Was a good anyalysis. I do think that free will is the core theme of the game thats why I think the the ambiguity of the ending was a deliberate choice of the developer to let you choose your own fate for the characters. As in theres evidence that Clive survived, or even that Joshua did but admittedly its a less strong case and would require more mental gymnastics to believe. In my headcanon Clive cast raise on Joshua which ultimately proved to be unsuccessful hence him saying that the vessel wasnt enough in the end. this would also be quite ironic because what ultima ultimately strove towards would have turned out futile. Clive having written the book under Joshua's name would also be quite fitting as a sidequest implies that he would trade a quill against the sword when everything was done. And him operating under a different name to honor someone's legacy needs no explanation.
Thank you! I hadn’t thought about the notion of Clive surviving but failing to save Joshua…I do see where the ending is ambiguous but also strongly implied that Clive does die. Either way it’s a heartbreaker
Once again, you did well. I look forward to your next work. When I first saw Clive in the trailers and promotional art, I worried he'd be nothing more than Angry Violent Man, a character type that's seen much praise and popularity in the West, a market Square Enix wanted to reach with this game. But in typical Final Fantasy fashion, our lead ia much more than he first appears. What a character. But I do take issue with the game not showing Clive's life as a slave, as a prince stripped off his holdings, as a man who once vowed to serve his family now forced to serve their killers. This game could get away with depicting and exploring such horror uncensored, given its mature rating. But the writers play it safe. I also take issue with Clive overcoming his internal conflict quite early, which resulted in me losing interest a bit. Clive realized early on that he didn't kill his brother and that said brother is alive and well, leaving him with no inner turmoil going forward. On first viewing, I assumed the writers had planned another twist regarding the events at Phoenix Gate, which would send Clive's character in a whole new direction. I thought Clive would learn some dark secret about his father, raising doubt within him. I hoped Clive would directly oppose his mother's reign. I thought something would greatly affect Clive's character. They did remedy this somewhat by having Clive converse and collide with other great characters, like Hugo, Dion and Barnabas, which gave his own character more to do in the second and third act. But as it stands, Clive had more external than internal struggles for most of the game. That's a shame because Clive's internal struggle was extremely strong in the first act, though quickly dealt with. Other than that, I love the way he's written. I love all aspects of his character, from story to gameplay. He's among my favourite Final Fantasy protagonists.
Seems like UA-cam ate my first response to this. RIP. Yeah! Y'know Clive reminds me a lot of Lightning, partly in that they're both toughened fighters who have more heart beneath the surface, and partly because they both have an arc of unlearning self-reliance. Lightning does have the benefit of a trilogy to expand her story, where some of Clive's had to be condensed-so things like working through his internal guilt more quickly came in there. But Clive also had more of an emotional foundation with friends/family to help him through bad times, unlike Lightning who lost her parents as a child. I think they do a good job in the third act of bringing more of his internal back into play with him having to learn to save himself. It's the second act that focuses more on his external and other peoples' internal, which is why I cut a lot of it out of the video lol. Would have definitely loved n arc where he directly opposed his mother and reclaimed Rosaria, but I'm very satisfied with what we got.
I wish there were more quest lines with younger Clive before the 13 year time skip but the devs wanted our MC to be hot and legal before they get into the real adventure😂
XD I definitely thought they would expand the whole Iron Kingdom arc before Clive's arc went to crap. But a two-hour flashback made for a good demo/tutorial I will say
Was a good anyalysis. I do think that free will is the core theme of the game thats why I think the the ambiguity of the ending was a deliberate choice of the developer to let you choose your own fate for the characters. As in theres evidence that Clive survived, or even that Joshua did but admittedly its a less strong case and would require more mental gymnastics to believe. In my headcanon Clive cast raise on Joshua which ultimately proved to be unsuccessful hence him saying that the vessel wasnt enough in the end. this would also be quite ironic because what ultima ultimately strove towards would have turned out futile. Clive having written the book under Joshua's name would also be quite fitting as a sidequest implies that he would trade a quill against the sword when everything was done. And him operating under a different name to honor someone's legacy needs no explanation.
Thank you!
I hadn’t thought about the notion of Clive surviving but failing to save Joshua…I do see where the ending is ambiguous but also strongly implied that Clive does die. Either way it’s a heartbreaker
Once again, you did well. I look forward to your next work.
When I first saw Clive in the trailers and promotional art, I worried he'd be nothing more than Angry Violent Man, a character type that's seen much praise and popularity in the West, a market Square Enix wanted to reach with this game. But in typical Final Fantasy fashion, our lead ia much more than he first appears. What a character. But I do take issue with the game not showing Clive's life as a slave, as a prince stripped off his holdings, as a man who once vowed to serve his family now forced to serve their killers. This game could get away with depicting and exploring such horror uncensored, given its mature rating. But the writers play it safe. I also take issue with Clive overcoming his internal conflict quite early, which resulted in me losing interest a bit. Clive realized early on that he didn't kill his brother and that said brother is alive and well, leaving him with no inner turmoil going forward. On first viewing, I assumed the writers had planned another twist regarding the events at Phoenix Gate, which would send Clive's character in a whole new direction. I thought Clive would learn some dark secret about his father, raising doubt within him. I hoped Clive would directly oppose his mother's reign. I thought something would greatly affect Clive's character. They did remedy this somewhat by having Clive converse and collide with other great characters, like Hugo, Dion and Barnabas, which gave his own character more to do in the second and third act. But as it stands, Clive had more external than internal struggles for most of the game. That's a shame because Clive's internal struggle was extremely strong in the first act, though quickly dealt with. Other than that, I love the way he's written. I love all aspects of his character, from story to gameplay. He's among my favourite Final Fantasy protagonists.
Seems like UA-cam ate my first response to this. RIP.
Yeah! Y'know Clive reminds me a lot of Lightning, partly in that they're both toughened fighters who have more heart beneath the surface, and partly because they both have an arc of unlearning self-reliance. Lightning does have the benefit of a trilogy to expand her story, where some of Clive's had to be condensed-so things like working through his internal guilt more quickly came in there. But Clive also had more of an emotional foundation with friends/family to help him through bad times, unlike Lightning who lost her parents as a child.
I think they do a good job in the third act of bringing more of his internal back into play with him having to learn to save himself. It's the second act that focuses more on his external and other peoples' internal, which is why I cut a lot of it out of the video lol. Would have definitely loved n arc where he directly opposed his mother and reclaimed Rosaria, but I'm very satisfied with what we got.
One for the algorithm thanks
Funny how Final Fantasy has their own Camelot
Some legends are universal!
I wish there were more quest lines with younger Clive before the 13 year time skip but the devs wanted our MC to be hot and legal before they get into the real adventure😂
XD I definitely thought they would expand the whole Iron Kingdom arc before Clive's arc went to crap. But a two-hour flashback made for a good demo/tutorial I will say