Bygone Serenity [Living Memory] - FFXIV Dawntrail OST (Extended)

[@dumtrainer]

What hurts is the dichotomy of the final areas of Endwalker and Dawntrail. In Endwalker, the theme started silent, before building bit by bit with the memories of your companions, the emotions they had at their last moments with the party, pushing you to the end. Here, it starts so calming, a full symphony, but, as you go, less and less is heard, before becoming but an echo of the past, as the memories faded and the gentle and relaxing song fades into the void... A full 180 of the themes of Endwalker. I say this so much, but I love this game

[@pletter64]

Endwalker: Sever the curse of the future that is written never more. Dawntrail: Sever the curse of the past that still writes in perpetuity.

[@Lyu-Phy]

In Endwalker we brought hope into a nihilistic hellscape In Dawntrail we turned off the collective hopes of an old civilization Certainly didn't expect such a wild ride already after Endwalker, but I am pleasently surprised.

[@flarerik]

I always found the juxtaposition between Endwalker and Dawntrail's final zones to be really interesting once it hit me. One sends the message to not give up on the future. The other sends the message to learn to let go of the past.

[@KillerGryphyn]

Listening to this in-game after you finish the MSQ hurts even more, because then it's distorted and echoed, like it's playing in an empty mall, only the memories remain.

[@commediaDollArte]

@@KillerGryphyn and that's the most masterful thing about it - the way it wholeheartedly relies on nostalgia, the _golden days,_ the memory of a better time, but when you peel all that away there's nothing of substance, only dreams and dust.

[@ashinox]

The worst part about it is sometimes the song just fades out entirely and then comes back a few seconds later, as if the distant memories faded away for a moment...

[@commediaDollArte]

@@ashinox i cannot STAND that bit. Everywhere at the End of a Reflection

[@Disconnected66]

It's honestly really great. I don't get why people are shitting on it the way they are. Like if you wanna say you don't like how eerie it is and you don't like it in that type of way that's fair. But people are full blown "I can't believe they are leaving it like this forever why'd they make this decision" 1) there's a 50/50 they don't even and something happens with it in patch/side content because they really can do whatever they want 2) can anyone really honestly tell me they don't want them making decisions like that in the story, that have weight and drop a tragedy in front of us and leave the earth scarred? I'm pretty sure we can say the majority of people want them to be willing to do that. And this isn't even at the scale I'd even think of when saying that either lol. It's a great reminder of the story through visual retelling, yeah it's kinda bland for fate farming but all zones blend together when you're doing that god forsaken grind anyway

[@dangerwarg9682]

Or a theme park that's been closed down. Or you house when you turn off the lights for the last time when you move out.

[@DNAdoc1748]

“Storytime at the old folk’s home and paying as much attention as possible since this could be their last day and nobody else has seen what they have. playing with the arthritic old dog who’s having the time of its life but it hurts you because it’s clearly in pain.” The theme

[@ComicalConqueror]

hey man what the fuck

[@jadeparelius]

this soundtrack just activates the urge to cry in a way that I cannot explain

[@r1zmy]

I'd have to say, it takes a lot of balls for the dev team to build possibly one of the most beautiful places in mmo history and give you the option to shut it down forever.

[@kloul]

We dont know yet if will be forever 🤐🤐

[@shard4155]

@@kloul They outright tell us before the prompt to turn off each of the terminal that it is permanent

[@tryingtobebetter7235]

It's not really an option. It's mandatory if you want to continue tha game. That takes even more.

[@BhudhaLovesBudlight]

@@shard4155 there could be some kind of restoration questline released later in the patches. I doubt it because it goes against the theme/msg of the zone

[@shard4155]

@@BhudhaLovesBudlight Yeah, I'm not banking on that either

[@commediaDollArte]

quite possibly the single most heartwrenching area in the whole of final fantasy xiv. this hurts. this hurts so much. i thought it was a nice slow summer vacation.

[@alfredhee5298]

Yes. It hurts so much....

[@Calvinooi]

A summer vacation, that ends in a golden sunset

[@KillerGryphyn]

@@Calvinooi And a new adventure, that starts with a sunrise.

[@ElywinCarrinithshinyhunting]

"Looks like my summer vacation... is over."

[@jimhirl2194]

@@ElywinCarrinithshinyhunting yeah, huge twilight town vibes

[@ghasterra8950]

man, the sheer gut wrenching dread i felt when i pulled the plug on the first section, fully taking in just how empty it was. now when i go through, it feels so empty, like a mall that shut down with all its stores cleared out. i honestly wasnt sure how cbu3 could top ultima thule, but somehow they took it and slam dunked it. thanks for all the memories, ill cherish them forever.

[@noxiousorchid]

The aura in the sky being the colors of a sphene was a really nice touch.

[@ladyopheliagames]

Earlier today - my retainers brought back three Sphene Gems. I immediately made them into a ring and earrings and put them in my glam dresser to have FOREVER.

[@choysum7914]

I randomly looked up the meaning of sphene, it basically means to let go of our craving for love. I couldn’t stop crying, this Easter egg is like a knife stabbing right into my heart

[@Rei_Replicant]

I used to play FFXIV with my bestie since 1.0 till Endwalker , he passed away in 10th of April this year, i miss him so much.... so much , when i went to this world of " Living Memory " i cried alot as if Yoshida-san was knowing my feelings, i wish i can see him again, every corner in FFXIV reminds me of him so much memories our laughter, our struggles with bosses, and yet im still playing FFXIV , thank you for this amazing extended ver. and sorry to release a huge amount of unwanted aura.

[@starryespresso]

Sorry to hear

[@aaronsound]

Thank you for sharing, I know that feeling :/

[@ichasakuragi]

this zone really hit harder when you had lost someone from death, i lost my dad when i was on grade school, and my step dad 2 years ago. During MSQ i kept crying every time we made a memories with those endless, and we need to shut down the machine, everything turn to grays. I wish i could have a last goodbye to both of them, like wuk lamat did to namikka, krile to her parents, and erenville to cachiua. If i knew they will gone from my life. Thank you dawntrail, for making me cry :')

[@Yozora900]

Don't worry I felt the same way when my grandmother and this song and part of the story made me cry as well. This game is very beautiful and great

[@AuroDHikoshi]

It took me a few days to hit up each area you had to cross... and being asked that question by a red miqo hurt...

[@TheSonofskyrim]

I cant listen to this without crying my eye's out but i made my friend cry harder when I pointed out that in a place with a district dedicated to the memories of the valorous and the best fighter's, Otis' memory was enshrined in the place for children and the young at heart and when you think on that it starts to twist the emotional knife.

[@acadianalien]

Do you mean that all knights that died were happiest when they were children, and that's why their form is that way? That is even more sad than I thought it was yes

[@captaine-niscookie3406]

@@acadianalien i think it's just because the knights found true happiness in the pride of the children of Alexandria, that they shined with bravery in the hearts of children. perhaps those same children never found the same happiness as an adult, or had their lives cut short by the Calamity of Lightning.

[@Jorgom88]

I inexplicably cried the first time I entered this zone. The beautiful instrumentation, the nostalgic scenery, the colors, it’s just too much.

[@Levolpehh]

how i felt in Ultima Thule tbh. This place was also great design. kinda sad it looks so... lifeless now though when you return.

[@boat02]

I saw people run or mount down the ramp from the portal, but I knew what I had to do. Toggled walk and slowly made my way down the spiral steps, walked across the bridge. Seeing my little beloved minion happily trotting along with me was the moment I broke.

[@sammillar6493]

It's so hauntingly melancholic. Soken really is a master of music, producing a piece that perfectly encapsulates what a struggling fake-afterlife is. Honestly, just stunning.

[@KINGOFTHESPARKS755]

"I'm sorry..." "Don't be, this means we both have something worth fighting for, right?" -Takuto Maruki Many people have been hating on this zone...but its not FOR them. This place is for all of us who've lost somebody we love...its here to remind us, let us cry, let us suffer in the moment so we can move forward, so we can walk on, and never look back. Remember them, they will know. I promise.

[@Eriqzzzz]

Love this comment. The why I can appreciate some of the themes of dawntrail. It may not be my favorite expansion but this was surely one of my favorite story arcs

[@달밀-b6s]

As a drk WoL, this place and its story were just so heartbreaking. (Just to add up, was playing at kr server. heard eng translation of drk job quest was a bit different.) Started the game when 6.5 was updated. therefore 7.0 was my first expansion pack. I really love this game. love the message they were trying to convey. We must love. Even after the loss and sorrows, our journey must carry on. However, they are never forgotten. We will remember them, keep their legacy at heart. After all we experienced in 2.0~6.0, this meant a lot. To be honest, dawntrail wasnt a pack that made me cry in 02:00 like endwalker. but it gave me a message, something to reflect on my entire story. I really, really love this story.

[@brialyncroi]

The duality of nostalgia and bittersweet melodies and harmonies in this piece are so amazing. It feels like coming home and also makes you want to cry. I find myself humming this constantly. Absolute perfection.

[@3rdrick]

Looks like my summer vacation.... is over.

[@Juno__Music]

This theme sounds so much like something from KH2… and both Dawntrail and KH are just so heartbreaking and existentially tragic.

[@Jac0Frost0SCZ]

I enjoy the simple beauty of the area’s message: it’s okay to cry, you have to let go, and you have to move forward no matter what.

[@OpticalJesu5]

I lost my dad suddenly 2 years ago. I think a lot of people end up asking the question what would i do with just five more minutes. Dawntrail asks you that question here. I've never had a game have me sobbing and shaking in the second to last quest.

[@XPlatinumShadowX]

I tear up every time i come back here. This was the only area in 14 that made me feel this way.

[@redKheld]

Remember us... Remember that this song once lived.

[@Pheolyn]

Everyone is talking about twilight town however the similarities to “No promises to keep” are staggering

[@davidbell7491]

Outstanding! It’s always great when you can’t tell which layout it is right away!

[@DuosZero]

Best comparison to this place would have been Amarout, recreated by Emet-Selch, but that was a memory with faded ghosts that weren’t fleshed out fully, always repeating. But Living Memory, is quite literally a return of the dead, restoring them at their happiest, where they could make peace with their end and shed any regret they carried, free to frolic in paradise…

[@michaelanthony7440]

I’d like to think that Emet-Selch recreated Amarout with City of Gold as his inspiration to recreate his lost home. He did mention the City of Gold to WoL during his final appearance in Endwalker. The only difference is that Amarout is just based on the pain and loss Emet suffered during his time as an Ascian while Living Memory is Sphene’s happy memories recreated.

[@lanisolfire5692]

This area alone solidified this as my favorite expansion. It was so powerful

[@OnyxWren]

When I finished Dawntrail, I didn't initially like the ending, I thought Sphenes character arc was not well developed and i wasn't really emotionally effected by the shutting down of Living Memory (besides Kriles parents) The more that I have sat with it since then Ive realized how much of a beautiful inverse of the Endwalker story it is. Endwalker and by extension the Zodiark/Hydaelyn Saga is about Remembering the Fallen, Remembering those who sacrificed themselves to bring about a better world. Dawntrail takes you by the hand and says "Remember the dead, Give them the respect they deserve, but dont get stuck in the past, because there are those who are still alive, and they matter too" Dawntrail wasnt a knockout story for me like Shadowbringers or Endwalker but it was a lot better then I initially thought it was now that ive had time to digest its themes

[@fenrishound5939]

We can always just make more sea salt ice cream.

[@SerenEirian]

But who will we have ice cream _with?_ 🥲

[@tryingtobebetter7235]

@@SerenEirian Spooky ghosts.

[@rodimus580]

An couldn’t even ride the dang carousel.

[@pairuh5021]

i was so disappointed omg i literally went over to the ferris wheel too like i wanted to ride guys... can we slow down

[@davesgamingcorner1171]

I dunno about you but I sat around Living Memory for a long time, took in the sights and listened to each person cause I knew it was all gonna disappear, and this nostalgic and sad music really set the tone, I will remember them Kinda sad I cant see Alexandria and Lindblum in its prime tho

[@zanaduz2018]

You can see Alexandria/Lindblum (or at least, snippets of it) in the Alexandria dungeon - pre-catastrophe is the first part of that dungeon; during the catastrophe is the second part.

[@BlazinVoid59]

After I shut down the first area, it finally dawned on me that I would never see any of this again and I began to take pics of every NPC & every sight I didn't want to forget. I talked to every one I could. I was a complete bawling mess when I met the tour guide, I hadn't cried that hard in years and never did ff14 get a reaction like that from me until then. Bless the devs for making me sob uncontrollably and make me think about all my loved ones.

[@Fullmetalnyuu0]

This was the first time in the game that I cleared out every single side quest that appeared, because it felt right to give everyone that closure that they needed. Not helping them all pass on before our journey continued just didn't feel right.

[@MrXxsnipesXx]

Twilight town

[@RyannMachuca]

100% Twilight Town vibes

[@BlackStar9189]

I said the same thing

[@Flashchocobo]

Looks like our summer vacation is....over.

[@foxceles]

Yes!

[@PewPool]

Was hoping for this comment!

[@koko-hh2bq]

I hate this zone so much because it just takes my heart and rips it apart

[@jojojiva234]

It's gone now. Has been for a while.

[@maxspecs]

I hope they played this at The Mirage in Los Vegas when they shut it down. An old hotel, notable for having a volcano on the outside, and stages, canals, and a beautiful greenhouse inside.

[@justinjones1475]

I wonder what the chances are that Living Memory was referencing that

[@Aurea2001]

F in the chat for Cahciua

[@lothlend6301]

Krile's parents hit harder for me :(

[@pngmk2]

I actually likes the tour guide in the first aether current quest. Love his job in life, continue his job after death, then give us one more farewell tour at the end before erased. Why do I care so much for a random NPC 😢

[@twilightotaku4355]

​@@lothlend6301 me too😢

[@Lyu-Phy]

I was a crying mess at the end of Living Memory.. that zone was so rough to play through, even harder than Ultima Thule arguably - atleast there was some hope and payback at the end. But Living Memory just ends and stays somber and melancholic. And even though what we did seems for the benefit of the many, it just doesn't feel right here, we essencially just got caught up in a dilemma.

[@Lyu-Phy]

@@pngmk2 Yeah that quest hits different ngl.

[@Doodledoo92]

Anyone want to give this the old 10 hour special. I listened to this on a flight to Singapore recently and it just makes me cry. It’s my sleep music

[@lordsaladito]

i know its supposed to be like that, but this song feels like something that would sound before a person dies in a hospital. Like a waiting song for death

[@Calchimera]

I personally found this place... Creepy.. Uncanny, Dreamy theme-park that is just an AI's strange mausoleum.

[@Salt_Mage]

The mall is now closing.

[@vaidenkelsier7757]

Yeah, I felt the same way. Just generally unnerved through the whole experience. Still an incredible one for me personally, as it felt like a mockery of the lessons we've learned up until that point, someone taking a different solution *very* far down a corrupted road. Wonderful experience, heartfelt moments, but still just *wrong*.

[@AtelierMcMuttonArt]

Absolutely, yeah. It almost grossed me out, initially.

[@ryutheslayer123]

I told my friend this gives off KH1 Traverse Town vibes

[@iimpact_3rr0r]

Yoooo my friends said that too lol

[@shion14]

For me is more like Twilight town with ff9 aesthetics, but I can also see the traverse town vibes uwu

[@camiart_casual]

Honestly to me it sounds like KH2 Twilight Town. Right in the Summer Vacation feels

[@Mariamdc]

Yeah def feels like KH2 Twilight Town

[@VandyCaville]

i swear this sounds like the music from twilight town in kingdom hearts

[@arthurreitz9540]

This area really was a gamble narratively speaking Some of my friends hated it, but it worked on me. Same way that they were torn by EW but the expansion that did this to me was ShB

[@AuroDHikoshi]

Its the triology part, the historic, possible far off/futuristic and now the right here and now

[@dangerwarg9682]

Lemme guess. When the theme started fully playing after G'raha's crystal bridges formed. They cried and couldn't go on. And they don't like how the song always plays because they think it's always the "STOP AND CRY" moment. Even detesting the fact there is no battle theme in Ultima Thule. When no. This is when you get determined to push to the end and fight anything in your way. When Close in the Distance is playing, it means you're here at the edge and it's Fighting Fantasy Time (with feelings). xD

[@Ashura_Lex_Veda]

I think clarinets and oboes just resonate at the frequency of tear ducts, to be honest

[@MrButternutsprinkles]

I gotta be That Person. This is an oboe. Very close in timbre to a human voice, which makes it a perfect choice for a haunting, melancholic nostalgia. The only choice, really. And oboes are #1 (tied with violins, though) at prying open those tear ducts, that's for sure.

[@sargehavoc]

The 3:00 marker when the vocals kick up really gets my spine tingling, like everyone there is singing out in the background - then they seemingly fall off at 3:30... like someone just unplugged them.

[@henric1991]

The music was great to begin with but as you point out, at 3 min mark it just ramps up to 11

[@MeSharkk]

When 2:33 kicks in, the emotional wave takes over

[@Ozawanikoot]

Living memory to fading memory 😢

[@daipa-next]

大好きな曲で、二度と聞きたくない曲。

[@MrDoot-hj2ir]

"It can't get sadder than Amaurot" Creative Unit III: "Bet"

[@AuroDHikoshi]

This is a more relevant amurot since its happening before your eyes and not being retold or reimagined

[@terrenceojeda7172]

It's giving last day of summer in twilight town.

[@genji.takiya]

This expension is very touch my heart .. that moment I can’t continue MSQ becoz I don’t want to shut down them 🥹🥹 But now .. I just finished Dawntrail .. and everyday I go back to Living Memory in New game+ .. and mount around the city .. try to pet everybody I met I can’t believe myself why I do that .. but onlyone I know .. this game is very impact to my life

[@Juno__Music]

“WHO ELSE WILL I EAT ICE CREAM WITH?!” Ah… wrong game, but still so sad in both…

[@TitanDraugen]

Going in to this place and hearing this theme, I was all like "Traverse Town looking mighty different right now." XD

[@greenboysp]

This is Twighlight Town but depressing.

[@justinjones1475]

I wonder if the Iifa Tree will see more use. It got a mention during the final zone and it's far away enough where it might see attention

[@GEMINIVice1]

Long live ‘The Golden City’ *cries for Cahciua*

[@paixeon8816]

i wish i had spent more time exploring each area

[@Bal-ke6kd]

Squareenix giveth this stunning area and music, then they taketh away.

[@amunia4361]

❤❤❤

[@FTWhaleLord]

Dawntrail was, I think, my least favorite expansion, with so many holes n turn arounds that rubbed me the wrong way. But its epilogue truly was something else, guided the whole way through by this track, one that's just so indescribably impactful and poignant to me. No matter the expansion's faults, this is how I'll remember it by, and in a funny way, 'Living Memory' will live as my truest memory of Dawntrail.

[@Vielle-Lothaire]

Would be interesting to see about those forgotten. Or lost after they ran out of aether.

[@duanebedgood9917]

Sounds like Kingdom Hearts

[@WoodLevi-u3d]

5064 Ike Mall

[@noctis1672]

👀

[@WallisViola]

0608 Janie Wall