Final Fantasy XIV

[The Jukebox] #59 - Masayoshi Soken - The Reach of Darkness

Padraig Fahy

Jul 6, 2020 — 2 min read

Staying with Final Fantasy XIV and back in 2015, which was about a year and a half after the game re-launched, Square Enix launched the final major patch for the A Realm Reborn expansion titled Before The Fall.

There is a very good documentary about Final Fantasy XIV and what happened between it’s 2010 launch and it’s 2013 re-launch. Even if you are not a gamer, it’s still a good watch. Part 1 can be found here.

In this update, players were treated the end of one chapter and hints of what was to come for its upcoming expansion Heavensward.

Final Fantasy III

A side-quest for all of this was the 3rd and final series in the Crystal Tower raids. This was a raid based on the locations found in Final Fantasy III released back in April 1990 for the Famicon in Japan.

The final boss for the Crystal Tower was the Cloud of Darkness.

So who is the Cloud of Darkness?

The Cloud of Darkness manipulates Xande to destroy the world’s Crystals. Xande believes this will stop time and allow him to prolong his mortal life, but in reality, this is the catalyst needed for the Cloud of Darkness to manifest.
The Cloud of Darkness reveals itself after Xande’s death, due to the imbalance between light and dark caused by him, and reveals its intention of returning the world to a state of nothingness. A battle ensues in which the Cloud of Darkness defeats the Warriors of Light, seemingly ending any resistance to its plan.
Unofficial Final Fantasy Wiki

Original Famicom (NES) theme for Cloud of Darkness (NES, 1990)

I am the Cloud of Darkness. What I do not smother, I devour. What I cannot devour, I destroy. The covenant is everlasting. All mortals before the flood of darkness will sink lifeless into the void.
The Cloud of Darkness

Final Fantasy XIV

In Final Fantasy XIV, the final boss of the World of Darkness is the Cloud of Darkness herself which is a fantastic rendetion of the 1990 verison.

The theme for this fight comes in 2 parts.

“Hunger” composed by Nobuo Uematsu which only last for the first 30 seconds before Masayoshi Soken takes over with “The Reach of Darkness”

The violins and the thunderous drums bellow throughout the song giving the importance of this fight as you and your comrades fight to protect the World for another day!