Final Fantasy III is set in Hydaelyn's 4th Umbral Era

[Catapult]

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UPDATE: Theory seems debunked. I wrap that up here, but feel free to keep chatting about connections between III and XIV, or that beloved topic of the void.
Original post below.
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Work with me here, folks. If this is a house of cards, I want you to either concrete it, or bring it crashing down on me.

Here is my foundation.

We are told the Crystal Tower is the tomb of Xande, emperor of ancient Allag. But why would you make a tower your tomb? Probably because it became your tomb after you were using it for something else.
III tells us that Xande, from his base in the Crystal Tower, drained the power of the Crystals of Light. Now from an XIV perspective, that's a great reason to put your tower on top of the centrepoint of the planet's aether flow, Silvertear.

ARR has already shown us two of these crystals of light, and named them as such. It has also shown us a crystal of darkness, held by an ascian. III's lore speaks of the crystals of darkness existing in a counterbalance, which will call forth warriors of darkness when the light becomes overbearing, just as the crystals of light will do the opposite.

It is fitting that an ascian hold a crystal of darkness. Their motives revealed so far seem well aligned to returning the world to a state of darkness, as if they were cooperating with the Cloud of Darkness in her goal to plunge the world into shadow, a goal that she was manipulating Xande into achieving.

The world created by Xande in III greatly resembles what we know of the fourth Astral Era. In XIV, Allag empire had fallen. In III we hear of a recently fallen empire that had sought to use the power of the crystals of light in its own advancement - this sounds a lot like using the power of aether to drive powerful magitek.

Could the rise of the sorcerer Xande as allagan emperor and his manipulation by the Cloud of Darkness have led to the fall of his own empire in his greedy quest for immortality, thus bringing on the fourth umbral era of Hydaelyn?

If so, can we expect to see the floating continent that existed in that world? (Nym?)

((Hint: To bring down or cement this house of cards, try and focus on Bahamut - this is what needs to make or break the concept and I can't remember enough about his presence or fate in FFIII.))

[Catapult]

Other supporting argument:

The world of FFIII is the spitting definition of "classic Final Fantasy" - sentient, elementally aligned crystals. Importance of balance between light (astral) and dark (umbral). Heroes of light. Job system (and switching jobs on the one class no less). Saving the world itself. It is only fitting.

[Anonymoose]

This looks like a job for ... GEOGRAPHY!

Can you find a way to make this not paradoxical to Eorzea?

[Catapult]

This looks like a job for ... GEOGRAPHY!

Can you find a way to make this not paradoxical to Eorzea?

Ok... I counter with Geology.

One of the most significant things that impacts changes in landscapes are glacial movements, and the 5th Astral era was full of them.

Furthermore, the Crystal Tower is (at the end of 6th Astral) underground. This means it has either been buried under a lot of sediment or volcanic extrutions, or articifically forced into the ground. In both cases, it would result in the present day geography of Silvertear existing only after this event.

Lastly, if the landscape could change so much at the onset of the 7th umbral, imagine what impact successive eras could have collectively had (great way to retcon a map).

[Anonymoose]

I'm curious to see where this one goes, particularly once Mjollnir sees this thread and he's like, MY TIME HAS COME.

I'd like to assume that every Final Fantasy is supposed to be self-contained and respect its brothers and sisters, but it wouldn't be the first time someone at SE got away with linking two numbered titles in a way that makes them no longer confined to their own respectable and complete world. Remember when Nojima and Kitase dropped the bomb that VII and X take place in the same world? Would Tanaka have the brass to change something that big?

SPOILER:
Yes.


2010

Disclaimer:
Tanaka breathes and bleeds Final Fantasy. I'm not implying otherwise.
I just like joking about how badly it went over when they changed the formula just for the sake of it.

EDIT:
I think elements of the story have been preserved, but not in a way that makes the canons one and the same. I think Cloud of Darkness might be controlling Xandes, I think Xandes might be the red-masked mage that we see involved in all this ascian business, and I'm still curious to see if the ascians fit into the cabal of mages red herring in any way or if they're the Warriors of Dark, so to speak... but the same world? I'd be ... something more than shocked. Ironically, I bet following this line of logic will lead to a lot of semi-accurate guesses as to what's going on, but that big picture they're still different worlds.

[Catapult]

I'd like to assume that every Final Fantasy is supposed to be self-contained and respect its brothers and sisters, but it wouldn't be the first time someone at SE got away with linking two numbered titles in a way that makes them no longer confined to their own respectable and complete world. Remember when Nojima and Kitase dropped the bomb that VII and X take place in the same world? Would Tanaka have the brass to change something that big?

Well, Tanaka was one of the big cheeses that created the original NES titles. He was designer on FFIII and produced the remake. He could have easily taken the creative liberty.

PS: No one mention Dissidia, please. That's its own theory.

[Laevetine]

That is just crazy enough to be true or at best be loosely related.

I think what would be a big swing either way is its location in the actual game. As videos and SS of silvertear before and after the big boom; you would think a big tower of crystal would turn up. (Unless its magically/mechanically can be hidden moved etc.)

That is a compelling argument for it being true with some nice evidence. The big thing against it in my eyes is its something that has never been done in game. Now the argument that 7 and 10 share the same world is really thin and its not in game it was mentioned elsewhere.

Would be Cool though...

[Ferth]

I have a very strong urge to play III now.

[Yrusama]

That is just crazy enough to be true or at best be loosely related.

I think what would be a big swing either way is its location in the actual game. As videos and SS of silvertear before and after the big boom; you would think a big tower of crystal would turn up. (Unless its magically/mechanically can be hidden moved etc.)

That is a compelling argument for it being true with some nice evidence. The big thing against it in my eyes is its something that has never been done in game. Now the argument that 7 and 10 share the same world is really thin and its not in game it was mentioned elsewhere.

Would be Cool though...

I'm trying to remind myself that the maps in 1.0 and ARR have more discrepancies than Bahamut could have hoped to achieve. They're adding things like this that never existed, and totally shifting locations around, like the Mun-Tuy Cellars, which should be in North Shroud on the way to Hyrstmill. An underground network wouldn't shift so cleanly across that distance.

X-2 had an ambiguous allusion to VII happening in the future, but nothing was outright stated except for in the Ultimania. Still thin, but there is in-game material to back it up. There are a number of problems surrounding it, too (the Shinra line would have to exist longer than mankind's memory of space travel, and only recently discover what the Al Bhed kid set out to do millennia earlier.)

As for FFIII = ancient Hydaelin: My problem with this is that Xande was not an emperor in FFIII. He was one of three Magi apprenticed to Noah, along with Doga and Unei. Noah gifted Doga with immeasurable magical powers, and Unei with complete control over the dream world. He bestowed Xande with mortality.

Angered, Xande sought to create an imbalance between light and darkness in favor of the latter, which would stop time for the world and render him immortal once more (there's a flaw in his logic somewhere :P) He nearly succeeded, and the world was mostly flooded with darkness with the exception of the Floating Continent. Did the Xande in XIV cause such an event?

[Mjollnir]

I'm trying to remind myself that the maps in 1.0 and ARR have more discrepancies than Bahamut could have hoped to achieve. They're adding things like this that never existed, and totally shifting locations around, like the Mun-Tuy Cellars, which should be in North Shroud on the way to Hyrstmill. An underground network wouldn't shift so cleanly across that distance.

I just figured that the old Mun-Tuy was destroyed and a new one was built elsewhere with the Gridanians giving it the old name out of a sense of the need to rebuild after the Calamity, much like a lot of the Aetheryte Camps and other places in Eorzea.

I'm curious to see where this one goes, particularly once Mjollnir sees this thread and he's like, MY TIME HAS COME.

I'm only buying into this if every single FF game and Earth actually takes place on Eorzea at some point or other in time. Come on, we need a conspiracy the size of The Pixar Theory!