Revelations from NA Fan Fest (July 2023)

[Vflower]

The things they reveal about the story usually happen very early on, so I'm wondering if that split in the scions is just a way to distribute players into two starting zones like in previous expansions.
One half of the scions explores zone 1, the other zone 2 and we do both, then the paths converge and our disagreement comes to a conclusion with the first trial after which a big baddy appears that we unite against.

[Enkidoh]

Valigarmanda/Tritoch is the first Esper that you encounter in FFVI. It was frozen in Narshe during the War of the Magi.

^This. So I'm expecting Vicks and 'Wedge' to show up.. and promptly get slaughtered by it lol

Also seems Derplander is still PLD as he's wielding Lightbringer (PLD AF5 sword from EW), unless the full trailer to come later in the year features a Job change.

Also, is that Gogo I see brushing past Thancred in the trailer? (Fitting, given his appearence in the Masked Carnivale).

[Iscah]

You need to drop everything and play FF6, right now.

I did start on FF6, at least.

I got to the opera house and couldn't find my way out. Need to get back to that.

I remember seeing the esper now that's been clarified, though I don't know if I got to learning its name.

[MikkoAkure]

Another thing I just noticed from blowing up the map image super big and staring way too close at my screen is that the cloud cover over Ilsabard and Northern New World is much thicker than that covering Meradydia, and the southern-most reaches of the New World below the newly revealed spots.

There's even terrain and actual features shown on Meracydia beneath the clouds and the Southern Isles got their name dropped on the map.

Southern Tural:


Meracydia/Southern Isles:


Strange feature east of Tuliyollal:


I wanted a more centrally focused expansion, but this could mean further reveals at future fan fests.

[Denishia]

I was leaning more towards Meracydia than New World not because the option excited me more (except I disliked the Mamool Ja designs and had better hopes for the Beast Tribe options with Meracydia), but as Meracydia seemed the shoe-in it ironically made the New World more likely. And now we get it, Tural! And it's so much of what I would want - an adventure that at least is going to start with lover stakes. That we're going on invite of the native political situation and not to mediate Limsa Lomisan colonial efforts (though I bet that will be a plot point in the succession debate and a key difference in platforms). That the main hub city is very SEA, and while I'm unfamiliar with that region, seems to have an Indonesian bent without being full pastiche. I was betting on Tenochtilan, but I still might get my canals and floating gardens. Still, overall it is very Mesomaerican. Which, I was already over the moon at Ronka. So that outfit that the girl is wearing next to the miq'ote in the trailer? Happiness scream. If they use Nahuatl names even a third as much as the obnoxious overdose of Greek has been in EW, I will be thrilled.

The Andean inspired zone is EVERYTHING. Alpaca mounts. The lightning-aether-wracked holes in the mountain are tied to a dungeon. And the more I think about it, the more I get vibes of the Churning Mist and the Aery. I love that it has a sizable Hrothgar population (could that be the giant race, or are they gigas or something new? Also, here's our fallen dark empire and I'm calling mummy mobs now).

That the equivalent of North America is still cloud-covered gives me hope that the western continents won't be shoved into a single expansion, or at least that it isn't sharing it with other world locations, which was my biggest fear.

[Tehmon]

The tone and vibe are perfect, and the (friendly?) rivalry between two scion teams sounds like a really good concept, as long as they sprinkle in some actual tension between the scions (that is not petty squabbling). I think the team you have will consist of G'raha, Estinien, Krile and one of the twins. I think they are going to separate the twins for sure. I predict that by the end of Dawntrail, the scions will be more fractured, and we'll continue our adventure with few of the old scions from our team and some newcomers. Whether we will still be scions though remains to be seen.

[Denishia]

The things they reveal about the story usually happen very early on, so I'm wondering if that split in the scions is just a way to distribute players into two starting zones like in previous expansions.
One half of the scions explores zone 1, the other zone 2 and we do both, then the paths converge and our disagreement comes to a conclusion with the first trial after which a big baddy appears that we unite against.

That's what I immediately thought too. We're invited by Faction A alongside Krile, G'raha, and Erenville, whereas Thancred, Urianger, and other Scions were invited by Faction B, twins probably joining us, two zone starting split is helping both investigating to see which truly is best for Tural- then we get our early MSQ twist to derail everything.

[Fenral]

I did start on FF6, at least.

I got to the opera house and couldn't find my way out. Need to get back to that.

Pixel Remaster, I hope? Regardless, the Opera House gets you past the worst stretch of the game, in my opinion. If you ever get stuck, Gau is my favorite crutch character. (Adding "Gau counterpart" to the expansion wishlist.)

I remember seeing the esper now that's been clarified, though I don't know if I got to learning its name.

It's not given until you get the Magicite, which is near endgame. But the game is like 30 years old now, which is why everyone throws it around like you should know it.

[Vflower]

I wanted a more centrally focused expansion, but this could mean further reveals at future fan fests.

Well, Yok Tural looks like it's South Tural so we may get zones in the North Tural as well. What's currently visible of Yok Tural doesn't look like it could be more than 4 zones. But yeah, the different clouds over the Southern island look suspicious, I just don't think there's any way we're also getting Meracydia in the expansion.

[Iscah]

Strange feature east of Tuliyollal:

It puts me in mind of the description of the Ridorana Cataract, which we never actually got to see. Something about a bottomless hole in the middle of the ocean? (However that physically works.)