After British actor Stephen Critchlow passed away last year, one of his friends took a 194-hour journey through Final Fantasy 14 just to hear his voice again.
That friend would be Robert Harper, a fellow actor who first met Critchlow in the mid-90s. "We both got a contract to be part of the BBC's Radio Drama company for a year," Harper tells 12DOVE, sharing that the pair would go on to record a "huge amount of radio together" over that time.
The duo would collaborate with various famous actors of the time, working hard recording throughout the day and then gathering together for a drink out of hours. "Stephen certainly held his own on those occasions, both in the drinking and ability to tell stories," Harper shares.
"There was never a day I spent with Stephen that didn't include much laughter," the actor continues. "He could bring a room to tears with laughter at the drop of a hat."
On September 19, 2021, Stephen Critchlow passed away, aged 54. Known as the voice of Count Edmont de Fortemps in Final Fantasy 14's Heavensward expansion, players from across the globe came together to pay tribute to Critchlow, holding a mass vigil on Fortemps manor in Ishgard.
Harper explains that he's been an "avid gamer for over 40 years," though he couldn't get into Final Fantasy 14 as the overwhelming number of players in places like Limsa Lominsa put him off. Earlier this year, though, something changed Harper's approach to the grandiose MMO entirely.
"As the anniversary of Stephen's [passing] was looming, I started to think about him, our time together in the 90s, and I remember how fondly the Final Fantasy 14 community thought of him," Harper explains. "I was reminded of the vigils in the game in September of last year when gamers had heard that he had died. And I thought, 'I want to experience what they all have. I want to explore and find, and fight, my way through the story so that I can hear my old friend give this stellar performance in Heavensward.'"
And so Harper began the colossal journey of playing through Final Fantasy 14's A Realm Reborn storyline to hear the voice of his departed friend in the Heavensward expansion. After 194 hours of adventuring, the actor eventually made it to the beginning of the expansion, where he encountered the opening cinematic depicted just below, narrated by none other than Critchlow.
After spending 194hrs getting to Ishgard, the greatest reward? Hearing my dear old friend Stephen Critchlow. #FFXIV pic.twitter.com/DnMlDZkjjFSeptember 6, 2022
Harper describes the experience of hearing Critchlow's voice for the first time in the sequence above as "extremely emotional." If you haven't got that far yourself, this is the first time you hear Stephen Critchlow's voice, which is before you even see his upstanding character Count Edmont de Fortemps in-game.
Harper then decided to post about his experience with soldiering through A Realm Reborn on the Final Fantasy 14 subreddit, and the reception couldn't have been better. His post now sits at over 5,000 upvotes on the subreddit, with well over 200 commenters congratulating Harper on his achievement and celebrating Stephen Critchlow's performance as Fortemps.
"99% of the responses on here and on Twitter have been truly wonderful," Harper says. "Even the 1% who inadvertently dropped spoilers (without hiding them behind tags) were lovely." Players have offered to send Harper gifts, like the Wandering Campfire Minion, but since Harper is still playing the trial version of Final Fantasy 14, he regrettably had to turn down such offers. And yes, he's now also aware of the fate of Fortemps' son, Haurchefant Greystone.
Thought I’d record a short voice message to thank everyone for their kind messages about my old friend Stephen Critchlow. The #FFXIV community is certainly a very loving place indeed. See you at a vigil on the 19th. pic.twitter.com/l4cyZqgdtaSeptember 7, 2022
"I could never have imagined the amount of responses I would get from posting about my little journey," the actors adds, saying that it's "been rather overwhelming." Harper believes the wonderful feedback is a "testament to the love everyone has Stephen," and that it's a "wonderful thing for him to be so fondly remembered."
With the first anniversary of Stephen Critchlow's passing coming later this month on September 19, Harper plans to be stood outside Fortemps manor at 8pm BST on the date, on the European server of Chaos in the world of Phantom, just in case anyone wants to join him.
"It'll be great to have Critch' talked about in public again," Harper says. "Oh, the stories I could tell you. But we'd be here all day."
Square Enix says it wants a "flashy" 10-year anniversary event for Final Fantasy 14 in 2023.
