The long-running Final Fantasy series has been long renowned, among many other things, for the fantastic concept and character art that accompany each game. Final Fantasy XIV is no stranger to this respect, with some of the best work in the entire series coming from Square Enix’s MMORPG. And now, Square Enix has announced that fans of the game will get another chance to buy art books for the game, with reprints coming next year.
Final Fantasy XIV‘s life had a rocky beginning. The initial version of the game came out in 2010 and was heavily criticized at launch, prompting Square Enix to offer an official apology. However, in a remarkable turn of events, they also announced that the game would be remade in its entirety. That game, titled Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, was a completely different beast. Fans flooded back and positive reviews followed, setting the course to become one of the best MMOs of the last decade.
For the first two expansions, Heavensward and Stormblood, the art books accompanying them are getting reprints that are coming in 2021. For fans who missed out on the first run of availability, the news that they will have a second chance to claim a gorgeous set of art books will be sure to please, especially with the news that each of the art books will contain a code to redeem a in-game minion.
The Final Fantasy XIV Heavensward set, titled The Art of Ishgar, will arrive in the early part of the year. Both Sword and Steel and The Scars of War will be able to buy from March 23. The first post-release expansion for Final Fantasy XIV, Heavensward came out in 2015 and introduced flying mounts, as well as new jobs like the Dark Knight (no Batman resemblance, unfortunately), Astrologian and Machinist.
The second expansion, Stormblood, followed two years later, and introduced the Samurai and Red Mage jobs to players, and featured underwater areas for the first time. The accompanying artbooks, The Art of the Revolution – Western Memories and Eastern Memories, will release in just under a year’s time, on July 20.
The news comes off the back that Final Fantasy XIV recently passed 20 million users. That’s a huge result considering how it all started, and it’s fully deserved given the quality of the game and its subsequent expansions. Collaborations with Nier: Automata and Monster Hunter: World followed, and there were even talks of a TV adaptation coming too.
Square Enix also announced that two manga series would be making their debut in the West next year. The hilarious and heart-warming LGBTQ+-friendly family comedy I Think Our Son Is Gay will release on May 11, 2021, and the sci-fi/fantasy yuri survival thriller Otherside Picnic comes out on May 25, 2021.