Final Fantasy 14 is Gaming's Grandest Story
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- čas přidán 26. 06. 2024
- Final Fantasy XIV is the grandest story in video games.
In this retrospective, I’m going to go into the lore, your friends, and your enemies, and explain just what makes them work so well in Final Fantasy 14.
But, that greatness comes at a cost. I'm also going to analyze why Final Fantasy XIV is not a story for everybody in this essay.
Final Fantasy XIV is an MMO in the vein of World of Warcraft, with a heavy focus on story.
Check out my Northfield Saga novels, along with my other content, via my link tree:
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#finalfantasy #finalfantasyxiv #dawntrail #endwalker #gaming #gamingcommunity
Chapter breaks:
0:00 Introduction
5:43 Lore
10:52 Friends, Allies, and Companions
21:17 Antagonists
28:01 Storytelling comes at a price
33:50 Conclusion - Hry
![[NWU] Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U2dJkG0pFvs/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm glad to finally get this one out! Thanks for watching everyone
This video essay was great! I've been playing since a few months after 2.x released and I heard they improved so much and was worth playing. Hard to believe that was a decade ago, and this is the game I've always played a few times a week since then, the story and music just keep bringing me back. Gotta love the dedication of Ishikawa and Soken!
Can't wait for more of your videos!
@@anydaynow01 thanks for the kind words! Crazy how fast time flies.
Most people who are told "it gets way better after ARR, just wait til HW" actually enjoyed ARR. People need to stop saying that. On my 2nd play-though I actually really enjoyed reading all of the dialogue in ARR. You learn a lot.
I’ve stopped going “wait till HW” and decided to say “just know that ARR is most definitely the weakest”
Still true tho. We respect ARR for what it is, the setup for everything to come. But it does get way better at HW.
Is there still new game plus? Or would I have to create a whole new character for the story? I want to go through the story again during free time.
@@bornfromthenaga9063 there is new game plus for all the main quests and quite a few sidequests like job quests and hilidbrand, you can replay all the quests at any time on your main character
Imo post ARR into Heavensward was peak. ARR does a good job at setting up the story of FF14.
I'm a new player and i just hit the scene after Titan-fight today... Let's say i'm invested!
Nice!! It keeps getting better and better :). I hope you enjoy your time with the game!
Pre-Titan is imo the weakest part of the entire story. I almost dropped it there, a friend did. But once you're fighting Titan, it's all up from there ^^
@@KiddDaPhoenix It's the little things that fully dragged me into the game from the very start. Literally the first ever loading screen struck me as a nice touch visually.
Then I met Mother Miounne, and her _caring_ and having some comedic elements _("is that _*_really_*_ your name? There's a special place in the seven hells for those with 'funny names'")_ makes it all the better.
Another moment that stood out to me was Thancred talking to Minfilia after the Ifrit fight. _"I should have been there, I let down,"_ Coming from World of Warcraft, it was _refreshing_ to have NPC's care about me, to call me by name, instead of "CHAMPION" or "COMMANDER".
Are there parts in ARR that are a slog? _Absolutely,_ but anyone having played any MMO would have considered that the norm, so I never really minded it much. It only got better as the story progressed.
You have imo the single greatest collaborative piece of art humanity has ever produced ahead of you. The story, the characters, the visuals, the world, the MUSIC, everything. I'm so jealous of every new player that gets to experience this saga for the first time. God I love XIV so fucking much lmao
@@KiddDaPhoenix that a given since this part is kinda an exposition of the world and such. like the whole story around the quest right before titan show how hard this sort of fight is and can be deadly for the common people.
I know its too spoilery to include, but with Elidibus, its amazing how the writers made you care about his struggle in just about 2 patches, which compared to a full expansion, is an incredible feat. Elidibus felt like a throw away ascian for a while cause of the story just not doing much with him, but, in such a short time, even his end in 5.3 gets you caring so much. Absolutely amazing work.
The rains have ceased and we have been graced with another beautiful day... But you are not here to see it 💔
Yeah, Elidibus is really well-done. I really felt bad for him post-shadowbringers!
Endwalker is the best video game story I've ever experienced. It's just a super feel good story that can be applied to real life. It shows me that no matter how bad things are, you should never lose hope. Keep going and things will be okay.
Endwalker does a fantastic job of bringing you to a place of despair, but also reminding you of the importance of hope even through it! Such a good way to end the saga. Thank you for sharing
Emmet Selch... You can write a story where he is the hero of the tale, without changing any of what he does or why. In fact, some franchises have done so.
Yes! That is what makes him such a compelling villian for sure.
Really love that you pointed out Aymeric and Hien's similarities and their personal stories. I sort of feel these are missed often. Pre-ShB had some amazing character writing. Subtle, but very well done.
For sure! Subtlety in character writing can make all the difference in making the characters feel real. Thank you for watching!
Super true! In hindsight, HW is my least favorite of the expansions (I’m a little bored of church bad dragon good fantasy, though I will say I liked the more political examinations of Ishgard in the DRK quests and the emotional (for better or worse) impacts of religion on its followers in the EW mage role quest), but it’s what got me hooked on ffxiv for that exact reason. Aymeric, Estinien, Alphinaud, Emmanelain, and Ysayle (their growth and personalities interplaying) made me fall in love with the game
To be clear, XIV has a lot of content that is deeply inspired by other FF games. DEEPLY inspired. You don't need to know any of it to understand XIV's story... but the references are all there.
Very true! I mainly wanted to emphasize that the other games aren’t required despite the 14 in the title lol. Thanks for pointing that out!
I am glad to have paid the price. A lot of modern story telling never takes the opportunity to cultivate the world or characters being created which directly impacts how much we care about them. These stories either demand that you care because of some perceived universality to the conditions of their character or try to entertain you with shock value, but neither of these options really trumps making the reader actually care about the world and its characters and becoming engaged with the story from that perspective. The little side stories that are seen as fillers are what provides color to the world and carry the important burden of describing to your reader what the character is truly like (not just the archetype they fulfill) when circumstances aren't forcing their hand. In their absence you are often left with one-dimensional characters whose adventures feel telegraphed rather than organically unfolding. The first Harry Potter book is 80% filler, 20% consequential plot, but that filler gets you to care about the characters and the world in a way that supports the rest of the story going forward. We see this "removal of filler" happen with adaptations a lot and it is usually this that makes adaptations feel lesser than the source material. For example, removing the penguins episode from the Avatar series makes sense if you are trying to tell a more concise story than the cartoon did, but it definitely robs you of the opportunity to build that relationship with the characters that makes you feel like you are personally "one of the avatar gang". The end result is that you don't care as much, and when people don't care about your characters and their world, the plot, however great, is immaterial. This does no mean every adaption fails, you fill your adaption with enough fireworks, CGI and nostalgia and people will come look at it out of curiosity but the experience is still diminished by the absence of those little moments. There is room for both types of story-telling of course, but one is still superior. Sometimes you do have to get by on a microwaved meal and that's okay, but there's no arguing that a fully developed homecooked meal is just better, even if (or maybe precisely because) it takes more time and effort to put together.
Well said! I really like your analogy of a microwaved vs long cooked meal.
I came from ESO with over 8000 hours in that game. My daughter wanted me to try FFXIV out with her, so we played a bit of ARR then basically left the game for several months. It was okay, but it was so different from ESO that I had trouble loving the jobs, and the voice acting wasn't so great in ARR. But let's face it I was so bored with ESO and I just needed something different, so I hopped back on, and I am so glad I did. FFXIV was the best story I have ever played through MMO or RPG. The best part for me was actually going back through the second time and catching everything that I missed the first time because of the difference in perspective. Absolutely beautiful writing.
I’m glad you stuck with 14! It is a game that rewards the patient for sure.
The main story is amazing, but there's also a seaming countless number of side stories, dozens of which are pretty much stand alone game stories in and of themselves, and plenty are better than most games! Ishikawa is a genius! Honorable mention to the music with Soken at the helm, easily the most emotional body of music in any game I've played in my decades of gaming!
The music is incredible!! Honestly so many amazing tracks, that fit the mood of the game so perfectly.
Witcher 3 use to be my number 1 but FF14 has taken that spot and is leagues above. I think it being an mmo you spend hundreds of hours with characters the team can have long arcs of development and have the time for impacful payoffs way down the line. This gives it's story an extra edge imo. It's like reading a Brandon Sanderson series or one piece, it's a long commitment and for some people thats a turn off but the reward is a lot of depth to be immersed in.
I think you stated the appeal of FF14 perfectly! Thank you for sharing
FFXIV ---> Witcher III......
How..... *insane* must one be as a prerequisite for uttering such an accursed phrase?! I'm truly, truly and completely baffled right now. Like, this isn't even an opinion. Witcher III is *OBJECTIVELY* superior to Final Fantasy XIV in every conceivable way.
I'm sorry, but I can't even.....
@@azatheeverchosen7615 Have you completed both games multiple times? I have.
Guess what, it's just an iopinion which you can ignore but because you didn't and chose to insult me how about F U buddy.
I never really took to Fandaniel, even after learning his backstory. He always felt like a discount Kefka to me.
And then, while I was thinking about why, I realized it's because Zenos and Fandaniel are both half of Kefka, who is an apathetic nihilist who wants to tear down the world because he not only doesn't understand why people care, he hates that nobody seems to care about _him_ and all the pain the magitek experiments put him through.
That’s totally fair! Yes I would definitely say he still isn’t my favorite, but I think he works well as Endwalker’s villain for the themes they were going for. Thanks for watching
“There are more important things to focus on other than length”. - Preach it brother, so sick of everyone always talking about length! Finally someone came out and said it.
I think people can overhype the length of games as one of their best qualities, but it is important to be a quality experience first! Luckily 14 is both! Thanks for watching
The real twist is the actual advice at the end where you told us that waiting around for that many hours just to see if the story would click with you is unreasonable. I heartily agree, amen, good sir.
Also, second best boy Hien needs more spotlight.
I hope you bring up Encyclopedia Eorzea, if not when you eventually do a Dawntrail video you should bring them up, they are such amazing books. There was a guy Ethys Asher who did entire fireside chat videos detailing lore and really getting into the Encyclopedia, so amazing they are still the benchmark for lore videos for me.
Glad you love our world and thanks for the recap video!
I haven’t heard of them before, but I’ll have to look into them! Thank you for sharing!
Your point about Zenos.. If you haven't, you should read Zenos's short stories. You're almost right on.
After reading that short story, Zenos clicked for me, and it really made me appreciate the character rather then what was presented in the game. It just wasn't brought across on me as it was intended.
Thanks! I didn’t know there were Zenos short stories, I will look into them.
As a 1.0 player, the ARR story was a breath of fresh air. 1.0 was horrible. There was no MSQ to speak of. Kind of like job quests every 5 levels or so you’d get a story quest. Once that was done it was back to grinding out leves until the next level threshold. I never knew people had issues with ARR until a couple years ago lol.
That makes a lot of sense! I'm super late to the party so I have no frame of reference for 1.0 compared to ARR. Do you miss anything about 1.0? I've heard most people disliked it but I've also heard some people want "classic" era servers like WOW.
@@calvinfishermedia I miss the music. The theme song Limsa Lominsa had was much better than what we have now. Let me see if I can find the name. Also, each area had their own battle theme and the La Noscea theme was excellent. I hear it’s used in blue mage stuff but I haven’t really messed with that class so idk.
Limsa theme: navigator’s glory
Battle theme: nail of the heavens
@@calvinfishermedia It’s always a special feeling seeing other Meteor survivors (1.0 veterans) in these kinds of videos comments.
I remember the music being much different for each zone, as @continuallyblessed44 said, each zone had its own bgm and battle music in 1.0. Its definitely something I miss too.
It was one of the first differences i noticed in 2.0 and onwards. Now BGM is only unique to an entire region, with battle themes outside of dungeons being a choice of 2 or three based on the type of battle (special fates dont share the general battle themes).
For meta memes though I have to say the classic “Give me back my Miqo’te butt slider”
That is super interesting! Thank you both for sharing!
And yet, 1.0 brings about additional depth to the story in full. I feel like 1.0 had to exist the way that it did to bring about the experience we have today from a story perspective.
I was there during the disaster 1.0 launch in 2010 - and now 14 years later it’s the best MMO ever made and a new expansion is about to be released. What a journey it’s been 🎉
IMO the really long cutscene at the end of ARR sets the stage for the next 3 xpacs.
1. It leads directly into Heavensward
2. It indirectly leads to Stormblood which in turn. . .
3. Leads into Shadowbringers
The cutscene just before Heavensward is one of the best in the game!
Nice i finally played FF14 also and finished it 1 Month ago.
I didn’t wanted to start because I feared I get to addicted 😅.
Ohh Boy as a long time FF-Fan I was right I got 😂.
I play FF since 20 Years and I am now 28 and it’s such an Important Franchise for me.😊
It did help me to be the person I am today and I will always be grateful for that and I wish Square Enix to overcome the financial challenges and stay there and making Games for me so long I live.
There games always helped me in bad times of my life and FF have something special that other Games don’t give me 😊.
I would recommend you to play FF9 you will love that game Story-Wise.
The Theme of the game is the Meaning of Life and more I don’t wanna say 😊.
Nice Video hope this Video helps People to start with FF14 ^^ ❤😊.
I’m glad the game could be there for you in tough times! I have a few games like that and they hold a special place in my heart. Thanks for the recommendation!
11:10 - Canon: Alisaie doesn't like pickles.
This is brought up elsewhere right? I forgot lol
The Strength of FFXIV's writing is that they understand the one key important factor to great character development, and that is, every character, is the hero in their own story, and that includes of course the "villains" who really should be more called antagonists, as no one in the game, no character is truly evil. Everyone does everything for a reason that they truly feel justified in doing.
And that is why it naturally evolves into a great story. Great characters lead to great story.
Live service gaming is never free. the choice is how you pay them. FF14 shows the magic that happens when you align incentives of the studio and the players.
Definitely! It is a series where I feel the developers respect and appreciate the community, which helps.
ARR suffers from a lack of focus. It’s hard to know who is important and who will stick around after the story goes on. Meeting Haurchefaunt is way better when you know how important he becomes.
What is the OST at the beginning, the calm version of Torn from the heavens
I think the first song I used was More Than Truth from the Shadowbringers OST
For me, I tried FFXIV first with the free trial post Stormblood, since some friends at the time were playing it and saying it was good. It never clicked with me then and I never really had fun with it. For reference I never even got to the level 15 MSQ and I thought Job Quests was the main story.
Fast forward to 2022, Endwalker had been out for a few months then. I fell down the Runescape video rabbit hole and was considering maybe giving it a try. Then post D&D two of my friends suggested I give it a try again. There had been changes to A Realm Reborn that made it more streamlined. So I gave in despite my distaste for it prior. At the time you couldn't download FFXIV due to the massive player count, but then I remembered I had played it on playstation, it was in my account history. So I was able to redownload it, made a new SE account since I had long forgotten the old one, and created my character. I decided to use one of my D&D OCs as the basis for the character, figuring if nothing else I'd maybe have fun with that.
Taking in ARR then was so different from before. I had friends to help explain things to me of course, but just living in that world, engaging in that story, and having the social aspect I missed due to the pandemic be there, it became my comfort game. Soon after beating base ARR I subbed to the game, unaware of the greatness to come. I enjoyed Heavensward and then is when I was turlly hooked and fell in love with the game. Then Stormblood, while not my favorite expansion, it still was pretty good with a lot of aspects I like and is when I really started appreciating the game as a game more. Then Shadowbringers happened. I had heard great things about it but I thought it would be good but a bit overhyped. Shadowbringers blew me out of the water and is my favorite expansion so far. I was content with how 5.3 ended, but of course we weren't at the end of the road yet. Endwalker, probably my second favorite expansion. The journey and story there is incredible as it pays off everything from A Realm Reborn to then. Endwalker 6.0 left me so satisfied that while I still stayed sub to the game and actively played, it took over a year for me to really get back into playing the story. I had briefly started 6.1 after beating Endwalker, but wasn't until this past week when I went through the patch storyline in preparation for Dawntrail. It was a solid storyline I enjoyed. And now, with maintenance ongoing, I await the coming of Dawntrail. I'm excited because it's my first expansion launch, but also a bit of anxiety is there. The game is changing and moving forward. With the graphics update, the game I love and cherish will look different but familiar. Though despite my fear I have every confidence in the devs to do it right. Oh and as for my character, playing XIV with them has been incredible. You know how people get really into their OCs, that is what happened with me. The XIV version of my D&D character has so much more lore and development to them compared to the original.
So for those who are new and interested in trying XIV, I recommend you give it a try. The Free Trial includes Heavensward and Stormblood now, so you'll have 2 expansions to get through at your own pace before you even consider buying the game. Also, I recommend giving the game a try with friends. Whether it be starting completely new and blind, or meeting up with an experienced player to help guide you through the game. While XIV's story is great and definitely it's main appeal, I cannot downplay the experience and sentimental value you will have when you go through it with others with you by your side and awaiting you at every finish line, and taking in the game together.
You nailed it. Thank you
Thanks for the kind feedback! I am glad you enjoyed it!
As a reader of SF/F for over 50 years, I really appreciate what they did wiith the FF14 story. Early on they didn't really KNOW what the Ascians were, so they cleverly left holes that enabled them to retrofit the end onto the beginning.
I love long series and a story well told is wonderful.
I'll also check out your books if they're on Kindle.
Edit:
Amazon, what the hell? Usually with a series they show all the books in the series. FOr some reason I had to search for each one individually. Anyway 1-3 got :) IS that all of them currently?
Thank you for checking out my books, it really means a lot! Yes there are three out so far, I am working on the fourth and final book right now :)!
@@calvinfishermedia Nice! I'm in the middle the massive Malazan series, right now but they're there on my Kindle now.
it is a very difficult recommend, it's an amazing story but it is a huge time investment and it was worth it for me. That being said, i didn't enjoy ARR and it took me 3 attempts to actually get through it.
Endwalker is what makes me recommend it to anyone willing to try it since it wraps up the story and it feels so rare to have an ending to something these days.
For sure! I’m with you there. Endwalker was such an amazing ending. Rare, especially for an ongoing game.
Have you played any other final fantasy games? I wonder if you would feel the same about those lore and characters or not. I know FF14 is SO big it helps to make a big story with lots of good character development when they have so much time to develop it
I played Final Fantasy Origins: Stranger of Paradise, which is an odd one to start with haha. I hope to play FF16 soon! I agree, I think the length of the game definitely gives the developers the space for character development. Thanks for watching!
being big doesn't necessarily make it good or bad. Some people think that writing a story that span this long is easy. Take a look at long running series or game franchise that have emphasis on story, a lot of them stumble so bad down the line. both offline and online ffs both have hurdles to pass through esp in story and lore. So i wouldnt consider being long running for 14, just a good thing. Its also a challenge that the writer have to face.
@@pjeeeyZzZz this is a fair point! Length doesn’t dictate the quality of a story either.
I've tried playing numerous Final Fantasy games but they always have something that turns me off from them.
FF12's combat was ruined for me once i realized the intended way to play the game was to set up automatic macros on every character and have them play for you.
Ff7 I gave up on because at one point i got lost in the overworld to progress the story and was relentlessly spammed with random encounters that could one shot my party if i didnt kill them right and i couldnt run, meanwhile fruitlessly searching for the next story trigger.
Ff10's sphere grid looks cool at first but there's basically nothing to it, and the game becomes a slog after a while. The story is good but i only managed to beat it by cheating otherwise i was gonna fall asleep.
ff3 I loved playing for a bit until i hit a boss who's solution is apparently turning your whole team into dragoons to beat him. THat wasn't inherently wrong but i only found out later after looking it up.
My absolkute favorite FF though is Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. It blows every other game out of the water.
Great video ! I want to recommend this game to some of my friends and family (who are big fans of Fantasy) but it seems so daunting for them so they never start (and they are not gamers to begin with). I've read lots of books and FF14 is still one of my favorite piece of fantasy across all media. Not saying it's without its faults but it left an impact on me like almost no story ever did and I feel like it's criminaly underappreciated by non video focused Fantasy circles because it is a video game and how big it is.
That makes a lot of sense! I feel like FF14 is a big ask especially for non gamers, so I understand the hesitation. Thank you for watching!
I was one of the people who wanted to quit in post ARR and would have absolutely done so without my friends promising it would get better. That was before ARR was reworked. It just dragged on too much. God damn cheese hole.
The ending of ARR then completely blew my mind and I still get shivers thinking back to Edmund's narration welcoming us to Ishgard, walking heavensward. Finally something had happened in the story. Finally, there were stakes other than primals. And from that point on it just got better and better, though I still feel like FFXIV peaked in Shadowbringers so far - Endwalker took it a little too far for my personal taste, but don't get me wrong, I still loved every minute of it. I love this game with all my heart, and I can't wait to see what awaits us in Tural!
That makes a lot of sense! I can’t imagine playing ARR before the rework lol. I hope you have an awesome time with Dawntrail! I am looking forward to it!
The problem is people want to play sandbox rpgs. I'd even throw WoW into that mold. These games aren't bad, but they make some players of FF14 so fixated on a end goal that melds withe their character rather than just enjoying the game. I also found a correlation between people who like to read books/ practice music and their enjoyment of the story.
That’s fair! FF14 holds most of its progression behind the MSQ, so there isn’t a ton of flexibility compared to some other games.
The biggest cost is figuring gow to set up an account.
Fair haha! Yeah their mogstation isn’t the best.
Remember us. Remember that we once lived.
Love FF14 one of my favorite video game stories of all time. And I will say it....there is SO MUCH FILLER lol. I think at this point they could do a FF14 KAI like DBZ lol Excited for the expansion.
Yes, definitely a lot of filler! I think a good amount of the fetch quests in the MSQ could be cut without the game losing much.
I think you made a slight scripting mistake. you use the "warrior of light" title throughout, but forget to establish that that's the player character.
I actually think I mention it in the intro! I describe the WOL as the player avatar
_SPOILER WARNING:_ I won't go into details, but reading this might set some "expectations" I don't want newcomers to spoil their experience.
I have gone through ARR four times on 4 characters (3x pre-nerf). I did Heavensward 3 times, and Stormblood, Shadowbringers and Endwalker 2 times.
What ARR might lack in terms of narrative, I feel it makes up for in terms of the feeling of (mmo)RPG progression. You level fast, you gain access to new things, gear upgrades feel impactful. This is a LOT slower in all subsequent expansions.
Heavensward has always started slow/as a slog for me. I feel like it only picks up a bit after the first few bits. In the middle, it can feel very linear, until it paces things a bit better in the latter half.
Stormblood starts okay in the first half, but I feel like they really missed some breathers in the second half. It's still a great story, but not told with the best of pacing.
Shadowbringers is peak. World introduction, world building, character introduction and development, overall pacing. Just peak.
Endwalker is the very hardest part to play through a second time. If Shadowbringers is an emotional sledgehammer, then Endwalker is an emotional Dempsey Roll. I had to take multiple breaks when I went through it a second time. It's AMAZING in how it brings everything together, but it's emotionally exhausting to go through and especially to do so a second time. It's also the expansion that had me sobbing uncontrollably twice T_T
Going forward, I feel that Dawntrail needs to become a second entry point. It's not that I don't want newcomers to experience the Hydaelyn x Zodiark arc, but it's just too much to ask of people to go through entirely before they can hit Dawntrail. I believe YoshiP prefers people play that arc, but I hope that he'll see that it's not healthy for the longer term. Players can still play the arc through New Game+, but might prefer to do so while being further up ahead in the MMORPG part of the game.
I have no idea what to expect from Dawntrail, I will go into it as I did ARR: completely blank. And that's how I recommend _everyone_ start the game.
I agree with what you’ve said! I agree that Dawntrail should be an entry point that new players can jump into. It took me almost 2 yrs to get up to date on content, and that is a lot to ask for someone new who wants to be “caught up” with the community.
I liked it a lot but it really has become epsisodic anime one piece kinda thing now with all the anime tropes. Back in Heavensward it felt like a grand video game with a movie level plot but now it feels like watching a tv series where you know whatever happens they’re all going to be alive and friends at the end and eat tacos in trailers etc. Which is fine but it doesn’t feel like final fantasy anymore.
That is a fair criticism for sure! It will be interesting to see if the new expansion shakes things up.
Only been playing a few months, just finished HW. So far FF14 is the only mmorpg (and I've played a lot in the last 20 years) where I've got invested in the story and really followed it through. It helps that it's got so many fully voiced cutscenes, because I'm not a strong reader lol, because games like WoW, which I played for over a decade, I just used to click through the text and have no clue what was going on and rarely even cared much either. Like, ask me for some of the WoW plot lines and I absolutely couldn't tell you.
I think FF14 just works so well for me because you keep the same characters alongside you through the expansions and constantly fight alongside tthem, so you get invested in their stories too. Aymeric has absolutely been my favourite so far. Loved seeing his development, and I went from being like "snore, boring diplomat, feck u" to "hell yessss lets go my pal, i'm with you all the way!" HW just really surprised me with the routes it took, and I'm a sucker for Dark Souls architecture (so much so that I just bought a house in emp), plus dragon drama, and elf politics lmao. Just kept ramping up and up.
Nice, I hope you enjoy the rest of your journey! I love the visuals of Heavensward too. Aymeric is just the best haha! Thanks for watching and sharing your opinion
@@calvinfishermedia Cheers! Great to see how much coverage and love this game is still getting with these kinda vids. :D
(Love haurchefant too. Absolute chad who supported us all the way from the start. We got a little corner dedicated to him in our FC house.)
@@Spamhard Haurchefant is great!!
Great video! I love the game I have been playing final fantasy games since they first released. I have spent countless hours in ff11. I have played ff14 since 1.0. The story is amazing. Shadowbringers will bring a grown man to tears. I wish everyone could experience it.
With dawntrail coming I am super excited to see where the story goes. That being said there is one thing I wish the developers would steer away from. Through the entire game so far they have this over bearing focus on the power of friendship. After hearing about the power of friendship dozens of times I am ready for them to just accept they are all friends and not have to constantly reaffirm that to each other. I think it would be nice to see a more mature set of characters who are not so insecure all of the time, who have had their development in the story and move forward. I have a strong suspicion however that dawntrail will still have a heavy focus on this with Krile and Wuk Lamat.
I think Dawntrail would be a great point to explore some new themes too! Either way I’m really excited to see where they go next. Thank you for watching!
I Resonate well with it though i still think ffxi had a great story as well and will be returning to it once i complete dawntrail
I have been hearing a lot about ffxi on this video! I think I will have to check it out. Thank you for watching!
The background worldbuilding to this game has such depth, and the side characters have journeys of their own. I can point out flaws I have with the storytelling, and I feel that I must even though I largely agree with your assessment:
For example, ARR is genuinely an awful and cliched experience, and this is coming from someone who didn't hear the "it gets good at Heavensward" talk that so many complain "poisons" the experience of new players.
As another example, the writers are afraid to kill of major characters. (To counterbalance this, there are usually good explanations for why a certain character isn't killed for good, and they often go on to have great arcs on their own - I'm thinking of two particular characters that get seemingly killed off and then goes on to be among my favorite characters in any story after returning from the dead.) It does lessen the impact of many moments when I see who is involved and say "yeah, that's not gonna stick" and I'm invariably correct.
Thirdly, the game's massive scope and at times rocky pacing does mean that important information may just be forgotten by the audience before it becomes relevant. I had literally forgotten what the Battle of Silvertear Skies *was* by the time it became important to the narrative. On my recent playthrough, I saw all of the exposition telling me about it some thirty hours before it is ever mentioned again... but on my first playthrough, all of that information disappeared from my head. There are a lot of similar instances where we will get foundations laid, only to be paid off 10-80 hours down the line. I do love that the game has so much depth that it can weave a story out of so many different threads - sometimes small personal stories, sometimes epic world-shattering tales - but if you do not get personally excited for a certain story thread or piece of worldbuilding, it may not stay in your memory long enough before it is brought into play.
And all of these are really nitpicky complaints! FFXIV is *BIG* in a way that I've never seen in any story, in any medium. (The only one that comes close is Legend of the Galactic Heroes - probably the most perfect epic ever written, although it has flaws as well.) The way it melds the big - the affairs of nations, the religious and cultural identities of peoples - with the small and personal - a defector fighting enemy soldiers he used to command faces a crisis of conscience when he discovers that his children are fighting on the other side, a young woman learning to bargain with the man who more than likely murdered her parents - is masterful. There are so many stories and characters in this game that are amazing, and the grand scope allows for a living world unlike any other.
I think these are all very well-balanced critiques! I agree that there is definitely a reluctance to kill big characters, and the story’s pacing can make it hard to follow, especially when events may not be referenced again for a dozen-odd hours. Thank you for watching!
dude, the Trails series, starting with Trails in the Sky is absolutely amazing. 13 games all connected and foreshadowed. everything you praise FFXIV for in the story, the Trails series has. the Trails series is the most ambitious JRPG franchise ive ever played, and ive played a lot of JRPGs.
an interesting thing about Ishgard, it's the only fantasy country with cities and fortifications actually designed for defending against dragons. all of those spikes that limt the sides of walls and at the top of the towers aren't there just for decoration or to exaggerate the steeped tower roofs of castle towers, but serve a legitimate defensive purpose. those spikes are there to prevent dragons from landing or flying into those areas. every other fantasy series, films, games, etc, ive seen that have a dragon war be a major part of the story and lore don't actually take into account the requirements of actually fighting dragons.
I have gotten a couple of comments about the Trials series, so I may have to check it out! That is super interesting about Ishgard, I love when games pay attention to detail architecturally. Thank you for sharing!
@calvinfishermedia There is a massive cross-pollination of fans between FFXIV, Xeno lade, and Trails. For some reason, these three games scratch a very specific itch. I hope you give Trails in the Sky a shot.
@@keiichimorisato98 interesting!
@@keiichimorisato98 I have heard great things about Xenoblade as well.
FF14 has probably the greatest MMORPG story to date. I'll defer to others experience who have played not only FF14 but other MMOs when they say FF14 is has the best story amongst them.
My biggest praise for FF14 isn't just the story, but like any good game doesn't coerce you to play all the time. You can take breaks if you wish and I think that makes the game very flexible and open to try even if the entirety of the MSQ is hundreds of hours long.
100 percent! It took me close to 2 years to beat arr to endwalker. It’s a game you can take your time with and enjoy the journey.
Agree. I was a huge WoW fan years ago, love the warcraft lore and characters... however, FF14 has a whole complete story that grips you and feels so epic and grand and i must say surpasses what WoW did storywise, although WoW does some things better playwise, but deff FFxiv isnt far behind at all in gameplay and imo i have grown to prefer FFxiv now. heavensward and shadow bringers is some of the best storytelling in gaming history imo.
I like your video but minor detail, I think it would be important to add in the detail that Aymeric, while not born with high standing like the High Houses, was still raised to a privileged noble house and given the love and care that helped contribute to the man he is now. Just to say he was not born to nothing and rose to his position from something like sheer disdain.
Fair point! I can see how that detail clarifies his motivations. Thank you for watching.
Okay, I respect your opinion, but have you played the "The Legend of Heroes: Trails[...]" series? Because it is legitimately the only equal if not better than XIV in terms of 'grandest' stories.
I haven’t, but I have gotten it recommended a lot on this video! I may have to check it out. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@calvinfishermedia As a fan I give you two suggestions for starting point:
Generally, Sky (no addition) is the 'Universal' Starting point.
If you can't stand the graphics, you can play Cold Steel 1/2 First, but I'd still suggest completing at least the Sky Trilogy before finishing Cold Steel. But no matter what, the Sky Trilogy, Zero/Azure, and Cold Steel 1-4 need to be finished before playing Reverie.
Otherwise do not trust release dates, Sky (Trilogy), Zero/Azure, Cold Steel (Quadrilogy), Reverie, Daybreak is the (original) release order thus far.
@@katomamundara8106 thank you for the suggestions!
Just think, it used to be longer
True! I forgot that they cut out a lot of msq quests after arr! Glad they did that haha!
@calvinfishermedia truly arr needs a remastering. Complete overhaul of all the outdated systems. And needs cut down to the standard 100~ quests.
@@noahwagoner7650 I think that would be awesome! A bit more voice acting and quest variation would go a long way I think.
Game in my opinion storyline peak post stormblood best villain Zenos best ascain emet-selch and best song sheava phase 2 and dragon song as for best plot point in rrb/heavenward was lost cystal connection for tell end main msq and shadowbringer story plot was when they finally found a cure for people and beast men as meet-selch I don’t see him as villain actually him and hydeleyn in way are heroes after see event that lead up to final day and both test your resolve one didn’t know they were because Kronos after the other 1 still remember cause u trip and test through 4 expressions lead up to final test before you go to face actual for threat to this arc of the game and as for fedaneil or his 2 other counterparts he was done poorly and cause that he was worse villain/victim kinda but in end it was his fault that all happened it be interesting see next saga that dawn trail start and or will end it or make so they need pull another rrb need reboot make better villain or will there even be villain or is just corporate human from that inland
The Legend of Heroes begs to differ. And i consider FF14 as one of the best hands down.
I’ve never played that one before! What do you like about its story? Thanks for watching
@@calvinfishermedia Story that spans 12 games (13th coming out in Q3-Q4 this year) and tells an overarching story. I used to be a hardcore ff fan, this franchise flipped it upside down. Btw, about some feedback you got on this video: I consider it to be silly and needlessly nit-picky. I appreciate your nice response to that person, but pay those no mind and keep up the good work!
@@thristanebben8902 thank you, I appreciate that! It means a lot!
@@calvinfishermedia You got this brother.
I would agree and disagree with you. There are certain aspects that the Kiseki series does that surpass the FF14 story, but in terms of scale, meaningful and memorable character moments, and general quality, FF14 takes the cake.
Don't get me wrong, Kiseki is nigh on untouchable as an RPG series and is pretty much rivalled by only FF14 as a JRPG story.
I reject this meme that you have to sit through 70 hours of bad story to "get to the good part".
I enjoyed every part of the story from start to finish. Because thankfully, nobody deigned to poison my expectations with advance knowledge.
You are not a monolith, and by enforcing such expectations onto newcomers, you risk worsening an experience that could otherwise have been fun.
Glad you enjoyed the beginning hours of the game! Definitely not a monolith, just someone sharing his opinion on the internet like you :)!
I think the contrary. I would have likely fallen off the game if I didn’t hear it got better in heavensward. I’ve also seen many comments on this video already of people who also would have missed out on the experience too.
Agree to disagree though! Thanks for watching.
final fantasy 14 is the one piece of gaming
Someone else said that too! I definitely see it.
THE ONE PIECE OF VIDEO GAMES SPECIALY MMOS
An apt comparison haha!
I think it's the one piece of mmos
I haven’t seen one piece, but based on what I’ve heard the comparison seems apt!
The storytelling is pretty similar. it's really good. @@calvinfishermedia
I just wish the gameplay was better. Graphics are fine and the community is awesome but it plays like a traditional boring tab target RPG. ESO has the opposite problem. Plays like a dream but the community are old snobby lore nerds plus looks super ugly.
Definitely fair! Gameplay during ARR can be a slog because you have such few options. I’ve really come to love the combat later in the game though!
the free trail allows you to play upto stormblood
I thought they recently bumped it up to Shadowbringers for the free trial, but I could be wrong. Thank you for watching!
@@calvinfishermedia You can play up to the end of Stormblood to lvl 70 which is the start of SHB but you need to purchase the game to enter Shadowbringers content. Originally it included Heavensward.
@@HikingFeral ah, thank you! You’re right. They bumped it up to stormblood from heavensward, not from stormblood to shadowbringers.
People who don't like to read go away
Definitely not a game for people who don’t like to read! Another game like that is Pillars of Eternity, which also has some pretty interesting lore
More like gaming's grandest disappointment. It went from being one of the greatest to being just... meh in the span of a single expansion, and the upcoming expac looks to be more of the same midness. All this being said, Shadowbringers was fantastic. Game was trucking right along until that final ShB patch.
What didn’t you like about Endwalker? Genuinely curious since most people seemed to really enjoy it, including myself!
@calvinfishermedia It lacked nuance, and a lot of what it told us wasn't lining up with what it *showed* us. I wasn't a fan of the lack of consequences, either. The hero made it through a story about the end of the world without losing a single person they cared about.
Above all else, the tonal departure from what ShB was setting up was simply disappointing. We were gearing up for a darker story, with Venat and the Ascians being set up to have *all* been in the wrong. Instead, that last second rewrite they did to make the expansion more light-hearted included a bunch of light-washing that completely deviated from the original intent.
@@tek512 that is fair! I can see where you’re coming from.
the length is also its biggest hurdles when the game is at best as hard as connect 2 dots where there is just 2 dots to connect. The combat is, to put it as nicely as possible, tedious monotone button smashing and just looking screen go splish with effects and MAYBE if you are lucky move little not to stand on shit on floor. The 1st 60-80 hours is the worst I have ever seen in my life, if you make through that shit then, and only then, maybe you will find something interesting and worthwhile but that is fucking huge ask to hope there will be something good at the end of this blop of an rainbow.
Yes there is lot of fun in the game to have if you have good friend group to play that you can smack shit at the same time you walk from point A to B and talk to 20 different characters who all say jack shit nothing and then kill 3 enemies and repeat this 3 times to complete one quest to then see you have about 300quests of same shit to do.
If you enjoy this game, then amazing, I am so happy for you, I enjoyed my time there too and had lot of fun but it was not the grand amazing mega super awesome game people tell it to be. It is very story heavy online game where the MMO part is as deep as kids pool at the local bbq joint, but the story, IF you get past the 1st hurdle, will get better and more interesting, but to get to that point is just god awful and tediously boring experience
That is definitely fair! What you’re saying is a lot of what I’m getting at at the end of the video. It is a big ask to push through those first 70 hours. I think the later game gameplay does get fun though when you unlock more abilities. Thanks for sharing, I appreciate hearing your opinion!
@@calvinfishermedia and like I said, the game has lots of amazing shit in it, but if they would just re-do the initial leveling and even spice up the combat it would be so much better but there are limits to tab target mmo games, and with skills that have god long wait times to cast/recharge.
But I do love how this game has taken the internet by storm with its rags to riches story, a truly great thing and I am happy the game is doing well.
This game has become like EVE online, its fun to see people play and experience it but getting into it is just asking for too large commitment
This is the popular claim of people who doesnt consume much quality media. If you think ff14 story is grand, you probably need to get out there and experience better stories.
You’re entitled to your opinion! Fwiw, I’m a pretty avid fantasy reader and have played a lot of RPG’s. Thanks for watching.
no
Fair enough lol! To each their own
Your video is too rigid. You keep saying the complete name of things like "Final Fantasy 14" and "Ser Aymeric" and "Lord Hien" and "Crystal Exarch". You can just say '14' or just 'Aymeric' or just 'Hien' or just 'The Exarch' and you would still get your point across. It sounds like you're reading from a script and even though many videos do this, they don't sound like they do and I think that's something you should work on moving forward. Make your video sound like you aren't reading from a script, even if you are. It will sound more natural and make for a better video. Some of this also just feels like ChatGPT phoned in. As someone who has played through the entire game and have seen every single cutscene, my criticism comes from someone who wants to see their favorite game represented well. This video could very well sway some people to play the game, but it could be better. It's not easy to make a long video like this and I know that.
Fair enough! I decided to use the whole names because people may not be familiar with the game, but can understand if it is a bit much. Thanks for the feedback.
Trails ffxi. Lets not forget zilart kulu from ffxi feels like ascians. Ff14s " great story" is literally a meld of other games. Its not " the greatest"
Fair enough! I haven’t played 11, but I have heard good things. Thanks for watching!
FFXIV is imo a competent but poorly-paced single player RPG story wildly unsuited to its use in an MMORPG. IMO the best MMO stories are deliberately restrained in order to foster a sense of actual immersion in the world. Like jazz; it's about the notes you don't play.
City of Heroes is a great example of this philosophy. You're just one of hundreds of heroes, but everything from background NPC chatter to the infrastructure of the cities is dedicated to helping you feel like a valued, real part of a living world outside of cutscenes.
Even if you don't have a problem with the use of XIV's structure in an MMO I genuinely can't imagine thinking it's gaming's best or grandest story. Maybe if you don't read a lot of fantasy or play a lot of RPGs?
That is fair! I can understand what you mean about it having a single player structure. I haven’t played City of Heroes, but that sounds like a cool integration. I will look into it! Fwiw, I am an avid fantasy reader and play a lot of rpgs :)! Thanks for watching
@@calvinfishermedia fair enough!! sorry if i came off as harsh, i've just seen a lot of people sort of oversell the merits of the title, haha
@@grannys_sinister_corn_matrix all good! Thanks again for checking the video out!
On the contrary, I think the time spent on MMO gives the perfect opportunity to tell long form stories. The more time you can spend to build the narrative, the bigger the pay-offs.
I have read a ton of books and very few of them have as impactful a story as XIV.
I can't really name a single gaming story that is "better" as a whole. Can you?
@4mb127 bait used to be believable