This game means so much to so many, its nigh on impossible to truly quantify just how much. During the pandemic especially, it was a way for people to still stay connected, to play and keep up with one another. You will make friends the world over, i certainly have. It has been a joy to stream, that I stream it all the time (i'm a bit of an altholic x'D) but I never tire of this journey. The story is so good, that there are still moments where i feel i have to be silent, for the story deserves that. The fact this journey is still not over, that this is just the end of one story is exciting! The community has its ups and downs, but what community doesn't? I remember the day Miura, the mangaka for Beserk passed away. All worlds on all data centers got together, lined the streets of Ul'dah, swapped to either dark knight (or bard, or at least wore black) and stood there, in honor of this man. Although i'm not a big fan of Beserk, even i cannot deny his influence on FF as a whole, or fantasy in general. Yoshi-P later on during an interview thanked the community for this, it was even talked about in a gaming journal. Then Soken. A musical wizard, who hid his struggles until the last fanfest, and seeing those two on stage, moved fans to do something in game for him as well. Everyone who works on XIV have earned our respect over the years, and for very good reason. It's also why I'm so excited for XVI! All in all, this is a fantastic game, one that deserves to at least be tried, if not played in its entirety. See you in Etheryis!
I can't go over all of this with my current migraine but I will say the story and gameplay is really good for it's time and continues to innovate and improve. This game reconnected me and a few friends of mine and was the MMORPG my brother and I got to play together. I got back into it since I never got into MMORPGs but when I finished ARR the story really started the grip me. Then I hit all the patch content back when it wasn't trimmed down and was a bit of a slog to power through, but the story was still good. Then I hit heavensward and fell in love. No one expansion is bad, it's just varying levels of good and great. It's got a little something for everyone and the game lets you do what you want and play how you want with it's toolbox of toys. Definitely one game I always come back to and I've debated redoing another character on.
@@Simmons101 once u do one character more ur doomed xD tho if u do decide to do it, i highly recommend doing a different race and possibly even gender! some scenes are different depending on ur race or gender, and even ur type of class! it's such neat details that has me doing it all the time xD
I’m a legacy player, I have my name in the end credits of ARR. There is no other journey in gaming as epic as XIV. The disaster launch, the reborn and relaunch, the expansions, the community and the dev team is an incredible story. I will play this as long as Square Enix supports it.
It’s funny I got recommended this video because I just started playing this game today😂 I was already getting bored of the main quest, but knowing it gets better latter on help a lot. Imma take my time and enjoy the game slowly
I'm currently about 3900 hours in this game (startet when Heavensward was freshly released) and I promise you the wait is definitely worth it! Shadowbringers and Endwalker brought me to tears more than once :D But yeah, the msq starts very slow and in my opinion Stormblood is a step back from Heavensward, but like I said: Shadowbringers and Endwalker got a fantastic story
Yup, realm reborn has slow start but good ending. Heavensward is really good with story. Stormblood felt like it overstayed and should have been better if it had ended an hour or two ago. Currently going through Shadowbringers, halfway almost and I can guarantee this is the best out of all expansions so far for me. It engaging and heartfelt from the beginning and pacing is good so far.
When they say the game gets better, they meant the story gets better. Gameplay wise, the fights and dungeon design get better too, but not to a groundbreaking level. It’s basically like reading a graphic novel.
I find that I get msq fatigue after a while, no matter how good the story is. But there are lots of other things to do. Crafting, housing, other jobs, the gold saucer. I took years to finish realm reborn because i kept getting distracted by other areas of the game 😅
I just started ffxiv and for years I heard praise of this game, I always wanted to play so I did the free trail years ago and my character did get up to level 60. So years later I did pick up the game again from the start and paid the subscription and it was worth it. So far I’m going pretty slow with the msq because I get distracted easily. There is just so much to do and I love that, I get to do so much in the world. But what made me feel so welcome was the other players. I have social anxiety and its hard for me to talk to people even online but everyone so far in my journey I met has been so nice. Everyone is so welcoming to sprouts and they’re willing to be patient with them and teach them and I love that. Especially my fc has been very nice and welcomed, I’m not going to lie I cried when I made friends within the game and that is pretty stupid thing but for someone like with social anxiety who has a hard time making friends lately, I felt loved, welcomed and not alone anymore when I play games. I’m glad I picked up this game and hope to enjoy more of the game and hopefully make more friends along the way.
I also suffer with social anxiety, and struggle to make friends, and I just want to say, Welcome Back to Eorzea, fellow Warrior of Light. We're so happy you're back with us again.
Good for you buddy. I wish I’d be able to make some friends in this game too. I’ve been playing this game for almost a decade and managed to keep my friends list pretty empty. I find it hard to speak in my fc because I also have social anxiety.
I have been playing Final Fantasy XIV since the last beta phase in August 2013, meeting new players and seeing old players throughout my time. I have maxed out all my jobs, my crafting and gathering classes, done extreme fights, raids, and became a mentor to help other players in the field and in dungeons. I love hearing these stories from others about their experiences in XIV, and am glad that you have enjoyed yourself.
I've been playing FFXIV for more than a month now, and just reached the end of base HW. The game has honestly been one of my favourite gaming experiences I've had, and the hours I've put into the game has rewarded with me such a great time, from the music, the story, and the people who've been helping me along the way! This video made me even more excited to continue, I loved watching it :)
9:39 That's one of the reasons I absolutely love Leap of Faith. It's just so nice when people stay at the end and welcome you or support you with glowsticks. Even when I'm still jumping I feel that strange connection when I see someone failing the same jump as me or I'm happy seeing them success
Omg, your story with Kugane Tower really got to me. My bf and I were playing through SB for the first time and accidentally found out about the jump puzzle, which from then, we completely stopped whatever we were doing to try and complete the jump puzzle for our first time LOL Soon after, someone else started attempting their own first time with the tower too!! We ended up actually befriending them and made it up to the top around the same time. Eventually, they even accepted our invite and attended our in-game wedding anniversary. I've also played other MMOs and for real, it spoke volumes of how amazing the FFXIV community could be. It really impacted me as someone who had poor MMORPG experiences in the past.
One thing I love about FFXIV is how it lets me continue to be introverted, while still being a "massively multiplayer" game. I do still enjoy playing with others every now and then, but for the most part, I like not having to chat, or voice chat with anyone. Or even not having to be in a grand company to do everything I want to do. I played WoW for years up until Shadowlands, where I just couldn't play it anymore, due to the lack of repetitiveness and what felt like forced communications with the Mythic+ dungeons and other stuff. But this is a game that lets you play at your own pace and on your own terms.
Ive cried so much playing this game the story truly is beautiful, im an avid msq procrastinator but man im so excited for where the story takes the warrior of light. (at the beginning of stormblood atm)
Lol same on the procrastination part, I've been subbed for 390 days but I'm literally at the start of Stormblood. I cleared arr and heavensward in a week, but mainly due to me waiting for my friends to catch up my sub count kept getting longer. Subbed even when they didn't, and just grinded other jobs, Gill hunting in the marketplace, crafting, gathering, mounts, relics, pvp etc, alot of stuff to do even when you don't progress through the expansions
Oh man, stock up on tissues for Shadowbringers and Endwalker if you've cried a lot already! It took me ages to get through MSQ to EW but somehow it just keeps getting better and better
Oh man ... if you've cried this much already and are just at the beginning of StB now, you might want to look into having a therapist on standby for later ... I'm not exactly prone to crying in games (with, say, RDR2 being a noted exception, as well as some older FF titles), but Shadowbringers and Endwalker absolutely DESTROYED me. Multiple times.
I cried at RDR2, didn't with shadowbringers (was devastating though, and honestly i'm still working through that ending), hopefully Endwalker goes crazy for me
So I'm a Shadowbringers Sprout. I joined during the great WoW migration in 2021. I'm not even close to remembering the end of 1.0. AND YET! And yet, the reason why the videos of Bahamut laying waste to the game world resonate so much with me is not because of the event, it's because of the music. The echoes of "Answers" getting stronger and stronger. "Answers" is an incredibly powerful piece of music that starts with nothing but voices and ends in this beautiful, cacophonous rallying cry for salvation and peace and direction in this crazy rip in reality that we call life. I was going through houses in the residential districts and I had to stop and listen to it for the first time, and really listen. It sent me to tears. I know you highlighted the work that Soken has poured into his compositions, but I feel like "Answers" is exemplary of just how much music means in the moment. It takes a special kind of synergy and trust between directors to really pull something so cohesive together.
Started playing in 2021. I went through the whole story, it was the best journey I ever experienced in a game and I'm excited for the future and curious where it will lead us. Especially towards the end of the story, in Shadowbringers and Endwalker, I cried several times. And not necessarily because it was sad, but also out of joy, because it was such a well written and beautiful experience that makes you feel for the characters. And while watching this video, I started crying again, because I remembered those impactful story parts :') I'm already excited to spend another few hundred hours to replay the story in a few years or so when I forgot most of the details again :D Until then, I'm decorating my house, do extreme content, grind mentor roulette and discover all of the features and side quests I may not have tried or experienced yet.
Right on Jennifer! I'm doing something similar too about the side content I forgot to do while enjoying the MSQ(finally doing the Eden raids I've heard are really cool!) Thanks for watching!
I started playing when Shadowbringers got released i wanted to stop on ARR but my friend who i was playing with(she plays since HW release) told me not to and always pushed me to play tru ARR, i didnt buy story skip cuz she didnt let me do it and i kept playing, oh boy. All of sudden i loved FFXIV and still play it and still loving the damn game. Honestly im completely addicted to it and i blame my friend and specially Yoshi P. v.v.
I've always felt that JRPG storytelling is way more personal and visceral than the other branches. And the reason I liked XIV story way more than WOW and GW2 is because the games makes a massive effort to make it personal. After all, you are the Warrior of Light, and the more you progress through the story, the narrative entangles player and character more and more. You are not a random adventurer that by coincidence was at the right time on the right place. Your reason to live, to fight, to carry on is being constantly put in check, and Endwalker delivers a masterpiece of a existentialist plot and hits like a goddamn truck.
That is incredibly well put, the more time as gone on, the more I have appreciated Endwalker so much. I'm glad we can all share such an amazing experience with this game!
Endwalker for me hit like a truck made of other, explosive trucks. It hit me so bad (I cleared msq the very Sunday after launch), that I stood near the entrance of the final area and cheered on everyone that arrived. For THREE DAYS.
@@MrTalithan Yeah, Endwalker was something else man ... After a ... certain cutscene about 2/3 through the game (I'm sure you know which one), I felt the urgent need to pour myself a scotch just to cope. I hadn't previously known that a game could *hurt* so much.
For me ARR was like "huh, this is like good World of Warcraft expansion, generic fantasy with kinda cheesy plot". Then post-ARR happens (42 minute cutscene, which feels like it is 10 minute ) aaaaand, well, I found my fullfillment.
@@MindstalkerMedia You don't want to know when it's coming. Very often the game will warn you "several cutscenes will play in sequence" whenever something like this will happen. The majority of the time that warning just means 15 minutes of talking without a break to back out and have the game save, but always be prepared for at least half an hour just in case. THAT cutscene (the 42 minute one) is an absolute whammy of a storytelling beat and you want to be completely blindsided by it for best effect. Forget about it. It'll happen when it happens. Assume it won't be any time soon.
@@chef416 pretty sure that entire 42 minutes there are voiced or atleast a big majority of it is voiced. Stop being so impatient and just try to enjoy a good story being told..
@@pleasedontkillme1185 I'm not sure if it's impatience, I'm just not interested in the story part of the game. It's not why I started and I feel no need to go back for it, I'm here for the gameplay and fortunately they have nothing to do with each other because SE don't like to teach anybody about the game or make any useful information available in-game.
I don't play this game currently, and haven't seriously played in some time. However I played during 1.0, and a bit here and there during ARR into HW. Whenever I talk to people about video games, especially MMO's, I always tell the story of FFXIV. FFXIV's launch, shutdown, rebuild and relaunch, and the time following this all is truly an amazing display of actual community engagement and care. You did a great job of telling that story. Awesome video.
Very well done with this video. The script and representation was excellent. And made me realy happy. I have been playing ffxiv for 10 year's and love meeting and helping new players. And I really think this video hits what makes the game special. For those who have just started I wish you safe adventures. Welcome to ffxiv. ^_^
Hello there! Seeing your take with the whole experience makes me nostalgic. I'm still playing FFXIV grinding some current endgame stuff but I agree whole heartedly that ARR was slow even for my taste but it rewards you immensely after. I did enjoy ARR but what solidified by love for this game was Heavensward and what made me more invested was Shadowbringers. Up until now, the entire story arc of Hydaelyn and Zodiark is a rollercoaster for me. I haven't been as much as an emotional player before but this game made attached and emotional until the very end.
I'm one of the few people that has loved FFXIV from start to finish. I LOVED ARR, and maybe it was because I was so burnt out on WoW, but the story and the fresh beginning just felt so good to me. I also recognized alot of the VAs, so that was fun for me too. I've just had an absolute ride with every part of the game, and I can't wait for the next chapter! 😄
Been playing ffxiv for about 2.5 years now (since shb) and I've loved every moment. You hit on all the points I'd talk about to convince other people to give it a shot and then some. At this point I've convinced several of my friends to try it out and now they're caught up too and trying to convince their friends to play as well lol. Here's to another 10 years of ffxiv!
I finally got into the game back in last September. This is now one of the best games I have ever played after beating EndWalker back in April. It's such a beautiful experience. It has probably my favorite storyline of the entire series. I could go on for a literal essay for this game. The smiles, laughs, depressing moments, inspiring moments, and literal teaes shed. I did not expect this game to impact me the way it did. I have not had a game stick with me and give me this much of an impact since I was still younger.
I was one of the WoW refugees last year (or was that almost two years ago now). I went through from start to finish and took a little over a year to go through each of the expansions and the content (trials / relic weapons / etc) as it was relevant. However, as I made it through Stormblood (post-MSQ Doma story) and into Shadowbringers (snap) I realized just how special this game and its storytelling was. Endwalker was a truly masterful resolution to the story going all the way back to ARR (and possibly beforehand). I look forward to returning in the future to continue the adventure.
Thank youu! This exactly what makes the FFXIV great. The moments you have with people. Struggling together, winning together, goofing off together. It makes the time you spent on the game memorable.
Thank you for this video Pollymacho! I have had a very on-off relationship with FFXIV, but I don't think I ever really let it in. I think I spent so much time lamenting what it's not rather than appreciate it for what it is. I picked it up again recently, and I'm in love. Great work! ❤️
I dont know why but lately my youtube recommendations page is full of first time players reviews of the game and they are all so good :) I loved your video!
Thank you so much for your story. It reminds me of my first day on this game and had no idea how great it would payoff after almost 10 years of playing. It’s once-in-a-lifetime experience and I’m so lucky to be a part of it. This game is one of my most beautiful memories in my life.
it's so cool to hear different content creators' reasons why they play. you said you play for the story, and someone else said they play for chillin with friends and killing stuff together. it's so cool how much this game offers for different types of players man. cool video dude!
After watching virtually every video on UA-cam about this game, this is by far the best video anyone could be shown to explain exactly why this game is so good. I will def be forwarding this to anyone I think would be interested in the game!
Wow, thank you. Your passion and beautiful narration is inspiring. I've been with FF14 since the beginning, and you have caught why I play. Beautiful. *drops mic*
Great video, I'm really surprised to see you still have under 1k subs. I would love to see a spoiler talk video about your thoughts on the parts of the story you couldn't get into here.
i loved your anecdotes of player interaction! the reason i love this game is playing with other people, that i've never met and never will meet again just yesterday i was gathering a rotation of nodes, to get an endgame gatherer currency. there were 2 other people doing the same rotation as me. somehow we became the "scrip gang" and chatted while we waited for the items we needed to spawn. when someone arrived to the next area late we teased them for being late to "scrip gang". then we all finished our gathering and went our own ways.
What drew me to the game was a very well done April Fool's Day joke in 2019! The "Omega Home Assistant" video that S-E put out that year is what got me to stop procrastinating and give it a shot. Later that month, I went all in and bought the Stormblood Complete Collector's Edition on the PS4. I regret nothing, save for the fact that I would have been here sooner had I caught 2018's April Fools' Day video which turned out to be even funnier.
Excellent video! It's always so pleasant to hear players' stories of how they discovered the game and their journeys and how they match up with (and differ from) my own. I tried out the ARR beta on my wife's account and then decided to get my own account in 2.1 in large part because of Tumbling Down, the boss theme from the Crystal Tower raids that is a rearrangement of the Final Fantasy 3 boss music. ...somehow I have 637+ days in here according to my /playtime since then and while, yes, of course a bunch of that is afking or just standing around chatting, it's astonishing to me that something could hold my interest this long.
That's awesome! Sweet to hear and its gotta be awesome to follow the game for a while and see it grow over time. And thanks for checking this video out and the nice comment!
Been playing FFXIV for just over two years now. When I checked my playtime last (a few minutes before posting this comment) it said "Total Play Time: 449 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes". This game is my single most played game. It has captured my heart. It is enjoyable to the extreme. From doing the MSQ to casual dungeons to the savage raids to the ultimates... nothing is not enjoyable to me. I've made friends because of this game. I've grown closer to other friends. My FC is made mostly of friends from Monster Hunter who joined me and my boyfriend in the world of FFXIV.
Wait, so you're saying that of those just over 2 years, you spent roughly 2/3 of your time ingame? ... how does that even work? I mean, that's almost 11k hours.
@@rogthepirate4593 To be fair, I didn't have much else going on. It was during the height of the pandemic that I started playing and literally had nowhere else to go or do because of my area being completely shut down. So I just... played FFXIV since I couldn't do anything else or go anywhere else.
@@thatdragonperson damn. Still, impressive. I did start playing during the lockdowns as well, but I don't even have 1/10 of that playtime on record haha
@@rogthepirate4593 Haha, it kinda became a hyper focus for me as well. Like I had Shadowbringers beat within a month and a half of starting the game. And it was a few months later that I had gotten all my jobs to the level cap at the time, which was 80. And then I started doing high end content. AND THEN ENDWALKER CAME OUT LMAO. Didn't help also that I have replayed the story dozens of times using New Game Plus because of how much I enjoyed it. I really no-lifed the game.
FFXIV is my childhood and I am so incredibly grateful that it is. Especially Heavensword, my love for dragons got even greater which I didn't thought would be possible. I love XIV and I wish everyone a beautiful time for my favorite game
I love this video, it reminds me of all I love about FFXIV and it's community, thank you so much for making this and sharing your experiences. I'm not even going to lie, I cried a bit in the Version 1.0 section when going over the expansions and their rating. On the topic of the ARR "slog". I find all my friends who I've roped into the game have enjoyed ARR since I don't tell them "it sucks" or some variant. I myself didn't find it boring either, but that's because I gobble up lore like a starving cat who's been hungry for two weeks, and I wasn't told "ARR sucks" until I was in SB. We all agree is it the weakest (Actually I dislike Post ARR far more than ARR, the last ten quests of Post ARR being good does not make Post ARR good) but we don't think it is bad or sucks. It depends what you started the game for and what kind of player you are. If you started the game to catch up with all your friends in EnW asap, you're screwed and you won't enjoy yourself at all because you're just sitting through every moment wondering when you'll be watched up when it will take another 300 hours. These are the people who tend to skip and then complain about EnW being "mid" because they're not attached to the characters like you would be if you watched them grow and bond with each other and "you" through the last 300 hours. EnW is the the final buildup and stretch of this longass journey we've been on, the reward for making it this far, of course you won't enjoy it as much as you should when you don't even remember who Alphinaud is, and who the hell is this grey haired elezen? No- watching recaps, and videos telling you the story is NOT the same as living it. A friend telling you about their nice lunch will not be as pleasant as you actually having a good lunch yourself, naturally. However, if you know what FF games are like, and that they are STORY FIRST, combat second, then you already know what to expect and are used to the world building and lore. This is one of my friend's first exposures to FF but he is a lore nerd and enjoyed ARR like I did. People who come into this game with a neutral or positive mentality on what they're getting into will have a more enjoyable time compared to ones who were told it's the worst part of the game and think of their seconds wasted. They consider the story skip more and more, which is tragic if they're there for the story. If you're a player there for the combat only, go nuts on whether you want to story skip or not but don't be that combat player who skipped everything and then complains about the expansions being shit story-wise, hates how much they're paying for the sub (which is not a lot) for what they're doing, or asks a million questions about the lore they didn't want in the first place. Because I'm just going to tell them "Go play New Game +". Of course, like stated, going through ARR with friends makes it easier. Hell, punish the friends who dared get you into it by demanding they go through ARR with you through NG+, it's only fair haha. Especially if you're struggling with the motivation, if they want you to get to the end they should help.
Thanks for the very well put together comment. I think there's some great advice in there. And thanks for checking this out, I'm honored you got some enjoyment out of it
i was putting you on second monitor while i work and felt like the music shifted into something familiar.... then it's fucking Bravely Default OST and it's an immediate subscribe from me holy shit
You mirror so much of my own sentiments. This is an absolutely lovely video - and my first here. I can definitely relate. MMOs are always more fun with friends. I have a friend group that - while it's had a few rotate in and out over the years - I've played with since I was a teenager. I was blessed with a friend who gifted me a copy of the core FFXIV game with 30 days free before I had to commit. Having them there definitely made it better. The Ifrit fight was the first spark for me that there was something interesting, more so in the aftermath of Titan. By that point I was sold enough to know I'd hit end game - Stormblood at the time. But, oh boy, I kept thinking the patch content was nearly done and I could mosey on ahead - but that was before the reaping and condensing of the massive 100 + quest slog. It really isn't as bad as we at Endgame might say it is, it is quite serviceable. It's just, there is *so* much better later down the line. I am currently a mentor. That's more of a recent development, but I've found myself giving out advice repeatedly in many situations, so I'd like to think I'm one of the better possessors of a Burger King Crown (I know quite a few mentors that are really great people.) Orbonne Monastary. Only a couple weeks after it had launched. I was a Bard, it was my only level 70 job at the time. First boss - wiped twice - beat it. Someone did a Vote/Abandon. We didn't. Some people left. Waited to replenish team. Rinse and repeat after every boss. I am actively being the chat cheerleader and explaining mechanics in /alliance chat. We didn't get to the last boss until there were only 20 minutes left in the raid. I didn't even get the Aiming hat I was after. But, I walked away laughing in voice with my friends, and taking away 5/7 possible comms as a DPS. I also remember my attempts at Kugane tower. I spent like, 3 in-game days on that thing before moving on, and trying a few times to finish it on my own. There were always people climbing it, somehow. So, on one particular attempt, I found a couple guys who invited me to a party. They showed me a Jump puzzle I didn't know about - the bath house - and then we made the climb to the top of Kugane tower. With them encouraging me (they even invited me to their Discord server) we finally made it to the top. It was a wonderful experience ^-^. I also remember a "Make it Rain" campaign where there were actual queue times to get into the Leap of Faith, and I found a Bard playing a tune I recognized. I shifted to Bard and started playing with him. It was.. not great, but we chatted while waiting for the queue pop. I thought that would be the end of it, but he friended me and we kept running into each other in Gridania. He's still a buddy of mine and a Deep Dungeon enthusiast. With his help, I have reached floor 200 of PotD, and 100 of HoH. Never thought I'd do that when I started. Yoshida and his team's commitment is part of why I love the Rising event so much and look forward to it each year. The holidays - any of them - can reflect the mood and messages they wish to convey , but as a unique holiday celebrating ARR, it is singularly Yoshida-san and company's time to shine. The year I joined, I think we had a repeatable quest where we could pick up litter on the beach from the Moonfire Faire. Turned out to be letters from the dev team - I did every one. It was also a very bold move to have a brand new soundtrack in the game by Masayoshi Soken. While he has proves himself a worthy match to Uematsu, it did take some time before he really got a chance to surpass him. Some of the 1.0 tracks really are wonderful. As a long time Final Fantasy fan, dating all the way back to the first NES title, I'm well pleased at all the winks, nods, and shout-outs to other FF games. They have always been self contained, and I was thinking 14 might just be fan-wankery, but it's not. They really do think how the things they bring in will work within the established world. Loosely speaking, the Life Stream and Materia hail from FF7 (though very different execution) and the Garleans definitely have the aesthetics of the Empire from FF6, down to the Magitek Ride Armor that Tera used in the intro. I even get to suplex a train! But, that all aside, you don't need inside knowledge to really care about this game or understand it. You know, I even remember when 1.0 was in the works. I remember seeing the news that it bombed on launch and my thought was "Bummer." A friend of mine really liked 11, and I was hoping 14 would be something we both could play. Well, now we can.
Excellent video! I’m happy you’re enjoying the story. Now, I’m not going to judge your HUD but I will say that (if you didn’t already know) you can shrink a lot of that stuff! But if you like it like that it’s totally up to you dude! Thanks for sharing the story that we love
I was just watching this to get a good sense of the views for you in particular and also because I might use this as a smaller alternative to other videos I’ve sent that they still haven’t watched. I was not expecting to find that not only was this the case, but you’re using too much Bravely music to not be noticed instantly by me just from Revo’s signature fairy dust when Town of Beginnings and Endings kicked up. Wondering now how much a fan you are, if you’re limited to the OSTs like some or something more of a major fan like me haha. That all aside, this was a great video. As someone who went into this game not expecting to like it just like I didn’t like MMOs normally or Modern FF either (still kinda hurt by 13 and 15), this video would’ve really helped convince me if I still wasn’t playing. I’ve now put well over even your playtime somehow, and to my surprise every time, I still have so… so… so much more I could always do, or just hang out. And unlike most MMOs where I feel that’s required, or most FF games where not doing it either hinders or helps the experience, this game found a balance. Not just one time, but through the entire journey. And like you, I can’t wait to see where we go from here. Stand tall, my friend, for our journey will never end.
Thanks for checking the video out! I will say While I haven't gotten very far with Bravery Default( I keep getting dunked in the first dungeon when you get Ringabel, still getting the hang of the combat system), Revo's music is absolute fire, and The Vagrant of Love is one of the coolest songs I have ever heard. Definitely agree that FF XIV strikes that balance of content required and just downtime to enjoy the world. Glad you enjoy it!
I like you have played allot of games! I love MMORPG's! I have played EQ, EQ2, GW, GW2, Rift, Wildstar, AION, WoW, just to name a few! FFXIV is my Main MMORPG! It has the best story I have ever experienced! It has saved me from being in a very dark place! It has touched my soul in the best way possible! I am stoked for the future story! Great vid, keep up the good work! Liked & Subbed! ;)
As of roughly 200 days ago of ingame playtime my journey into FFXIV was a bumpy one. But a very dear friend of mine kept me sane and pushed me to play. Offering me to play as a tank instead of a dps and well, on a beach in Limsa near Aleport for the next 5 levels i had it beaten into me what it means to be a tank. As of 3 days ago this little paladin on a beach in limsa and a bestest friend of 16 years sit watching the waves with now a gunblade on my back with the title "Legend". And what a journey it has been and i cant wait for the next one.
I love this video, This so very much is a video that would have gotten me to play this game if I wasnt already playing. The issues with the voice acting is very much due to the rush of making 2.0, and not so much the actors not being good. They didnt really have a director or a lot of time to voice their characters with a lot of nuance.
16:50 --- Nice moves :D 21:15 --- Honestly, the story started to get interesting for me, when Lahabrea summoned that horse sized scorpion to kill me (like, dude, I'm a lvl20something nobody, the hell did I do that you dump THAT on me??) ... and then the massaker after Titan... I still dont get the hate ARR gets from everywhere... I played WoW and GW2, and old GW1, and I can say to anyone asking: ARR is the superior game narratively and in matters of world building. Also, unlike other MMOs, FF14 goes from strength to strength, improving with every patch and expansion (though, yes, some would argue this point where Stormblood is concerned ^^°). Very good video :) I think the best "advice" you can give new players is: dont expect anything. If you played a MMO before, forget everything you learned there and treat this game as a wholly new experiance. Because, unlike pretty much every MMO out there (and especially the king, WoW) in FF14 the journey matters, not so much the destination. Meaning, dont focus on "endgame" but pay attention to the "now" - its quite telling that most high end raiders and those, who buy a story skip, almost all regred their decision :)
I think Lahabrea's very questionable decisions can be due to too many body jumping attempts, or it's a post-Endwalker spoiler 😅 (but yea he's not exactly the smartest schemer when you have Elidibus and Emet-Selch around)
@@crowdemon_archives I'm still very interested in how we get from ARR-Lahabrea (btw. did you do the solo duty after new Praetorium? - highly recommend :D ) to Pandeamonium-Lahabrea... Maybe we get some more info there... One can hope :D
Definitely in total agreement. Not going to lie, I cried several times in this video. This game has been and still is a once in a lifetime experience for me and is easily one of the most formative activities that I have ever put my time into. As someone who never had many friends because of a very rough and exclusive childhood, I have made lifelong connections in this game and have more friends just from this than I ever had IRL. I started out in a friend's FC who had a mansion, trying the game, to choosing Ninja as my first class (do not recommend. It's very hectic for new players), to eventually leaving to form my own FC with a couple close friends. Years of play and crafting and saving and trying, we managed to get a medium house and then in Endwalker we won a lottery on our mansion in Ishgard. 10 years later, it has been such a story of growth and progress and it feels nice to just look at how far I've come, all the people I've met, the friends I've made, and how much I've grown as a person, a Mentor, and a leader and friend to others because of the people I've met and the opportunities I've been given. FFXIV is home and I honestly don't know where I would be without it.
That's wonderful Nyx! Glad to hear you enjoyed the video, and thank you for sharing your experience! FFXIV is such an awesome game and its means a lot to hear how it affects people. Thank you for watching!
This game is so incredibly important to me, it's a wonderful world with many beautiful locales, wonderful characters, a welcoming playerbase, amazing musical variety/quality and most importantly of all, my friends... I have made so many friends on my adventures throughout eorzea and they mean so much to me, I've lost so many irl friends due to simply the passage of time and growing apart as life goes on but this felt like a new start for me. Hell I've met some of my closest friends just from doing the older version of this games pvp before the rework, "feast". I've made new best friends, many friends and even met my boyfriend through this game, hell one of my close friends that I met through pvp met his WIFE in this game and they live together irl! Theres so much to do and discover in this game and I wish you all the best possible adventure in the lands of eorzea/etheirys! This is Rin onishi from famfrit-primal, good night :)
i actually didn't mind ARR when i played through the first time! it can be a slog in some parts, but i think i was just so excited to be playing an mmo and getting to know the world and its characters that it more than made up for it. Endwalker though...Endwalker literally changed my life. in a good way. it's been well over a year since it came out, and i still watch certain cutscenes regularly and cry. i started tearing up when Flow played at the end of this video. it is such phenomenal and emotional storytelling. if you're asking yourself if you want to play FFXIV...just do yourself a favor and play it! it's probably my favorite video game story of all time.
I remember 1.0 I played on and off, my poor little miqo only making it to Lv 30 PUG, where I spent most days fishing near gridania because my PC wasnt exactly the best and it was the only activity it seemed to work without issue. Though these days that poor little miqo PUG became a Lv 80 DRG, complete with survivor tattoo which I have shown to many a streamer who was curious about it. A nice reminder than regardless of how bad things are, even at their worst, this little miqo toughed it out and made it.
I have been playing 8 months now, and at 1500 hour's I can attest to this game being amazing and addictive. Even at those hours, while I have completed the main MSQ, there is still so much to do and see.
Can I just say, when I first started playing around the time Stormblood came out, I rushed through ARR and Heavensward to get to "end game" because I hated the idea of being "behind." Ive been caught up ever since but I recently decided to start a new character on a different server and I've been having a blast. Im aking my time and immersing myself in the MSQ and side quests. Its all about having the right mind set going in.
I wanna share this with people to help explain why I love FFXIV so much. The story, the lands, the characters, the hope, and, at least for some of us, a way of being a more true and complete version of ourselves than we get to be in the physical world. While people generally don't have as favorable of an opinion of ARR (and with mostly good reason), I had an entirely new appreciation of it after finishing Endwalker. It made me see that there was actually a lot more depth behind what happens in ARR than I was able to understand when going through it for the first time without the context that comes much later.
Man, I have a lot of hours in this game, and more characters than some free companies, and this video really did capture what's great about this game. Really well done, my man. Though I really should have closed my eyes.
I’ve been playing this game on and off since ARR launched and finished Shadowbringers when it came out. I took a long break when Endwalker came out due to issues with someone I knew both in game and in real life. Just last month, I decided to come back. Logging in with my old toon brought back too many memories, so I decided to start fresh. Made a new character, logged in, answered Hydaelyn’s summons as if it was my first time. I cried as the scions gathered in the Waking Sands introducing themselves for “the first time”. I think I understand G’raha Tia a little better now. This is a journey I’d gladly retake.
There's undeniably something incredibly special about this game; timeless even finished ARR a few months ago and haven't played since Said I'd "take a break" after the slog of quests that is the base game Might be time to finally come back
As someone who just got to the end of ARR and just need to finish Crystal Tower to start Heavensword yeah ARR is a pain to get through in the beginning. About halfway through is when it starts to get good and the end segments after beating Ultima Weapon is when it begins to get REALLY good storywise
This was... a wonderful, amazing video. It almost made me tear up at times, and it very hard for me to cry. This game is tied with Okami as my 'Favorite Game of All Time', for different reasons. Okami is art in a literal sense, the music and visuals are wonderful. But, FFXIV? It, too, is art. The story, the music, the tales it tells, the bonds it forms. I have almost 10k hours in this game, playing with strangers and friends alike--even roleplaying as a general store owner who helps teach new adventurers via her job at her Grand Company. This game--this wonderful, amazing game--has made me not only cry, but sob aloud. Shadowbringers and Endwalker are two parts of the story that are not only amazing on their own, but made all the better by playing through the whole game. 10 years of story, with yet another 10 more to come. 'Tis a story about helping those who need help. About those who support you in your darkest hours. About the will to overcome and forge ahead despite deepest despair. So many quotes. So many memes. All loved by the community and the devs. Soken is... simply put, a massive memelord who loves the Otomatone. Yoshi-P has cried on stage out of care and orchestrated a live-action meme dance at a fanfest. Koji Fox is obsessed with references and loves to joke with us, in-jokes and popular ones. We've seen the bounties of the waters beneath, we've travelled far and wide and helped those who need it, and we've been to the literal end of the universe. Yet, despite that, we've still not even fully explored our planet. So I say this: stand tall, my friend, for our journey shall never end.
Ysayle was the first character that drew me in. It really felt like her and subsequently Hraesvylgr and then all the domino's after fell into place. Her as Shiva definitely elevated it
Amazing video, I've put over 3000 hours into this game since 2020 and FFXIV has come to feel like home to me. I do have one suggestion for you tho, if you haven't already customize your ui, the base ui in the game is pretty bad and the game gives you a lot of options for customization without having to use mods.
Thanks Vang! Yeah a few days after recording I've finally changed some elements of the UI to make it better, may watch a video for additional tips just to see what's possible, I really appreciate the time you took for the comment and checking out this video!
I like that they are willing to gently change arr. flying, duty support, removing some quests. Still yes it can drag but it is needed for the story. Oh yes and changing the dungeons and boss mechanics.
Yup good ear! Yeah I originally recorded JRPG, but after hearing Yoshi P comment through audio editing, I figured it would be a good thing to remove after hearing his perspective on the term. Thanks for checking this out!
Game is awesome, probably the best story in video games to date. I love world building so the ARR stuff didn’t even bother me and it does indeed get better from there. Started the game May 2021 and just got up to be ready for Endwalker with a week spare. Dove tail that into Elden Ring and it was probably one of the best stretches of gaming in my life.
I've been playing FFXIV since around patch 2.2 or so, it has cemented itself as my favorite game of all time and I hope it is one I will be able to share with my son when he is older. FFXI is still around so hey, maybe FFXIV will still be around by the time he's a teenager.
Great video! But dang you click all your spells? I found that keyboarding shift alt and ctrl to mouse buttons makes it so much easier. You can just keybind everything around wsad and use the modifiers for different bars
ffxiv is my very first mmo! started playing it back in 2021 because of the meme (lmao), spent almost 2 years of being a free trial player, over 300 hours during my ft stay (i think it took me 100+ hours to finish ARR) and now i hit over 650+ hours mark and i still wanna re experience it all over again (except for ARR have mercy) i miss the time i'd laugh, play with friends, fc members helping me out, crying over cutscenes at ungodly hour from stormblood to endwalker, being in awe for experiencing the musics for the first time, new boss mechanics, and many more. now i miss my favorite characters so much sometimes i wish i could have a found family like my wol does in the game :")
Hey its always possible! , Much like our WoL jumping into a new adventure with each new patch and expansion. Hope you find it soon and thanks for watching!
This game means so much to so many, its nigh on impossible to truly quantify just how much. During the pandemic especially, it was a way for people to still stay connected, to play and keep up with one another. You will make friends the world over, i certainly have. It has been a joy to stream, that I stream it all the time (i'm a bit of an altholic x'D) but I never tire of this journey. The story is so good, that there are still moments where i feel i have to be silent, for the story deserves that. The fact this journey is still not over, that this is just the end of one story is exciting!
The community has its ups and downs, but what community doesn't? I remember the day Miura, the mangaka for Beserk passed away. All worlds on all data centers got together, lined the streets of Ul'dah, swapped to either dark knight (or bard, or at least wore black) and stood there, in honor of this man. Although i'm not a big fan of Beserk, even i cannot deny his influence on FF as a whole, or fantasy in general. Yoshi-P later on during an interview thanked the community for this, it was even talked about in a gaming journal.
Then Soken. A musical wizard, who hid his struggles until the last fanfest, and seeing those two on stage, moved fans to do something in game for him as well. Everyone who works on XIV have earned our respect over the years, and for very good reason. It's also why I'm so excited for XVI! All in all, this is a fantastic game, one that deserves to at least be tried, if not played in its entirety.
See you in Etheryis!
Thank you for this comment, would you feel alright if I pinned it?
@@Pollymacho go right ahead x3 btw if u ever see an I'shevi Tia, that's me xD he's the alt i make the most, tho his main is on Famfrit! owo>
I can't go over all of this with my current migraine but I will say the story and gameplay is really good for it's time and continues to innovate and improve.
This game reconnected me and a few friends of mine and was the MMORPG my brother and I got to play together. I got back into it since I never got into MMORPGs but when I finished ARR the story really started the grip me. Then I hit all the patch content back when it wasn't trimmed down and was a bit of a slog to power through, but the story was still good. Then I hit heavensward and fell in love.
No one expansion is bad, it's just varying levels of good and great. It's got a little something for everyone and the game lets you do what you want and play how you want with it's toolbox of toys.
Definitely one game I always come back to and I've debated redoing another character on.
@@Simmons101 once u do one character more ur doomed xD tho if u do decide to do it, i highly recommend doing a different race and possibly even gender! some scenes are different depending on ur race or gender, and even ur type of class! it's such neat details that has me doing it all the time xD
Excellent work :)
Man, you weren't kidding when you told the guys on Grinding Gear that you watch every FFXIV video on youtube =P
Holy cow dude thank you so much! Your video with the comparison with FFXIV and WoW got me so hyped to try it out ! You make great stuff too!
Every new video is a meeting between emotional vampires.
I once saw people made a comment said
"You either quit ARR or become a walking advertisement"
Still true
I like to overly simplify the situation in ARR by saying "it gets good when Shiva steps on you."
2ND HALF OF SHIVAS THEME BLASTS*
i-
i mean
i mean you arnt incorrect
That’s so incredibly accurate tho memes aside lol
I’m a legacy player, I have my name in the end credits of ARR. There is no other journey in gaming as epic as XIV. The disaster launch, the reborn and relaunch, the expansions, the community and the dev team is an incredible story. I will play this as long as Square Enix supports it.
Yeah the sheer fact they built the failure into the story is the coolest thing to me
It’s funny I got recommended this video because I just started playing this game today😂 I was already getting bored of the main quest, but knowing it gets better latter on help a lot. Imma take my time and enjoy the game slowly
I'm currently about 3900 hours in this game (startet when Heavensward was freshly released) and I promise you the wait is definitely worth it! Shadowbringers and Endwalker brought me to tears more than once :D But yeah, the msq starts very slow and in my opinion Stormblood is a step back from Heavensward, but like I said: Shadowbringers and Endwalker got a fantastic story
Woah, what a coincidence, and right on! take your time and hope you dig it!
Yup, realm reborn has slow start but good ending. Heavensward is really good with story. Stormblood felt like it overstayed and should have been better if it had ended an hour or two ago. Currently going through Shadowbringers, halfway almost and I can guarantee this is the best out of all expansions so far for me. It engaging and heartfelt from the beginning and pacing is good so far.
When they say the game gets better, they meant the story gets better. Gameplay wise, the fights and dungeon design get better too, but not to a groundbreaking level. It’s basically like reading a graphic novel.
I find that I get msq fatigue after a while, no matter how good the story is. But there are lots of other things to do. Crafting, housing, other jobs, the gold saucer. I took years to finish realm reborn because i kept getting distracted by other areas of the game 😅
I just started ffxiv and for years I heard praise of this game, I always wanted to play so I did the free trail years ago and my character did get up to level 60. So years later I did pick up the game again from the start and paid the subscription and it was worth it. So far I’m going pretty slow with the msq because I get distracted easily. There is just so much to do and I love that, I get to do so much in the world. But what made me feel so welcome was the other players. I have social anxiety and its hard for me to talk to people even online but everyone so far in my journey I met has been so nice. Everyone is so welcoming to sprouts and they’re willing to be patient with them and teach them and I love that. Especially my fc has been very nice and welcomed, I’m not going to lie I cried when I made friends within the game and that is pretty stupid thing but for someone like with social anxiety who has a hard time making friends lately, I felt loved, welcomed and not alone anymore when I play games. I’m glad I picked up this game and hope to enjoy more of the game and hopefully make more friends along the way.
I also suffer with social anxiety, and struggle to make friends, and I just want to say, Welcome Back to Eorzea, fellow Warrior of Light. We're so happy you're back with us again.
Good for you buddy. I wish I’d be able to make some friends in this game too. I’ve been playing this game for almost a decade and managed to keep my friends list pretty empty. I find it hard to speak in my fc because I also have social anxiety.
@@smellybearc7411 same
I have been playing Final Fantasy XIV since the last beta phase in August 2013, meeting new players and seeing old players throughout my time. I have maxed out all my jobs, my crafting and gathering classes, done extreme fights, raids, and became a mentor to help other players in the field and in dungeons. I love hearing these stories from others about their experiences in XIV, and am glad that you have enjoyed yourself.
That’s sounds similar to me, though I go back to pre-order 1.0 days. But yeah, it’s been quite the trip seeing people every year enjoying the journey.
I'm crying, the compilation of each expansion and their ratings at 29:14 hit me so hard.
Thank you for this great video on this amazing game ❤
Misson accomplished! Thanks for checking it out!
I've been playing FFXIV for more than a month now, and just reached the end of base HW. The game has honestly been one of my favourite gaming experiences I've had, and the hours I've put into the game has rewarded with me such a great time, from the music, the story, and the people who've been helping me along the way! This video made me even more excited to continue, I loved watching it :)
Thanks Barney! Have a blast with the game!
Welcome to the family!
The "End of an Era" cinematic never fails to make me tear up. This game gives you such emotional attachment that few others can.
Something about the music in final fantasy in general to me has always been good at bringing out emotions
9:39 That's one of the reasons I absolutely love Leap of Faith. It's just so nice when people stay at the end and welcome you or support you with glowsticks. Even when I'm still jumping I feel that strange connection when I see someone failing the same jump as me or I'm happy seeing them success
Omg, your story with Kugane Tower really got to me. My bf and I were playing through SB for the first time and accidentally found out about the jump puzzle, which from then, we completely stopped whatever we were doing to try and complete the jump puzzle for our first time LOL Soon after, someone else started attempting their own first time with the tower too!! We ended up actually befriending them and made it up to the top around the same time. Eventually, they even accepted our invite and attended our in-game wedding anniversary. I've also played other MMOs and for real, it spoke volumes of how amazing the FFXIV community could be. It really impacted me as someone who had poor MMORPG experiences in the past.
Woah that's awesome! Thanks for sharing that dope story!
One thing I love about FFXIV is how it lets me continue to be introverted, while still being a "massively multiplayer" game. I do still enjoy playing with others every now and then, but for the most part, I like not having to chat, or voice chat with anyone. Or even not having to be in a grand company to do everything I want to do. I played WoW for years up until Shadowlands, where I just couldn't play it anymore, due to the lack of repetitiveness and what felt like forced communications with the Mythic+ dungeons and other stuff. But this is a game that lets you play at your own pace and on your own terms.
Ive cried so much playing this game the story truly is beautiful, im an avid msq procrastinator but man im so excited for where the story takes the warrior of light. (at the beginning of stormblood atm)
Lol same on the procrastination part, I've been subbed for 390 days but I'm literally at the start of Stormblood. I cleared arr and heavensward in a week, but mainly due to me waiting for my friends to catch up my sub count kept getting longer. Subbed even when they didn't, and just grinded other jobs, Gill hunting in the marketplace, crafting, gathering, mounts, relics, pvp etc, alot of stuff to do even when you don't progress through the expansions
That's awesome you guys! Defiantly take it at your own pace and have a great time! I hear there's this crazy tower latter on lol.
Oh man, stock up on tissues for Shadowbringers and Endwalker if you've cried a lot already! It took me ages to get through MSQ to EW but somehow it just keeps getting better and better
Oh man ... if you've cried this much already and are just at the beginning of StB now, you might want to look into having a therapist on standby for later ...
I'm not exactly prone to crying in games (with, say, RDR2 being a noted exception, as well as some older FF titles), but Shadowbringers and Endwalker absolutely DESTROYED me. Multiple times.
I cried at RDR2, didn't with shadowbringers (was devastating though, and honestly i'm still working through that ending), hopefully Endwalker goes crazy for me
Wow an amazing video! Thank you for this, I am installing the game just now.
So I'm a Shadowbringers Sprout. I joined during the great WoW migration in 2021. I'm not even close to remembering the end of 1.0. AND YET! And yet, the reason why the videos of Bahamut laying waste to the game world resonate so much with me is not because of the event, it's because of the music. The echoes of "Answers" getting stronger and stronger. "Answers" is an incredibly powerful piece of music that starts with nothing but voices and ends in this beautiful, cacophonous rallying cry for salvation and peace and direction in this crazy rip in reality that we call life. I was going through houses in the residential districts and I had to stop and listen to it for the first time, and really listen. It sent me to tears.
I know you highlighted the work that Soken has poured into his compositions, but I feel like "Answers" is exemplary of just how much music means in the moment. It takes a special kind of synergy and trust between directors to really pull something so cohesive together.
Very well said!
Started playing in 2021. I went through the whole story, it was the best journey I ever experienced in a game and I'm excited for the future and curious where it will lead us.
Especially towards the end of the story, in Shadowbringers and Endwalker, I cried several times. And not necessarily because it was sad, but also out of joy, because it was such a well written and beautiful experience that makes you feel for the characters.
And while watching this video, I started crying again, because I remembered those impactful story parts :')
I'm already excited to spend another few hundred hours to replay the story in a few years or so when I forgot most of the details again :D Until then, I'm decorating my house, do extreme content, grind mentor roulette and discover all of the features and side quests I may not have tried or experienced yet.
Right on Jennifer! I'm doing something similar too about the side content I forgot to do while enjoying the MSQ(finally doing the Eden raids I've heard are really cool!) Thanks for watching!
I started playing when Shadowbringers got released i wanted to stop on ARR but my friend who i was playing with(she plays since HW release) told me not to and always pushed me to play tru ARR, i didnt buy story skip cuz she didnt let me do it and i kept playing, oh boy. All of sudden i loved FFXIV and still play it and still loving the damn game. Honestly im completely addicted to it and i blame my friend and specially Yoshi P. v.v.
I've always felt that JRPG storytelling is way more personal and visceral than the other branches. And the reason I liked XIV story way more than WOW and GW2 is because the games makes a massive effort to make it personal. After all, you are the Warrior of Light, and the more you progress through the story, the narrative entangles player and character more and more. You are not a random adventurer that by coincidence was at the right time on the right place. Your reason to live, to fight, to carry on is being constantly put in check, and Endwalker delivers a masterpiece of a existentialist plot and hits like a goddamn truck.
That is incredibly well put, the more time as gone on, the more I have appreciated Endwalker so much. I'm glad we can all share such an amazing experience with this game!
Endwalker for me hit like a truck made of other, explosive trucks. It hit me so bad (I cleared msq the very Sunday after launch), that I stood near the entrance of the final area and cheered on everyone that arrived.
For THREE DAYS.
@@MrTalithan Yeah, Endwalker was something else man ...
After a ... certain cutscene about 2/3 through the game (I'm sure you know which one), I felt the urgent need to pour myself a scotch just to cope. I hadn't previously known that a game could *hurt* so much.
For me ARR was like "huh, this is like good World of Warcraft expansion, generic fantasy with kinda cheesy plot". Then post-ARR happens (42 minute cutscene, which feels like it is 10 minute ) aaaaand, well, I found my fullfillment.
42 minute cutscene? wtf looking forward to it...when does this cutscene happen? i will have to make sure that i have the time to watch it fully :D
@@MindstalkerMedia You don't want to know when it's coming. Very often the game will warn you "several cutscenes will play in sequence" whenever something like this will happen. The majority of the time that warning just means 15 minutes of talking without a break to back out and have the game save, but always be prepared for at least half an hour just in case. THAT cutscene (the 42 minute one) is an absolute whammy of a storytelling beat and you want to be completely blindsided by it for best effect. Forget about it. It'll happen when it happens. Assume it won't be any time soon.
42 MINUTE CUTSCENE WTF. I am so glad I skipped the story in this game like damn that is way too long to be watching 2001 style unvoiced cutscenes.
@@chef416 pretty sure that entire 42 minutes there are voiced or atleast a big majority of it is voiced.
Stop being so impatient and just try to enjoy a good story being told..
@@pleasedontkillme1185 I'm not sure if it's impatience, I'm just not interested in the story part of the game. It's not why I started and I feel no need to go back for it, I'm here for the gameplay and fortunately they have nothing to do with each other because SE don't like to teach anybody about the game or make any useful information available in-game.
I don't play this game currently, and haven't seriously played in some time. However I played during 1.0, and a bit here and there during ARR into HW.
Whenever I talk to people about video games, especially MMO's, I always tell the story of FFXIV. FFXIV's launch, shutdown, rebuild and relaunch, and the time following this all is truly an amazing display of actual community engagement and care.
You did a great job of telling that story. Awesome video.
Thank you Adam. That's very nice of you to say!
Very well done with this video. The script and representation was excellent. And made me realy happy.
I have been playing ffxiv for 10 year's and love meeting and helping new players. And I really think this video hits what makes the game special.
For those who have just started I wish you safe adventures.
Welcome to ffxiv.
^_^
Me with more than 5 times the amount of playtime than you: Why yes. Do tell me of the beautiful journey of FFXIV.
I am just about there with you at 4x
Hello there! Seeing your take with the whole experience makes me nostalgic. I'm still playing FFXIV grinding some current endgame stuff but I agree whole heartedly that ARR was slow even for my taste but it rewards you immensely after. I did enjoy ARR but what solidified by love for this game was Heavensward and what made me more invested was Shadowbringers. Up until now, the entire story arc of Hydaelyn and Zodiark is a rollercoaster for me. I haven't been as much as an emotional player before but this game made attached and emotional until the very end.
Glad the video brought some nostalgia for your time with the game! Looking forward to seeing that they have in store for us in future updates!
I'm one of the few people that has loved FFXIV from start to finish. I LOVED ARR, and maybe it was because I was so burnt out on WoW, but the story and the fresh beginning just felt so good to me. I also recognized alot of the VAs, so that was fun for me too. I've just had an absolute ride with every part of the game, and I can't wait for the next chapter! 😄
Been playing ffxiv for about 2.5 years now (since shb) and I've loved every moment. You hit on all the points I'd talk about to convince other people to give it a shot and then some. At this point I've convinced several of my friends to try it out and now they're caught up too and trying to convince their friends to play as well lol. Here's to another 10 years of ffxiv!
I finally got into the game back in last September.
This is now one of the best games I have ever played after beating EndWalker back in April.
It's such a beautiful experience.
It has probably my favorite storyline of the entire series.
I could go on for a literal essay for this game.
The smiles, laughs, depressing moments, inspiring moments, and literal teaes shed.
I did not expect this game to impact me the way it did. I have not had a game stick with me and give me this much of an impact since I was still younger.
I was one of the WoW refugees last year (or was that almost two years ago now). I went through from start to finish and took a little over a year to go through each of the expansions and the content (trials / relic weapons / etc) as it was relevant. However, as I made it through Stormblood (post-MSQ Doma story) and into Shadowbringers (snap) I realized just how special this game and its storytelling was. Endwalker was a truly masterful resolution to the story going all the way back to ARR (and possibly beforehand). I look forward to returning in the future to continue the adventure.
Thank youu! This exactly what makes the FFXIV great. The moments you have with people. Struggling together, winning together, goofing off together. It makes the time you spent on the game memorable.
Great video, Diamond Dust was also the moment i was hooked. Oblivion is one of my favourite songs from FF14.
Thank you for this video Pollymacho! I have had a very on-off relationship with FFXIV, but I don't think I ever really let it in. I think I spent so much time lamenting what it's not rather than appreciate it for what it is.
I picked it up again recently, and I'm in love. Great work! ❤️
Awesome to hear your giving it another shot. glad you enjoyed the video!
I dont know why but lately my youtube recommendations page is full of first time players reviews of the game and they are all so good :)
I loved your video!
Aw thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for your story. It reminds me of my first day on this game and had no idea how great it would payoff after almost 10 years of playing. It’s once-in-a-lifetime experience and I’m so lucky to be a part of it. This game is one of my most beautiful memories in my life.
it's so cool to hear different content creators' reasons why they play. you said you play for the story, and someone else said they play for chillin with friends and killing stuff together. it's so cool how much this game offers for different types of players man. cool video dude!
This was a glorious summary. Amazingly well done. Thank you for putting into words what I have a hard time explaining to others myself.
Thank you for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!
After watching virtually every video on UA-cam about this game, this is by far the best video anyone could be shown to explain exactly why this game is so good. I will def be forwarding this to anyone I think would be interested in the game!
Thats incredibly nice of you to say. Thank you!
Wow, thank you. Your passion and beautiful narration is inspiring. I've been with FF14 since the beginning, and you have caught why I play. Beautiful. *drops mic*
Thanks Jodi, I'm honored by your kind words!
Great video, I'm really surprised to see you still have under 1k subs. I would love to see a spoiler talk video about your thoughts on the parts of the story you couldn't get into here.
Thanks Justin! I'll give it the idea some thought!
i loved your anecdotes of player interaction! the reason i love this game is playing with other people, that i've never met and never will meet again
just yesterday i was gathering a rotation of nodes, to get an endgame gatherer currency. there were 2 other people doing the same rotation as me. somehow we became the "scrip gang" and chatted while we waited for the items we needed to spawn. when someone arrived to the next area late we teased them for being late to "scrip gang". then we all finished our gathering and went our own ways.
That's awesome! Thanks for sharing the tale of the scrip gang!
Jesus that HUD of yours is BIG! Just felt the need to say that before I keep watching lmao.
Yeah my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be. For real though thanks for checking this out!
This was a great video, also heck you with ending the video with flow!
That track is so good I couldn't justify not attempting to put it in the video, thanks for checking this out!
Really well told and written video! absolutely loved watching that
Thanks Thomas! It means a lot!
Man this video is so good, fantastic job really.
Thank you Austin!
What drew me to the game was a very well done April Fool's Day joke in 2019! The "Omega Home Assistant" video that S-E put out that year is what got me to stop procrastinating and give it a shot. Later that month, I went all in and bought the Stormblood Complete Collector's Edition on the PS4.
I regret nothing, save for the fact that I would have been here sooner had I caught 2018's April Fools' Day video which turned out to be even funnier.
Excellent video! It's always so pleasant to hear players' stories of how they discovered the game and their journeys and how they match up with (and differ from) my own. I tried out the ARR beta on my wife's account and then decided to get my own account in 2.1 in large part because of Tumbling Down, the boss theme from the Crystal Tower raids that is a rearrangement of the Final Fantasy 3 boss music.
...somehow I have 637+ days in here according to my /playtime since then and while, yes, of course a bunch of that is afking or just standing around chatting, it's astonishing to me that something could hold my interest this long.
That's awesome! Sweet to hear and its gotta be awesome to follow the game for a while and see it grow over time. And thanks for checking this video out and the nice comment!
Been playing FFXIV for just over two years now. When I checked my playtime last (a few minutes before posting this comment) it said "Total Play Time: 449 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes".
This game is my single most played game. It has captured my heart. It is enjoyable to the extreme. From doing the MSQ to casual dungeons to the savage raids to the ultimates... nothing is not enjoyable to me.
I've made friends because of this game. I've grown closer to other friends. My FC is made mostly of friends from Monster Hunter who joined me and my boyfriend in the world of FFXIV.
Wait, so you're saying that of those just over 2 years, you spent roughly 2/3 of your time ingame?
... how does that even work? I mean, that's almost 11k hours.
@@rogthepirate4593 To be fair, I didn't have much else going on. It was during the height of the pandemic that I started playing and literally had nowhere else to go or do because of my area being completely shut down. So I just... played FFXIV since I couldn't do anything else or go anywhere else.
@@thatdragonperson damn. Still, impressive. I did start playing during the lockdowns as well, but I don't even have 1/10 of that playtime on record haha
@@rogthepirate4593 Haha, it kinda became a hyper focus for me as well. Like I had Shadowbringers beat within a month and a half of starting the game. And it was a few months later that I had gotten all my jobs to the level cap at the time, which was 80. And then I started doing high end content. AND THEN ENDWALKER CAME OUT LMAO. Didn't help also that I have replayed the story dozens of times using New Game Plus because of how much I enjoyed it.
I really no-lifed the game.
1:05 oh I remember when I was just a tiny sprout.... that was... 1400 hours ago... (yes I have over 2000 hours in FF14 in 2 years) :D
You know, I've put over 800 hours into the game in the last couple years, but you just made me want to forget all that and play it all again.
That's quite the feat, well done! Thanks for watching!
FFXIV is my childhood and I am so incredibly grateful that it is. Especially Heavensword, my love for dragons got even greater which I didn't thought would be possible. I love XIV and I wish everyone a beautiful time for my favorite game
Can’t believe I’ve been playing this game almost 10 years.
This game is just…revolutionary
Great video! Thank you for sharing your journey with us!
Thanks Jason for checking this out!
I love this video, it reminds me of all I love about FFXIV and it's community, thank you so much for making this and sharing your experiences. I'm not even going to lie, I cried a bit in the Version 1.0 section when going over the expansions and their rating.
On the topic of the ARR "slog". I find all my friends who I've roped into the game have enjoyed ARR since I don't tell them "it sucks" or some variant. I myself didn't find it boring either, but that's because I gobble up lore like a starving cat who's been hungry for two weeks, and I wasn't told "ARR sucks" until I was in SB. We all agree is it the weakest (Actually I dislike Post ARR far more than ARR, the last ten quests of Post ARR being good does not make Post ARR good) but we don't think it is bad or sucks. It depends what you started the game for and what kind of player you are. If you started the game to catch up with all your friends in EnW asap, you're screwed and you won't enjoy yourself at all because you're just sitting through every moment wondering when you'll be watched up when it will take another 300 hours. These are the people who tend to skip and then complain about EnW being "mid" because they're not attached to the characters like you would be if you watched them grow and bond with each other and "you" through the last 300 hours. EnW is the the final buildup and stretch of this longass journey we've been on, the reward for making it this far, of course you won't enjoy it as much as you should when you don't even remember who Alphinaud is, and who the hell is this grey haired elezen? No- watching recaps, and videos telling you the story is NOT the same as living it. A friend telling you about their nice lunch will not be as pleasant as you actually having a good lunch yourself, naturally.
However, if you know what FF games are like, and that they are STORY FIRST, combat second, then you already know what to expect and are used to the world building and lore. This is one of my friend's first exposures to FF but he is a lore nerd and enjoyed ARR like I did. People who come into this game with a neutral or positive mentality on what they're getting into will have a more enjoyable time compared to ones who were told it's the worst part of the game and think of their seconds wasted. They consider the story skip more and more, which is tragic if they're there for the story.
If you're a player there for the combat only, go nuts on whether you want to story skip or not but don't be that combat player who skipped everything and then complains about the expansions being shit story-wise, hates how much they're paying for the sub (which is not a lot) for what they're doing, or asks a million questions about the lore they didn't want in the first place. Because I'm just going to tell them "Go play New Game +".
Of course, like stated, going through ARR with friends makes it easier. Hell, punish the friends who dared get you into it by demanding they go through ARR with you through NG+, it's only fair haha. Especially if you're struggling with the motivation, if they want you to get to the end they should help.
Thanks for the very well put together comment. I think there's some great advice in there. And thanks for checking this out, I'm honored you got some enjoyment out of it
I love watching journey videos of FFXIV. I teared up a bit XD
Checked playtime and I finally have a years worth of days. It truly is a wonderful game.
i was putting you on second monitor while i work and felt like the music shifted into something familiar.... then it's fucking Bravely Default OST and it's an immediate subscribe from me holy shit
Ey glad to hear that! Revo's music is insanely good!
You mirror so much of my own sentiments. This is an absolutely lovely video - and my first here. I can definitely relate.
MMOs are always more fun with friends. I have a friend group that - while it's had a few rotate in and out over the years - I've played with since I was a teenager. I was blessed with a friend who gifted me a copy of the core FFXIV game with 30 days free before I had to commit. Having them there definitely made it better. The Ifrit fight was the first spark for me that there was something interesting, more so in the aftermath of Titan. By that point I was sold enough to know I'd hit end game - Stormblood at the time. But, oh boy, I kept thinking the patch content was nearly done and I could mosey on ahead - but that was before the reaping and condensing of the massive 100 + quest slog. It really isn't as bad as we at Endgame might say it is, it is quite serviceable. It's just, there is *so* much better later down the line.
I am currently a mentor. That's more of a recent development, but I've found myself giving out advice repeatedly in many situations, so I'd like to think I'm one of the better possessors of a Burger King Crown (I know quite a few mentors that are really great people.) Orbonne Monastary. Only a couple weeks after it had launched. I was a Bard, it was my only level 70 job at the time. First boss - wiped twice - beat it. Someone did a Vote/Abandon. We didn't. Some people left. Waited to replenish team. Rinse and repeat after every boss. I am actively being the chat cheerleader and explaining mechanics in /alliance chat. We didn't get to the last boss until there were only 20 minutes left in the raid. I didn't even get the Aiming hat I was after. But, I walked away laughing in voice with my friends, and taking away 5/7 possible comms as a DPS.
I also remember my attempts at Kugane tower. I spent like, 3 in-game days on that thing before moving on, and trying a few times to finish it on my own. There were always people climbing it, somehow. So, on one particular attempt, I found a couple guys who invited me to a party. They showed me a Jump puzzle I didn't know about - the bath house - and then we made the climb to the top of Kugane tower. With them encouraging me (they even invited me to their Discord server) we finally made it to the top. It was a wonderful experience ^-^. I also remember a "Make it Rain" campaign where there were actual queue times to get into the Leap of Faith, and I found a Bard playing a tune I recognized. I shifted to Bard and started playing with him. It was.. not great, but we chatted while waiting for the queue pop. I thought that would be the end of it, but he friended me and we kept running into each other in Gridania. He's still a buddy of mine and a Deep Dungeon enthusiast. With his help, I have reached floor 200 of PotD, and 100 of HoH. Never thought I'd do that when I started.
Yoshida and his team's commitment is part of why I love the Rising event so much and look forward to it each year. The holidays - any of them - can reflect the mood and messages they wish to convey , but as a unique holiday celebrating ARR, it is singularly Yoshida-san and company's time to shine. The year I joined, I think we had a repeatable quest where we could pick up litter on the beach from the Moonfire Faire. Turned out to be letters from the dev team - I did every one. It was also a very bold move to have a brand new soundtrack in the game by Masayoshi Soken. While he has proves himself a worthy match to Uematsu, it did take some time before he really got a chance to surpass him. Some of the 1.0 tracks really are wonderful.
As a long time Final Fantasy fan, dating all the way back to the first NES title, I'm well pleased at all the winks, nods, and shout-outs to other FF games. They have always been self contained, and I was thinking 14 might just be fan-wankery, but it's not. They really do think how the things they bring in will work within the established world. Loosely speaking, the Life Stream and Materia hail from FF7 (though very different execution) and the Garleans definitely have the aesthetics of the Empire from FF6, down to the Magitek Ride Armor that Tera used in the intro. I even get to suplex a train! But, that all aside, you don't need inside knowledge to really care about this game or understand it.
You know, I even remember when 1.0 was in the works. I remember seeing the news that it bombed on launch and my thought was "Bummer." A friend of mine really liked 11, and I was hoping 14 would be something we both could play. Well, now we can.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, this was awesome!
Great video. Been watching while I'm doing early parts of the MSQ on my first character :)
That's great to hear! Have a blast with the MSQ and enjoy any side content that looks fun!
Excellent video! I’m happy you’re enjoying the story. Now, I’m not going to judge your HUD but I will say that (if you didn’t already know) you can shrink a lot of that stuff! But if you like it like that it’s totally up to you dude! Thanks for sharing the story that we love
I appreciate the tip and thank you so much for checking this out! Glad you enjoyed it!
I was just watching this to get a good sense of the views for you in particular and also because I might use this as a smaller alternative to other videos I’ve sent that they still haven’t watched.
I was not expecting to find that not only was this the case, but you’re using too much Bravely music to not be noticed instantly by me just from Revo’s signature fairy dust when Town of Beginnings and Endings kicked up. Wondering now how much a fan you are, if you’re limited to the OSTs like some or something more of a major fan like me haha.
That all aside, this was a great video. As someone who went into this game not expecting to like it just like I didn’t like MMOs normally or Modern FF either (still kinda hurt by 13 and 15), this video would’ve really helped convince me if I still wasn’t playing. I’ve now put well over even your playtime somehow, and to my surprise every time, I still have so… so… so much more I could always do, or just hang out. And unlike most MMOs where I feel that’s required, or most FF games where not doing it either hinders or helps the experience, this game found a balance. Not just one time, but through the entire journey. And like you, I can’t wait to see where we go from here. Stand tall, my friend, for our journey will never end.
Thanks for checking the video out! I will say While I haven't gotten very far with Bravery Default( I keep getting dunked in the first dungeon when you get Ringabel, still getting the hang of the combat system), Revo's music is absolute fire, and The Vagrant of Love is one of the coolest songs I have ever heard. Definitely agree that FF XIV strikes that balance of content required and just downtime to enjoy the world. Glad you enjoy it!
I like you have played allot of games! I love MMORPG's! I have played EQ, EQ2, GW, GW2, Rift, Wildstar, AION, WoW, just to name a few! FFXIV is my Main MMORPG! It has the best story I have ever experienced! It has saved me from being in a very dark place! It has touched my soul in the best way possible! I am stoked for the future story! Great vid, keep up the good work! Liked & Subbed! ;)
Thank you Scott! Glad you liked it!
As of roughly 200 days ago of ingame playtime my journey into FFXIV was a bumpy one. But a very dear friend of mine kept me sane and pushed me to play. Offering me to play as a tank instead of a dps and well, on a beach in Limsa near Aleport for the next 5 levels i had it beaten into me what it means to be a tank.
As of 3 days ago this little paladin on a beach in limsa and a bestest friend of 16 years sit watching the waves with now a gunblade on my back with the title "Legend". And what a journey it has been and i cant wait for the next one.
I love this video, This so very much is a video that would have gotten me to play this game if I wasnt already playing. The issues with the voice acting is very much due to the rush of making 2.0, and not so much the actors not being good. They didnt really have a director or a lot of time to voice their characters with a lot of nuance.
Great video. I had watched through the whole 30 minutes without even noticing.
You honor with me with a comment like this, thank you!
Why Mentors are either the worst gatekeeping snobs or nicest helping players with NO inbetween is a mystery science will have to tackle one day.
Meanwhile I never bother with the Mentorship lol
Just help on the way if I need to 😅
Beautifully done man. I’m new to the game (level 25 ish) and this just sealed the deal on me deciding to stick with it
I'm honored to have such a role, have a wonderful time and thanks for watching!
16:50 --- Nice moves :D
21:15 --- Honestly, the story started to get interesting for me, when Lahabrea summoned that horse sized scorpion to kill me (like, dude, I'm a lvl20something nobody, the hell did I do that you dump THAT on me??) ... and then the massaker after Titan...
I still dont get the hate ARR gets from everywhere... I played WoW and GW2, and old GW1, and I can say to anyone asking: ARR is the superior game narratively and in matters of world building. Also, unlike other MMOs, FF14 goes from strength to strength, improving with every patch and expansion (though, yes, some would argue this point where Stormblood is concerned ^^°).
Very good video :) I think the best "advice" you can give new players is: dont expect anything. If you played a MMO before, forget everything you learned there and treat this game as a wholly new experiance. Because, unlike pretty much every MMO out there (and especially the king, WoW) in FF14 the journey matters, not so much the destination. Meaning, dont focus on "endgame" but pay attention to the "now" - its quite telling that most high end raiders and those, who buy a story skip, almost all regred their decision :)
I think Lahabrea's very questionable decisions can be due to too many body jumping attempts, or it's a post-Endwalker spoiler 😅
(but yea he's not exactly the smartest schemer when you have Elidibus and Emet-Selch around)
@@crowdemon_archives I'm still very interested in how we get from ARR-Lahabrea (btw. did you do the solo duty after new Praetorium? - highly recommend :D ) to Pandeamonium-Lahabrea... Maybe we get some more info there... One can hope :D
Definitely in total agreement. Not going to lie, I cried several times in this video. This game has been and still is a once in a lifetime experience for me and is easily one of the most formative activities that I have ever put my time into. As someone who never had many friends because of a very rough and exclusive childhood, I have made lifelong connections in this game and have more friends just from this than I ever had IRL. I started out in a friend's FC who had a mansion, trying the game, to choosing Ninja as my first class (do not recommend. It's very hectic for new players), to eventually leaving to form my own FC with a couple close friends. Years of play and crafting and saving and trying, we managed to get a medium house and then in Endwalker we won a lottery on our mansion in Ishgard. 10 years later, it has been such a story of growth and progress and it feels nice to just look at how far I've come, all the people I've met, the friends I've made, and how much I've grown as a person, a Mentor, and a leader and friend to others because of the people I've met and the opportunities I've been given. FFXIV is home and I honestly don't know where I would be without it.
That's wonderful Nyx! Glad to hear you enjoyed the video, and thank you for sharing your experience! FFXIV is such an awesome game and its means a lot to hear how it affects people. Thank you for watching!
This game is so incredibly important to me, it's a wonderful world with many beautiful locales, wonderful characters, a welcoming playerbase, amazing musical variety/quality and most importantly of all, my friends... I have made so many friends on my adventures throughout eorzea and they mean so much to me, I've lost so many irl friends due to simply the passage of time and growing apart as life goes on but this felt like a new start for me. Hell I've met some of my closest friends just from doing the older version of this games pvp before the rework, "feast". I've made new best friends, many friends and even met my boyfriend through this game, hell one of my close friends that I met through pvp met his WIFE in this game and they live together irl! Theres so much to do and discover in this game and I wish you all the best possible adventure in the lands of eorzea/etheirys! This is Rin onishi from famfrit-primal, good night :)
of course, To The Edge would be used for the vid's climax, good job
Thank you, it's to good not to use!
There's no way I could close my eyes when a handsome man was dancing on my screen. Great video~
Glad you enjoyed the video! And I'm honored.
i actually didn't mind ARR when i played through the first time! it can be a slog in some parts, but i think i was just so excited to be playing an mmo and getting to know the world and its characters that it more than made up for it.
Endwalker though...Endwalker literally changed my life. in a good way. it's been well over a year since it came out, and i still watch certain cutscenes regularly and cry. i started tearing up when Flow played at the end of this video. it is such phenomenal and emotional storytelling. if you're asking yourself if you want to play FFXIV...just do yourself a favor and play it! it's probably my favorite video game story of all time.
I remember 1.0 I played on and off, my poor little miqo only making it to Lv 30 PUG, where I spent most days fishing near gridania because my PC wasnt exactly the best and it was the only activity it seemed to work without issue. Though these days that poor little miqo PUG became a Lv 80 DRG, complete with survivor tattoo which I have shown to many a streamer who was curious about it. A nice reminder than regardless of how bad things are, even at their worst, this little miqo toughed it out and made it.
Thats extremally cool! Thanks for sharing your story!
I have been playing 8 months now, and at 1500 hour's I can attest to this game being amazing and addictive. Even at those hours, while I have completed the main MSQ, there is still so much to do and see.
Soken ♥
Thanks for your efforts making such a great video!
Thank you for watching! Soken is an absolute legend!
Can I just say, when I first started playing around the time Stormblood came out, I rushed through ARR and Heavensward to get to "end game" because I hated the idea of being "behind." Ive been caught up ever since but I recently decided to start a new character on a different server and I've been having a blast. Im aking my time and immersing myself in the MSQ and side quests. Its all about having the right mind set going in.
I wish i could like this video twice! Nice job!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
I wanna share this with people to help explain why I love FFXIV so much. The story, the lands, the characters, the hope, and, at least for some of us, a way of being a more true and complete version of ourselves than we get to be in the physical world.
While people generally don't have as favorable of an opinion of ARR (and with mostly good reason), I had an entirely new appreciation of it after finishing Endwalker. It made me see that there was actually a lot more depth behind what happens in ARR than I was able to understand when going through it for the first time without the context that comes much later.
Thing is why would I keep playing if the 1st 100 hours are painful? Game should adress that...
this game means so much to me, still in love after 3 years of playing.
Man, I have a lot of hours in this game, and more characters than some free companies, and this video really did capture what's great about this game. Really well done, my man. Though I really should have closed my eyes.
I’ve been playing this game on and off since ARR launched and finished Shadowbringers when it came out. I took a long break when Endwalker came out due to issues with someone I knew both in game and in real life. Just last month, I decided to come back. Logging in with my old toon brought back too many memories, so I decided to start fresh. Made a new character, logged in, answered Hydaelyn’s summons as if it was my first time. I cried as the scions gathered in the Waking Sands introducing themselves for “the first time”. I think I understand G’raha Tia a little better now. This is a journey I’d gladly retake.
Aw thats really cool! Thanks for sharing!
There's undeniably something incredibly special about this game; timeless even
finished ARR a few months ago and haven't played since
Said I'd "take a break" after the slog of quests that is the base game
Might be time to finally come back
Absolutely wonderful video!
Thanks Mike!
As someone who just got to the end of ARR and just need to finish Crystal Tower to start Heavensword yeah ARR is a pain to get through in the beginning. About halfway through is when it starts to get good and the end segments after beating Ultima Weapon is when it begins to get REALLY good storywise
26 days? meet my "1 year+" playtime when I type /playtime! 🤣
This was... a wonderful, amazing video. It almost made me tear up at times, and it very hard for me to cry.
This game is tied with Okami as my 'Favorite Game of All Time', for different reasons. Okami is art in a literal sense, the music and visuals are wonderful. But, FFXIV? It, too, is art. The story, the music, the tales it tells, the bonds it forms. I have almost 10k hours in this game, playing with strangers and friends alike--even roleplaying as a general store owner who helps teach new adventurers via her job at her Grand Company.
This game--this wonderful, amazing game--has made me not only cry, but sob aloud. Shadowbringers and Endwalker are two parts of the story that are not only amazing on their own, but made all the better by playing through the whole game. 10 years of story, with yet another 10 more to come.
'Tis a story about helping those who need help. About those who support you in your darkest hours. About the will to overcome and forge ahead despite deepest despair.
So many quotes. So many memes. All loved by the community and the devs. Soken is... simply put, a massive memelord who loves the Otomatone. Yoshi-P has cried on stage out of care and orchestrated a live-action meme dance at a fanfest. Koji Fox is obsessed with references and loves to joke with us, in-jokes and popular ones.
We've seen the bounties of the waters beneath, we've travelled far and wide and helped those who need it, and we've been to the literal end of the universe. Yet, despite that, we've still not even fully explored our planet.
So I say this: stand tall, my friend, for our journey shall never end.
Bro this review was kinda beautiful very nice.
There's a joke, that's not really a joke that the exact moment the game goes from ok to holy sh*t fantastic is when Shiva snaps her fingers
Ysayle was the first character that drew me in. It really felt like her and subsequently Hraesvylgr and then all the domino's after fell into place. Her as Shiva definitely elevated it
Believe it or not, she doesn't snap her fingers to break you out. She stomps on the head of one of the frozen members of the party!
After 2000 plus hours, I can say that it's the game that taught me how to play. The story was so compelling that I just kept at it.
Amazing video, I've put over 3000 hours into this game since 2020 and FFXIV has come to feel like home to me. I do have one suggestion for you tho, if you haven't already customize your ui, the base ui in the game is pretty bad and the game gives you a lot of options for customization without having to use mods.
Thanks Vang! Yeah a few days after recording I've finally changed some elements of the UI to make it better, may watch a video for additional tips just to see what's possible, I really appreciate the time you took for the comment and checking out this video!
There's so much on the UI/HUD at once. How do you not get overwhelmed?
Yknow I guess I just got really used to it, might have to tweak it a bit lol
Pirates of the Caribbean Online! That was my first mmo experience. Wild to hear people still mention that game!
No way that's awesome! Glad to see someone else recognize it!
I have been playing for about a month. Im still in the first part of the game and I love the story.
I like that they are willing to gently change arr. flying, duty support, removing some quests. Still yes it can drag but it is needed for the story. Oh yes and changing the dungeons and boss mechanics.
I love how you edited this video btw
Thanks Samuel! That means a lot!
5:07 - Was there a "J" cut from there? Very thoughtful :)
Yup good ear! Yeah I originally recorded JRPG, but after hearing Yoshi P comment through audio editing, I figured it would be a good thing to remove after hearing his perspective on the term. Thanks for checking this out!
@@Pollymacho Of course! It was a great vid-- glad you've been enjoying yourself!
See you out there in Eorzea!
Game is awesome, probably the best story in video games to date. I love world building so the ARR stuff didn’t even bother me and it does indeed get better from there. Started the game May 2021 and just got up to be ready for Endwalker with a week spare. Dove tail that into Elden Ring and it was probably one of the best stretches of gaming in my life.
1:13 You Gotta Pump Those Numbers Up, Those Are Rookie Numbers!
I've been playing FFXIV since around patch 2.2 or so, it has cemented itself as my favorite game of all time and I hope it is one I will be able to share with my son when he is older. FFXI is still around so hey, maybe FFXIV will still be around by the time he's a teenager.
Fingers crossed, that would be sick!
Great video! But dang you click all your spells? I found that keyboarding shift alt and ctrl to mouse buttons makes it so much easier. You can just keybind everything around wsad and use the modifiers for different bars
Oh dang I may have to give that a try, thanks for the tip and thanks for watching!
ffxiv is my very first mmo! started playing it back in 2021 because of the meme (lmao), spent almost 2 years of being a free trial player, over 300 hours during my ft stay (i think it took me 100+ hours to finish ARR) and now i hit over 650+ hours mark and i still wanna re experience it all over again (except for ARR have mercy) i miss the time i'd laugh, play with friends, fc members helping me out, crying over cutscenes at ungodly hour from stormblood to endwalker, being in awe for experiencing the musics for the first time, new boss mechanics, and many more. now i miss my favorite characters so much sometimes i wish i could have a found family like my wol does in the game :")
Hey its always possible! , Much like our WoL jumping into a new adventure with each new patch and expansion. Hope you find it soon and thanks for watching!
Yeah, I'm already at 2,330 hours played since Stormblood launch, and honestly, I still play this game every day