The whole of Shadowbringers was the one of the greatest gaming experiences I've ever had, let alone in an MMO. It was all superb, kind of jealous of people experiencing it for the first time.
I am honestly starting to regret not enjouying it enough :D. I wish the new game+ wold be so we could choose the expansion story to go through becuase I'm not doing ARR and Stormblood again
Right?! I really enjoyed all of FF14, but this was the first moment I genuinely felt like 'I wish I could have amnesia so I could experience this for the first time again'.
I only just recently in the past month finished Shadowbringers. It will be with me forever. What an amazing journey and story and characters. I bought the official artbooks I liked it so much.
That honestly must be how it appears to everyone. We never talk, he comes up with all the plans, and when the game needs someone to refute the villain or state our purpose it's usually Alphi!
Since playing it myself, my hobby has become watching other people finish shadowbringers. It is truly astounding how good ShB and EW are. The whole FF14 team are masters at their craft and I am so glad we get to see more and more people experience this masterpiece.
I think anyone who clicked with the MSQ in FFXIV does this because you'll never experience the story again for the first time, so living vicariously through others experiencing it for the first time is the next best thing. I've seen dozens of people experience the MSQ and it literally never gets old. This is my favorite story in all of media, books, movies, what have you.
@@Icycrits almost word for word what I was going to say, including "you only experience stuff for the first time once" and that we get to relive that "vicariously" through others.
one day i will make it through someone playing this ending without crying. i'm far from it though lol. i've played every final fantasy game and this is the best FF story and probably the best story in gaming. i can't wait for preach to finish it in endwalker
I loved loved loved the small detail of Ardbert's axe not being bloody anymore at about 26:15. The blood on his axe acted as something of a symbol, his guilt for his part in his world's downfall, but now that the world has been saved, and he helped save it, that weight is gone, the burden lifted, and he no longer feels that all the blood is on his hands.
He also seemed younger for me, idk if i was tripping but bloody-bert has a goatie while clean-bert is clean shaven, idk but perhaps it's like signifying he's "back to the old days" (when he was younger) with his comrades at the end. Either this or I have eye problem.
You also have emet selch for the first time not slouched over and standing tall seeing as the burden he carried is now in your hands after proving you are in fact worthy of carrying their legacy.
The blood also had another meaning. For anyone that remembers 3.4 Heavensward it is confirmed that normally you cannot travel across the rift between the shards with body intact. So that means that the warriors of darkness at that point where souls held together in aetherial bodies (similiarly to the scions in the first). But in their case they didnt have a graha to get their souls out of their body. So that blood on that axe is confirming that ardbert was the one tasked with killing his comrades then himself so their souls could cross the rift to the source.
@@99range92def Interestingly enough, watching Preach play through ShB reminded me that moment is not the first time you see him standing straight as he also appears to be standing up straight in the origins of Vauthry echo flashback. I feel like he wasn’t supposed to be standing straight in that echo scene, but yeah it’s great when he is at the end.
20:45 WE GOT IM BOYS Bro I cried every single expansion, they're so good at directing it, the music and the mood with all the context just makes me cry every single fucking time.
I didn't cry until Heavensward, during some parts of that story. And then 3.3 with the Nidhogg fight had me emotionally invested in this game forever. Then cut to Endwalker and the last goddamn 3 or 4 hours was nothing but emotion, for me. lol
You'd think this would get stale, right? The amount of reactions to that one failed-then-rescued MMO that somehow turned into the crown of the FF franchise, and one of the most beloved darlings in gaming on top. It's sort of nuts. It does make a bunch of other games look vapid though lol
I'll never be able to look at most other MMOs the same, after seeing that an MMO can actually have an enjoyable story and not a series of text boxes to be skipped.
@@Pompadourius While this is true of gaming in general, XIV exacerbates it to a concerning degree. I'm already wary of the upcoming Lost Ark because of this. I sort of hope it's at least aesthetically immersive, which it appears to be. I dunno, gonna try heading into it as openly as I can.
I know there's no shortage of WoW-hate at the moment, but after beating Endwalker and looking at the shallow excuse for a story that Warcraft has, it genuinely sucked all interest out of the franchise for me. I used to be so invested and now I just kinda pity those who are in the same position I used to be in. Like just compare WotLK Arthas to Emet Selch, both expansion main villains that watched you on your journey and taunted you throughout. The writing isn't in the same universe.
@@taldir5228 5.3 sure, but most emotional moments in Endwalker either miss the mark hard or are cheapened massively because 5 mins later "X" does or says something that makes it meaningless. To not spoil anything, the last area. As soon as "X" tells you "Y" you are left standing there with a "oh, so nothing of this ********* stuff even matters. Awesome, thank you, I didn't want to get invested in the first place I guess" Endwalker tries to get the player invested and get emotional, like with ShB, but sabotages itself at almost every turn. It's hella weird.
World of Warcraft doesn't have a single boss fight as emotionally invested as this one gets the player, we know this man, we know his people, his struggles, and we still must defeat and kill him, that is the strength of FFXIV over its peers, I cared more about Emet-Selch than I did the GOOD guys in WoW, due to the writing and how they chose to show you the story.
@@TideasOfficial he’s not different from us. If the cost to save your people was the lives of another, then you’d pay that cost. Each and every one of us would have done the same as he.
The odd part is it sounds super cheese but somehow they managed to make it work here. Usually that type of stuff just gets groans from me but not in this case.
Thank you for being so much more succinct than the usual "Shadowbringer is the best story in a game ever and i cried and it cured my depression" bollocks that the Not-a-cult. Its not the story, it's not not the music, it's not the characters. Its how they are used together to give such satisfaction.
@@obviouslykaleb7998 I ain't complainin' 'bout the game. I'm complainin' 'bout the cult. I just like to catch people off guard in Holminster Switch. Its fun. What's also fun is running puppets bunker as a PLD. You wait till the arena half laser swords thing. Then pop hallowed ground while happily hopping around on the wrong side. New players see the, otherwise completely competent(?), Paladin and think "I should follow them" Then feign ignorance. You didn't expect them to follow you right?
Yep I agree. It's something I almost forgot about and FFXIV reminded me that video games can be an excellent medium to tell a compelling story. And I guess these are the kind of video games I want to play.
For me, i didn't tear up because it's sad. I tear up because everything in this part of ShB is the culmination of everything that every character who took part in it has gone through. It's the ultimate pay off to a long build up, and the best part is that we're not even at the end of it yet lol
I love how the illusion of Amaurot drops when Hades appears. He meant it when he said "cast aside titles and pretense, and reveal our true faces to one another." No illusions here, you're just fighting in the empty ruins. His entire focus is on you.
@@papersage69 waiting for HIm to get to EW. It starts off slow but damn does it turn it up to 11, then 12 and 15. Im just afraid he's going to wait a long time before going to endwalker.
@@RisqueBisquetz a long while i think, give or take a month at least if he include other ff games referenced in EW, then werlyt raids, eden raids, nier, extremes, savage (maybe? Dont recall seeing preach does savage), maybe even bozja, the rest of the role quests, those alone without other ff games should last a week or two at least i think.
I'm very happy Preach has gotten such a huge surge in popularity once he started playing FF XIV. His commentary is always on point and is genuinely a funny guy so it's good he can now be a variety streamer/youtuber rather than just doing WoW.
Just like the warrior of light. Sheer determination and hope. Never giving up to do better and just trying their damn best to make people happy with their product. For the warrior of light thats a chance for people to live a peacefull life. And for the devs thats giving people a Good game to play and invest time in
I finished Shadowbringers a few weeks ago and I still can't get it out of my head. It hit the ground running from the very start and didn't really stop. Just mind boggling good. I honestly wasn't prepared for it and already wish I could wipe my memory and experience it again anew. But at least I have Endwalker to finish.
I love the detail of Thancred closing his eyes when Ryne talks about how Emet stopped her like he had to watch her get shot and just thinking about it is painful or he didn't know she got shot and is sad he couldn't protect her.
I have seen and played very few games that made me shed tears as much as FF14 did. Heavensward was the first to do so on multiple occasions and shadowbringers was the 2nd time i just got emotional from playing it and enjoying it. This game earned its money a dozen times over for me
Watching your journey through Shadowbringers has essentially become a re-watch of the cutscenes for me and now that I've finished Endwalker, I can say it def enhanced all the feelings I had the second time around.
I think the titles could be improved to attract more viewers and play the algorithm, people usually search for stuff like "5.0 reaction, 5.0 trial, hades".
I've been following Preach from his WoW Ui videos and I would have never guessed that he would be this invested in FF14. It's amazing!!! Also, Ardbert's axe at the end...it's clean!!!
I am eternally grateful that such big content creators have been able to shine a light on how special a game 14 is. Mmo tribalism aside, 14 is something special.
I love how Shadowbringers pays off every single expansion and storyline, and then endwalker is like the blowjob happy ending combo that puts every single thing into context. 5.3 is literally as complete as a story can get and they somehow managed to go even deeper.
With his gaming background and his investment in the story, I'm absolutely sure preach will pick 1 during that final talk and love it. There's no doubt in my mind of it
I was so excited for Mike when he said Shadowbringers beat Heavensward in terms of RPGs for him after talking to Hythlodaeus, I knew he was in for an absolute treat. I literally cannot wait for him to see 5.3 and some of the other ShB storylines, they are God tier.
Alot of ppl told me Shadowbringers was ALOT better rhen heavensward. At the time i was like, yeah whatever your perspective is bro... But now after finishing it... it was so god damn good... the 2nd half was just so god damned good. I can't very well express it
Mike: "This on extreme is going to be BONKERS" To be absolutely honest, it's the single best fight that the team has put out. I LOVE the EX Hades trial, it's incredible.
Just got to this part yesterday the chills the goosebumps the feels they were all to real I love the final fantasy 3 theme that plays after the scene with emet selch and Graha I had the remake on ds and when it came on during that It gave me literal chills dude ff9 will always be my favorite in the series I’m too nostalgic for it to let it go but 14 is right there with it
The "FF3 theme" you mention is likely Eternal Wind. Take note that in the song Tomorrow and Tomorrow, the song that plays at night in the Crystarium as well as during the scene where the Exarch's face is revealed, the lyrics mention the Eternal Wind, as well as just before the Mt Gulg dungeon, the Exarch tells you about his dream, to "travel the lands [with my friend], the eternal winds at our backs." Yeah, they decided to cast off subtlety that this was G'raha's theme.
I remember the first time I finished the 5.0 story, I just sat there kinda dumbfounded for like an hour because I couldn't believe how good of a story I'd just experienced and how much that story was enriched by all the content I had done up to that point. This gets exacerbated with some of the patch content as you need to have done other content to even unlock it but it's oh so worth it.
I finished shadowbringers today. I just Had to take breaks around the amaurot section. I just had to watch the area. Take the view in. Let the lore and surroundings wash over me. I just had to enjoy myself for a moment... so much so i didn't give a shit it was midnight and i have to wake up at 5AM for work... this was totaly worth staying up for. I've shed tears. It was just that good
Having just finished this part of the game minutes ago... Oh my Hadaelyn this was amazing. It's so much fun to see his reactions basically simultaneously.
i just love how preach has this serene expression on his face for most of it, just completely immersed in a story he can feel has a LOT of love and passion put into it.
I wasn't sure if it was intentional by the team, but the wide-eyed boy looked a whole lot like a child Ardbert with the brown hair and blue eyes and that just makes me :')
It's so sad. Like Preach said, in Emet's story, he was supposed to be the savior. Bring his people back from complete and total genocide. But for the sake of our people, we had no choice but to stop him. It makes the fact that his people will never come back, and are lost forever, no less sad. All we can do is move forward and carry them on in our memory.
I love Shadowbringers so much. You get through the main story with V and think "This was pretty good. 8 or 9 out of 10..." Then the game just says out of nowhere "Hold on to your butts boys and girls 'cause we're about to take this b**ch to 13 and we're staying there until you're comotose from awe, tears and excitement! I hope you don't have work tomorrow 'cause you're not leaving your keyboard for the next 6-12 hours - You're about to get hooked harder than crack."
Dulia Chai crying is what got me too. Just the sheer weight of everything, on top of Eternal Wind playing was just too much. Emet's death was the saddest part of the ending but it wasn't a crying moment. It was more of a "lie in bed and contemplate existence for the next couple of weeks" kind of moment. Preach is right about Shadowbringers using the medium of video games to its full extent though. Other games try to be movies or try to be books, while Shadowbringers, and even more so Endwalker, tell a story that can only be told in video games and only in an MMORPG. That's why its the best video game story. Because it is uniquely video games.
a lot of the games that are touted as the best videogame stories" are always the ones where everything is working toguether to make something more than the sum of it's parts. Nier Automata, FF14, Outer Wilds, Hellblade etc, are experiences that could only be told in videogames, they use everything to make their central point hit harder, Music, gameplay, and visuals all working in harmony. FF14 does this a lot, first in the nidhogg trial, then in the yotsuyu trial with the intermission phase doing more in 2 minutes of gameplay than dozens of cutscenes could have accomplished. It's a shame more games don't try to use the medium to its full potential, because when they do they truly are peak art.
This whole quest from the moment you accept it, to the end of credits is one of the best, if not the best ending to a game I have ever seen. No second wasted, everything hits from the aesthetics, the emotions, the music, the line delivery, it's just perfect. Even the Khimari looking Hrogthar in the background is perfect.
And so it has come to pass, Mike's Mind has reached Full Sundering! Shattered into all the reflections of the mind of his FF14 journey. He's gonna need some hours to regroup all these shattered thoughts processing it all.
As much as I loved DOS 2 (I've played through that game like a dozen times at least at this point), I can't imagine another game making me as invested in the plot and characters as Shadowbringers has. I haven't gotten a chance to start Endwalker yet but I'm super excited to see where they take me this time.
I love that ex fight! Ive been hoping to do it for some mats but the pf hasnt been very kind to me with the ilvl requirements since EDW :X (not done yet)
@@cardboard5689 I wish he'd do the Normal raids atleast on minilvl, i mean he can do what he wants, but i totally understand doing Savage Min ilvl on stream suck ass, but he should easily be able to knock out Min ilvl normals to get a lil bit better of a fight inbetween the story, but whatevs, its been good watching Preach
He does EX content on stream and all casual content. The only content he might not do on stream are savages because he feels they don’t make for good streaming content, and he wants to do those more relaxed off stream. Which is understandable, but I’m sure their team will talk about it. Watching his Thordan clear was awesome, but it wasn’t even close to his best content. The glam contest for example, was just superior lol
SHB is like an old game where they focused more on the story and character developments and their interaction with the players and players interaction changed how the world was shaped. now there is no AAA online game doing something like this. they just focused on getting the money instead of the customer enjoyment
Little touch I love. When you tell the scions at the end of the Hades fight "I had help from a hero from this world" the only one who doesn't look confused is Urianger cuz he's the only one who personally knew Ardbert.
What got me was the 1, 2 emotional combo of first Ardbert the redeemed hero walking home, and then instant wipe to his lifelong buddies welcoming him back, so now they all can finally rest in peace. Floods. Damn you Yoshida!
Man, I can’t fucking wait for 5.3, much less Endwalker. You would think that having a large amount of these huge Emet like moments moving forward would make them get old. It never does. Every one of them hits hard and cuts deep. I’m so excited.
This is still probably my favorite fight in this game, and I love so many of them. It’s so resonant, particularly the second half, when Hades rises up fully, with the weight of his entire civilization, the entire chorus, literally strapped to his back, singing with full hope and desperation to try to push him through to the end. He can’t win, but he can’t surrender. He can only give everything he has, for every soul he has carried with him for thousands of years. It’s so haunting and heartbreaking. And at the risk of having to punch myself in the face…there’s never been a fight in WoW that felt quite like this. Maybe Arthas. Maybe.
@@ucarouen I more meant in terms of emotional resonance. The LK is present through the entire leveling experience and end game of Wrath, so finally confronting him at the end of the expansion feels pretty big. The souls within Frostmourne don't exactly bolster him in the same way that the lost Ascians do Emet-Selch, so I'm not sure I would consider it the same. Likewise, while Arthas is front and center through Wrath, he never becomes a sort of ad hoc member of your party, so you still don't really get to get intimately acquainted with him. Arthas is an inevitable villain fight as opposed to a really unfortunate confrontation with someone you've come to respect even as you recognize that he's utterly wrong and has to be stopped. (Don't get me wrong though, taking down LK is a fantastic fight, and you'll never catch me saying different, even after all these years. ^_^)
Did you notice, Every single boss with a cutscene in game has some sort of title or pretense to them, Except hades, because he says "Let's throw away all pretense and titles" and when he has his cinematic introducing him he has no title or pretense, its just "Hades"
@@Kitsune10060 It's crazy when you think about it. The buildup. I know people meme on The Jailer, but comparing Emet to him is super interesting to me. Both were introduced and died in one expansion cycle. Both were said to be these 500iq beings that decided everything in the story who are basically gods. One is done as good as it can be, and one was sloppily put together. You can tell how much building up something properly makes a difference.
@@bondsmatthew One of the big difference is just in the way the stories flew the characters were written. With Emet, you hear about all his failures and about him having to find alternate routes to his final destination. Heck, the 13th was one of the Ascians biggest scree ups. With the Jailer, its just like "Yeah, I planned everything out! I've guided everything that's happened to this point!", but he's not fleshed out like Emet is. You don't learn about his past really. You don't know his motivations. And more importantly, if there were any failures to be had, you aren't shown them, so it feels very cheap.
I’d love to see a full recap on all the story content and your thoughts on it once you’re finished. As a prior WoW player, making my way into FF, it would also be cool to hear your opinion on the story or gameplay differences. There’s truly no way to compare them but if you could aim to in a video that would be awesome
yeah it was awesome. When I did it, I went around shouting in chat to recruit those for a MINE for the normal. That way, the dps check at the end felt even more intense as a result. and We had plenty of wipes to learn and overcome!
I really appreciate there is a new streamer for FFXIV that is around my age that I relate to with their sense of humor, who understands the very fine details of storytelling and also appreciates subtle hints and clues without being pretentious about it. Asmongold struggles with his real personality and the obnoxious streamer persona that won him thousands of subscribers and I hate that there is an extremely distinct difference between the two. And I'm sure he hates it too. Preach doesn't have to worry about that crap because he's an adult, has adult responsibilities, is not lazy, and embraces those three facts. He got his fans by simply being who he is. No "streamer persona" as far as I can tell. And he's incredibly likeable just by himself.
Yeah, and as much as I like Asmongold, his community is the worst I've seen on Twitch. I've never seen anything from Mike's community besides enthusiasm and support, where everyone is just having a good time. He's such a genuine dude that you can't help but like him.
I agree. I don’t watch Asmon so I can’t really say about that, but Preach is very enjoyable to watch. Do I agree with all his views? No way. But I like that he gave the game a fair shot. And he also played this game the absolute right way. Did every dungeon in reasonable order, took in all the lore, did his best to remember how they all connect and formed an independent opinion of the game. He’s committed to experiencing everything the game has to offer and I respect that. I knew I was going to enjoy his streams when he decided to do all the post ARR dungeons because that told me something about him fundamentally. I’m really happy I found his channel. It’s truly, quality FF14 content.
@@belld.s5276 I've been a long time fan of his, and he's definitely enjoying playing a variety of higher quality games instead of just 100% WoW all the time. It's great to see how much he enjoys the story and characters of not just FF14, but all these other games that he hadn't really given a look before. I'm really looking forward to seeing him reach the endgame trials. That was always his focus in Warcraft and he gave a lot of really interesting insight into how the more hardcore players play the game, as well as great feedback for the encounters themselves.
The whole of Shadowbringers was the one of the greatest gaming experiences I've ever had, let alone in an MMO. It was all superb, kind of jealous of people experiencing it for the first time.
What made it so great to you?
I am honestly starting to regret not enjouying it enough :D. I wish the new game+ wold be so we could choose the expansion story to go through becuase I'm not doing ARR and Stormblood again
Right?! I really enjoyed all of FF14, but this was the first moment I genuinely felt like 'I wish I could have amnesia so I could experience this for the first time again'.
I only just recently in the past month finished Shadowbringers. It will be with me forever. What an amazing journey and story and characters. I bought the official artbooks I liked it so much.
then it got beaten by the Endwalker...
Preach: I hated moogles. It almost made me quit when they appeared in the first cinematic.
*2 months later*
Kupo, baby. Kupo.
I still love the fact the from Dulia's perspective Alphi is the main protagonist and we are his support lol
Well we are the Artist Alphinaud and his Amazing Assistants!
I love her sm
That honestly must be how it appears to everyone. We never talk, he comes up with all the plans, and when the game needs someone to refute the villain or state our purpose it's usually Alphi!
We are basically the muscle to Alphinaud
It does feel like Alphi and Alisaie are the main characters sometimes
Since playing it myself, my hobby has become watching other people finish shadowbringers.
It is truly astounding how good ShB and EW are. The whole FF14 team are masters at their craft and I am so glad we get to see more and more people experience this masterpiece.
I think anyone who clicked with the MSQ in FFXIV does this because you'll never experience the story again for the first time, so living vicariously through others experiencing it for the first time is the next best thing. I've seen dozens of people experience the MSQ and it literally never gets old. This is my favorite story in all of media, books, movies, what have you.
@@Icycrits almost word for word what I was going to say, including "you only experience stuff for the first time once" and that we get to relive that "vicariously" through others.
one day i will make it through someone playing this ending without crying. i'm far from it though lol. i've played every final fantasy game and this is the best FF story and probably the best story in gaming. i can't wait for preach to finish it in endwalker
ishikawa is a god
im my case my laptop died 3 weeks ago and I can't afford a replacement yet so watching others play it is all I can do.
Every single time when I see Ardbert walking to his comrades it just hits me at my core. Probably my favorite scene in all of Shadowbringers.
Its such an amazing scene and such a clever use of the games engine
and as you do more role quests, it just hits harder and harder...
It such a heartwarming scene, I just wish they made Lamitt run to Ardberd before the fakeout
I agree so much. His tale was so tragic, but to finally see him reunite with his friends
@@richardsmith1898 they deserve a good ending. Despite the shit they caused in HW
I loved loved loved the small detail of Ardbert's axe not being bloody anymore at about 26:15. The blood on his axe acted as something of a symbol, his guilt for his part in his world's downfall, but now that the world has been saved, and he helped save it, that weight is gone, the burden lifted, and he no longer feels that all the blood is on his hands.
He also seemed younger for me, idk if i was tripping but bloody-bert has a goatie while clean-bert is clean shaven, idk but perhaps it's like signifying he's "back to the old days" (when he was younger) with his comrades at the end. Either this or I have eye problem.
You also have emet selch for the first time not slouched over and standing tall seeing as the burden he carried is now in your hands after proving you are in fact worthy of carrying their legacy.
The blood also had another meaning. For anyone that remembers 3.4 Heavensward it is confirmed that normally you cannot travel across the rift between the shards with body intact. So that means that the warriors of darkness at that point where souls held together in aetherial bodies (similiarly to the scions in the first). But in their case they didnt have a graha to get their souls out of their body. So that blood on that axe is confirming that ardbert was the one tasked with killing his comrades then himself so their souls could cross the rift to the source.
@@Lancun I highly doubt it was an accident. The way the camera panned over the axe was far too deliberate of a showing for it to be.
@@99range92def Interestingly enough, watching Preach play through ShB reminded me that moment is not the first time you see him standing straight as he also appears to be standing up straight in the origins of Vauthry echo flashback. I feel like he wasn’t supposed to be standing straight in that echo scene, but yeah it’s great when he is at the end.
20:45 WE GOT IM BOYS
Bro I cried every single expansion, they're so good at directing it, the music and the mood with all the context just makes me cry every single fucking time.
I didn't cry until Heavensward, during some parts of that story. And then 3.3 with the Nidhogg fight had me emotionally invested in this game forever. Then cut to Endwalker and the last goddamn 3 or 4 hours was nothing but emotion, for me. lol
"Aw dude.. don't do that" lmao Mike knew that would get him hahaha
I cried like every 5 minutes of Endwalker i swear lol
@@wstone2010 the 2nd trial end was the one that broke me down. I got too attach at that point
You'd think this would get stale, right? The amount of reactions to that one failed-then-rescued MMO that somehow turned into the crown of the FF franchise, and one of the most beloved darlings in gaming on top. It's sort of nuts. It does make a bunch of other games look vapid though lol
I'll never be able to look at most other MMOs the same, after seeing that an MMO can actually have an enjoyable story and not a series of text boxes to be skipped.
@@Pompadourius While this is true of gaming in general, XIV exacerbates it to a concerning degree. I'm already wary of the upcoming Lost Ark because of this. I sort of hope it's at least aesthetically immersive, which it appears to be. I dunno, gonna try heading into it as openly as I can.
I know there's no shortage of WoW-hate at the moment, but after beating Endwalker and looking at the shallow excuse for a story that Warcraft has, it genuinely sucked all interest out of the franchise for me. I used to be so invested and now I just kinda pity those who are in the same position I used to be in. Like just compare WotLK Arthas to Emet Selch, both expansion main villains that watched you on your journey and taunted you throughout. The writing isn't in the same universe.
@@kimlee6643 It's no FFXIV but it is a pretty enjoyable story.
I've watched so many reactions! Hasn't gotten old yet
Shadowbringers even gets Preach emotional for a moment there, Ishikawa's a goddamn miracle worker.
I think it's a mix of Ishikawa and Soken. Their writing (the music and story) complement each other so well.
Brace yourself! 5.3 and Endwalker are coming \o/
@@taldir5228 5.3 sure, but most emotional moments in Endwalker either miss the mark hard or are cheapened massively because 5 mins later "X" does or says something that makes it meaningless. To not spoil anything, the last area. As soon as "X" tells you "Y" you are left standing there with a "oh, so nothing of this ********* stuff even matters. Awesome, thank you, I didn't want to get invested in the first place I guess" Endwalker tries to get the player invested and get emotional, like with ShB, but sabotages itself at almost every turn. It's hella weird.
@@taigaaisaka6305 If that is your take of the final zone, you kind of missed the point.
@@shinkicker404 it’s definitely a tone deaf take.
World of Warcraft doesn't have a single boss fight as emotionally invested as this one gets the player, we know this man, we know his people, his struggles, and we still must defeat and kill him, that is the strength of FFXIV over its peers, I cared more about Emet-Selch than I did the GOOD guys in WoW, due to the writing and how they chose to show you the story.
Only FFXIV ever made me feel for there npcs and even enemies
I cared about Wrathgate, Voljin and Varian, Saurfang and some other stuff. But not as much as basically any emotional part in FF14.
you care for a egotistical, megalomaniac that genocide millions of people?
@@TideasOfficial he’s not different from us. If the cost to save your people was the lives of another, then you’d pay that cost. Each and every one of us would have done the same as he.
@@Harrowing999 no, I wouldn't kill millions to save a few people I love.
Ardbert handing to the axe to you is one of, if not THE, most hype thing I have ever experienced in a video game. Just absolutely perfect
Never gets old. It's so perfect
The odd part is it sounds super cheese but somehow they managed to make it work here. Usually that type of stuff just gets groans from me but not in this case.
One of the only moments that top this for me is Ending E of Nier Automata or the post dungeon 4 barrage of cutscenes in EW.
Imagine being a WAR main and switched to GNB for ShB, and right there you get handed the Axe again. Shit hits you double.
Ardbert and Soken lend us their axes to give us the strength to save the universe.
Shadowbringers used the medium of a video game to tell a great story in a way I've never experienced. That's what made it special.
Thank you for being so much more succinct than the usual "Shadowbringer is the best story in a game ever and i cried and it cured my depression" bollocks that the Not-a-cult.
Its not the story, it's not not the music, it's not the characters. Its how they are used together to give such satisfaction.
@@tesleentwiceforgiven6063 ironic message for your name lmao
@@obviouslykaleb7998 I ain't complainin' 'bout the game. I'm complainin' 'bout the cult.
I just like to catch people off guard in Holminster Switch. Its fun.
What's also fun is running puppets bunker as a PLD.
You wait till the arena half laser swords thing. Then pop hallowed ground while happily hopping around on the wrong side. New players see the, otherwise completely competent(?), Paladin and think "I should follow them"
Then feign ignorance. You didn't expect them to follow you right?
@@tesleentwiceforgiven6063 i need to level a tank now.
Yep I agree. It's something I almost forgot about and FFXIV reminded me that video games can be an excellent medium to tell a compelling story. And I guess these are the kind of video games I want to play.
I always tear up during this cutscene. It isnt because I'm sad or anything... I'm just overwhelmed by emotion
Sameeeee
For me, i didn't tear up because it's sad. I tear up because everything in this part of ShB is the culmination of everything that every character who took part in it has gone through.
It's the ultimate pay off to a long build up, and the best part is that we're not even at the end of it yet lol
I love how the illusion of Amaurot drops when Hades appears. He meant it when he said "cast aside titles and pretense, and reveal our true faces to one another." No illusions here, you're just fighting in the empty ruins. His entire focus is on you.
Man, he really blasted through 5.0! Can't wait to hear his more organized thoughts!
Who doesn’t blast through it though? Hard to stop when it’s this good.
@@papersage69 Lol, I remember more than one case of still playing at 5am.
@@papersage69 waiting for HIm to get to EW. It starts off slow but damn does it turn it up to 11, then 12 and 15. Im just afraid he's going to wait a long time before going to endwalker.
@@Raeodor he plans to play other FF, on top of finishing raids and ShB's role quests. Definitely gonna be a while before EW lol
@@RisqueBisquetz a long while i think, give or take a month at least if he include other ff games referenced in EW, then werlyt raids, eden raids, nier, extremes, savage (maybe? Dont recall seeing preach does savage), maybe even bozja, the rest of the role quests, those alone without other ff games should last a week or two at least i think.
I'm very happy Preach has gotten such a huge surge in popularity once he started playing FF XIV. His commentary is always on point and is genuinely a funny guy so it's good he can now be a variety streamer/youtuber rather than just doing WoW.
Honestly, it's still so mind boggling how the worst ff has now become the best.
Just like the warrior of light.
Sheer determination and hope.
Never giving up to do better and just trying their damn best to make people happy with their product.
For the warrior of light thats a chance for people to live a peacefull life.
And for the devs thats giving people a Good game to play and invest time in
I finished Shadowbringers a few weeks ago and I still can't get it out of my head. It hit the ground running from the very start and didn't really stop. Just mind boggling good. I honestly wasn't prepared for it and already wish I could wipe my memory and experience it again anew. But at least I have Endwalker to finish.
I love the detail of Thancred closing his eyes when Ryne talks about how Emet stopped her like he had to watch her get shot and just thinking about it is painful or he didn't know she got shot and is sad he couldn't protect her.
reminder shadowbringers came out the same day as 8.2 this was happening when preach was farming manapreals
Best ending sequence to any mmo ever. SB is something so special it honestly hard for me to express or put into words.
I have seen and played very few games that made me shed tears as much as FF14 did. Heavensward was the first to do so on multiple occasions and shadowbringers was the 2nd time i just got emotional from playing it and enjoying it.
This game earned its money a dozen times over for me
Watching your journey through Shadowbringers has essentially become a re-watch of the cutscenes for me and now that I've finished Endwalker, I can say it def enhanced all the feelings I had the second time around.
Crying like a baby watching this again. I forgot how much I loved this ending.
Just for the team: The trial is called The Dying Gasp :D
i remember feeling so drained after this fight. in a good way mind but still drained.
i weep every time. every. time. profound story telling. so thrilled you got to experience it Mike. cheers!
that moment you popped rune and then get locked in a active time event. I feel that face you made so much.
I think the titles could be improved to attract more viewers and play the algorithm, people usually search for stuff like "5.0 reaction, 5.0 trial, hades".
I get giddy just watching these over again lol. Such a great experience !!
I've been following Preach from his WoW Ui videos and I would have never guessed that he would be this invested in FF14. It's amazing!!!
Also, Ardbert's axe at the end...it's clean!!!
I am eternally grateful that such big content creators have been able to shine a light on how special a game 14 is. Mmo tribalism aside, 14 is something special.
I love how Shadowbringers pays off every single expansion and storyline, and then endwalker is like the blowjob happy ending combo that puts every single thing into context. 5.3 is literally as complete as a story can get and they somehow managed to go even deeper.
Remember that we once Lived...
I keep the Hades EX crafting material in my inventory just for this.
'May you keep it close and ever Remember'
Why ? You have echo already...
Craig , it's time. You need to see a therapist. Just let it go .
@@fartimusmaximus8710 if only I could FIND a therapist willing to take the Case to begin with
With his gaming background and his investment in the story, I'm absolutely sure preach will pick 1 during that final talk and love it. There's no doubt in my mind of it
HA ACCEPTANCE, AT LONG LAST
I was so excited for Mike when he said Shadowbringers beat Heavensward in terms of RPGs for him after talking to Hythlodaeus, I knew he was in for an absolute treat. I literally cannot wait for him to see 5.3 and some of the other ShB storylines, they are God tier.
Alot of ppl told me Shadowbringers was ALOT better rhen heavensward.
At the time i was like, yeah whatever your perspective is bro...
But now after finishing it... it was so god damn good... the 2nd half was just so god damned good. I can't very well express it
Emet: " remember us,, remember that we once lived"
Me: " for the rest of my life "
Mike: "This on extreme is going to be BONKERS"
To be absolutely honest, it's the single best fight that the team has put out. I LOVE the EX Hades trial, it's incredible.
I'm not crying, this is remembering, remembering that they once lived.
Man, I can't wait for him to finish 5.3 and make a recap video
G’raha’s tearing up and Ardberts reunion with his friends always gets me!
Then finishing EW, Emet’s last dialogue makes it so meaningful. ❤️❤️❤️
cant wait until last 2 levels worth of msq in endwalker hits him xd
@@Irisfantasies Lol. Im actually looking forward for 5.3 and see how he is going to react to those “scenes” 😂😂😂
@@ramz12345 yeah no thats a given xd it was just for sake of comparision between 5.0 and 6.0
Soken, Ishikawa and Yoshi P heard Roger Ebert say video games could never be art and said "bet."
Ebert didn't like Blade Runner when he first saw it. He lived long enough to change his mind and change his review.
Just got to this part yesterday the chills the goosebumps the feels they were all to real I love the final fantasy 3 theme that plays after the scene with emet selch and Graha I had the remake on ds and when it came on during that It gave me literal chills dude ff9 will always be my favorite in the series I’m too nostalgic for it to let it go but 14 is right there with it
The "FF3 theme" you mention is likely Eternal Wind. Take note that in the song Tomorrow and Tomorrow, the song that plays at night in the Crystarium as well as during the scene where the Exarch's face is revealed, the lyrics mention the Eternal Wind, as well as just before the Mt Gulg dungeon, the Exarch tells you about his dream, to "travel the lands [with my friend], the eternal winds at our backs."
Yeah, they decided to cast off subtlety that this was G'raha's theme.
I remember the first time I finished the 5.0 story, I just sat there kinda dumbfounded for like an hour because I couldn't believe how good of a story I'd just experienced and how much that story was enriched by all the content I had done up to that point. This gets exacerbated with some of the patch content as you need to have done other content to even unlock it but it's oh so worth it.
I finished shadowbringers today.
I just Had to take breaks around the amaurot section. I just had to watch the area. Take the view in. Let the lore and surroundings wash over me.
I just had to enjoy myself for a moment... so much so i didn't give a shit it was midnight and i have to wake up at 5AM for work... this was totaly worth staying up for. I've shed tears. It was just that good
It's much worse watching this after playing Endwalker. Shadowbringers is still one of the best games I've played period.
Preach as a useful tip for ATM you can press any key on keyboard and it’ll work. It’s how people get it done so quickly
And once again I start blubbering when Ardbert walks along the bridge to meet his friends. I swear it won't get easier.
Having just finished this part of the game minutes ago... Oh my Hadaelyn this was amazing. It's so much fun to see his reactions basically simultaneously.
i just love how preach has this serene expression on his face for most of it, just completely immersed in a story he can feel has a LOT of love and passion put into it.
I haven't seen Preach that happy in a long long time. Great to see.
26:25 I love watching people react to this moment.
I wasn't sure if it was intentional by the team, but the wide-eyed boy looked a whole lot like a child Ardbert with the brown hair and blue eyes and that just makes me :')
Tears of joy, man. What a brilliant story.
remember that we once lived. I nodded before my toon did. That scene fucked me up...
It's so sad. Like Preach said, in Emet's story, he was supposed to be the savior. Bring his people back from complete and total genocide. But for the sake of our people, we had no choice but to stop him. It makes the fact that his people will never come back, and are lost forever, no less sad. All we can do is move forward and carry them on in our memory.
Emet-Selch is one of my all time favorite villains in any story. He is up there with Kefka of FFVI, Heath Ledgers Joker, and John Doe from Seven.
But he isn't a villain tho lol
Shadowbringers hits a lot more differently after you've done Endwalker...
This was such a top tier moment in gaming for anyone who made it to this point in the game….only topped later by venat scene imo
I can't wait to see a couple things, #1 his reaction/review video to 5.0 #2 his reaction to 5.3
Edit: my mistake out
Ah yes
The two 5.3 patches
the music gets me every fucking time, damn it's so epic
SHB is all about what it means to be a Hero. The journey that we all walk. 10/10 expansion.
I love Shadowbringers so much. You get through the main story with V and think "This was pretty good. 8 or 9 out of 10..." Then the game just says out of nowhere "Hold on to your butts boys and girls 'cause we're about to take this b**ch to 13 and we're staying there until you're comotose from awe, tears and excitement! I hope you don't have work tomorrow 'cause you're not leaving your keyboard for the next 6-12 hours - You're about to get hooked harder than crack."
ShB's music is so friggin amazing! in general, I was blown away by the music of FF14
This man is going to weep in 5.3. Glad he is enjoying it.
Dulia Chai crying is what got me too. Just the sheer weight of everything, on top of Eternal Wind playing was just too much. Emet's death was the saddest part of the ending but it wasn't a crying moment. It was more of a "lie in bed and contemplate existence for the next couple of weeks" kind of moment. Preach is right about Shadowbringers using the medium of video games to its full extent though. Other games try to be movies or try to be books, while Shadowbringers, and even more so Endwalker, tell a story that can only be told in video games and only in an MMORPG. That's why its the best video game story. Because it is uniquely video games.
This. 100%
a lot of the games that are touted as the best videogame stories" are always the ones where everything is working toguether to make something more than the sum of it's parts.
Nier Automata, FF14, Outer Wilds, Hellblade etc, are experiences that could only be told in videogames, they use everything to make their central point hit harder, Music, gameplay, and visuals all working in harmony.
FF14 does this a lot, first in the nidhogg trial, then in the yotsuyu trial with the intermission phase doing more in 2 minutes of gameplay than dozens of cutscenes could have accomplished.
It's a shame more games don't try to use the medium to its full potential, because when they do they truly are peak art.
I love how that kid walks up to you after all that is done and you just tell him to shut the fuck up.
"Be quiet, kid, I'm trying to sneak out of the party and get some sleep!"
i thought it was, "it's a secret"
I felt it was more, "keep it low, I'll tell you a secret".
To a pure English audience I could see it easily misconstrued.
It was a ",gonna tell a secret so don t tell anyone". But gonna tell him to eat vegetables
You don't want to make that poor kid go through the fetch quests of ARR, best to keep it a secret.
I cannot wait to see Preach in Endwalker! All aboard the feelstrain
Shadowbringers IMO is the best expansion in any mmo period
This whole quest from the moment you accept it, to the end of credits is one of the best, if not the best ending to a game I have ever seen. No second wasted, everything hits from the aesthetics, the emotions, the music, the line delivery, it's just perfect. Even the Khimari looking Hrogthar in the background is perfect.
Just an FYI this is what FF14 players were up too when you were making videos trying to help Blizzard salvage BFA.
And so it has come to pass, Mike's Mind has reached Full Sundering! Shattered into all the reflections of the mind of his FF14 journey. He's gonna need some hours to regroup all these shattered thoughts processing it all.
Watching the sub count was pretty crazy. No need for subathons when you have MSQ finale lol
But WAIT! THERE IS MORE!
so much more!
Emet-Selch or Eggy Salard is such a well written antagonist, apart from dos2, pathfinder, Shadowbringers is the best story in any game ive played.
As much as I loved DOS 2 (I've played through that game like a dozen times at least at this point), I can't imagine another game making me as invested in the plot and characters as Shadowbringers has. I haven't gotten a chance to start Endwalker yet but I'm super excited to see where they take me this time.
Wonder if we'll see him do Extreme. Hades EX was an Awesome experience (even if it was long enough to warrant 2 totems a clear)
I think he said he might prog extremes,.but not savages.
Hades EX was amazing, imo still one of the best EX fight we had so far.
I love that ex fight! Ive been hoping to do it for some mats but the pf hasnt been very kind to me with the ilvl requirements since EDW :X (not done yet)
@@cardboard5689 I wish he'd do the Normal raids atleast on minilvl, i mean he can do what he wants, but i totally understand doing Savage Min ilvl on stream suck ass, but he should easily be able to knock out Min ilvl normals to get a lil bit better of a fight inbetween the story, but whatevs, its been good watching Preach
He does EX content on stream and all casual content. The only content he might not do on stream are savages because he feels they don’t make for good streaming content, and he wants to do those more relaxed off stream. Which is understandable, but I’m sure their team will talk about it. Watching his Thordan clear was awesome, but it wasn’t even close to his best content. The glam contest for example, was just superior lol
This theme never gets old. If anything it gets better every time I hear it, especially when it's attached to epic stories and bosses like this.
Still bring me joy watching this
good memories
SHB is like an old game where they focused more on the story and character developments and their interaction with the players and players interaction changed how the world was shaped.
now there is no AAA online game doing something like this. they just focused on getting the money instead of the customer enjoyment
There might not be any AAA games doing this, but the indie and AA scene is filled with games trying to be more than just profit making machines.
I hope they mix riding home/unto the end with new musics in coming expansions its just amazing
Imagine the people for who locking him in the tower was at that point 7 years ago.
Pretty much peak storytelling in games. Not for MMOs. For games. I am so glad I got into it this summer. :3
Can't wait to see the impressions video!
This game is so amazing. The journey is incredible. I am completely invested and excited for the future.
And then they top it.
Little touch I love.
When you tell the scions at the end of the Hades fight "I had help from a hero from this world" the only one who doesn't look confused is Urianger cuz he's the only one who personally knew Ardbert.
What got me was the 1, 2 emotional combo of first Ardbert the redeemed hero walking home, and then instant wipe to his lifelong buddies welcoming him back, so now they all can finally rest in peace.
Floods. Damn you Yoshida!
Man, I can’t fucking wait for 5.3, much less Endwalker.
You would think that having a large amount of these huge Emet like moments moving forward would make them get old. It never does. Every one of them hits hard and cuts deep. I’m so excited.
I'm so glad he has a youtube channel. I love Preach's content but because of our timezone difference, I'm usually asleep when he streams.
See you lads in 5.3.
This is still probably my favorite fight in this game, and I love so many of them. It’s so resonant, particularly the second half, when Hades rises up fully, with the weight of his entire civilization, the entire chorus, literally strapped to his back, singing with full hope and desperation to try to push him through to the end. He can’t win, but he can’t surrender. He can only give everything he has, for every soul he has carried with him for thousands of years. It’s so haunting and heartbreaking.
And at the risk of having to punch myself in the face…there’s never been a fight in WoW that felt quite like this. Maybe Arthas. Maybe.
Yeah, it would be Arthas, due to the many souls trapped within Frostmourne.
@@ucarouen I more meant in terms of emotional resonance. The LK is present through the entire leveling experience and end game of Wrath, so finally confronting him at the end of the expansion feels pretty big. The souls within Frostmourne don't exactly bolster him in the same way that the lost Ascians do Emet-Selch, so I'm not sure I would consider it the same.
Likewise, while Arthas is front and center through Wrath, he never becomes a sort of ad hoc member of your party, so you still don't really get to get intimately acquainted with him. Arthas is an inevitable villain fight as opposed to a really unfortunate confrontation with someone you've come to respect even as you recognize that he's utterly wrong and has to be stopped.
(Don't get me wrong though, taking down LK is a fantastic fight, and you'll never catch me saying different, even after all these years. ^_^)
Man... "Remember that we once lived" gets me every time...
Did you notice, Every single boss with a cutscene in game has some sort of title or pretense to them, Except hades, because he says "Let's throw away all pretense and titles" and when he has his cinematic introducing him he has no title or pretense, its just "Hades"
Remember when Preach said that anime stuff didn't appeal to him? The 5.0 ending is peak Shounen.
it's all about the build up. all the cool shit on screen in the world means nothing if there is no investment in wants going on.
It's just good writing and development in the end
@@Kitsune10060 It's crazy when you think about it. The buildup. I know people meme on The Jailer, but comparing Emet to him is super interesting to me. Both were introduced and died in one expansion cycle. Both were said to be these 500iq beings that decided everything in the story who are basically gods. One is done as good as it can be, and one was sloppily put together. You can tell how much building up something properly makes a difference.
@@bondsmatthew hell.you could take it a step further with Elidibus. what they did with him, in such a short time is amazing.
@@bondsmatthew One of the big difference is just in the way the stories flew the characters were written. With Emet, you hear about all his failures and about him having to find alternate routes to his final destination. Heck, the 13th was one of the Ascians biggest scree ups.
With the Jailer, its just like "Yeah, I planned everything out! I've guided everything that's happened to this point!", but he's not fleshed out like Emet is. You don't learn about his past really. You don't know his motivations. And more importantly, if there were any failures to be had, you aren't shown them, so it feels very cheap.
The moment that I will remember the most is crying crocodile tears while simultaneously fighting Hades , I truly felt I was going home.
When he compared the Ancients to the Q continuum i lost it. he's so on point with this story.
RIGHT?! and how its leading them down the path of the Ra-la dead end
Thats what I said. Emet gives me a Q feeling.
I’d love to see a full recap on all the story content and your thoughts on it once you’re finished. As a prior WoW player, making my way into FF, it would also be cool to hear your opinion on the story or gameplay differences. There’s truly no way to compare them but if you could aim to in a video that would be awesome
It's been 3 years since this expansion came out. Its surreal to me people are still enjoying it so much
yeah it was awesome. When I did it, I went around shouting in chat to recruit those for a MINE for the normal. That way, the dps check at the end felt even more intense as a result. and We had plenty of wipes to learn and overcome!
I really appreciate there is a new streamer for FFXIV that is around my age that I relate to with their sense of humor, who understands the very fine details of storytelling and also appreciates subtle hints and clues without being pretentious about it.
Asmongold struggles with his real personality and the obnoxious streamer persona that won him thousands of subscribers and I hate that there is an extremely distinct difference between the two. And I'm sure he hates it too.
Preach doesn't have to worry about that crap because he's an adult, has adult responsibilities, is not lazy, and embraces those three facts. He got his fans by simply being who he is. No "streamer persona" as far as I can tell. And he's incredibly likeable just by himself.
Yeah, and as much as I like Asmongold, his community is the worst I've seen on Twitch. I've never seen anything from Mike's community besides enthusiasm and support, where everyone is just having a good time. He's such a genuine dude that you can't help but like him.
I agree. I don’t watch Asmon so I can’t really say about that, but Preach is very enjoyable to watch. Do I agree with all his views? No way. But I like that he gave the game a fair shot. And he also played this game the absolute right way. Did every dungeon in reasonable order, took in all the lore, did his best to remember how they all connect and formed an independent opinion of the game. He’s committed to experiencing everything the game has to offer and I respect that. I knew I was going to enjoy his streams when he decided to do all the post ARR dungeons because that told me something about him fundamentally.
I’m really happy I found his channel. It’s truly, quality FF14 content.
@@belld.s5276 I've been a long time fan of his, and he's definitely enjoying playing a variety of higher quality games instead of just 100% WoW all the time. It's great to see how much he enjoys the story and characters of not just FF14, but all these other games that he hadn't really given a look before.
I'm really looking forward to seeing him reach the endgame trials. That was always his focus in Warcraft and he gave a lot of really interesting insight into how the more hardcore players play the game, as well as great feedback for the encounters themselves.
Nothing breathes greater life into my cold heart than the expectation of an updated character tier list at the end of the SHB patches
After this, I can't wait for him to find out what the final *final* boss of Shadowbringers at 5.3
I can't wait to see him react to the secret memory record right before the final boss. And then the snap.
I can't wait for him to find out where the Elpis flower comes from.
I will never hear anything but TIIINYY PAAAAAWWS ever again. God damnit