FF14 7.2 has been a very dance-driven patch for the MMORPG. The newest set of fights for the FF14 Dawntrail raid, the Arcadion, kicks off with a stylish showdown against a disco-loving Viera, Dancing Green. Step into the latest unreal trial, meanwhile, and you’ll face off with Suzaku in Hells’ Kier – a battle best known for its ‘DDR intermission’ that demands all players match a series of directional inputs akin to the classic Dance Dance Revolution games. Yet despite this trend, composer Masayoshi Soken warns that hopes of a rhythmic Gold Saucer minigame are unlikely to come to fruition.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Final Fantasy 14’s legendary composer just days after the latest patch graced us with the funkiest fight the MMORPG has ever seen. The new raid battle bombards you with moonwalking frogs, spotlights you must rush to dance in, and flashing floor tiles to keep you on your toes. It’s beautifully choreographed to the sounds of ‘Ride the Rhythm,’ so I ask Soken whether this particular encounter posed any fresh challenges that he and his team hadn’t faced before.
“In terms of MMORPGs, it’s a genre that is hard to gain any sort of severe timing control,” he tells me (via translator). “So I found that the challenge here was how to make it seem like this difficulty didn’t exist in the raid.” This required a lot of new engineering, Soken explains, but he says he felt the final result “came out pretty well.”
I’d certainly agree; sound has become increasingly valuable in recent FF14 fights (Prishe’s shouts of “Wait for it!” in the Jeuno alliance raid come to mind, along with the callouts explaining specific mechanics that you’re given during 7.2’s new story trial). Dancing Green feels like the culmination of that work, with the music completing the sense of place while also helping you to judge when to move to dodge attacks such as his snap-twist.
“There’s actually someone on the team who really, really wants to make music for rhythm games,” Soken reveals. “But when we think about that, the MMO genre ties really badly with the technologies that are needed to have good timing.” If you’ve ever tried to sync up your moves with other players outside of the game’s built-in countdown timer, or raided on a server with slightly above-average ping, you’re probably well aware of just how awkward it can be.
“When they came to me with the idea of making Dancing Green, I was like, ‘These guys just really, really want to make a rhythm game,’” Soken laughs. “Actually, they’ve kept trying and trying to get this to happen, and we’ve always faced technical difficulties. So there is a history of failure, but I think we’ve finally been able to achieve something here.”
Could there be a sliver of hope for something on the side, I suggest – perhaps an experimental dancing Gold Saucer minigame? Soken winces slightly at the thought. “No, you have to listen to me,” he emphasizes firmly, albeit with a smile, “it’s really difficult. It seems easy to implement, but there are a lot of limitations with an MMORPG and with all the controls as well. It’s very hard to do.” It seems we’ll have to stick with Theatrhythm for the time being, then.
For even more options, you can always keep it moving with the best rhythm games on PC, or try another of the best multiplayer games in 2025. If you missed the rest of my interview with Soken, find out which Final Fantasy game he feels FF14 is lacking.
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