I’ve always wanted to make a video like this. The hardest part was picking which amongst some of the greatest moments in FFXIV I wanted to shine some light on. Which is why I decided that Stormblood could use a bit of love. Join me as we break down what’s arguably a very short collection of scenes, but no less important!
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#ffxiv #lore #cutscenes
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18:07
“To this day… the only character who understands the WoL in this level”
LAUGHS in DRK
I think the scene with Emet after Amaurot was fantastic, just the hypest moment in game.
Not a hot take at all, but there it is.
I really wish we could just fast forward past the Scions giving their spiels and falling over though.
Also, I have some even spicier takes about the quality of Endwalker's writing. I liked very specific parts a lot and hated very specific parts a lot.
The first half is extremely good (except the loporrits, please just make these types of things into side quests next time)
The second half is missed potential, bad characterization, emotional manipulation to pass off an anti-villain as a straight-up hero, trope after trope, inconsistent messaging, and then a surprisingly decent resolution, all things considered.
I would say that your analysis of the the Ala Mhigans in the flashback is a bit too simplistic. These are complicated feelings. In occupied areas of Nazi Germany people also sided with the Nazis. They facilitated the exploitation of people, the finding of jews. People's friends, neighbors, family. Some did so for the same reason Fordola's father did. To safeguard their families. We never know what Fordola's father did for Garlemald. Hell that old lady might have lost a son, a husband, or both because a resistance movement was rooted out by traitors like Fordola's father. Justice doesn't mean throwing a rocks at a little girl, but by that same token, your family doesn't warrant the debasement and death of many others. In my country many people died in a particularly harsh winter during the war, because food was so scarce. Those who sided with the Nazis did not. Is that justice?
There are few cutscenes that really shook me, this is one of them. And the latest one is the Matsya cutscene, I can hear my heart pounding and my hands were trembling.
I agree that this is one of the best cutscenes in ffxiv, but I had a different take on it.
Before this, a major motive for Fordola was making Ala Mhigana suffer for what happened to her father. She even says to Zenos she wants to make people who looked down on her to pay. Despite looking down on her fellow Ala Mhigans, she was just as vindictive and cruel as they could be.
When she gains the resonant, she experiences the memories of people she has wronged, made worse by the fact that her resonant is based on Krile’s rather sensitive echo, meaning those memories are near constant. I took her wanting to die as her trying to make the constant reminders go away.
And then the WoL and company meet her in her cell. She pushes away any attempt Lyse or Arenvald make to sympathize with her. She’s even angry at the WoL after they see her memories, mocking the idea of knowing someone just because you saw a memory or two. To her, it was just looking down on her again, just in a different form.
But when she looks into the WoL’s memories, she’s hit with a proverbial brick wall. For all her anger at her father’s death, for all her disdain for a world that seemed to look down on her, she is left speechless. There was someone who had experienced far greater heartbreak than she could imagine, and yet they still stood strong in spite of it. She suddenly realized she herself had been using an excuse to be angry all these years, and has only remained broken because of it.
This scene also gives great build up for the Lakshmi fight later, as Fordola is given the chance to protect the leaders from the primal. As she’s being escorted back to her cell, an older delegate says that, though he may never forgive her, he will thank her for what she has done that day.
Stormblood is a great expansion and my personal favorite.
I play as a Xaela and after getting captured by the Oronir, until the end of the azim steppe is probably my favorite chain of main story quests in the entire game. Yes it was mostly because of how I personally connected to my WoL in those quests. He alongside Hien learns about the Xaela's past, then participates in the Naadam and becomes the new khagan. It felt like a triumphant "return" to your roots. Everything I wanted to happen, happened there. I am a turkish guy and this felt like a fantasy window to my roots, with all of those nomadic tribes being around. The only thing I didn't like is that it was the start of Yugiri being sidelined. I think it would have been great seeing a Raen who was in a single small town under the ocean for her childhood, see the Xaela being free and wandering from place to place.
My underrated cutscene is also from stormblood. Estinien says 5 words “come Nidhogg we are needed” and single-handedly destroys a Garlean canon. This begins his role as my guardian angel.
Think about it. Next he saves you when you fall during your fight with “zenos”, then he investigates black rose while you are away, then him and vetra save guy and the baby in endwalker by diving from the sky.
I will admit that it was these cutscenes that made me look at Fordola in a new light. This is what made me begin to like Fordola as a character and what began her road to redemption for me and many others I believe.
Stormblood has always been my favorite, and I think it’s because I’m more interested in the politics verses the fantasy. But, thank you for highlighting one of the highlights of the expansion.
I didn’t even like Heavensward, so Stormblood being filled to the brim with ideas and people I actually could empathize with instead of a blood war with goofy alien dragons that was based on who ate who. The Doman side in particular tugged at me from their defeated spirits and being hyped by the long wait for the rest of their story via the refugee story in ARR.
I think the first scene we meet Yotsuya and watch her gleefully force her sadism on the innocent Domans coupled with her defeat after the Doma Castle dungeon, with her sobbing at her existence and total failure.
Stormblood hits different.
For me the issue I have with stormblood is the dissonance between the mechanics, and the story. There's ways to make it just that much more feasable and work better, but… they didn't.
Strombloods patch MSQ content hard carries Ala Mhigo, as imo the 'liberation of Ala Mhigo' felt like little more then a side quest in it's own expansion.
That said, I very much do like Fordola and Yatstuyu, far as the type of villain they both are. So i was glad to see they hadn't forgotten about Fordola, even if the closer to her character arc is something only a lvl 90 healer will see. -.-
as for my favorite cut-scene. Post Tempering Cure in Shadowbringers, where the we've just freed the Kobold Shaman from Titans enthrallment, but he's still, rightfully, pissed off, springs to mind first. That whole exchange between him and the admiral is great stuff.
but if we're going off of 'story told', I'm a straight up cheat. My favorite bit of story telling in the game, is 'In from the Cold'. we'd been told time and again, just how much stronger we are to the average person, but in this solo instance, we are, in brutal detail shown just how insurmountably wide the gap is between someone like the WoL or Zeons, and literally everyone else truly is.
I honestly can't name what I consider the best or my favorite cutscene, there are so many good moments and setups. Shadowbringers and Endwalker take the crown for the most part, because of how it's building on so much backstory.
I guess the Reisen Temple arc is one I think of a lot and it's probably because of the theme "別れ (Farewell)" that plays during it, maybe it's the heroic tale of Tenzen or is it the tragedy of Yotsuyu? I don't know, I only know that it felt good seeing the Auspices again in the Endwalker post content. From "Ah, a short return to some old Stormblood stories, jolly good." to "I sorely wish you had been part of the main story."
Or maybe I'm like everyone else, I just cannot return to Ultima Thule because "Close In The Distance" is playing on repeat there now and it breaks me with a flood of good memories every time.
I laugh at the last bit of this cutscene. WoL endured all that suffering just to collect random bits and bobs and will continue to suffer. There's only 1 WoL but he must have 300 mounts and hundreds of glamour sets. Might as well suffer in style.
Not a cut scene but a line that has always stck with me was from the final bods of the void arcs second raid. "I have supped upon the void… what power course through your veins?!"
I think the biggest problem for people was Lyse (annoying and irritating character forces from nowhere to msq 4.0, kinda) and because of that it darkens a lot of other plots. But for me, duality of war / people / characters – it's amazing for discourse, so both Yotsuyu and Fordola, Ala Mhigo and Doma, people and revolutioners, create a lot of interesting and closer to "Reality" points (more than fantasy :P)
I'm working through Stormblood now and I really enjoy the setting. This is by far my favorite expansion. 😀
Ignoring the instructions to post an underrated scene here I just have to say just how much I love Fordola and her character progression from 4.1, to the info you learn in the summoners lvl80 job quest, to 5.55, and then in the healer questline in EW. Overall my favorite storyline in FFXIV period, and quite possibly the best redemption arc I've seen in any piece of media.
I love that the scene also makes it clear that you, the WOL, are not ok. That what you suffered is not normal or ok.
I think my favourite scene will always be when we first meet Hythlodaeus in the recreation of Amaurot… it puts Emet-Selch in a different light.
Fordola is one of my favorite characters. She's not a good person, nor is she someone I admire in any way, but she has a powerful story arc. She goes from hated monster to begrudgingly accepted ally, and it feels right.
Stormblood conflicts are some of my favorites in the whole game!
Stormblood has some of the lowest points BUT it also has some of the best
I always tell new players who have heard Stormblood sucks or isn't as good as the rest of the game "Stormblood is the expansion I came in on, and I really do like it. It has some faults, sure, but it's main problem is being sandwiched between two superior expansions."
For me, the scene that hits me is always Count Edmond de Fortemps learning about Haurchefant's fate. He is an utterly broken man in that instant. It's wonderfully voice acted and animated. I know the cinematography in later expansions gets better, but what they did there really stung. A father who must bury his son, even more poignant given his social status and what we know of Haurchefant's character. A bastard he may have been, but it shows Edmond loved him very much. Even the station he enjoyed was a show of his father's approval, even if they probably seldom had a chance to meet. There is a comfort in knowing someone you love is in the next room, so if they are not there… it feels… wrong. It's a raw and powerful scene and nothing we can do will bring back that smile.
I could fix her
For me the best stretch of Xiv is the moment you set foot in enter the final dungeon of storm blood through until you finish patch 5.3. Don't get me wrong end walker is nice, but 4.1 to 5.3 is where I fell in love with xiv.
I am personally a Stormblood enjoyer as I feel like the patch content totally made up for the pacing issues of the main story. With that being said, the most memorable scene from Stormblood to me has to be The Burn (Savage). If you know, you know…
I always felt that Fordola was an underrated villain/character. I have my issues with Stormblood, not because of the writing, but more the pacing, like you said, trying to stuff too much into too short a time and being wedged between two of the best expansions in MMO history. This scene definitely hit hard and I loved it. It was absolutely the best scene in the Xpac and one of the best in the game.
As for my favorite, it's definitely the last cutscene after defeating NidStinien at the Final steps of Faith. The way it harkened back to your losses and how you use those loses to bolster yourself to do the right thing, to take strength from your pain and from the memories of loved ones, just always tears my heart out in the best of ways. I know it's certainly not an underrated one by far, and is widely praised among scenes in the game, but it's still one of the few cutscenes that I won't ever skip on all the myriad alts I level through HW.
There's 2 scenes that stick out to me like this one does. One is the fall of the Rhalgr's Reach area in Stormblood. When Rahban comes running in as backup. He looks around and was ready to charge at Zenos.. but he pauses to see the Scions down, countless wounded and even the WoL on his knees in defeat. THE WoL that saved Eorzea countless times, even defeating Rahban in the Grand Melee, out from fighting Zenos. How could he fight where the WoL failed? So he grit his teeth and went to help the others. It's the sign of a great leader to admit defeat over adding on to the problem. I love this scene if only because it helps shows that the WoL is not all powerful, he can fail. There in that moment, he did and it nearly cost Y'stola's life.
The second one comes at the end of Shadowbringers. When the WoL is on the tower, overlooking the Crystarium feeling terrible. The Light had return and it was all his fault. He failed to contained the light, failed to protect his old friend G''raha from being taken by Emet. Now the light had re-flooded the First and he was on the verge of becoming the monster he killed, a mega-Lightwarden. But there at his side is Arbert the Ghost. There to remind him there was still hope. So what if it's all his fault? It was time to get up and fix it, and Arbet would be there to help. As we found our footing, Feo Ul comes to cheer us up as well. To remind us to see ourselves as G'Raha saw us, a Hero. From there, we go to learn about the good G'Raha did and how we could become what he saw in us.. the Warrior of Darkness. I just love this scene as it's a moment of reflection for the WoL. He's always won.. always came on top. But there, in that moment.. he lost. He failed to contain the light and nearly became a unkillable monster. Never had he felt this low only to be brought back up by the help of his friends and a firey Pixie. Also we get reminded to focus on the now, the past is the past and why worry for the future. Stand still and be in the now.
My favorite scene in FFXIV was actually in Endwalker. The scene where Jullus is given some soup from one of the Ala Mhigan soldiers. Seeing a genuine human moment of kindness between someone who was oppressed by the Garlean Empire and and a Garlean soldier over food felt so real and heart warming.
Also Stormblood is way underrated. Stormblood was better than Heavensward. You can’t change my mind lol
@18:18 Eh… there is one other character who saw what Fordola saw, and even more, and in more detail. But I won't spoil that, as you don't see that until the end of 6.0. But I will say something else: I absolutely love it when XIV villains are amazed, shocked, or scared of the WoL. You don't see that enough in games, where you have a protagonist that fells enemy after enemy after enemy and you go "why are all these fools thinking they can best me?" … it's nice to see a villain, or even ex-villain, show actual fear of your character. Or, in Fordola's case, be utterly shocked and amazed at the WoL's sheer strength. Another such moment happened in Heavensward when you defeated Thordan. "who… WHAT… are you!?" after losing to an epic beatdown, he just can't understand how the WoL could possibly be that strong..
The first Cutscene I thought of wasn’t a msq cutscene or even something you can view with the Unending Journey, but the last cutscene of the quest “by the time you hear this”, which is the quest you take to unlock the Twinning. At the end, a Crystarium guard brings you over to one of the artifacts they obtained from the crystal tower, only for you to find a magitek terminal, which you activate. The message that plays proclaims itself as the final log entry. It goes over how the crystal tower is ready for its journey to the first, how they’ve put all their hopes in this, and how it’ll all be worth it if it works. But in the end it asks the listener to “keep us in your thoughts. We’ll be thinking of you always. This is Biggs, third of his name, 18th president of Garlond Ironworks, signing off. May the 12 be with you, G’raha Tia”. And coming off of the heels of “remember we once lived”, but coming from a character that we see only once in an echo flashback, with “Dreams aloft” playing in the background, it still gets me misty eyed any time I watch it.
personally, i have two scenes im quite fond of.
Spoiler warning for Heavensward and Shadowbringers.
The death of Haurchefant was well crafted scene. throughout HW you learn to apreciate the company of the fortemps, work, talk and laugh together during a time where you, the WoL, and the few companions that managed to go to ishgard with you are at your current deepest.
Haurchefant is also presented to be a very important companion to the WoL since he gets refrenced a few times in the future aswell.
my second pick is after the Vauthry fight, when you absorb all the light and are at risk of imploding, turning into one of the monsters yourself. the sky is covered in light again and you are the reason why. ypour allies are restlessly trying to find a way to rescue you while trying to keep the various civilians of crystarium calm, the exarch is gone aswell.
your WoL, right now, is at their most vulnerable they have ever been. so you race against the clock through amaurot.
i know that the player beeing goated with the sauce is a given in any mmo so having these moments when your character actually takes a beating for once feel especially good imo.
haven played endwalker yet so maybe there are more scenes like that.
I think you'd be hard pressed to find a person who doesn't agree with the statment "the last half of stormblood is amazing"
Excellent video as always, Scribe. I'm about 75-80% in, but I wanted to pause to write my reply anyway.
For a long, long time since I got through Stormblood, I've always had this feeling in me that has never gone away:
I've always felt that Ala Mhigans—with very certain exceptions—were idiots. And I think you making a video about the Butcher's Blood cutscenes is the reason why I felt this way the first time, and every bit of side content that involved Ala Mhigo (like the Bard 61-70 quest chain) just cemented that feeling even further.
Honestly, nothing that FFXIV has done with regard to Ala Mhigo has painted them in a good light, and that may very well be the point—yeah? Up until Lyse and Raubahn, Ala Mhigo seems to have been ruled and led by people who are keen to use violence for violence's sake.
It didn't just start with Mad King Theodoric, either. You had monarchs like Gylbarde who instigated the Autumn War simply from the desire to expand territory and conquer a seemingly peaceful neighbor.
And if I remember right, the monarch who was salty about Ala Mhigo losing relevance as a trading hub due to it being a landlocked nation when Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa could trade by ship also wanted to expand or create some sort of alternative way to be relevant—by using violence and conquest.
So, yeah. Again, I've always thought Ala Mhigans as a whole were idiots. And I agree wholeheartedly that they got what was coming to them when they birthed The Butcher in Fordola.
On the topic at hand: if I had to choose one cutscene (or set of) that established a character or shed some deeper nuance to them, it would have to be the cutscenes relating to "Tsuyu" from the post-Stormblood content. I won't go into detail since I'm sure you and others already understand, but it's such a fitting and poignant moment that mirrors Fordola's awakening and resolve to make her nation pay for their wrongdoings towards her.
It reminds us (again) that a villain isn't necessarily born, but created. And Tsuyu's loss of her memory—including the painful experiences that shaped her—proved that if she had simply been around different people who treated her with more humanity, the Witch of Doma might not have ever been born at all
Bro I loved stormblood. I don’t get the hate. The beautiful music in the zones, Yotsuyu and Gosetsu. Suzaku, so many chilling compelling stories. I loved it
Just finished Stormblood today, and I'm so glad you're going back through some of its best moments!
Fordola was forced to watch through the original post 2.0 campaign and ended up shook 😭
This was one of my favorite scenes as well. As soon as I saw the thumbnail, I knew exactly what scene it was. I felt so validated for my WoL and yet, still sorry for Fordola. Not sorry for her current predicament but more for how all it took was one moment to send her astray, and yet here we are. Then, she looks at us after seeing the madness we've been through and is just left in sheer disbelief. She looks at us like: "You can't be normal. Normal people break under even 1/4 of that pressure. You are not normal…how? How are you still here?! How did you not you not turn into someone like me?!" I wouldn't be surprised if she thought it all unfair. She breaks from a single horrible moment in her life yet we take on the world's madness like it's another Monday. Not saying that we didn't feel anything from everything we've been through but I think many people would absolutely love a slice of that unshakeable resolve the WoL is so famously known for.
Myself, Stormblood is one of my favorite expansions, just following after Endwalker. (was my favorite until Endwalker). HW is the one that is the downer for me. ARR was just so good that going into omg we are going to make friends with dragons while our friends from the Scions and every one we worked with before? Eeh they can take care of them sleves, I mean they want to kill us back there, so we are going to go play with dragons. HW didn't really get good until the Warrior of Darkless and pre-SB questlines. I will say that the Dun Scathe raids are fun, and I enjoy the firmament crafting stuff. But MSQ … yeah, not so much. I really got into the storyline in SB from the build up, and I think becuase we had the interation with Yigiri already that I had no trouble connecting the two parts. Hein just makes the expansion amazing so. yeah, the only thing I don't care for is the Ilviance raids … those can go die in a hole, especially Math Boss… but other than that SB kinda rocks.
It's hard to put into words why but my Favorite Scene, the one I go back to rewatch whenever I have a good bit of free time, is the very last Dark Knight Job quest scene. That conversation with ourselves just rarely fails to bring a tear to my eye. (as well as the journal entry)
Man, Fordola is such a great character.. it's sad she's kinda getting pushed to the side
I've become so familiar with your character via these videos that my brain registers you as a canon part of the would, just as much as Thancred, Y'shtola, or Alphinaud.
When the cutscene started I had found myself asking, "Where's the WoL? Only the NPCs are on-screen" before catching myself, and reminding me that the Synodic Scribe is NOT an official FFXIV NPC, he's a player avatar.