#okay actually yes i will say fighting tritoch (valigarmanda) this expansion was PRETTY COOL

[tritoch]

in retrospect the whole estinien/gaius teamup is one of the funniest and most classically fanservice-y things FFXIV has done so far

your DARTH VADER/GRAHF-CODED ORIGINAL MAIN VILLAIN and YOUR RIVAL TURNED TEAMMATE TURNED POSSESSED ENEMY TURNED COMRADE-IN-ARMS, two of the only warriors alive who are even sort of your equal on the battlefield, MEET UP ON A TOP-SECRET MISSION, where they face off in a TWO VERSUS ONE FIGHT with MULTIPLE CAMERA ANGLES AND NON-STOCK ANIMATION against YOUR LATEST RIVAL, RETURNED FROM THE DEAD TO HUNT YOU ONCE MORE. there are SICK TEAMUP MOVES.

and then they fight a giant top-secret prototype bio-organic mech.

this is like the non-canon anime OVA with needlessly nice animation to our mainline shonen storyline, except it's 100% in-story. it's also not not the opening to ff7. i have never been more catered to in this game, and they let you straight up just fight phantom train at one point. no one ever mentions it again later.