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 My name is Sanguinia, and today is my first anniversary as a Final Fantasy 14 player. On June 8th, 2021, I ended my more-than-15-year tenure as a World of Warcraft player when news of Activision-Blizzard's abusive office culture and peak frustration with the game's design finally pushed me to my breaking point. For a while, I wasn't sure what the heck I would do with my time. Then I heard all the hype about the arrival for FFXIV: Endwalker. I'd tried the game once before and never even saw Level 30. But after so many glowing recommendations and such an intense hype train building steam for this culmination of a "Ten Year Fantasy Epic," I figured, what the hell? Let's give it another chance. As I downloaded the game, I decided, more or less on a whim, to post my reactions as I went along in what I called "Newbie Journals." Just until I got bored of either the game or taking time to write about it, you know? Within a week or so, the game had its claws in me. As I began to invest more and more in playing, I also unexpectedly began to invest more and more into those journals. I felt compelled to explain in detail every reaction I had, good and bad. Before I even realized what had happened, a little side activity had ballooned into a de facto Let's Play of A Realm Reborn. The de facto LP then became de jure when I moved into my very own thread to cover the first expansion, Heavensward. A thread that received more than 300,000 views and 5500 comments. Talk about humbling! Now, exactly one calendar year later, I stand before you, ready to enter what is regarded as the most controversial chapter of the Final Fantasy XIV saga. So let's all walk together in the Light of the Crystal, be it for weal... or for woe.   My Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/sanguinequest - Donations tip jar and off-site backup/archive for LP chapters. My Twitter: https://twitter.com/SanguiniaLP - For news, updates, and random tidbits related to the LP, such as collectibles and achievements..png) My Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/sanguinelp.bsky.social - Mirror/Backup for Twitter in case the company goes under for some reason, not that there's any good reason to worry that might happen. My Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/sanguinequestlp - Ditto BlueskyClick the images below for a quick recap of The Story Thus Far:  [reserved for HW Recap] Or click these links to read The Previous Threads: FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers - Remember that we once posted (Sanguinia's ARR Journal Posts Only) The Award-Winning Heavensward Expansion(tm)! Lets Play Final Fantasy XIV!  Inspired by the work of content creator SFDebris on his Star Wars: The Old Republic Campaign Reviews, this LP is meant to be an exploration of Final Fantasy XIV as both a video game and a work of fantasy fiction. Rather than exactly recreating the dialogue line by line or posting copious screenshots to capture every moment, I will use an essay-style format and more carefully chosen images to convey the story and how I experience it as a fresh audience member. My writing is typically about a week behind my actual play, giving me time to digest the text rather than going for the pure gut reaction. The goal is to condense, analyze, and provide commentary and critique as I explore as many aspects of the game as possible. This is one part screenshot LP, one part episode guide, one part game review, and one part blog. I'll look at each thread of this massive tapestry in what I hope is an in-depth way, looking at characterization, theme, tone, and all those other Literary Thingies you learned about in 8th Grade Language Arts. How well were these elements crafted? How do they interact with each other in a holistic sense? What makes this story good, and does it ever falter? These are the questions I want to answer. The LP also has a narrative element. I tend to note distinctions between my personal feelings and how the game conveys the feelings of my Warrior of Light as a character, but any fan of this game can tell you there are times when that line can get a little blurry. The emergent narrative of your character's personal story, the order they go through the available content, and the dialogue options you choose for them are all a big part of the FFXIV experience. Thus I've attempted to make them a part of my writing. What feels "right" for my character to do at any given time will be a driving force in this LP.  This LP is intended to be an academic endeavor, which means I value the contribution of the commentators. Even if they disagree with me, have radically different interpretations of the text, or think I got a fact flatly wrong, I want to hear from them so we can discuss. However, I also do not want spoilers for this highly story-driven game. Therefore, I have set the following rules. If you think someone is violating these rules, please do not get into a lengthy argument about it. Either say something in the thread or via PM and if they don't correct the post in a reasonable timeframe, report it. 1) No Spoilers for in-game content beyond the current update. You can get hype and post all the popcorn emotes you want if I'm getting close to something you're excited about. But I don't want to know a single thing that has not happened yet. I don't want to know when or if a character will return, the places I might go, creatures or people I might meet when I get there, or anything else in advance. I don't care if those things were part of promo material, Patch Trailers, or in the Patch Notes. I am isolating myself from those things as completely as I can because I want to experience the text as freshly as possible. If you want to post such things or talk about them, you must wait until I've cleared the content they cover. Be patient. Along these same lines, this story often contains deliberate misdirection, red herrings, incomplete information that gets reexamined over time, and plenty of intentional ambiguity. If you think I got something wrong or disagree with a conclusion I've reached, I welcome the discourse. But that discourse must be within the limits of the content I've seen, and NOTHING beyond that. If you're unsure because you haven't done these quests in almost a decade, double-check the text at The Gamer Escape Wiki or just restrain yourself until we reach the end of the story thread. 2) Discussion of Supplementary Materials like Art Books, Short Stories, Dev Interviews, etc., is permitted but must wait until after I've seen the relevant in-game content. One of my biggest frustrations with WoW in recent years was the absolute necessity of outside information and secondary sources to understand the plot at a basic level. I came into FF14 knowing nothing, and as I go forward, I want to know only what the game actually tells me while I'm playing through it. The story as presented should stand on its own merits, and I also want to minimize the influence of external materials on my reading of that text. Thus I need to have some control over when or if I see other things. So wait to talk about them until I'm past the point where they are directly relevant. Under this umbrella, I don't have much specific knowledge of the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole. If something in the game references another FF game, exercise caution about when or how you talk about that if it might tend to spoil this game somehow. Otherwise, have at it. 3) References to Final Fantasy 14 1.0 content are permitted. The only exception to this (obviously) is if that 1.0 information will somehow spoil something from a future expansion, but that should be common sense. 4) The Catch-All Spoiler Rule: If you have any doubt that you're making a comment you shouldn't be, just put it in spoiler tags. Then it's my call whether to check it, and I'll have nobody to blame but myself. At the same time, if you're devolving into a CIA Document exchanging big chunks of spoiler text over a long conversation, it's time to take the conversation somewhere else. Finally, the only Non-Spoiler Rule: 5) Be Respectful to Each Other. As I said, this is supposed to be an academic endeavor, so I want to encourage discussion and debate about the story in the comments and with each other as well as me. But I don't want to be constantly calling in Mods to break up arguments. If someone says something you disagree with, discuss it civilly or don't discuss it at all.   Chapter 0: It's Not a Job, It's an Adventure .png) (Opening Cinematic)Chapter 1: Take Me Home, Country Roads  (The Fringes + Rhalgr's Reach 60)Chapter 2: You Can't Beat Home Sweet Home (The Peaks 60)Chapter 3: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work  (The Fringes 60 (Savage))Chapter 4: The Fall of Reach (Rhalgr's Reach 61)Chapter 5: A War on Two Fronts (The Fringes + The Peaks 61)Chapter 6: Just Axeing Questions   (Limsa Lominsa + The Rising Stones 61, Ninja 60, Marauder 1-30)Chapter 7: Inside You, There Are Two Wolves   (Warrior 30-50, Path 6.1 Revamped ARR Dungeons)Chapter 8: ...But the Memory Remains (Warrior 50-60, Patch 6.1 Revamped ARR Dungeons)Chapter 9: Off the Edge of the Map  (Limsa Lominsa + Kugane 61, The Maiden's Rhapsody Event 2022)Chapter 10: Big in Japan (Kugane 61) Chapter 11: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (Ruby Sea 62) Chapter 12: Trim the Sails and Roam the Sea (Ruby Sea 62) Chapter 13: A World of Endless Blue (Ruby Sea 62-63) Chapter 14: Only the Tides are Forever  (Ruby Sea 63) Chapter 15: Die Another Day (Yanxia 64) Chapter 16: A View to a Kill (Yanxia 64) Chapter 17: Steppeing Up (Azim Steppe 65) Chapter 18: Swordsoul I - Beneath the Blood-Stained Sand   (Paladin 60-65, Samurai 50-52) Chapter 19: Swordsoul II - Red Sun Over Paradise (Warrior 60-65, Samurai 54) Chapter 20: Swordsoul III - Rules of Nature  (Samurai 56, Bard 60-65) Chapter 21: Swordsoul IV - I'm My Own Master Now (Samurai 58-60) Chapter 22: Swordsoul V - An Even Stranger War (The Make It Rain Campaign 2022, Samurai 63, Ninja 63) Chapter 23: The Ronin's Road   (Ninja 65, Ruby Sea 63, Kojin Reputation Introduction, Heavens-on-High 1-30) Chapter 24: Beyond Thunder-Doma (Yanxia 64) Chapter 25: Touch Grass (Azim Steppe 65-66) Chapter 26: Identity (Azim Steppe 66) Chapter 27: Naadam My Watch (Azim Steppe 66) Chapter 28: Tails of Arise  (Yanxia 67, World Boss) Chapter 29: To Right the Unrightable Wrong (Yanxia 67) Chapter 30: Swordsoul Final - Into a Peaceful Life (Kugane 67, Samurai 65-70) Chapter 31: Some Other Beginning's End (Warrior 68-70, Kugane + Azim Steppe 67, FATE Storyline, Ninja 68-70) Chapter 32: Theirs but to Do and Die  (Moonfire Faire 2022, Original Fiction Interlude, The Fringes 67) Chapter 33: Dream a Little Dream (The Fringes 67) Chapter 34: Seeing Red Again  (The Rising 2022, Red Mage 50-60) Chapter 35: The Woman in the Red Dress (Red Mage 60-70, Paladin 68-70) Chapter 36: Go the Distance  (Pugilist 1-30, Bard 65-70) Chapter 37: Spectre of the Gun (The Fringes 67, Ananta Reputation Introduction, The Peaks 68) Chapter 38: Where Is Thy Victory? (The Peaks 68-69) Chapter 39: Enter the Fist  (Monk 30-50) Chapter 40: Third Eye Blind (The Peaks 68-69, Monk 50-60) Chapter 41: The Power of the Punch (Monk 60-70, The Lochs 69) Chapter 42: Sown with Salt (The Lochs 69, Gyr Abania All Zones 69, World Boss) Chapter 43: A Total Eclipse of the Heart  (Dark Knight 60-70) Chapter 44: The End of Heartache (The Lochs 70) Chapter 45: The Solitary Place of Humans (The Lochs 70)  Chapter 46: The Mysterious City of Gold (Patch 4.1 MSQ) Chapter 47: The Road to Hell Dorado (Patch 4.1 MSQ) Chapter 48: Where Is My Shangri-La? (Patch 4.1 MSQ, Post-Game Sidequest) Chapter 49: The Free Market   (Optional Post-Game Dungeon, Custom Deliveries: M'Naago, All Saints' Wake 2022, White Mage 60-70) Chapter 50: That’s Why They Call It the Present  (Custom Deliveries: M'Naago, Goldsmith 60-70, Starlight Celebration 2022, Ananta Reputation: Friendly-Respected) Chapter 51: It's Evolution, Baby!   (Optional Post-Game Dungeon, Machinist 60-70, Stormblood Raid Series 1) Chapter 52: Memory of the Future  (Stormblood Raid Series 1, Armorer 1-50) Chapter 53: Between the Devil and the Digital Sea (Stormblood Raid Series 2, Armorer 50-60) Chapter 54: Hello, My Name is Human (Stormblood Raid Series 3, Original Fiction Interlude) Chapter 55: The Future is Now  (Ananta Reputation: Respected-Sworn, Optional Post-Game Dungeon, Miner 60-70, Heavensturn 2023)Chapter 56: Living Dead Girl (Patch 4.2 MSQ) Chapter 57: Masquerade (Patch 4.2 MSQ) Chapter 58: Ninja Stars  (Optional Post-Game Dungeon, Astrologian 60-70, Custom Deliveries: Kurenai) Chapter 59: Distant Deeps or Skies (Kojin Reputation: Friendly-Respected, Custom Deliveries: Kurenai, Four Lords Trial Series) Chapter 60: Lovebird (Kojin Reputation: Respected-Sworn, Four Lords Trial Series) Chapter 61: Imagine Dragons  (Four Lord Trial Series, Dragoon 60-70, Monster Hunter Crossover Event) Chapter 62: Grindhouse  (Eureka Anemos, Armorsmith 60-70) Chapter 63: Thin Ice  (Eureka Pagos, Carpenter 60-70) Chapter 64: A Tale of Two Cities (Valentione's Day 2023, Original Fiction Interlude, Stormblood Alliance Raid 1) Chapter 65: In Other Words, Please Be True (Patch 4.3 MSQ) Chapter 66: Renewed Shall Be Blade That Was Broken   (Patch 4.3 MSQ, Summoner 30-50, Blacksmith 1-50) Chapter 67: Kitchen Nightmares  (Culinarian 60-70, Doman Enclave Reconstruction, Little Lady's Day 2023) Chapter 68: No One Lives Over the Lighthouse (Stormblood Alliance Raid 2) Chapter 69: A Burning Ring of Fire (Eureka Pyros, Summoner 50-60) Chapter 70: The Riddle of Steel//Be Water (Blacksmith 50-60, Eureka Hydratos) Chapter 71: That Old Black Magic  (Black Mage 60-70, Blacksmith 60-70) Chapter 72: Again, It Is The Legend (Patch 4.4 MSQ) Chapter 73: The Mind Killer (Patch 4.4 MSQ) Chapter 74: Where Everybody Knows Your Name  (Botanist 60-70, Custom Deliveries: Adkiragh, Summoner 60-70) Chapter 75: Fish or Cut Bait  (Fisher 60-70, Big Fish Collecting, Namazu Reputation Introduction) Chapter 76: Surf and Turf (Namazu Reputation: Friendly-Bloodsworn, Kojin and Ananta Reputation: Bloodsworn, Hildibrand Adventures 4.1) Chapter 77: Hildibrand 3 - The Girl With The Human Snafu (Hildibrand Adventures 4.25 - 4.35, Doman Enclave Reconstruction Part 2) Chapter 78: Nature's First Green Is Gold  (Hatching-tide 2023, Scholar 60-70, The Saltery Epilogue, FC Spotlight: Third Party Tools, Treasure Hunting) Chapter 79: The Old Masters (Palace of the Dead 101-200, Heaven-on-High 31-100, The Baldesion Arsenal) Chapter 80: Complicated (Stormblood Alliance Raid 3) Chapter 81: The Mighty Don't Kneel (Stormblood Alliance Raid 3) Chapter 82: Hildibrand 33 and 1/3rd – The Final Insult (The Wandering Dramaturge Sidequests, Extreme Trial Introductions, Hildibrand Adventures 4.45 - 4.56) Chapter 83: Antebellum (Patch 4.5 MSQ) Chapter 84: Paint it Black (Patch 4.5-4.56 MSQ, Final Sidequests) Epilogue: A Farewell to Arms (Final Cutscenes) ~*~*~ Bonus Chapter: Beast Wars I - Concerning Flight (Ixal Reputation: Neutral-Sworn) Sanguinia fucked around with this message at 17:11 on Mar 14, 2024 |
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  SUBSCRIBERS AND MULTI-TIME DONORS-Casper -PenguinZero -ChaseSP -Runa -Anonymous Ko-Fi Supporter #1 -Shador -Terror-billie -Rythian -IrinaRuna -Zomborgon -Anonymous Ko-Fi Supporter #2 -Dyslexicfaser -KZV -Rook  WARNING! THE FOLLOWING SECTION MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!  Kheris Kilrau, Warrior of Light - Created by Atelier Flourite, donated by Galaga Galaxian  Special Guest Star - shared by hewwren  Sang In There - shared by hazardousmouse and Bruceski  Die of Fun - shared by Rorahusky  Way Hotter - shared by YggiDee  Horses - shared by Zomborgon  Twinsies - shared by OhFunny  Menu - shared by GilliamYaeger  Harem Dreams - shared by Galaga Galaxian  Bad Mom - shared by Blueberry Pancakes  Monk Flow Chart - shared by Mr.Nice  Sweater - shared by Kheldarn  Nothing Matters - shared by Zomborgon  Debate - shared by Blueberry Pancakes  The Discourse - shared by Galaga Galaxian  My New Best Friend - shared by dyslexicfaser  Pepe Silvia - shared by Its Rinaldo  Two Sides - shared by Runa  Omega-K - shared by Galaga Galaxian   Important Data - shared by Zomborgan  $5000 - shared by Runa  Nice Shot! - shared by Galaga Galaxian  My Swimming - shared by Zomborgon  Heartbreaking - shared by Craptacular!  Ten Dollars? - shared by Kheldarn  Ancient Ascians - shared by kazy  Warrior of Ice - shared by Sanguinia  Auspice x Auspice - shared by Blueberry Pancakes  Grand Theft Auto - shared by Craptacular!  Palpy - shared by FuturePastNow  Trolley Problem - shared by feldegast42  Ascian Disguise - shared by dyslexicfaser  Math - shared by Mordiceius  Six Ears - shared by Galaga Galaxian  The Burn (Savage) - shared by Runa  Better? Better. - shared by Craptacular  Ankles - shared by dyslexicfaser  How to Save Minfilia - shared by Rogue AI Goddess  The Art of Summoning - shared by FuturePastNow  Dating Sim - shared by Algrid  No Comment - shared by Blueberry Pancakes  Souvenir - shared by Galaga Galaxian  Matsuno-sensei - shared by Mordiceius  Society - shared by Galaga Galaxian  Two Posts - shared by Rogue AI Goddess  Black Tie Event - shared by Mordiceius  Riding Home - shared by Galaga Galaxian  Age 17 - shared by Hogama  Still You - created by Khulan Goro, shared by Onmi  The Ride Continues - shared by Its Rinaldo  Guest Book - shared by Runa https://i.imgur.com/7kqlGqw.mp4 Kronk - shared by OhFunny https://i.imgur.com/aYm9odq.mp4 What are you, chicken? - shared by GilliamYaeger  Talkin' poo poo - shared by ProfessorCirno https://i.imgur.com/uBZBpEO.mp4 BONUS ROUND 1! TWITTER! https://twitter.com/KaijinRhada/status/1539481765022076928 https://twitter.com/clexandle/status/1557838339104972801 https://twitter.com/heyhelloitdoe/status/1412652671400435715 https://twitter.com/LiliNanashan/status/1716816411451134100 https://twitter.com/CrimblySun/status/1642484894055141377 https://twitter.com/protoco100/status/1256692402083057664 https://twitter.com/heliothaumic/status/1207358090447904770 https://twitter.com/BeneceaDraws/status/1593313362800263168 https://twitter.com/Fenrishion/status/1660822353134366720 https://twitter.com/wauigi/status/1429247045383163908 https://twitter.com/vm0118/status/1552620212469448705 https://twitter.com/saku_FF11/status/1757267549014917456 https://twitter.com/MissYuriV/status/1410721427993497604 BONUS ROUND 2! VIDEO! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnfP9qKAbk8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB2lX2Az0RE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlFkzVmlVDE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abTRxOM81Bc Sanguinia fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Mar 20, 2024 |
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Chapter 0: It's Not a Job, It's an Adventure The Stormblood cinematic opening is a very different animal from those that came before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt1h1MinlLI We begin in a dense cloud of fog, which fades as the music plays a punctuating fanfare to build anticipation for what we’re about to see. Beyond the mist is a towering statue of a bearded man carved right out of the side of a mountain. Waterfalls cascade around this figure, and we see other structures: some kind of building that is also cut into the mountain rock, bridges, stelae, and braziers. All have been intricately decorated but retain a coarse, naturalistic texture. The camera takes us up the statue’s body, and we see lush greenery growing around it before settling on its outstretched hand. The Warrior of Light aka Meteor Survivor (NOT Ardbert the Warrior of Darkness) sits upon one of the fingers, meditating. He is not alone. Lyse, garbed in elaborate red and white silks, moves about the palm practicing what I initially thought was dancing. Her movements are revealed to be martial arts when she leaps upward and delivers a vicious kick to the Warrior of Light’s neck… which he blocks without even opening his eyes! The pair begin a friendly sparring match, though 'friendly' is a funny word to use considering the force of the blows they’re unleashing. As the camera pans out, we see that the shockwaves from their attacks are powerful enough to bend the spray of the waterfalls around them, possibly an homage to the climactic battle of The Matrix: Revolutions. Even the water in a bucket all the way down at the statue’s feet ripples in response to their clash. Still, their smiles say they’re having the time of their lives.  That wide-angle shot of the fight reveals a few interesting things. That bucket, for example, is next to a turban-wearing man cleaning out a cannon. He stands in front of a collection of tents, weapon racks, and barded War Chocobos, and if your eyes are sharp, you’ll glimpse the griffin banner of Ala Mhigo to his left. So, the Warrior and Lyse have come to an Ala Mhigan Resistance encampment, and they are training for the war to come with the Garlean occupation forces. Another thing that stands out from the panoramic view is a stark contrast between the lush green and granite grey of this sanctuary and the rust-red desert wastes beyond, which I suppose makes this place an oasis of sorts. Beyond the fact that it’s a mountainous region, we’ve been told little about the Ala Mhigan homeland’s geography and climate up to this point. At first glance, I thought the base might actually be in Thanalan, but a few moments after this shot, the movie confirms that this is indeed Gyr Abania. That said, it would have been reasonable to infer Ala Mhigo was desert-like given the people’s mostly-dark skin tones and penchant for going about with minimal clothing regardless of the environment. Heck, even Minfilia liked to rock the bare midriff. The last point of interest is a temple at the top of the mountain.  Like the other structures, it is unpainted stone, and its design is instantly recognizable to me as being inspired by Khmer architecture. For those unfamiliar with the term, this is the design tradition of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The aesthetic influenced Buddhist and Hindu temples throughout Southeast Asia. Note the large reflecting pool and the distinct shape of the prang spires atop each of the complex’s buildings. Such towers are meant to evoke Mount Meru, a mythical mountain purported to be the center of the universe. Without knowing more about this fictional nation’s history or beliefs, it’s probably safe to assume these are meant to symbolize more literal mountains until we’re told otherwise. We can also detect some bits of irony here. For one thing, the rock-cut architecture we see around the temple is most strongly associated with India. Though the Khmer style was influenced by cultural exchange with the subcontinent, it evolved in distinct ways compared to what was being built there. More importantly, assuming that the statue is meant to be Rhalgr, who is referred to as a Destroyer god, we should note that Angkor Wat was famously built as a deliberate break from the worship of Shiva (a Destroyer god) in favor of Vishnu, “The Preserver.” Of course, Shiva and Vishnu are also kind of the same deity because they’re two of the three parts of a single supreme god. At least, I think that’s a good way to describe it… I’m very much not an expert on Hinduism, so I don’t want to say something stupid by trying to delve deeper into this. The point is there’s some potential for literary meaning here, depending on how they’re blending the real-world culture they’re drawing on. Or maybe it’ll be like Alexander, and the reference won’t mean anything.  After a final bit of fisticuffs, complete with Anime Battle Auras, the camera pulls out until we’ve left the planet and are looking at a map of Eorzea. We fly eastward, passing over a massive bank of ‘Here There Be Dragons,’ clouds obscuring the center of the world. The only landmark in this blank space is Garlemald, looming in the distance and bathed in ominous purple light as lightning crackles around it. I think they might be the bad guys! When we finally pass these clouds, we’re given a look at an entirely new continent. All names are in Eorzean script, which I’m still not great at reading, but I can decipher two of them. The first is the continent name, Othard. The second is its largest city, on the shores of a river that runs the breadth of the realm. That city is, of course, Doma. Funnily enough, the camera does not zoom down onto Doma but instead chases a pulsing light under the ocean just off-shore. We dive deep and find a crimson castle of distinctly Japanese design encased in a magical bubble.  The red paint, overall boxy design, and slender multi-level pagoda tower bring to mind two noteworthy Japanese landmarks: Shuri Castle of Okinawa and the famed Kiyomizu-Dera in Kyoto. Kiyomizu means “Clear Water,” though, at the actual temple, this is not the ocean but the purportedly wish-granting Otowa Waterfall that empties into the temple’s center. My first thought was that this might be the Sahagin Capital City I was told of back in ARR, where their Empress presides. However, a look at my notes reminded me that city is located in Indigo Deep, off Eorzea’s western shore. So perhaps this is some secret sanctum of the Domans? A place where their leaders hid from the purge? There’s clear intent to keep whatever this is a complete mystery, and we’re not given a single additional clue before departing. When we rise from the depths, the clouds part one last time to reveal an island. We smash cut to a foot chase through a city which, like the underwater castle, distinctly evokes Japan. A squad of armored soldiers carrying katanas shove their way through the crowd so they can confront a man in a classy red kimono. He’s already put two of these fellows on the floor. The homage to Final Fantasy 10’s Auron is instantly apparent, as is the allegiance of these troops. The black and gold color scheme of the Magitek Reaper and distinct and dehumanizing masks built into their helms can only be the product of Garlean design. It’s classic Samurai-Movie-Western-Gunslinger-Movie Cross-Pollination from this point. The thugs pull their swords, and the man in red takes out two of them with his weapon still sheathed. The strike reveals that we are again seeing the Warrior of Light in action, though he’s grown out his hair and had a shave since crossing the sea. The front line pulls their guns in place of their swords, which seems to annoy the Warrior. He looked pleased at the possibility of a sword fight, but now they’ve disappointed him. A man after Kheris’ heart. He takes a stance and motions that he’s prepared to draw his weapon but does not close the distance between himself and his attackers. Despite the advantage of range and having his loaded firearm already in hand, the lead soldier visible trembles before firing. The rest of his men follow suit… and with a single blow off the draw, the Warrior cuts all three bullets in half, cuts down all five Garlean soldiers, and brings down half the buildings on the street for good measure.  drat, I love a good iaijutsu. That’s "Quick-Draw Sword Technique," if you’ve never seen… anything with a samurai in it. As the Warrior stands there looking pleased with himself, his eye catches something in the distance. The camera pulls back to reveal that it’s a hawk, and in doing so, it shows us the full extent of this impressive medieval Japan-inspired port city. Is this a Doman colony? Or perhaps where most of the refugees fled (or were relocated) in the wake of their failed rebellion? Are we going to be doing street-by-street gang warfare against the totalitarian Garlean Samurai Cops like we’ve been ripped from the pages of a Ruroni Kenshin tankobon? A tantalizing possibility. We follow the hawk to the top of an enormous castle edifice, where Yugiri and Gosetsu look out toward the setting sun and the future. Up to this point, the music has been entirely melodic, shifting to match its tone to whatever we were witnessing on the screen at the time rather than remaining a single song. Now, it swells to a crescendo, and with it comes the voices of a chorus in glorious unity: quote:Storm of blood The outpouring of emotion in these few lyrics is almost overwhelming, one part lament and one part demand. The warcry of the brass and the mourning of the strings harmonize beautifully, and as the logo appears in a swirl of flame, there can be no doubt that we are indeed on the road to a revolution. I use the word ‘revolution’ deliberately because one look at the Stormblood logo immediately reminds me of one of the most famous paintings of the 19th Century and an indelible icon of the July Revolution, “Liberty Leading the People.”  (That’s the one after the OG French Revolution and Napoleon but before the Les Miserables one, by the by) Just compare it to the Stormblood logo. Lyse, wearing a dress rather than her usual outfit, stands at the front of a massed crowd waving weapons. Her arm is outstretched to point their way. Even the shape of the logo itself is that of a rippling flag.  I don’t think this connection could be anything but the precise intent of the artist, particularly when it’s revealed alongside the final three words of the song: “Loyalty! Unity! Liberty!” These are only a hair’s breadth away from Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Yes, revolution will be our watchword going forward, no doubt about it. ~*~*~ As I said, this cinematic is very different from the previous two expansion openers. Both A Realm Reborn and Heavensward structured their cutscenes as self-contained short films. They had clear narrative throughlines and easy-to-follow story arcs despite the lack of dialogue. Stormblood takes an entirely different tack, one reminiscent of, dare I say it, early World of Warcraft. Rather than telling a single tale to set the mood, the cinematic team sends us leaping around the future story space, tantalizing us with the possibilities we're about to explore. The WoW Classic and Burning Crusade intro films followed this pattern, and it’s a bit of a blast from the past to see it again. The goal here seems to be hype-building above anything else, whereas hype-building was more of a by-product in the last two. Like Heavensward, there’s an element of selling story-relevant jobs to the player. In this case, it’s the Monk and Samurai rather than the Dragoon. However, this time, we see the Warrior of Light already deep into these personas rather than being influenced toward them by seeing others wield the power. For my money, the pitch worked flawlessly yet again, particularly with the Monk. Despite being in the game since the start, Monks (much like Bards) have never really been a presence in the story and have remained contained to the Job Quests I haven’t yet done for them. If it weren’t for Yda/Lyse, I wouldn’t have any cause to know Monks even exist unless I went out of my way to learn that fact. Even then, it’s not like she ever went around discussing her abilities or how she learned to Punch Good. After watching that crazy Dragonball Z/Wushu Movie Battle, I’m more interested in Monk than ever. The feather mantle on the gearset WoL was wearing helped too. You all know I love a feather mantle. I don’t know if I’d say that I like this movie as much as the other two. I’ve discussed before how the ARR movie stuck with me after my first go at this game, even though I didn’t like it enough to even play to level 30. It had so much merit as a short film it didn’t even need to be attached to any videogame to be worth seeing and remembering. HW was similar, though it had the handicap of being composed almost entirely of spoilers, which would make me hesitant to show it to anyone else. Stormblood doesn’t reach those same heights because, well, it can’t. It’s not designed to be capable of doing that. That said, comparing the Stormblood movie to those two feels like an exercise in Apples-to-Oranges. I don’t know if saying “I think I liked the old ones more,” is useful when they’re not trying to do the same things. I certainly thought the movie was good. I replayed it over and over again while I was waiting to get home from work and play the game just like I did the last two. But I still can’t help but feel this massive shift in style lost something special in the transition. However, I'd be willing to argue that it also gained something special. The adjective I’d most readily use to describe both previous intro movies is 'operatic.' They have the vibe of grand tragedy and mythical heroism. If I were going to use an adjective for this film, it would be 'adventurous.' We are being invited to trek across the globe, see mysterious and exotic places, and obtain great power once we get there for a higher cause. And that adventure, that higher cause, has a name: War. The song’s lyrics make no bones about this. “Raise your weary head, heed the call to arms.” We are shown our enemy, first when we cross the map as the abstracted but looming city of Garlemald, and then in the form of Garlean soldiers, who are portrayed both as callous stormtroopers and quivering weaklings who fear to face us on even terms. We are also shown allies who are industrious, noble, strong and who wear eager smiles on their faces. We are even shown an idealized form of ourselves standing on the side of righteousness. Then, when the movie is done, as the last echo of our army’s war cry fades along with the final notes of music, we’re taken to the Start Screen. There we’re treated to  "Long March Home," whose musical core is an instantly recognizable sound: military marching drums.All of this made me think of two things. The first was the Attack on Titan Season One Opening Credits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OkpRK2_gVs The second was all the historical documentaries and edutainment videos I’ve watched over the years discussing the attitudes of soldiers shipping out for the First World War. Before the horrors of the trenches and the body counts of battles like Verdun, many Europeans thought of war only as a romantic abstraction. A place where young boys learned to be men. In a word… an adventure. I posit to you, dear readers, that just like Attack on Titan’s S1 Opener, what you’re watching when you watch the Stormblood intro movie is nothing less than a simulacrum of an in-universe military recruitment ad. When the WoL and Lyse are sparring, or he’s cutting down that Garlean Squad, you’re watching the F-18s fly over the Superbowl. FFXIV is literally telling you to “be all you can be.” This expansion will not be the first time FF14 has delved into the topic of war, and its meditations on the subject up to this point have not been the kind of things that end up on propaganda posters. Now that I’ve made this connection, I’m very interested in where we might be going with this story. Which means it's time to log in and make for Baelsar’s Wall. Sanguinia fucked around with this message at 09:32 on Jun 9, 2022 |
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Jun 9, 2022 01:32
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Getting in on the ground floor to say - hell yeah.
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Jun 9, 2022 01:39
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Rude, they cut away right before the best part! Also, obligatory for Samurai. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKMw2it8dQY
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Jun 9, 2022 01:43
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Hell yeah, Stormblood! It's my least favorite of the expansions, but it's still really good. But maybe the slower, more thoughtful style of this LP will help me see the better side of it, like it did for some parts of ARR.
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Jun 9, 2022 01:46
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It will be very interesting to see what you make of this one.
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Jun 9, 2022 01:48
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Punching dudes and Iaijutsu-using Samurai, Stormblood may be viewed controversal on some stuff but I can say the music and look of it is one of the biggest positives.
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Jun 9, 2022 01:48
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Ground floor bb
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Jun 9, 2022 01:49
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Honestly, I have many fond memories of Stormblood. It was the first expansion I could play on Day 1 (I started late for HW) and it introduced Red Mage, one of my favourite jobs.
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Jun 9, 2022 01:50
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Jun 9, 2022 01:56
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Stormblood is probably the weakest expansion in FFXIV, at least in terms of narrative, but only in the sense that the guy who comes in last place in the Olympic 100 meter dash is the slowest runner in that race. Looking forward to Kheris's adventures in Gyr Abania and beyond!
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Jun 9, 2022 01:57
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Looking forward to this one!
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Jun 9, 2022 01:58
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Looking forward.
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Jun 9, 2022 01:59
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Looking forward to seeing what you think of Stormblood. This is the expansion where I really started playing, caught up to MSQ around 4.1-4.2 and started raiding in the second raid tier so its kinda a nostalgic expansion for me. Got other thoughts about it too but I'll hold off on that until you've experienced it yourself.
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Jun 9, 2022 01:59
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Very excited for this! My SO and I both dug Stormblood more than Heavensward, despite the popular opinion to the contrary, and I'm very excited to see Kheris' journey continue.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:00
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And here we go. I'll leave the story bits aside for now, but I will say one thing. Stormblood was the first time that the job system was reworked in the history of the MMO. Heavensward brought new jobs, but no new classes to use with the cross-class system, sort of leaving the issue for later. This was the time of manually assigning stat points, TP, Accuracy, cross-class skills, lots of weird and jank stuff that didn't really work. This system, while it had some possibility for builds, had clear best builds and not much else. Stormblood removed this system and replaced it with a more narrow role action system, where you could pick 5 buttons or so out of a small selection of skills for your role. Tanks and healers, plus three categories of DPS; melee (NIN, DRG, MNK, the newly added SAM) ranged physical (BRD, MCH) and ranged magical (BLM, SMN, the newly added RDM). There was no more need for levelling alt classes to gain buttons or to even unlock jobs in the first place; now you simply got all the options as you leveled one job. No more Accuracy, no more having to stat INT as a healer and sacrifice healing, the raise penalty didn't decrease your max HP, and so on. There was also a significant amount of changes to actions at non-StB levels as well. These changes were generally viewed positively, and this expansion began the process of bringing the gameplay up to the story's standards. In the end though, there were still clear winners and losers in the role actions, as FF has never cared much for traditional crowd control and raw damage is the meta. Still, it was an improvement over the last system. If anyone is interested at looking at the history of how classes changed over the expansions, user Hogama had a series of posts in the old Shadowbringers FFXIV thread in the MMO subfourm that went back and looked at how the classes changed over the patches and expansions. I would be careful of spoilers though. The FFXIV threads were never all that good at avoiding them.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:03
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looking forward to this, your post about the intro alone was already better than 95% of posts made about stormblood since its launch
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Jun 9, 2022 02:17
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Hope you find enjoyment in digesting the story of this one. It's not my favorite, but you often see context in your posts that I overlook playing firsthand which is part of the joy of reading them.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:19
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It's Juicy time
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Jun 9, 2022 02:20
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Extremely excited for this. Stormblood is absolutely excellent, and I personally rank everything except the 4.0 MSQ higher than Heavensward. Post-patch story, raids, alliance raids, trials, dungeons are all better. The new jobs are also both excellent, Red Mage and Samurai remain two of my most played jobs to this day. I've loved the LP from the start and I'm here until Endwalker and beyond, if you keep at it.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:21
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Jun 9, 2022 02:23
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IT IS WEEB TIME
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Jun 9, 2022 02:23
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Roluth posted:If anyone is interested at looking at the history of how classes changed over the expansions, user Hogama had a series of posts in the old Shadowbringers FFXIV thread in the MMO subfourm that went back and looked at how the classes changed over the patches and expansions. I would be careful of spoilers though. The FFXIV threads were never all that good at avoiding them. Accuracy technically still exists, but it's not something you'll really deal with in any meaningful sense these days. You get a flat 100% chance to hit equal-level or below targets from the front, accuracy bonuses from the flank and rear, and accuracy penalties from certain enemy actions and/or attacking a target above your level. That means positioning CAN still matter if you have a way to move around (i.e. not fighting enemies solo, since you'll nearly always be hitting from the front), because the bonus to hit can counteract penalties, but not really in any serious content. (Magic damage, from Healers and Magical Ranged, is always considered to be from the rear.) Old Accuracy, while it was a player stat, had target numbers that needed to be met on a PER FIGHT basis to reach 100% accuracy, but didn't really provide any tangible benefits beyond meeting that number, so it was pretty much just a tax stat of "make sure you've got this much". Like Turn 1 of Binding Coils needed 472 Accuracy to always hit the boss from the front, or 432 to always hit it with magic damage. If your stat was below that, your percentage to hit would drop relatively, but even a small percentage drop still follows  rules, so you really just wanted to meld to make sure you didn't miss at all.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:25
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Stormblood kicks rear end, will enjoy reading your journal on it.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:27
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Loved your Heavensward thread but never got around to posting. Adding to the chorus here, very excited to see your take on Stormblood! It's the expansion I got into the game with, so even though it's not my favorite, it has a certain nostalgic quality to it — I spent a lot of time working my way through the endgame and patch content in the run-up to Shadowbringers. Hope you enjoy Monk! I'm maining it this raid tier and it's in a really good, fun place right now, and Stormblood is definitely a good place story-wise to pick it up.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:31
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Runa posted:It's Juicy time Yes! Yes! Just so!
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Jun 9, 2022 02:32
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Fun fact: noone knew it was Lyse/Yda when the first preview trailer dropped. Also, everyone thought it was a sign that Dancer was coming.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:33
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I wasn’t around for the HW trailer drop, so I can’t quite comment on that, but a note on the SB trailer. It actually has two different releases, and this pattern would continue with Shadowbringers and Endwalker, where there’s a teaser version before everything from the current final patch is done, and then the full version later after all event have been resolved. The teaser version dropped before the second half of 3.5 dropped so it was before the reveal that Yda was Lyse, as well as her new look. It might be worth looking up the teaser version just to sort of see what they decided to save for the big reveal with the full version, since the original teaser only had the statue fight. So before HW fully ended, we had an idea that we were headed for Ala Mhigo, but didn’t know the exact events that would lead to it, as well as not knowing who Lyse was. The full trailer reveal then was a big hype moment when it made that sudden jump over to the East to reveal we were also headed there, alongside the samurai job reveal.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:34
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Sanguinia posted:Despite being in the game since the start, Monks (much like Bards) have never really been a presence in the story and have remained contained to the Job Quests I haven’t yet done for them. Bards got our cutscene moment in the 1.0 opening cinematic, where the WoL grabs a bow to help others fight a malboro. It was the last time we ever got to be cool.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:35
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Bruceski posted:Archer got our cutscene moment in the 1.0 opening cinematic, where the WoL grabs a bow to help others fight a malboro. It was the last time we ever got to be cool. FTFY, given that bards didn't exist back in 1.0 until yoship added jobs etc. etc.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:43
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Bruceski posted:Bards got our cutscene moment in the 1.0 opening cinematic, where the WoL grabs a bow to help others fight a malboro. It was the last time we ever got to be cool. What about NotJ'Rhoomayle in the ARR? 
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Jun 9, 2022 02:53
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Hurray, and so we enter the next part of Kheris' story. And I am quite happy for it.
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Jun 9, 2022 02:55
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Oh boy oh boy
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Jun 9, 2022 02:56
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Aw yeah, inject this right into my veins. 
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Jun 9, 2022 02:58
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storm of freakin blood
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Jun 9, 2022 02:59
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Tho’ Clouds of Discourse threaten and Hot Takes shall be quote no Goonly Soul will dare to miss the Update that Sang wrote!
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Jun 9, 2022 03:03
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Farg posted:storm of freakin blood this
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Jun 9, 2022 03:06
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The Warrior of Light destroying half of that city block with a few sword swings is exactly why we're not allowed to use most attacks outside of combat.
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Jun 9, 2022 03:11
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We will watch your career with great interest
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Jun 9, 2022 03:24
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