Spoiler: We’re not wrapping up the Ivalice story today.
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0:00 – Introduction
0:27 – QUEST: “The Path of Most Resistance”
15:59 – Jenomis spoils Final Fantasy Tactics
28:10 – QUEST: “The Path of Most Resistance” (continued)
43:37 – QUEST: “Welcome to Their Jungle”
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Edited by Daniel Floyd
♫ “Pray Return” by Chris Logsdon
https://lnkfi.re/pray-return
#PlayFrame #FFXIV #FinalFantasyXIV #Stormblood
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time to get spoiled on FFT
Hey everyone, how was your weekend?
Man, They are just giving away all of FFT huh xD
If you like non Jerk Ramza, that's his personality in FFT
Luckily you're not stuck with that spoiled brat from the first half of this alliance raid
I was playing as a Viera here
My bunny is higher than Fran
After everyone in the ship started talking like that was the first Viera they have ever seen I started using the starting gear Fran uses and still nothing
It gets more and more absurd the further you go
I am disappointed to report that none of this quest is changed if you play as a Viera. Yes, that is very awkward, but XIV doesn't always account for every variable unfortunately…
I do like that given that this takes place 30+ years after XIV Ashe's death, Fran is the only one shown of the XII party because Viera age VERY slowly, living lives around 3x longer than the other playable races in both XII and XIV.
Thats not to say we might not run into 40-60 year old versions of the Human/Hyur/Hume cast someday…
Oh and one thing to note about why Dan says he won't be able to do Fran's voice is that the Viera (in XII at least) speak with Icelandic accents. Which is further complicated because Fran's voice actor is not Icelandic but Australian. This leads to her having a very unique accent.
FFT remains probably the most mature, and maybe the most compelling story in the franchise. The War of the Lions re-localization really helped clear up some of the points of confusion I had playing the original as a kid. The way they're just straight rolling the whole story into the FFXIV lore is really interesting.
– I mean is convinient, but yeah everyone ignoring Ramza suspiciously healing from his racism is kinda concerning
– so that's why Clive's new Dad was called Cidolfus, also i never made the connection between the Spell's name & the Divine Alien
1:01 Everything's not right on the airship? <surprised_pikachu_face>
11:54 C'mon, Cid, read the room.
16:00 That chapter title… I will never know how to feel about these raids that are "references".
38:48 I'm more surprised by how much you're not wearing… but that's not saying much.
41:41 Somehow, I doubt that.
42:06 That's cute. I think Durmin could theoretically cut a swath through your sisters on a scale comparable to war crimes. You couldn't stop him if you wanted to.
What happens if you ARE a Viera? Does it unlock any unique dialogue?
Good Monday Playfriends! Today we got back to more Tactics! This is your lore comment!
First, let's discuss some changes to this quest line that have occurred. Previously, Dan would have had to complete a delivery quest prior to starting today's quests. Some of these quests have been adjusted to side quests which can still be picked up on the Prima Vista, but some have been removed entirely. One of the quests that would have been the end point of the Ivalice arc is now a side quest is a bit of hijinks with wine. Dalmasca was once a renown exporter of wines, and this is what sparks your involvement. This questline also brings back Drest, the traumatized Dalmascan veteran who sleeps in the woods near Wineport. I thought it was nice that the writers remembered that he was there.
The cut quests entail the Wandering Dramaturge's desire to satisfy his wife's gastronomic desires. The Wandering Dramaturge should sound familiar, as the title sounds remarkably similar to the Wandering Minstrel, who serves as a bit of a representation of FFXIV director Naoki Yoshida. The Wandering Dramaturge is the stand in for Yasumi Matsuno, the writer & one of the directors of both Final Fantasy Tactics and FF12. His presence here allows characters to discuss the Prima Vista, the Theater Company, and the larger setting of Dalmasca and the Zodiac Brave Story. That being said, that's not what his quests are for. He wants some food, and the first request is Bacon Bread! If you wish to make some at home, there are recipes both in the FFXIV cookbook and a video by A Recipe Reborn Youtube channel (although she now streams on Twitch). After satisfying his hunger, the Wandering Dramaturge then enlists your assistance with making a series of dishes for his anniversary. His wife will take nothing but the best!
5:50 – I hope Jenomis didn't pay a Kugane Geomancer. The Astrologian quests show that a significant number of them are hacks and frauds.
8:32 – This is a bit of a simplification of Ramza's quest. The North and South civil war over the succession of King Ondoria Atkascha III plays a huge part in the War of the Lions (the political story line being somewhat based on the English Civil War, the War of the Roses), but Ramza's also not wrong. By the end of the game, Ramza was primarily facing off against the Church of Glabados, who revere Saint Ajora Glabdos. The Church is playing both sides of the civil war for their own political and magical ends.
13:20 – It's time to discuss a bit about the Viera. The Viera are tall bunny eared peoples who reside in the jungles and forests at the edge of Dalmasca. Their lifespans extend around three times that of an average hyur, and their ancestral connection to the woods allow them to fulfill some of the traditional fantasy Elvish stereotypes. Viera first came to Final Fantasy in Tactics Advance, where they were associated with the character Ritz Malheur. There, they have slightly clawed hands and digitigrade feet. In that game, only female Viera are present. These inspirations are taken into and expanded upon in their next appearance, FF12. FF12 begins the association of the Viera with a sacred wood, with males and females living apart. Males visit female settlements on occasion, but the two largely live separately. The Viera abide by a traditional law, the "Green Word", which forbids association with those from outside the wood. Those who leave to associate with the wider world are banished.
Before we continue on our discussion of the Viera, we need to discuss some differences in FFXIV's telling of Tactics' tale. This will be major spoilers for Tactics, but nothing worse than what Jenomis is doing.
First, the dissident knights Jenomis mentions are veterans of a recent war who have not been paid their pensions. Second, Argath, an impoverished noble squire, doesn't orchestrate the kidnapping plot, but does exploit it to get in the good graces of one of Ramza's half-brothers. Argath doesn't actually know Delita until he is brought into the story, and doesn't really care about him: Delita is a commoner and beneath him. Both Alma and Tietra are subject to the kidnapping attempt, but Alma is saved before she can be taken. The officer described at 17:55 is Ramza's own brother, Zalbaag. Argath isn't in league with the dissidents, but rather man tapped by Zalbaag to lead the final assault on Ziekden Fortress and kill everyone, Tietra included. This is where Argath's story ends, as Delita duels him to the death to avenge his sister.
Orran's encounters with Ramza largely occur the same in Tactics (although it makes Orran more closely associated with Ramza, rather than an acquaintance), but Delita's involvement in the War of the Lions is significantly different. While Delita did serve as an intelligence agent for the Southern Sky, Delita did much to play both sides of the civil war, keeping his allegiances secret. The FFXIV version of Delita is a far nobler and less devious person, while the Tactics version has manipulated almost everyone he has worked with.
24:00 – I think this is an attempt to explain a localization decision. Orbonne Monastery in Tactics has male monks, with one, Father Simon, playing an integral part in the story. We do not see other nuns at Orbonne, but Ovelia has a retinue of lady knights as her protectors at the start of the game, including one of my favorite characters in Tactics, Agrias Oaks.
The discussions of the High Seraph is interesting, because the existence of such a character is disguised in Tactics. The auracite, or Zodiac Stones, in Tactics do serve a similar end as Jenomis states. In some, the auracite possesses the wielder in their final moments, spawning horrible Lucavi demons. For others, it saves the lives of their loved ones, bringing them back from the brink of death.
Okay, back to talking about the Viera! From Jenomis' descriptions, the Viera have largely directly adapted from their FF12 incarnation without much change. Much like FF12, there are two main tribes, the lighter complexioned Veena and the darker complexioned Rava. Viera surnames indicate the village of their birth, but their forenames are personal names. Vieras traditionally are given a name upon birth, but should they choose to leave the wood, they will adopt a new "city name". This distinguishes their new life from their old one, reinforcing the severing of ties upon being banished from the wood. That being said, as the Viera population in cities increases, this may change. Finally, during the release of Shadowbringers, only femme Vieras were added, as all previous depictions have only been of femme Viera. Masc Viera weren't added until Endwalker, and while they existed in the lore, FFXIV is the first depiction of them.
33:00 – Some of the awkward timing of the transition to talk to the Bangaa is due to the cut delivery quests if I remember correctly. But Bwagi's presence is very timely for our needs!
38:15 – Okay, two more bits of lore about the Viera. First, their appearance! This is Fran, from FF12, and is our first Viera, a preview of what's to come in Shadowbringers. She's been slotted into the game here with some adjustment, but the character and her outfit are directly from FF12, and she serves as the template for all Viera. They're all basically proportioned as supermodels. Going back to the storybook fantasy of Tactics Advance, Viera have always worn some skimpy clothing, but Fran's iconic outfit is the starting gear for every Viera in FFXIV. That's right, everyone Viera gets her own set of Fran's Boudoir Armor (Boudoirmor?). One change from FF12 and Tactics Advance is that Viera are no longer digitigrade, meaning that they don't have that flimsy excuse for wearing high heels all the time. Viera are no longer like Barbie, their heels touch the ground with some shoes. And if you think these ridiculous standards are confined to femme Viera, the masc side certainly tries to keep up. Bunny boys are all so pretty that the community heralded them as the death of all Miqo'te men and their starting gear is specifically designed to emphasize their abs. One item of note is that on average masc Viera are shorter than their femme counterparts.
The second piece of lore about Viera is their accents. Fran and all Viera from FF12 spoke with a notable Icelandic accent. This was a localization choice that was made without Square Enix's notice, and have stuck ever since. FFXIV will continue this trend with Icelandic voice actors for prominent story Viera, although it is reasonable to expect that some Viera speak with different accents as they increasingly reside outside their ancestral home. That is, unless the accent is due to having bunny teeth.
55:45 – Bwagi's statement hear should confirm some suspicions of FF12 veterans. Fran serves a Princess, and FF12 fans know that while the Empire was told that Princess Ashelia took her own life in that game, it wasn't true. Because one of the protagonists of FF12 is Ashe – Princess Ashelia. Supplementary lore later in Shadowbringers reveals the details of what's going on here. Ba'Gamnan's squad saw Ashelia slain by a Garlean marksman, but this was in fact Fran. This entire set up was to convince everyone that Ashelia was dead, while she was instead put into an alchemical stasis. Ashelia has slept for nearly three decades, and awoken only recently. As a result, she's out of touch with the current situation, but learning rapidly with Fran and the rest of Lente's Tears at her side.
Next time: We go to where the War of the Lions started. Orbonne Monastery. And we meet some of the biggest names from The Zodiac Brave Story.
One of the (many, many) things I like about this game is the variety of characters, especially female characters. Like, seeing Tataru and Yugiri walk into the room together made me really excited, because I genuinely really like them both, and it got me thinking. It really is one of the only titles I can think of that has this many female characters who are well written, have distinct personalities, and are, y'know, likeable (both their personality and as characters in a story).
The conversation with Hankock, Yugiri and Tataru at the end there is hinting a bit at the goings on in the MSQ around the same time (patch 4.5x).
fun fact the wandering dramaturge is matsuno's self insert much like the wandering minstrel is yoship's
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For those curious, playing this quest line as a Viera does not change the dialog and is very weird.
Fran! Hi Fran, welcome to FFXIV!
It's frustrating but reasonable that the Alliance, the Domans and the EATC wouldn't provide aid at this point. As Yugiri said, their forces are divided and scattered right now, and their last attempt got trounced. Ala Mhigo and Doma at least had more or less solid leadership and something of a plan. You can't wing a revolution, or at least not a successful one.
Would love to see a storymode of ff9 or tactics.
38:33 Give yourself some credit, Dan. You've certainly succeeded in evoking the unique cadence of this character's voice.
Really thought this episode was going to end with Durmin doing the punch palm gesture, star wipe, Rabanastre is free of imperial control, then everybody finally stops doubting the lalafell that; thwacks shins that need thwacking, has rooted out the imperials from two territories already, regularly kills gods, defeats machines created to kill gods, and delivers snacks. Durmin has the patience of a saint to ask for help instead of just telling the alliance, doma, and the scions " Ears up jerks! I need access to a ruin in the rabbit forest to fix a monkey paw rock and sort out the zodiac something and save whatever. That means we are helping the elaborate lingerie rabbit and the big pirate lizard take back their fictional kingdom from the imps got it? I will not be taking questions ".
Silly question about moogle physics: the wee fluffball is hovering above the floorboards of the airship – does he need to fly to keep up with the ship or is he anchored to the floor beneath by some unseen force? The answer probably is "it's fantasy, don't think about too hard or your head will start to hurt!" but I am curious…