involving Sphene and the fall of Alexandria takes place in the canonical world of Final Fantasy IX, likely hundreds or thousands of years later. Meaning Gaia is effectively a reflection of the Source. To that end, witnessing the destruction of Alexandria hits harder if you think that this is what becomes of the kingdom that Zidane and Garnet left behind after they saved it. But I'm also a person who likes to find connections where there may be none, so don't take my headcanon as fact. Again, I'm certain that isn't the intention by the developers. But it's crazy to think about.

[@olivia1486]

A TO THE L TO THE E X ANDRIA, ENDLESS GONNA RISE UP BOOM LIKE THUNDER

[@robotom6595]

YT autofill was making finding this theme annoying for the first few searches for this reason

[@hgjfkd12345]

Lmao

[@lenaboyer6981]

Making me laugh through the tears lmao

[@mlemlemmlemmlem]

no fucking way is this why it's the lightning calamity 🤣🤣🤣🤣?

[@optimaltt6070]

SONIC *GLOOM*

[@franzbraga]

Though this is yet another "lost civilization" final dungeon thematic, it differs in a very simple storytelling point that is often overlooked: the protagonists are trying to reach the castle as an attempt to reach Sphene herself and, perhaps, dissuade her out of this path. However, every single time we make any progress in getting to the castle, we're thrown back to the start by the antiviruses developed to protect the Eternal Queen. We never really get to reach her, because, by the time we finally manage to reach the castle, the only thing we ever find is the AI that deleted the Queen's memories forever. Every other dungeon in the same theme so far showed us a reality long lost, a world we could not save. The one big difference is that we *could* have saved Sphene here - not the world itself, but the memories of her and her people and the Dream she lived - but we didn't. In every other dungeon, reality as depicted is gone for hundreds, even thousands of years ago. In this one, we are but minutes too late.

[@RappyRaptor]

Sphene, to me at least, feels like the epitome of the phrase, 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions.' This whole dungeon cemented to me how much she loved her citizens, sacrificing her own life if it meant saving even a few of them. And makes it all the more of a gut punch how far in extreme lengths the 'memory' version of her is willing to go for her people. Leaves me with the perfect feeling of 'if only there was another way'.

[@zeehero7280]

She loved them so much she wanted to murder everyone else for them! EVERYONE ELSE!

[@DyneOnline]

Sphene is a monster, but a pitiable one. She's an AI forced to perpetuate an unsustainable system, and the wheels have come off. She's bound by her own programing, and her creation was fundamentally imperfect.

[@esylin7324]

"If only there was another way" Sphene says it best. "But fate is cruel. By the time we met, our futures had already been written."

[@Sllandre]

​@@esylin7324Makes it really cruel what we're getting next patch, with Futures Rewritten (Ultimate)

[@SoranPryde]

The thing is, the Sphene that went out into the storm to rescue her people is dead and gone. What we see and fight in the final trial is a simulacrum of memories that talks like her, acts like her, but is not her and never was. And so are the rest of the Endless. Commiting genocide on actual beings and souls to sustain simulacrums of long dead people is what we fought her to prevent

[@juliussempio8220]

A Disney Princess story... ...that went horribly wrong

[@unclechen7693]

Truuuu

[@patheticbadger3478]

So basically the original German fairy tale then

[@MrKanooe]

@@patheticbadger3478 this.

[@MrKanooe]

@@patheticbadger3478 This probably is the best description of Dawntrail.

[@malenbadger7733]

"And then they lived happily ever after... and after... and after... until they didn't."

[@david90906]

For those who've played FF9 and remembered enough, did anyone else felt like Sphene was effectively like a really tragic what-if Garnet/Dagger? A version of Garnet who never met Zidane until it was too late (if at all), and was left with a terrible fate? "Sphene" also being named after a gemstone laid the base, but this thought first took root for me between the lonesome queen's envy of Wuk Lamat and the WoL's party of companions and how she voiced many times if only she met Lamat sooner. It's like the opposite of one of Garnet's final conversations with Zidane, about how she was glad to have met him and gone on the journey she did. Then we have the similar characters who don't always come across as such: for Steiner, we obviously have Otis who is another loyal rusty knight; for Vivi, young Gulool Ja with his "let me come too" feelings echo similar lines from the young mage; and for Zidane, I think the part is in fact played by Wuk Lamat herself - she's got the tail, is adopted, is cheerful, and even has a sibling as the villain. All of whom encountered her too late. In FF9, Garnet was likewise a kind royal who struggled to do right by her people, and could've died either during the Eidolon extraction ritual or Kuja's attack on Alexandria. The big difference is, she had Zidane and the party to save her, a party who helped her to grieve the losses she faced and to mature as someone more than just a queen, and ultimately came out of it stronger. In FF14, wildly different magic-scape notwithstanding, the living Sphene had only Otis and her knights, but they weren't enough. While the AI Sphene is chained down by the system to ever only be a queen of a confined world for an unsustainable process, more lonesome than ever. She could only regress. As a fan of FF9, seeing what became of Sphene, while fascinating in terms of literature, stings my heart. Dawntrail's scenario isn't perfect, but the writers this time still did pretty good.

[@Its_an_Eze]

Well said well said 💯

[@hiddenmaster6062]

There's also bits of Freya's case of being forgotten.

[@Deuzen_FIN]

I saw elements of Brahne and Beatrix in Sphene's motivations as well - originally kindhearted and benevolent, but ending up willing to do anything for the power to protect your people

[@75skyloftmexican]

Totally agree with this 100%

[@elquemanda4329]

"With your strength, could you have held on to that which was dear to you without sacrifice?"

[@RobdeliaYT]

The crescendo of this song hitting as you look towards the ruins of Alexandria’s castle, Everkeep’s walls beginning to enclose it like a coffin, and you hear that one civilian shout about how they’ve preserved Sphene is just so tragically powerful. In any other story it would’ve been the triumphant victory for a civilization that survived an actual hellscape, but here it’s just the preamble for an even slower, more drawn-out death. Their hope and joy is undercut by you knowing they’re unwittingly creating their own funeral, and it’s such a great mix of emotions.

[@ZeronesZG]

Like Vauthry; Preservation, Everkeep and Sphene existed to keep the world from entirely being flooded, until it could be properly rejoined. I wonder if any of the remaining unknown Ascians had a hand in Alexandria's and the shard's fate...

[@OmegaGamer04]

@@ZeronesZG Probably why Emet-Selch hinted at it before he returned to the lifestream. We are just cleaning up the mess the Ascians left behind

[@anthonydelfino6171]

The subtle thing not many notice. The path you take to each boss is the same. You get transported back to the front gate plaza and proceed to the castle every time

[@SoranPryde]

They wanted their beloved Queen back so badly, they built the Everkeep to bring her back in a form that they wanted to remember her as. Sometimes in life you have to let go. Which is something they did not do

[@AquaJPG]

1:41 Had me floating out of my fucking chair during the dungeon, if one thing is always quality between every expansion it's the OST

[@irategazelle]

I press my skills a little more enthusiastically whenever that part plays.

[@FateDarkess]

​@@irategazellesame xD

[@esylin7324]

When the OST tells me when to press Reawaken on viper

[@kotsounuknock4659]

@@esylin7324 the part is oiling the GCD of the generation skills for extra flawless casting

[@MissLilianae]

I played DNC through this expac MSQ and that part came on right as I hit my burst. Was so well timed I thought it was part of my kit for a minute!

[@petratyraanderson]

"How far would you go to protect someone you love?" This question played in my head throughout my time with Sphene

[@bloodyninja2411]

“I smile because you smile for me.”

[@NumPad]

When the timeline shifts to the Storm Surge, the part where the airships are using their spotlights to search for/help survivors _really_ hit me hard for some reason. Sphene really did love her people.

[@kingarthas2814]

Its devastating, god, i keep getting it in expert roulette and i still have to stop and watch that last bit with the other airship protecting hers while everyone's running off to the boss. Something about the way those airships come sweeping in with the spotlights on, the music hitting perfectly. All the voice lines in the dungeon are just rough, god damn. But that scene in particular... yeah. For some reason it just hits so hard. She really did love her people.

[@simj202]

​@@kingarthas2814 The absolutely scuffed voice-over-comms effect sold this dungeon's second part HARD.

[@kaimango7012]

It's even worse because no one until then had really specified HOW Sphene had died, just that she hadn't come out of the Storm Surge alive either and had done everything she could for her people. Anything from having gotten hit by lightning while in her castle giving orders to an assassination during the confusion could have been valid. But no. No, she was out there, in the extreme danger that was ruining her city, trying to save even just one more person. And even though her knights took a hit for her (and possibly didn't survive it in the end), she never made it back to safety alive. It's incredibly tragic, and it makes so much sense why her beloved people were so desperate to try and give her another chance at life.

[@Rebirdhk]

​@@kaimango7012 I thought Otis mentioned that Sphene died from the incurable aether sickness due to the "flood of lightning" in their world?

[@toastee5421]

@@Rebirdhk awkward

[@fawkes6352]

I think I realized why Alexandria hits me in the feels in a way that The Dead Ends and Baron don't. We aren't just witnessing the memories of the fall of a world - we're witnessing their reluctant yet very deliberate erasure. They're the memories that Sphene holds dear to her heart, yet she's burning them for the sake of the mission that Preservation imposed on her when they turned her into a machine. The mobs aren't the monsters of levin that brought Alexandria to heel, but instead the Meso Terminal's antiviruses stopping us from interrupting Sphene's self-inflicted amnesia. If memories are what keep a person alive, then this dungeon is Sphene's suicide.

[@Eric-be8un]

I also think this is yoship's way of telling us to move forward with the next 10 years of final fantasy, and not be trapped in the memories of the past.

[@lavenderrose3755]

oh dammit this dungeon already makes me cry every time I get it in expert, now i'll be thinking of this comment and my tears will be worse now ;.;

[@threestars2164]

Dead ends was just a teenage emo monologue.

[@aimee9478]

@@threestars2164 To be fair, Hermes sent a literal child, not even a teeanager, to see multiple universal horrors for herself with no prior preparation. She... didn't handle it well, obviously.

[@Pentacus]

“To the memories of better days… I bid farewell.” “The painful memories of war… I lay to rest.” “And- - at the last- my - - an endless-“

[@HayateKusanagi]

"It's too dangerous! You must flee! Don't worry about me, just save yourselves!" "May we meet again, Your Highness!" And that's where I broke. They've mastered in-dungeon storytelling. What a tale they tell.

[@Tsukiyo165]

If you ever get a chance to enjoy it. People are so hot to trot to get through a dungeon you never get to stop and enjoy this stuff

[@TSLsmokey]

@@Tsukiyo165 And that's why I actually really appreciate trusts/duty support. You can experience the story at least once without someone rushing your rear.

[@RotomLandry]

@@Tsukiyo165 Actually, the particular scene referenced by the comment you responded to cannot be skipped. There's a wall that forces you to witness that event and it is not cleared until the event is over.

[@mathiasknsgaardkristensen3396]

The fact that the 3 map areas are called "The dream she lived", "The dream she lost", and "My everlasting dream" is so fucking heartbreaking. The names themselves are so sad, but the fact that the first two are third person singular indicates, to me, that they're separate from SpheneAI and are merely her memory base and not something from the Sphene we know. Only the last area is truly *her* in the sense that we know her.

[@NeoDMC]

@@Tsukiyo165 Play Tank, then they pretty much have to stop when you stop (sometimes they don't, but most players will stick to the Tank, especially if you mention this is your first run).

[@pll3827]

Amaurot. The Dead Ends. Baron. Another world that we are too late to save.

[@thelegendarycoline6667]

As much as people are complaining about this being the forth lost civilization dungeon, I actually do think that it's a pretty big recurring theme of the storyline at this point. Especially with all of the civilizations like Nym, Mhach, and Allag in our own world, I'd argue that this theme has been apart of the story and will remain as such until the very end, which is cool, because I personally love these dungeons, but I can see why people might be getting tired of them.

[@iitsthreedog]

But we did save Tural and our star though at least so there’s that

[@gamerboy64]

​@iitsthreedog which makes me think "Did we see any residual effects of the Endsong in Tural? Did they experience it at all?"

[@DP9k]

The thing is that were not necessarily too late to save this world, the world of this unknown shard is more comparable to noverandt on the first. We know that it wasnt the world destroyed in the 2nd umbral calamity, 1.because it still exists as a place 2. Because we know that the flood of lightning happened after the 5th umbral calamity on the source. This world, like the first and the flood of light, and the 13th and the flood of darkness, still exist, and there is still hope for them

[@RyouEmerald]

@@thelegendarycoline6667 I think they're quite neat because they're story telling during the gameplay. You get to see what exactly it is that the situation is about directly. Personally they're always my favorite type of dungeon.

[@brianbell8382]

The way Preservation managed to bring back their ideal version of Sphene as an Endless to where she was so benevolent to the point she'd do anything to protect her people kinda makes Endless Sphene seem very similar to a primal.

[@r3q901]

And the way she was snuffing worlds of aether... yeah that's close

[@philiplonidier]

It is enough to make me wonder if Preservation was all part of an Ascian plan; I imagine the Storm Surge was, with calamities being the cause of a rejoining.

[@sparthyslaysstuff2405]

@@philiplonidier I really hope not as a world had already been consumed in a Calamity of Lightning and the Ascians only needed one of each element to awaken Zodiark. By the time the Lalafell used their portal (post Ice Calamity) to jump to the reflection Alexandria is in that Calamity would have happened already. Alexandria is more akin to one of the worlds Meiteon visited where they simply snuffed themselves out for different reasons. Here it's a resource war kicked off by cracking the secrets of electrope. It *is* likely the Ascians visited this reflection, saw the tilt towards lightning and high technology and simply chose another reflection to delete. Emet did say that some of the reflections would *shock* us.

[@ZeronesZG]

​@philiplonidier Feel like they were Alexandria's version of Vauthry. Some put in a position to keep the shard stable to prevent a flood from happening, at least until they could set up a calamity to rejoin it.

[@Rondart]

She totally is a Primal in all but name. A thoughtform entity given life by Aether? Check. (Eternal Queen is an *idea* of Queen Sphene and what she is like, and like all Endless, is fed by living Aether) No requirement of solid body but can body surf to vessels? Check. (Shiva and many other Primals rise from a physical vessel) Cannot act contrary to the “wishes” of their creators? Check (Primals stopped tempering when their summon method was altered slightly to remove that; Eternal Queen was hardcoded with instructions to protect the people of Alexandria and keep them alive and is unable to NOT perform said command).

[@christopher_loren]

1:40-2:30 is just bliss. Theme is called A Trail Unending and there is an orchestrion

[@rh666]

That melody line and arrangement give me chills fr - every - single - time

[@SkydreamPony]

Where do you get the orchestrion from?

[@rh666]

@@SkydreamPony It should technically drop from this dungeon - it’s on market board for like 2.5mil gil

[@SkydreamPony]

@@rh666 Thanks!

[@christopher_loren]

@SkydreamPony I can confirm. I was lucky enough to get it on my first run.

[@UmbreonMessiah]

I've been wracking my brains trying to think of which FFIX song this could be, because it sounds like one just enough that I'm sure they pulled from it, but not familiar enough that I know what it is off the top of my head. And then, after replaying the final dungeon and final trials enough time, it finally hit me: It's *The Place I'll Return to Someday,* which is the perfect anti-capstone to what this moment is: Sphene can *never* come back here...not in reality, and not the way she's trying to. This place is gone for good, and she refuses to move on.

[@madcow1089]

The one thing I always admired about the final dungeons from ShB to DT is how narrative driven they are and how each section between bosses proceeds the story going forward or tells a story of its own in each area.

[@seanmacisaac334]

Even after replays it hyped you up to do the trial lol

[@BlaizeTheDragon]

At the same time, I'm starting to get bored of the "okay this dungeon is going to be a history lesson of when things went to shit". We've had this 4 times now, getting a little repetitive

[@Hypedchaoz]

@@BlaizeTheDragon and? It still works for me every single time.

[@BlaizeTheDragon]

@@Hypedchaoz good for you. You might be happy with the last dungeon being the same thing over and over but I'm not.

[@CrashB111]

@@BlaizeTheDragon If it's an effective story telling medium, why change it just for the sake of change?

[@jhinkadaj58]

I couldn't dps properly on the first pull because I was sobbing. FF9 my beloved.

[@seasirocco3063]

Something about the fact that Everkeep is built on and around the original Alexandria Castle makes me feel so mournful.

[@CrimsonSunMouse]

I wonder if we will visit the ruins of Alexandria Castle in a later patch

[@Bismarck9871]

​@CrimsonSunMouse i mean outside under the thunder dome you can see parts of the ruins of alexandira and wander around them if am not mistaken by the coast

[@fleur4294]

​@@Bismarck9871 the ruins around heritage found is the old town area of alexandria, the actual castle itself is probably at the root of everkeep

[@anthonydelfino6171]

Which is odd In the dungeon it very much appears that way. But the ruins of Alexandria the city in heritage found are really far away from everkeep I have to wonder if there’s more to this story or if it was just something they tucked away in the zone to avoid spoilers? In which case if it’s the latter, why tell us the country is named Alexandria right away?

[@seasirocco3063]

@@anthonydelfino6171 I suspect that the ruins of Alexandria are part of the outer part of the city, and that the part of the city closer to Everkeep was just demolished.

[@TalesDelma]

people complain about the theme and the "to many lost civilisations" but... it hits rather home if we consider the current state of the world, who knows how long our civilisation will stand

[@Naoto-kun1085]

Honestly this one feels a lot different too! Amaurot and Dead Ends were Emet and Meteion trying to persuade you to take their side by showing you the horrors. Lunar Subterrane focused more on Golbez's fate rather than the actual destruction of the kingdom. This one instead shows the story of Sphene throughout history, and how they're systematically being deleted by the Queen

[@vaidenkelsier7757]

It's also thematically different. Endwalker focuses on confronting the fact that our time is limited and choosing to move on regardless and finding our purpose knowing that inevitability. Dawntrail focuses on having to confront the loss of our loved ones, and not just refusing to see that. The temptation to cling to those lost memories robbing us of the ability to truly move on. The themes are linked, but they are *not* the same.

[@Terestrasz]

Personally, I think they need to stop. If only because I don't think they can top this. :'(

[@AM-bo2ns]

living in florida during the recent one-two punch of catastrophic hurricanes. there are parts of the state that look pretty much like alexandria. pretty terrifying to think about honestly.

[@holo_val]

I think in a way this dungeon is even more tragic than previous final dungeons because it ends so hopefully. Seeing all the Alexandrians working together to recover from the Storm Surge, buildinging the Everkeep, it makes sense that it seemed like a great idea at the time but we know hundreds of years later how unsustainable it will become.

[@Sacrengard]

Its basically Amaurot all over again T_T We dont see it but we know what happens when they try to solve the problem with Zodiark and then Hydaelyn

[@blu_berri_san]

Nah. Nothing can ever be as heartbreaking as, "I killed them all! I killed them all..."

[@Sacrengard]

@@blu_berri_san yes it can... when you are the one killing them all

[@kiraina25]

​@@SacrengardThe Aero Terminal is now on OFF.

[@Terestrasz]

@@blu_berri_san Yeah... that and Alexandria were the saddest moments.

[@Naoto-kun1085]

What I love about this is that for each part you start at the same spot and work your way towards the castle, but it's a different point in history each time!

[@goldenalpaca3881]

The writers are fucked up, man. A shard that was destroyed by an apocalypse of lightning, its surviving remnants are even more depending on energy than ever and will literally disappear without more and more of it. That is the cruellest Irony.

[@ohwriting]

I loved this song since they used it for the job trailer and I waited through the whole expansion to hear it. And when I got to this dungeon I literally gasped when it started to play. This may be my new fave OST from the game overall. It is so good!

[@Sofia_Sif]

Oh my god same, I audibly gasped when it kicked in

[@miragaming9628]

1:40 that part came in and when Sphene was telling her citizens to flee in stead of saving her, it broke me 😢

[@terrenceojeda7172]

I love these story telling dungeons a lot. Hate that people have these criticisms of these dungeons being "another amarot" with bad faith tones. These dungeons really sell the visual story telling of someone that went through a lot of tragedy and invoking a feeling dread and panic when we physically run through a catastrophe. Keep it up ff14.

[@ZeroSonata]

Personally really enjoy these capstone dungeons being purely story-telling mediums. It's this really nice integration of story and gameplay. You're not only rewatching Sphene's memories, you're seeing them get darker and deleted in real time as you travel through them.

[@HCSR2]

I don't think people mind storytelling dungeons. I think they mind it's the same story being told yet again.

[@Gemini_Hero]

The problem is that it loses its effect when you do it 4 times in a row. At a certain point it feels almost routine, like "Oh ok we're doing this again to try and squeeze an emotional reaction from the player". It was awesome in Amaurot, fitting in Endwalker, but they've gotta stop now. It's becoming a crutch, imo.

[@GreigaBeastDS]

They found your comment.

[@Naoto-kun1085]

I agree, and each one is unique and memorable in their own way! I enjoy the recurring theme of "worlds that couldn't be saved" and how they affect the characters in the story

[@anthonydelfino6171]

2:17 does the music here make anyone else catch feels?

[@prettycutegirl5167]

100% had me weeping on my daily walk in the bright sunshine 😭

[@harukai7044]

Citizen: Your smile means all is right with the world. Sphene: If I smile, it is because you all smile for me. :(

[@ramza285]

This right here does me in every run. I had no smiles, only tears and it was massively hard to bard with the stinging tears. :(

[@Naoto-kun1085]

That part always gets me 😭

[@bloodyninja2411]

I came back to this dungeon this morning with trusts. That’s the part that kills me everytime

[@anthonydelfino6171]

Come now A smile better suits a hero

[@xenorayy]

The first part where you see Alexandria in its prime, what a gorgeous place and how sad it ended...plus the FFIX nostalgia kicking in, another banger dungeon!

[@bellgems4091]

What interesting is we dont know which reflection this is. But given they use a lot lighting they might be people from destroyed reflection during the Second Umbral Calamity as that calamity was all lighting base. So turn we might be seeing remains of a relic of a reflection that Ascian destroyed.

[@chokoanders6546]

​@@bellgems4091 the obvious ccoise would be for it being the ninth but i think the fact they pointed out how they dont know which one it is means they might make a pretty big reveal in the post game patches

[@Eredom]

​@@bellgems4091pretty sure it's not the one from the second calamity, because of the story with the lalas travelling to this reflection during the... Was it the 6th Calamity? The one with the ice

[@shinobirecords2018]

@Eredom Yeah, exactly. While time flows differently between reflections, events should still be in order-and besides, the shard still seems to exist, even if we only see the very top of the Everkeep with Living Memory. I'm thinking whatever happened with the unlost world was out of the Convocation's control. There's no reason for them to break the cycle with another lightning aspected calamity, and the Storm Surge should make it impossible to rejoin this shard if it's like the Flood of Light and Flood of Darkness.

[@Eredom]

​@@shinobirecords2018 I can imagine the ascians trying to cause the calamity but failed, and that's how we ended up with this half broken but still intact reflection. Is there a rule against causing 2 calamities of the same aspect? There are only so many aspects to choose from.

[@LunaticThinker]

To the memories of better days, I bid farewell.

[@warriorofdawn876]

Man, they just keep on killing it with these final dungeons, don't they?

[@wontononionslicer1004]

Now the FF9 main theme makes more sense: Memory is life. Hope it will be arranged to be 7.3 boss theme.

[@elysion8747]

GOD I LOVE. THIS FUCKING SONG SO MUCH

[@MapleLunii]

Tanking through tears is hard :) 1:43 is an irl tankbuster

[@lynx6565]

Relate hard 😢

[@pravda788]

when gunbreaker have a broken heart too :(((

[@runarhrothgar]

Absolutely same. Was on PLD and just .. man. This dungeon had me feeling goosebumps.

[@DFell3]

I loved the vibes of this dungeon. I got chills with the airships calling out for survivors.

[@vaidenkelsier7757]

Dawntrail may have its pros and cons, but there were so many peak moments, and this dungeon is absolutely a peak

[@TransientWitch]

It always enchants me just how Soken and his musical minions are able to take heartwarming, nostalgic, or uplifting themes from a region...And turn them into ones that feel like they live at the base of your spine and in your chest, and every new measure brings thrills and steal your breath away while making you want to not just push forward but run at full speed. This is Bygone Serenity, but now it's an anthem of trying to stop a greater tragedy and prevent worse fates...A Trail Unending shows a world before, during, and after its collapse. Memories of the best and worst. Now you have to stop that from happening to people who are just trying to live out the peace their new Dawnservants wish to heal and preserve.

[@loganreed23]

Musical minions made me crack up more than it should've lol

[@aoidaffodil]

The FF9 nostalgia hit like an absolute truck in this dungeon and the area connected to it. I'm so happy to see it being integrated into FF14

[@dendenpower8618]

Me, the entire time, healing through the tears: Sphene, I don't want to do this.

[@Rondart]

The decision to include this song in the job actions trailer was certainly a bold choice. The entire leitmotif direct critted my heart when i heard it in Living Memory

[@bigfoxki]

Really love the last zone showing the construction of Everkeep. 1:44 part played so well what it.

[@Densuii]

I like to think that the real Sphene was a reflection of Wuk Lamat, that's why they're so similar. They even share the same eye color.

[@Saihamaru]

this i believe they are reflections from the same origin

[@victormoreno3240]

Thats a really good theory ngl would make sense especially since they showed other characters “reflection” from Alexandria

[@emperorstar1250]

If there are two people who would have understood Sphene's pain more than anyone it would be Emet-Selch and Durante... aka the current Golbez.

[@xTyith97]

Nice little nod to FF13 with the l’cie creature design 3:58

[@randogai2915]

There was a lot of ffxiii enemies this expansion I noticed

[@CMReina]

I'm quite fond of the anubis redesigns at the end of cenote​@@randogai2915

[@Polychromatic8]

​@@randogai2915we even got those big water buffalo creatures in this dungeon. I was surprised at how liberal they were with 13 enemies in Alexandria

[@romand271]

I just wanna give props to the JP VA for Sphene in this dungeon, fantastic acting that shows how desperate she was

[@Naoto-kun1085]

Indeed, all her voice actresses were awesome!

[@fkkkkkenig]

History is awash with dead civilizations and tragedy. No matter where you turn you can't avoid it. In XIV it's a recurring theme from 1.0 to current. And it will continue to be until the game is shut down however many years from now. Thematically this game gas always been about the struggles of life on a massive scale. And there is a LOT of history to cover about the shards since the sundering

[@Grimno]

Amaurot Fell Alexandria Endured

[@Oppurtunafish]

I love this track. it's like it's desperately trying to preserve this grand civilization

[@hahayes2997]

This is genuinely the best dungeon theme ive ever heard from soken, bless him omfg

[@TJetPrime]

This and Amaurot are absolute cinema.

[@Amenomihashira]

The intro is just gorgeous. Flute, clarinet and oboe, same instruments used in Garnet's theme ❤

[@jjc101]

Honestly these are my favourite kinds of references in FFXIV. The subtle nods to the source material.

[@lapisfengari2428]

I think that this is probably my favorite dungeon in the game now and this track is probably a big part of why It sounds so heroic and triumphant yet at the same time quite desperate and frantic, and it works perfectly especially given how different the context here is from Amaurot and The Dead Ends, given it's less a deliberate recreation of a doomed society and more of a byproduct of Sphene putting herself through the death of personality

[@bryanstillman2125]

When 1:40 hits, I can't help it. I just get so hyped and sad at the same time. This, along with its zone and trial counterparts, has easily become one of my top 5 ffXIV tracks. Soken really outdid himself with this whole expansion.

[@Kingkrease]

It’s honestly my favorite dungeon theme

[@Aschentei]

bro the transition between alexandria pre and post first boss is actually sad... Also, we got jebaited so hard on eliminator lmao...I was expecting it to be a trial

[@elecrom_9757]

It's funny that it happened a second time in a row. Everyone was expecting Anima to be a trial as well.

[@ズバイモモ]

yoshida did state that eliminator was not a trial beforehand though. might have been lost in translation but he did say it in one of the keynotes.

[@david90906]

Kind of nuts that the team managed to recreate the 3 scenes of the FF9 Alexandria as a dungeon, while still adding the extra purple without breaking the vibe

[@wandregalbjornson1452]

@@ズバイモモ Not everyone is watching the live letters or keynotes though (he also says a lot of things and I doubt anyone can remember all of it)

[@ghostblade1042]

BIG FOOK OFF ANTIVIRUS with tiny child voice😂

[@stormychu5677]

Was so happy when I got to this, loved how this was used in the trailer and was waiting for it to pop up. Honestly I was anticipating it to be used in a post-MSQ dungeon. But this is better.

[@meanninja8013]

This sounds somewhat similar to Fodlan Winds from FE Three Houses and I love it

[@StriderSeiryuu]

i didnt think of fodland wind but it is indeed has strong FE3H vibes and i LOVE it! ❤❤❤

[@NotMadJoe]

Damn you right

[@runarhrothgar]

Ah so true. Love that theme

[@beskarsilver]

After hearing this in the job trailer and launch trailer, I was wondering when this would appear. Was not expecting it here. I had to do a double take. Wonderful track.

[@Saarteco]

From 1:42 to 2:29 is how it feels to achieve nirvana This is by far the best track in this DLC hands down

[@Sofia_Sif]

Tied between Skydeep Cenote, Anatomy of Existence, this, and whatever the final trial's theme is for me

[@FelipeCotti]

This is an expansion, though.

[@the.duck.is.ronin.]

The part where your path is blocked until you watch Sphene's airship explode hit me particularly hard

[@lucied959]

That wasn't Sphene's airship. It was an escort ship that shielded hers from a lightning blast (that looked like a laser honestly lol.)

[@the.duck.is.ronin.]

@@lucied959 But we see the same ship in the first section and multiple times in the second section, and Sphene is described to be aboard.

[@retokazene]

​@@the.duck.is.ronin. yes sphene airship is the one below. The airship above shielded sphene's until they cant take it anymore, saying goodbye to sphene, fly for a bit before losing altitude and crashed

[@antikisa4158]

That was Otis during that time who defended her from the Lightning, I recognized the voice who said “May we meet again, your Highness” and my mouth dropped, from then on I was fighting tears, loyal to the end he was 😭😭

[@jadeparelius]

This dungeon is gorgeous, but it's so weird to me going into a dungeon with the same name as my birth name. It's just... an experience.

[@elysion8747]

hey god im here again THIS MUSIC IS SO GOOOOOOOOOD

[@SpaceManFive]

Besides everything everyone else said that got me tearing up at this story, there's also the knowledge, as someone who grew up with FF9, that the FF14 version of its world is SCREWED. ,_, Just hoping that future story shows a more hopeful outcome for it...

[@ZenLoveX]

My heart ;-; seeing FF9 so represented makes me feel so good

[@mr.vanillamilkshake3]

In any other game, this would be a random battle theme for your protagonists. But here, YOU'RE the random battle; Sphene really WAS the hero of another story.

[@mr.vanillamilkshake3]

Also: compare this theme to "Battle: The Warrior" from Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

[@altansipdrae2759]

Sphene wasn't alive tho, it's more a program trying to keep other program alive because it's in her code, in that aspect I can't see her as a hero since to do a heroic act would be to protect the livings

[@DollRyougi]

@@altansipdrae2759 but doesn't mean she don't have emotion .

[@kpoptrashmedz9455]

@@altansipdrae2759she was a hero in this story before she died dude the scientist preserved her and was able to programmed her to do evil sh*t and i bet she never wanted this to happen..did u even pay attention to the MSQ bro? And this dungeon is proof of how she was a good ruler to her people. The scientist of preservation fcked her over.

[@omensoffate]

@@DollRyougiprograms don’t have emotions

[@Qhaine]

This song is phenomenal-- and this dungeon needs to become it's own town or player hub

[@Loispealz34]

This damn dungeon. This damn friggin' dungeon. I didnt think they could top the previous dungeons, but they consistently did. The music, slightly whimsical at times but conveying a sad, serious tone, as we watch the death and rebirth of a kingdom. The absolute heartwrench that was watching the storm surge, and the people of Alexandria coming together to bring back their beloved princess, even if she was not the real thing. The bosses absolutely slapping everyone silly, and the fights actually keeping us decently challenged. I do not care what the streamers say, i do not care what the community says, i could not care less about "no content" memes, or the rise in negativity following Dawntrail's release. This dungeon cemented this to me. FF14 is the game i will never stop playing. Come what may, i am here to stay. See you on the trail, fellow Warriors. May your mounts be many, and your wipes few.

[@vaidenkelsier7757]

We keep chasing the horizon, knowing not where the road leads, but that's why we can't stop.

[@robikkupegasus7039]

May you ever walk in the resplendancy of the dawn, my friend!

[@ynottony24]

"A Trail Unending" Orchestrion

[@ProfessorHeavy1]

Now this is a lovely subversion. In every single FFXIV expansion's launch trailer, they've always used the final boss theme in it for some reason (excluding Zodiark's in Endwalker). Looks like they just used the final dungeon instead.

[@Aluranae]

I'm. Shrieking, crying, trembling. And I don't care if it sounds dumb, because FF9 is *that* entry in the series for me. It really doesn't help that 1:55 on gives me incredibly strong Maria and Draco vibes even if I know it's not inspired by it, so I have two heartstrings being tugged at the same time. Fully imagining this world's version of Tantalus playing as they fly just out of sight of where we are, and we're just hearing that as we run through.

[@Pentacus]

Tbh it may as well be inspired by it considering what Maria And Draco is about: a woman parted from a loved one and fantasising about being with him one last time, before accepting that fate has parted them and that she has to let go even though she will always love him I’d been wondering why that one particular piece was showing up in the town themes, and the moment the nature of Zone 6 was revealed it all clicked into place

[@randogai2915]

IMO this was my favorite of the “end of the alt world” dungeons

[@the.duck.is.ronin.]

When they advertised Eliminator in the live letters, I had no idea it would show up here of all places

[@stitches1110]

Dude same, when I did vanguard I expected to see it and then totally forgot about it til he showed up here.

[@LordSykos]

Probably to avoid spoiling the last two Trials. They did the same thing with Anima and the Magus Sisters in Endwalker.

[@stitches1110]

@@LordSykos very true. And funny that they managed to bait players like me twice with this shit.

[@LightbladeRiulo]

A perfect recreation of Alexandria… and we have to witness the end of it. Well done at stabbing me in the heart CBU3.

[@Saihamaru]

i'll just treat this as the FFIX remake we will never get

[@loganreed23]

I have good news for you because FFIX remake has been leaked a dozens of times for a couple of years now

[@yanastase]

How can we still be called heroes If to save us we must sacrifice another world...

[@Everlarke]

Been waiting for this one to appear ever since the Job Trailer. Absolutely lovely and makes exploring the various ages of Alexandria that more enjoyable.

[@immoralboi3158]

Sphene is the one antagonist in FF14 that I truly wish we could've saved, we could've done so many great things together with her and the Alexandrians. If only her creators had made her capable of finding another way.

[@H0ttabych]

Won't be surprised if terminals aren't destroyed but just shut down and later we find means to restore these memories

[@immoralboi3158]

@@H0ttabych While I doubt we'd ever reactivate Living Memory in it's entirety I could see us bringing back Sphene through Dynamis and the memories the Alexandrians have of her for some reason or another, I mean we did kind of behead Alexandria's government and left Little Baby Man (Gulool Ja), a literal child, in charge as it's sole ruler. And it wouldn't entirely clash with the theme of the expac either as Sphene would quite literally live on by being remembered.

[@kaegr]

@@H0ttabych it can only be reactivated from new game+, so you can put things back before you said yes to all the terminals

[@Professor_Utonium_]

All they had to do was download her to a tomestone lmao

[@TheUndyingCrystal]

​@Professor_Utonium_ That probably wouldn't have been a good idea. The issue wasn't convincing or saving Sphene. It was that she literally is incapable of not going to 110% extremes on protecting her people. She's not a person with free will, she's a program. Everyone, even her own people, was asking us to give her the death and rest she deserved. AI-Sphene's existence is a living hell and prolonging it is cruelty to her.

[@lukoscreyden]

Am desperately hoping that the castle still exists in the foundations of Solution 9 and that we will be able to go there someday, perhaps as a dungeon when we possibly deal with the whole Preservation / soul cage deal.

[@dunnejos8423]

When they played this music for the Red Mage in the Job Trailer I immediately added it to my Red Mage playlist. I think it fits the job so much.

[@rodimus580]

One of the best parts of the expansion, it was a real treat going through this dungeon. sad though.

[@VioletMaeve]

FF9 might of not been my first Final Fantasy, but it was the one that left an impact on my life to this day. I think I played it back in 2015/2016 or so of the remastered collection? I could be thinking of 2019 too. But still, FF8 was my first, then FFX, then Tactics, FF13 and finally FF9 because of Freya.

[@andyoh1987]

best dungeon theme in the msq, i think. soken and team do not disappoint. ❤

[@MCDCrew5]

Parts of this song just sound like parts from the Opera song from FF6, starts right at 1:56

[@dalthorn]

Due to KZbin acting like well...KZbin when the video is about to end the song gets caught up sometimes like it's being being glitched out repeating the same beat drop a few times before cutting off which honestly is accidentally fully appropriate for the dungeon.

[@cleews_]

Soken and his magic, with this dungeon music and Skydeep Cenote, some of the best tracks in Dawntrail

[@TARDISman85]

This is Fire Emblem Three Houses as hell and I'm so here for it

[@BrightBlurr]

The one thing I appreciate is that this dungeon is not the same doom and gloom as Amaurot and Dead Ends. We see Alexandria rebuilding. We know the people become the ones in Solution 9. We know that they don't lose hope because they have Sphene. They do have a more hopeful outcome versus the really tragic ends we see in the other story dungeons. I think this alone, along with the triumphant music, makes it different enough from the others. Its a story of hope and overcoming their tragedy.

[@RingoMejingjard]

When I heard this music in the skills trailer video, I knew it was going to be the last story dungeon as soon as the notes at 1.45 began

[@nanachimakenshi2512]

I love this theme so much!

[@lynx6565]

This song got me in the feels, crazy how part of it makes me feel so nostalgic yet there is no reason why. One of the best tracks. It’s so amazing!

[@Yukiukixx33]

FFIX is what this is

[@mazelado]

yeah it's peak

[@kamgigari9921]

Ever since i first heard this theme in the Job Action trailer, i was eager to hear it at any moment in the MSQ. But when I first reached Living Memory, i remember recognizing its leimotif in the overworld theme, and the chills i got realizing that the theme i was so eager to hear in game would be the final dungeon.... Man, probably the most memorable thing to me.

[@kaseigunsou]

Out of every character, Sphene turned out to be the one needing the most help to let go. After having taught us in Endwalker not to lose Hope, in Dawntrail the whole final area is there to teach us how to move forward no matter the grief or hardships we will face in life. To let go of our loved ones no matter how much we cared for them and needed them. Sphene couldn't do that on her own. She loved her people too much, and our final confrontation is just there so one Princess could tell to another how sometimes, letting go is the royal thing to do.

[@oppdropper1312]

Going through Living Memory, this dungeon and the final trial I have no idea why it's so emotionally painful to me. Haven't felt this torn up since ShB.

[@SimonAeberhard]

Who else feels that the part from 1:44 definitely gives a lot of Joe Hisaishi vibes, the composer of "Spirited Away" or "Princess Mononoke"?

[@Nekrosmas]

Soken cooked again. Outdid himself again.

[@sernakig]

It's kinda crazy just how good this expac has been, :3

[@TOAGamer1]

Dawntrail has my favorite music.

[@RichardHenningsIII]

I couldn’t contain myself hearing this music! Totally floor tanked