Final Fantasy 14 and Dragon Age are very different games, one being an MMO by Square Enix and the other being a single-player RPG by BioWare. However, Final Fantasy 14 is an MMO with a fascinating story and compelling characters that BioWare fans may love. Some players have been pointing out that two fan-favorite characters from these games have some unique similarities: Emet-Selch and Solas.
Both of these men want to destroy the world in order to rebuild their worlds that fell many years ago. While their personalities and connections to the player are quite different, both characters have become fan-favorites because they are sympathetic villains. Solas wishes to tear down the Veil and rebuild Arlathan/Elvehnan, meanwhile Emet-Selch wants to destroy worlds in order to remake Etheirys.
Wishing To Restore Fallen Worlds
Solas and Emet-Selch are not the only similarities to draw between these games. The worlds they want to restore are also quite alike. Solas wants to restore the world of the elves to a time when they were immortal and magic was available in everyone. Emet-Selch's Etheirys is a place where anyone could easily create life with their imagination, and they were immortal (though could choose death if they wanted).
Due to their past and these fantastical lost worlds, they feel the current world is dire and its people are only a fragment of what they should be. In Trespasser, Solas can tell the player that he did not even see others as people because of their lack of magic and knowledge. The same is true of Emet-Selch, who believed the people of Eorzea to just be pieces of his people, un-whole and not worth empathizing with.
Solas and Emet-Selch's Responsibilities
Outside fallen worlds, fans also empathize with these two characters because they were leaders who feel like they failed. Emet-Selch was a part of the government of Etheirys, the Convocation of Fourteen, who were the ones that sacrificed thousands of lives to create Zodiark on the promise they can save the world. Solas is similar, being the Dread Wolf that lead a rebellion to free his people from slavery (only to find out later that they become slaves again later and lost their immortality because of him).
The weight of guilt pushes them forward as villains. While Emet-Selch sticks to his guns in Shadowbringers with a passion, Solas is more hesitant but still moves forward because he believes he has to fix his mistake. For Emet-Selch and Solas, there are no other people who can take this role. They both suffer from a form of survivor's guilt that isolates them from everyone else.
Interesting Differences Between The Villains
Differences between these two characters can be obvious, but they are interesting when related to what makes them similar. While Emet-Selch remained conscious and learned all about the worlds he would destroy, Solas was unconscious through the time between the fall of his people and the Dragon Age. Emet-Selch is the less merciful character, despite having more chances to see that the new worlds have loveliness and value. This difference is interesting, as it shows how more open-minded Solas is in his brief time with people.
With the release of Endwalker, it looks as though Emet-Selch's story has reached a conclusion, meanwhile fans still have to wait for Dragon Age 4 to see what Solas has in store for Thedas. It is possible the conclusion of Solas' story will be similar to Emet-Selchs, dying while accepting that the new people of Thedas deserve a chance. Unlike Emet-Selch, who denied the possibility of being wrong throughout Final Fantasy 14, Solas already seems to want to be saved from himself. That alone can spell out a different fate for these characters.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now on PC, PS4, and PS5.
