REVIEW: Eorzean Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023

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Everything after these two paragraphs will be spoilers about the concert. If you’re looking to simply determine if Eorzean Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023 is worth going to, the answer is: Yes, even if you previously attended FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2018 -Eorzean Symphony. While a handful of tracks are shared between the two symphony concerts, there is enough new material that I would unequivocally state that you should go if you can get a ticket.

That said, if you plan on bringing a light-up Elpis flower (sold on the SQUARE ENIX Store, at FAN FESTIVAL, or at the symphony itself) to the concert as recommended, then be sure to install the batteries beforehand. If you are planning on buying the Elpis flower at the concert itself, then bring a small eyeglass screwdriver with you to install the batteries with because the merchandising booth does not have the necessary screwdriver available to use.

Eorzean Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023 is a concert that will both feel incredibly familiar to those who attended FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2018 -Eorzean Symphony during its two-night North American tour and yet completely new at the same time. Whereas the 2018 concert focused only on 1.0, A Realm Reborn, and Heavensward, this 2023 symphony sought to showcase the entire storyline for the past 10 years, starting with A Realm Reborn and until the end of Endwalker.

Eorzean Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023 took place the day after the second day of FINAL FANTASY XIV FAN FESTIVAL 2023-2024 in Las Vegas at the Virgin Theater. During the two-and-a-half-hour show, there were 20 songs played that told the entire story of FINAL FANTASY XIV Online in chronological order starting with A Realm Reborn until the end of Endwalker. Alexandra Cravero conducted the Eorzean Orchestra, with the Desert Angels All Star Choir backing them up. After each expansion’s suite was played, Naoki Yoshida, Masayoshi Soken, Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, or some combination of the three would come on stage to present the next expansion’s musical selections. The concert was split up into two parts, separated by a 15-minute intermission. In the first half, there was pieces from A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, and Stormblood. In the second half, there were suites from Shadowbringers and Endwalker.

“My heart always goes a million miles an hour when I sing those songs [Shadowbringers and To the Edge] back-to-back.”~ Jason Charles Miller

The storytelling aspect was incredible. For each expansion, a particular song would pick up one of several story threads and tell it. For example, Dragonsong (with vocals by Amanda Achen) told the story of the Heavensward expansion from start to the final fight. Next, the song Heavensward (again with vocals by Amanda Achen) repurposed the clips of the professional SQUARE ENIX trailer to accompany it, and it helped to tell the proceeding story of the expansion in a different way. Finally, the song Heroes picked up the final trial fight and told the remainder of Heavenward‘s story. For other expansions, the story plotlines would be split between two or three songs, and only by listening and watching all of them would you feel like you saw the full story that you experienced in game. I have attended a lot of video game concerts and symphonies so far, and the way SQUARE ENIX and The Wild Faery Company arranged Eorzea Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023 is the best version yet.

During the show, Amanda Achen and Jason Charles Miller would repeatedly take the stage to provide vocals for different songs. Despite having heard both of them repeatedly over the prior two days at FINAL FANTASY XIV FAN FESTIVAL 2023-2024 in two other mediums, both of them pulled off amazing performances with a backing orchestra. I’ve made no secret of how I love Ms. Achen’s voice and stage presence previously, and she is just as great here too. Mr. Miller’s voice really filled the Virgin Theater here too, and I could just tell he was passionate about what he was singing as we explored the Endwalker expansion.

I mentioned at the top of this review that there are some songs that are shared between Eorzean Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023 and FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2018 -Eorzean Symphony, and that is true. Seven of the 10 musical pieces from the first act were also present at the 2018 performances. I will say that I loved them then, and I loved them now – even if the video for Dragonsong felt almost identical at both performances. One of my biggest concerns was whether or not I would still enjoy the 2023 version, even having attended the 2018 shows: and the answer is absolutely yes.

Finally, there is the Elpis flower. During a part of the second half of the show, attendees are encouraged to turn on an Elpis flower and light it. I am going to say that it was a really cool moment when everyone did so, and the music swelled up again. It fit in so perfectly, and it was my favorite moment of the show to look around and see all of the lit flowers. If you can get an Elpis flower either through the SQUARE ENIX store, at the FAN FESTIVAL merchandise booth, or at the concert itself, you should. I purposefully bought a flower at the show just to be a part of that moment, and I was glad that I was able to join in.

“The reason we are here is because of you – Thank you so much.” ~Naoki Yoshida

So far, I have raved about all the good things about the show, but I would be remiss if I didn’t point out what I didn’t like as well. First and foremost: I strongly disliked the video accompanying the second song, A New Hope. Even though it is set during A Realm Reborn, all that video did was show NPCs in various cities standing around and/or doing minor automated actions. I get that it is supposed to show off how the world is recovering from the Seventh Umbral Calamity, but I felt like it was underwhelming – especially compared to the high quality of storytelling that later songs would present. I also wish that there was something from 1.0 (perhaps Answers or Rise of the White Raven?) present, as 1.0 is part of the story for FINAL FANTASY XIV Online.

The venue itself was okay, though not great. The audio during the symphony had issues, as I could hear it reverberating in the back of the hall from where I was sitting near the front, and the camera that showed off the orchestra displayed low-quality images that sharply contrasted with the high-quality gameplay clips. This is not the fault of SQUARE ENIX or The Wild Faery Company, but simply how the Virgin Theater is. I was sitting in row H from the front on the left-hand side, for reference.

The merchandising situation was a mess. There were two performances that Sunday, and an Eorzean Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023 T-shirt was exclusively sold at the show itself. For whatever reason, the merchandising booth did not hold enough large and extra-large T-shirts back for both performances, and instead sold them out during the first show. This meant that they had only a limited supply of small and medium T-shirts for the second performance and that if you wanted a chance to get a T-shirt, you better have attended the first performance. This is uncommon for SQUARE ENIX concerts from my experience, as they have been letting people buy the merchandise online through a secret weblink so that they do not run out of merchandise.

“I am very proud that I was able to spend these last ten years with you.” ~ Naoki Yoshida

Additionally, if you bought an Elpis flower at the concert itself, the merchandise booth did not have a way to help you install the batteries before the concert so that you could light it up during the Symphony. It apparently caused enough of a problem that SQUARE ENIX tweeted out about it between performances. Thankfully, two Warriors of Light from the Aether server stepped forward and were installing batteries in Elpis flowers in an assembly-line fashion with tools that they brought into the show with them. It shouldn’t have been necessary for them to be the ones to do this, and I can only hope it will be corrected for future performances.

If I have the opportunity to attend Eorzean Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023 again, I absolutely would. Most importantly, the audience around me absolutely loved it too. This is simply a magical show that has some of the best video game concert storytelling that I have ever seen, and I found myself listening to some of the music on the walk to the bus station afterwards because I wasn’t quite ready to leave Eorzea yet and return to the real world.

If you just read about what I didn’t like about the show, and you’re wondering how I can score it a 4.5/5…then just know that the musical performance itself is THAT strong to overcome any possible issues with the venue itself or the merchandise.

Go see Eorzean Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023. Seriously.

You won’t regret it.

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Overall

The next performance of Eorzean Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023 will be held at the Eventim Apollo on October 23, 2023 in London, England.

Are you planning on attending an upcoming performance of Eorzean Symphony – FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestra Concert 2023? 

If you were present at the Las Vegas performances, what did you think?

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