Asmongold Learns About FFXIV Composer Cancer Battle | Soken Speech at Fanfest 2021

[@MrDoot-hj2ir]

He wrote a 14 minutes song, one of the best songs of the game, while on a bed, fighting the greatest of pains. Absolute respect.

[@Asle_Kaspersen]

What is the song called ? i been taking a break from the game

[@eldrasgames5008]

@@Asle_Kaspersen to the edge

[@DarkLotusAlpha]

@@Asle_Kaspersen To the Edge, if you haven't done 5.3 you should as looking up the song could lead to spoilers.

[@pit32]

@@Asle_Kaspersen To The Edge. Videos might have 5.3 spoilers though.

[@zelos666]

@@Asle_Kaspersen I would strongly advise you to come back and finish the story before looking it up. The video to the song shows an extremely important boss fight that's a major spoiler for the end of Shadowbringers.

[@narrahian9713]

Keep in mind that Soken just got discharged from the hospital and this was the first thing he did, absolute madlad. EDIT: This blew up.

[@evilphemt]

The first thing he did was LAHEE. Is my god

[@mikepower8999]

The Japanese work ethic and integrity is out of this world bruh.

[@aphexamine]

Real News.

[@alanrendonmejia2603]

@@mikepower8999 It is, but sometimes it becomes unhealthy

[@LautaroQ2812]

It's like Asmon walking out of the hospital for the first time: "Man, I wanna go to Wendy's"

[@BestFf14Player]

something to note is the "translator" is Michael Koji Fox, one of the key members of the development team. lore writer, localizer, and vocalist for The Primals. Legend in his own right. This had to be tough for him to translate, especially on the spot.

[@tofuklops8159]

@@GruntSquad92 On one song of Alexander he came up with a random number on a subway and put them into lyrics bcs they rhymes and why not lmao

[@kaine2805]

@@tofuklops8159 Is it bad that I can tell it's the one part from "Metal: Brute Justice Mode" and "Locus" just from that description? (I listened to the Alexander themes a LOT, that was when I was big on raiding in FF)

[@szalkerous]

I highly doubt knowing the close friendship between them that Koji didn't know about it already, and likely kept it to himself at Soken's request.

[@OmegaEnvych]

@@szalkerous Probably, but who knows.

[@uba754]

Soken is a fucking legend and deserves every bit of respect available.

[@tenjenk]

ingame people went from wildly cheering in one of the cities (across multiple servers) during the concert section to standing side by side solemnly during his speech.

[@keiichimorisato98]

Asmongold, Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) lost a friend of his to cancer back in December, two of his best friends were battling cancer at the same time, he lost one and Soken survived, so this is an incredibly emotional moment for him.

[@bismarck4872]

Ah fuck, didn’t know that.

[@NinjaFrog65]

"For those we have lost, for those we could yet save."

[@m.a.dmatt6689]

@@NinjaFrog65 Damnit...who's cutting onions here?!

[@WhiplashSL]

@@NinjaFrog65 "Remember... Remember us. Remember that we once lived."

[@drftr6073]

That must have felt so bizarre. I feel that in a weird way, Soken had a duty to stay alive in a way, that surely things were just as likely to turn out a billion other ways, but it simply just couldn't go that way. it's like when an essential npc dies in morrowind and the thread of prophecy is severed.

[@Kiwirnango]

Imagine having to be the guy in the dancing Moogle costume during this whole sad speech lmao

[@zackr.7628]

Dude at least you don't have to hold back while crying

[@JackgarPrime]

@@zackr.7628 True. Those Moogle and Chocobo heads were probably soaked in tears by the end.

[@neek01]

dude said that at 11:58 in this video

[@leonlwf]

LOL. Sweat and tears

[@Grimdock]

The dudes crying in his suit. If he didn't have it on it would look like hes being forced to dance.

[@TheTGJesusfreak]

at the end of the day Asmon doesnt have to like FF14. I just like that he appreciates the game for what it is and the people who made it. I'm fine if he doesn't enjoy the game I love.

[@lordkrauser]

That's a very mature take. Almost too rational for this day and age... KILL IT WITH FIRE REEEEEEEE!

[@samurai90x]

what, you don't find it unacceptable that people don't love the same htings you do, and find it an insult htat they dont? you just go on living oyur life? inconcievable

[@TheSylvirr]

How dare you have a rational and mature and understanding take on things? Unacceptable, clearly.

[@user-bs3wg2kf2t]

a mature take? afraid we're taking you off the internet; you clearly do not belong!

[@nikkonikkoshite]

@@lordkrauser just so tired of the mentality you HAVE TO either fully love, or fully hate something, depending on what you like. you can love wow, and still respect XIV. as a prior player, there's many things i did like and enjoy about it, the lore, worldbuilding, and some well done dungeons and raids. there's many things i don't like, like their retconning of story, or how they make you have to buy books to find out what the full story going on in the game is, but they do have amazing worldbuilding and graphics design. there's things i wish XIV did better, like glamour (xmog) storage, but each game will have it's own strengths and weaknesses. nothing is 100% one way or the other. the thing that killed wow for me, was the lack of care and the current path blizz is taking, and the toxicity of their community they don't seem to care about.

[@semiramisubw4864]

Also to be clear, Japanese Society is something else, it isnt seen as a good act saying something like this into the public because many will say its weakness or else. It took him a huge chungus to say something like this. Also, Yoship lost a close friend not long ago to cancer aswell.

[@Jekiterio]

I don't think there are any person going around looking down on people whom have cancer, seems more like someone drawing anything out of their ass to justify why they don't "tell" it in public for trying to make others feel pity for them.

[@cloudwolf3972]

Exactly what I was thinking. Japanese society is hardcore corporate culture, so the fact that they act like this is even more incredible.

[@GrimmGB]

@UCUft4O7pkzbRUI5P1gryjwA naysayers? The work he did whilst in hospital was already released and massively beloved long before this announcement you dumb fuck

[@johndoe-bl3fo]

@@dra6o0n Faking cancer on a national stage, risking having people find out he's full of shit with some digging around, when even before he spilled his guts the expansion was considered the best of the franchise and then having your coworkers and company play along just seems really unlikely.

[@SMNtheNight]

@@johndoe-bl3fo Really unlikely? I think the word you're looking for is "impossible". Why? The community already loves them, and those outside already respect them. If we're gonna take the unfortunately popular cynical route of reasoning, Square Enix has absolutely zero reason from ANY perspective to pull such a stunt unless they just wanted to die and literally burn all their money after getting caught (which would be inevitable). And that requires every single person involved to also hold such a desire. Yeah, "impossible" is the best word.

[@RafimOfficial]

I'm absolutely disgusted by the people calling this just a boring PR thing. I'm ashamed that I'm playing the same game as they do, fucking hell man...

[@trevorwalsh7196]

Saw a comment saying “actually it was the doctors idiot” when he was saying that the players helped him get through it. Some people are just so hurt or lost that they need to put others down in fear of having emotions.

[@ArchieGamez]

No way its PR man, cancer is not something to fuck around with it

[@Lyu-Phy]

A friend of Yoshi P died to this already, fortunately Soken made it.

[@jamesonthemap1768]

@@DreamingVoid dumbest comment i've ever read in my life, damn peak absurdity

[@undeny]

@@DreamingVoid conquered is completely appropriate stop being a wuss. He's overcome his adversity, that's not "coping".

[@dankdill8286]

Some real gross comments in chat when Yoshi-P was having an emotional moment. Kinda sucks that certain people are too edgy, closed off, or jaded to show emotion. Idk what the issue is with that but I wish people could just not

[@Exaltable]

@@everyonethinksyoureadeathm5773 it’s just a toxic mindset of being raised to think that crying is for pussies and emotion is weakness that creates way too many asshats these days

[@The1rust]

@@Exaltable Who are either too young to know better or "adults" separating themselves (voluntarily or not) too long from human interaction to not know how to give a shit because they're totally impaired when it comes to basic decency. Cancer is something which we've likely all experienced in one way or another so it takes a special kind of dipshit to see it as an opportunity to be a dipshit rather than offer at least a little compassion for how shitty it is.

[@VaporeonEnjoyer1]

It's young zoomers who have grown up on the internet and who "cringe" at everything out of their comfort zone because they are the most insecure generation (about half the millennials give them a run for their money though). They don't know how to process emotions so they just "cringe" or belittle genuine displays of humanity.

[@ZanarkandFFX]

people like mccock

[@austen8718]

Thats what happens when people are chronically online, they don't know what actual humans act like lmfao

[@jonofthedawnn]

This really goes to prove how much these people actually care about their game and their community.

[@dariusalas6835]

Exactly

[@Astralaeyna]

@@krykry606 If someone didn't love their game or value the players, I doubt very much they would work as hard as these guys do. The devs on ffxiv lived in their office while fixing the issues with 1.0 many nights, and while working simultaneously on building 2.0 which is ARR.

[@Dragonfire2505]

@@Astralaeyna Yeah. But on the other hand the western culture would see it critically because of unhealth working conditions

[@Fridabina]

​@@Astralaeyna You realize it's a Japanese company right? don't fucking praise someone overworking themselves while fighting fucking cancer as something virtuous The company should have forced him to not do it Karoshi isnt something to scoff at

[@bangalgar]

@@Fridabina how fucking dare you. Do you have any clue what it's like to sit in a hospital with no distractions feeling fucking useless.

[@DarkanTheDragon]

There is a mini boss in a map who is a giant crab named cancer, but is a low level map so people tend to ignore it, the Players in some server organized themselves to beat the ever living crap out of it to honor soken streaming "fuck cancer"

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

Man ffxiv community is something else. This is amazing

[@andrewmeyer3599]

Beautiful. Simply Beautiful

[@GlacialRaven]

And then they spelt out Soken using their characters on the beach

[@valiox7506]

@Stefano Gorini All the power to Soken. But that just sounds really autistic

[@AnthonyKagegari]

@@Sarnatuile thing is the community is so tight knit in FFXIV that when I started playing in 2014 a community member had an accident and was brain dead in the hospital only kept alive so that his family members and friends could say their goodbyes. The whole entire server of Gilgamesh held a funeral and paid respects to the Free Company house that he was apart of. In FFXIV it’s not just big content creators or streamers who get attention it’s everyone people have made real connections with. Just like back when I was 15 sitting in Goldshire with my closest friends talking about all the exciting things we could do and did do together in WoW.

[@luchts4547]

This is why XIV players love and trust their devs. The whole attitude of the dev team is about delivering great service for the player, making sure they EARN our subscription, and showing gratitude when they do. Then we give the devs love and good feedback for their great work and they're energized to keep it up, it's a beautiful cycle. Not to pretend everything is perfect in XIV but the problem areas are overwhelmingly eclipsed by everything that's done well.

[@trivialslope]

It's the reason why I preordered endwalkers because I trust Yoshi-p and the others to make it epic

[@AzureKyle]

Exactly. Over on Famfrit we organized a march in game to show our love and support for him, going from Uldah, bordered by the people holding a vigil for the Berserk writer who passed, and walked all the way to Mor Dhona on mounts.

[@biggusriggus7693]

@@AzureKyle I was part of the vigil for Miura over on adamantoise. It's beautiful to see an entire community come together like that to pay respects to such an iconic figure

[@DickWigglin]

You think you do, but you don't.

[@DickWigglin]

@Creepy Tell me more about myself.

[@alvarolima7060]

Soken is a legend and the music "To the Edge" he made while in the Hospital is a masterpiece. You might not like FF14 but the team dedication is admirable.

[@miqotesoulia8620]

aye, ppl dont have to like the game. But respect the devs behind it and their unwavering passion.

[@melz2195]

i think he like it now

[@TheColmBrennan]

As someone who has been battling cancer for 4+ years, since I was 24 years old, and working throughout my treatments and surgeries I know what this man is talking about. Having something to focus on gave me so much in my battle and all the support I got from family, friends and co workers was everything to me, and still is to this day whilst I still battle it.

[@milten4321]

That's rough, I hope things will get better for you and remember - a smile better suits a hero

[@milten4321]

:)

[@berserk_9579]

Get well soon! Good luck!

[@moneton8627]

Wishing you all the best, keep fighting and stay strong! :)

[@phantochu3456]

Keep on fighting and good luck!

[@King-wc6bl]

The complete contrast between seeing a speech such as this and the speeches Blizzard have been having at each of their respective ‘cons’ is absolutely crazy. You can tell which one cares about their fans and which one cares about money

[@L4v3]

Don't you have phones?

[@EbonMaster]

If it were Blizzard they would have given this like 30 seconds tops of mentioning before moving on to the next thing they wanna sell you.

[@mjs3188]

@@L4v3 it gives me this sick joy that that clusterfuck of a response is still remembered and mocked mercilessly

[@sr7olsniper]

@@mjs3188 It will never go away. That and the out of season April's fools joke. That blizzcon was a fucking disgrace. For months they hyped a diablo tease and ppl made plans in mass to show up for a reveal only to be greeted with a fucking mobile game that had no plans on coming to PC at all. YOu couldve fucking revealed that at E3 or gamescon not fucking blizzcon. The out of touchness was unreal.

[@acrosswater9041]

I guess you never bothered to watch the conventions with Metzen or Kaplan, but what else to expect from people like you who keep bashing Blizzard while idolizing Square Enix like they never did ANYTHING bad before. We're self aware of how bad Blizzard is today but y'all just love hating on anything.

[@Vampiyyr]

Seeing chat say AYAYA and "SNOOZE" at this honestly pisses me off like yeah I don't really like actual weeb shit either but this is not the time, holy shit.

[@Vampiyyr]

@Deron Harper He said the internet has gotten us too used to not getting punched in the face for talking shit.

[@ceecee7465]

They're just sociopathic cowards who hide behind the veil of internet anonymity.

[@compad6951]

@@kolz4ever1980 lmao what bro?

[@odw1n307]

You are right. Ignoring them is the right play. They do it for the reaction dont give them the satisfaction.

[@idk1788]

I saw one guy spamming "BORING KEKW" like 5 times and hasn't got banned. I think Asmon needs new mods cause that shit is cringe

[@Neerus2007]

I was waiting for this. Stuff like this is why we trust in FF14.

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

Fuck i didnt expect to cry like this. I already saw this vid ll

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

@@kolz4ever1980 fuck you bro. I lost my dad, grandpa and brother to cancer, so this vid was too close to home for me. Toxic people like you are whats wrong with the world today

[@Vashy434]

@@kolz4ever1980 acting tough does not make you strong mate, it just makes it seem like your hiding your glaring weakness.

[@Astralaeyna]

@@kolz4ever1980 And if you look to your left, you will see a prime example of toxic masculinity. It is okay to not be okay. Crying when you are sad, happy, or when something inspires those feelings is not a sign of weakness or "being soft." If anything, refusing to express those emotions out of fear is weaker.

[@ivancastro4571]

@@kolz4ever1980 why is there always a bitch like you on the comment section

[@Rysix19]

Guy is talking about his cancer and someone in chat literally said " who cares LULW" imagine calling yourself a human

[@celphalonred1999]

Unfortunately, that's but one of many aspects that makes us human...

[@MrPryzeLurker]

anonymity bring out the truth and/or the worst out of people

[@jin-cg9vz]

fck that guy

[@nomanmon]

It’s Twitch chat.. some of them will say anything, they’re not worth your time thinking about for more than a millisecond.

[@maricoehang6353]

They are other kind of human, they are sub human.

[@Vielle-Lothaire]

Some of those dudes on Twitch chat need a moral evaluation

[@Mecanotech]

Its literally chat. Don't give it importance. People are super gross on the internet since the internet started. I must say it's gotten much better actually, I'm surprised.

[@Tsukino1011]

@@Mecanotech true, those type of people are low irl than they know.

[@SuddenFool]

Nah they just let you know who to avoid in life.

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

Asmongold's chat is full of smoothbrain edgelords. Unless Asmon says something is cool or whatever, they hate on it.

[@makeaton]

When you give some one the weird anonymity that twitch chat does when you;re in there with 18k people, people will say shit they think and just led it flood away. So they can pretend "ah, just twitch chat bro, it's not real. Me calling the guy with cancer a PR stunt is just a giggle bruv." Gives them wiggle room to escape their own statements by pretending it wasn't real when pressured about it.

[@mikhail5002]

I've played WoW for 16 years. I've never played FF. I actively dislike anime things. I am now quitting WoW and starting FF. Love, Unity and Peace to all.

[@mikhail5002]

P.S. Fuck Blizzard.

[@Ashtari]

I hope you enjoy your time in FFXIV, however long it may be.

[@galaxis912]

Welcome to FF. I've played WoW for 8 years, and jumped ship when FF was released. Hope u enjoy the new chapter in your MMO experience.

[@northwestclasspnw7974]

Okay weirdo sheep. Thanks for letting us know

[@Astralaeyna]

@@northwestclasspnw7974 You really need to stop.

[@HeHeeHeeheHe]

Blizzard(Activision) would have fired him

[@miros05]

you problably said that jokingly but they really would do that , blizz don't give a flying fuck about their employee anymore

[@flygonkerel781]

:(

[@ineur8780]

no, it's just Activision they lost the right to have the name Blizzard a long time ago

[@Voxtel]

@@ineur8780 I'm not so sure, after bungie left Activision they're still just as bad, if not worse than when they were with Activision

[@Aggrofool]

Sounds about right

[@m.a.dmatt6689]

The man is an actual legend, to be on his sickbed with cancer and still create probably one of the best pieces of music in ffxiv yet

[@marcuscorvin9998]

LA-HEE! (Soken Version) 😋

[@flygonkerel781]

After watching this, it's hard to imagine anyone choosing to be toxic in a game where the creators pit so much love and effort into it

[@Astralaeyna]

There are toxic people in any game community, what helps keep FFs community decent is how FF handles the toxicity and problem people.

[@NerdlySquared]

It’s a bit of a cascade that builds on itself, if most people treat you kindly right from the start, there is a lot less reasons to be angry and many more reasons to reciprocate it and keep it going. It’s not just people getting banned, that can’t create that helpful culture by itself. Nothing is perfect, but the greater culture builds and maintains itself this way with all kinds of personalities that have joined throughout the years.

[@Fridabina]

How does unhealthy work practices translate to "love and effort"?

[@gzaos]

@@Fridabina your comment is so miserable

[@JohnYoo39]

@@Fridabina people in leadership positions get paid more for a reason

[@RokuNyx]

Yoshi-P is emotional because he lost a friend in 2020 to cancer, Maidy. For those who don't know about Maidy - he was a 1.0 and when ARR was released he used the game to reconnect with his father.

[@jaycn4115]

That was real? I thought the movie was fictional.

[@ninjafoxgamesgeekery]

@@jaycn4115No, it was true. In fact, you can read "Father of Light" blog that kept up with the progress live. There's an English translation and the blog, along with screenshots, are far FAR more comical than the movie.

[@jingo4754]

@@jaycn4115its based on real events that happened

[@oliverurbanik9647]

@@jaycn4115 No. Based on a real Story.

[@Ladywizard]

@@jaycn4115 It was based on his online diary about experience and Netflix took that and converted

[@ryanmorrissette27]

Bobby Kotick would be like “So you’re telling me you were lounging around in a hospital and still made so many mistakes you had to tweak? You’re fired.”

[@manip1980]

Yea right. As if Bobby actually cares about quality. I think what you mean is, He'd probably say something like "Unfortunately, we're gonna have to let you go, due to lay offs. It's for the good of the company".

[@basicfacekick]

@@manip1980 Kotick says, as he Zooms it to you while lounging atop his 50' giant pile of gold coins.

[@dale7326]

This isn’t sound nice actually… if that the case, there would be a serious lawsuit and it would be on the news. Not very funny thing to say about >_>

[@frederickhecker879]

@@dale7326 if you havent noticed all the kael thas voicelines have been changed from false allegations

[@buffity]

Also, this would be an pre-recorded message

[@Lucyfer1102]

In "To the Edge", the song he wrote while he was in hospital, battling cancer, there is an iconic line "Only alive when fighting Death's amber embrace". It hits very different now after the revealation

[@CryoJnik]

That song slapped so hard even before learning about Soken's battle.

[@KZorander]

I know a lot of people freaked out when you said in the Endwalker trailer that you didn't like the music because it felt so out of place (being a pop song / rock song). You've gotta know that where I believe WOW is in more of a medieval setting, FFXIV is all over the map. It starts out feeling medieval, but then you go other places and there's robots, and insanely good technology from thousands of years ago, and dragons, and just EVERYTHING. That's why the music is all over the place, because everything else is. So I really think you're going to enjoy the vast majority of the music once you start playing, because it's not jarring.... it matches the content.

[@ramontavaresdacruz2256]

When you reach Shiva boss song reach peak level

[@Sllandre]

From the Heavens, Heartless, and eScape honestly are probably near the top of my favourite boss themes. Order Yet Undeciphered? Amazing zone music.

[@budakbaongsiah]

That's just how the entire mainline franchise goes (except in 12 and 15).

[@Konpekikaminari]

I once described ffxiv's general aesthetic like this: "as you're picking flowers in this fantasy game, to your right you notice a knight in full plate walking with a knee-high wizard and a scantily clad catgirl, in the nearby tavern you can see a sci fi bounty hunter talking to a Japanese HS student and a protagonist from a previous FF game, above you fly a car-plane, an ostritch, a bear and a bed"

[@Patrick-nc6kk]

that's why I love this game so much, I enjoy all kinda different music styles, this game without the music is not the same

[@evilphemt]

"Stay strong. Keep the faith. At duty's end we will meet again. We will...we will..."

[@petalbed9206]

Now I'm crying harder lol

[@xanmontes8715]

The rains have ceased and we have been graced with another beautiful day...

[@barkley611]

Blizzard: “The pandemic has really set us back…”

[@blushingralseiuwu2222]

Well, tbf the pandemic will make any company to slow down. Especially when everything you do need to be accepted by higher up who don't know anything. Its just that, Yoshi-P is a really damm good project manager (he is really good at assigning and giving jobs) who don't need to answer to higher up for every small stuff.

[@The1rust]

*a few months later* "but we've heard you"

[@FrankysABoysName]

@@blushingralseiuwu2222 and it did set things back for FFXIV Covid permanently set their patch schedule back and some holiday events were condensed last year. But I will say they were up front about it, took the hit head on, and for the most part people were understanding. People are a lot more understanding of a 3month set back last year than they are of an 8 month set back now...

[@CrashB111]

@@FrankysABoysName And Square communicated everything, every step of the way. They didn't have 8 months of radio silence with sporadic blue posts. People trust the devs of XIV way more than Blizzard, because they actually talk to us. And when they say something, they actually do it. It's not like everything Blizzard puts out that feels like it's been screened through 10 layers of corporate PR, and is fully of empty promises.

[@kumomeme7852]

meanwhile Soken: "cancer wont take me down"

[@Trogunzo]

After watching this, I legitimately want to try playing FFXIV now.

[@nathanbell6962]

There's a free trial up to level 60

[@renivideht]

Have a lot of fun in Eorzea :D

[@SyaoranQ8]

Go for it 👍

[@Grumpypu]

go for it man, i played it and can say its a very good game. Quit WoW for good a few months ago and wanted to play a different MMO at that time, ofc i had to try FF, its just a better version of WoW and the community isnt even comparable. If i ever wanna go back to a big time sink MMO im deffo going back to FF, atm just looking for something different.

[@SaigaTenshi]

Welcome to Eorzea

[@yuririnkaro7450]

I still remember that there is a twit mentioned that "When Nobuo Uematsu was forced to put his job on hold because of his health FFXIV players around the world called for a saviour: a composer to carry Nobuo's legacy and save FFXIV's music. Our prayers were made manifest. We have summoned a Primal."

[@MelaniAlarcon]

Nobuo and Soken are both amazing, im happy to be a FF fan and enjoy them so much

[@bryanmackay8732]

That's incredible

[@CJTranceAddiction]

@@MelaniAlarcon Uematsu practically IS FF. The legacy is just too strong.....we're talking like over 100 pieces of music each for over 10 games.

[@MelaniAlarcon]

@@CJTranceAddiction i would love new FF14 players hear some tracks from Nobuo

[@smward87]

@@CJTranceAddiction Soken is fast approaching that legacy with XIV alone though. He broke the guiness world record for most original pieces of music in a videogame back in Stormblood with around 450 songs. That was 4 years ago already. So it doesn't include Shadowbringers or even the later patches of Stormblood itself.

[@ceecee7465]

I hope Asmon understands now why a lot of the FF14 player base is so passionate about the game. It's so rare to have people who lead the charge care so much about the people that follow them. Blizzard definitely doesn't share the same sentiment.

[@katomamundara8106]

Look at his face throughout all of this and his general reaction. Normally you'd find him quipping some off-putting humor even during the LA HEE, but no, he was receptive as hell. His usual chiding XIV is gone. He understood the Devs, he understood the love FOR the Devs, he **understands**. And with LA HEE, he understood that the Devs are 'friends', that they're every bit the goofs the players are and they are actively part of the community in their own way. And come the actual Rak'Tika La Hee, he had no real criticism, no real snark, we see closest to "Zackrawr" Asmongold with his Asmongold persona from what I could tell. HIs face tells the story.

[@ramontavaresdacruz2256]

It's kinda weird to be treated with some sort of respect by a company, so I guess whenever it happens people get really happy and excited about it

[@katomamundara8106]

@@ramontavaresdacruz2256 Not only do we get respect, we are treated as equals in a weird way. Because they all play the game, they all know our pains.

[@ceecee7465]

@@ramontavaresdacruz2256 Yea, It's a good feeling and an extremely rare thing in the game industry especially with triple A companies. A lot of higher ups forget that great success can be achieved in expense for the fans instead of at the expense of the fans.

[@turtlemacjack]

I think he understood before. This is probably just a good example of why.

[@Seraphima249]

SOKEN is a freaking beast of a human being and a legend as a composer. I as a player of FF14 am so proud and glad to have someone like him working on the game i am enjoying. FF14 Dev's feel so much more real and closer to their community than i ever experienced in my 15 years of playing World of Warcraft, period. I wish this team only the best for the future ahead.

[@UrbanCohort]

Soken: "Can I practice my 'LAHEE' performance?" Soken's staff: "No."

[@Astralaeyna]

I feel like it was more "Soken no!" "Soken YES! :)"

[@tofuklops8159]

Back then many years ago a fan introduced him Otamatone on a Fanfest, it took him 10 seconds to figure out how to play Chocobo theme lmao

[@Pfeifenkraut]

@@Astralaeyna If you think I've missed that DBZA reference, you are sadly mistaken.

[@Devountor]

LA HEE was already a certified hood classic when it dropped

[@EverianKalim]

Honestly the entire Shadowbringers OST is amazing

[@blueberry5822]

That desert music fucking bops

[@lopal22]

The Tempest theme might be my favorite zone music ever

[@Astralaeyna]

Ok, but can we talk about Shadowbringer's title song? I'm still in love with that.

[@theelite8196]

@@Astralaeyna Hooooooome

[@_BELMONT_]

it's funny how the FF community was positive to the point of breathing life back into this man, something you wont see in the Destiny, WoW, or any other game community.

[@crossxplague7617]

Dude you have a Cayde-6 background, haven't you heard about The Fate Of All Fools exotic story?

[@ZeddPlay]

I hope Asmon understands now why we love FF so much. It is because the people working on this feel like real people unlike blizzard employees

[@apathyreaper5323]

Neo blizzard would of just fired the guy bobby kotick: worthless bring his replacement

[@misugrrl]

I don't think its the blizzard employees so much that it's the Activision executives and Blizzard managers enforcing Activision decisions. Blizzard employees are victims. The year Blizzard had to lay off over 800 employees when they had record earnings was also the year blizzard's CEO was given record-breaking bonuses.

[@StarboyXL9]

@@misugrrl Blizzard employees are professional victims. Champagne socialists the filthy lot of them.

[@katomamundara8106]

Look at his face start to end of this video. He understands. More than ever, he understands. Not just our love, but our respect.

[@krystalphillips3555]

@@misugrrl I am probably the # 1 hater of Bobby and Activision but the 800 employees were from the French HQ they closed. They had been trying to close it for years but were caught up in a legal dispute with the French Government, when the French Citizens started their protests against Macron this weakened French Gov enough for not just Activision to pull out without legal issue but many others as well. I love France but it is the worst place in developed world to own or run a business. I can't hold this one against Bobby unless he is the reason the put it there which I doubt it, he is of Norman descent can't count among their Elite unless you have screwed over France, lol. I know a good bit about Norman being one, we don't have a Country to call home per say but we once did. You will find us in our old holdings but we no longer rule them, the Countries that they are within do. Most of our Goblins like him are pretty content to just manipulate the crap out of those Countries and France and UK are always on top of the list. So good business decision on his part but I have no doubt the Evil Goblin took great glee in doing it where he did it. He is an Evil Bastard but even a broken clock is correct twice a day.

[@Kairamek]

Shoutout to the translator. That's Michael Koji Fox, lead English localizer for 14 not some random hired person. He's known Soken for over a decade, they're both in the developer band The Primals (14's answer to the Tauren Chieftains). He held together real well to do his job during a very emotionally charged with moment with close friends.

[@samacvuk]

I started playing FFXIV after learning about that, that level of dedication is so rare nowadays.

[@luisandrade2120]

Was a little bit at doubts if i should start or not man. Aftrr this video, definitly giving at least a try, hoping having a fun experience man, wish u luck at the game man. Ps* non english speaker sry for any mistakes

[@ynzsbstn]

@@luisandrade2120 Man I started a month ago, game is amazing so far. So much content

[@elbirri]

I really want to play ir but My English sucks. And i can't send a feedback to add more language cus there is A LOT of content to translate... Even only text

[@samacvuk]

@@elbirri The thing is, I'm not a native English speaker, I learned playing games, just go in, and you will learn word by word over time.

[@elbirri]

@@samacvuk the other thing is i can't use the money in the game to pay my sub just like wow token

[@robotom6595]

The song they are talking about Soken composing during his battle, To The Edge, if you haven't played FFXIV please don't search it up and spoil it for yourself if you're thinking of playing the game. It is the single best song I have heard in a video game. The lead up to the point it plays at, the way it combines elements from the story into one moment, the actual event you hear the song during, it is right up there in my favorite moments from playing a good video game. It was already a great song, then hearing about the production behind it and what Soken was going through combined with the emotional weight of hearing it in game just solidifies it as special.

[@EverianKalim]

“The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day. And you are here to see it."

[@Mennion3]

I just got into it and was going to look it up. But you're right I'll save it for when it shows up in game.

[@titusfortunus2916]

I disagree. It's a beautiful song, but BEST SONG? Soken made TOMORROW AND TOMORROW, Soken made Under the Weight, Exponential Entropy, AND MY ALL TIME FAVORITE AMATSU KAZE!!!! I'm so happy he's back, really!

[@soma_cruz_alpha6824]

If you want to listen the song without spoilers look for "ffxiv break the limit"

[@Shiny49GER]

@@soma_cruz_alpha6824 Or watch the fanfest live version.

[@1jidion]

asmon is starting to dig the music, this is good, que the palpatine "good, good" gif

[@TheNameCannotBeFound]

Do it.

[@1jidion]

@@TheNameCannotBeFound I see youre also a person of culture

[@northwestclasspnw7974]

It's really not that good. Especially out of context

[@NanoT_T]

@@northwestclasspnw7974 A lot of the songs are bangers, but some are hit or miss. My all time favorite theme is Sephirots from Heavensward.

[@salvadormontgomery1819]

Imagine disliking Video of the lead composer talking about his battle with cancer while writing music for the game just because you're malding about ff14 popularity.

[@unluckybingo3693]

RIGHT?

[@Arrusoh]

It's not just WOW fans. When Iwata the former president of Nintendo passed away, Sony and Xbox fanboys were celebrating. Meanwhile the heads of their precious companies were morning

[@NeFlorence]

Soken was actually wearing a wig during this speech as his hair hadnt regrown back from the Chemotherapy

[@EvilRobotSteve]

The fans already loved To the Edge because it's an awesome track, but learning that he composed this banger from his hospital bed while suffering from cancer was such a shock. Soken is a legend.

[@JustShimothy]

It’s crazy watching the chat now vs a year ago when you looked at ffxiv content

[@northwestclasspnw7974]

Guess you missed the joke too

[@ivancastro4571]

@@northwestclasspnw7974 what joke?

[@Zephhi]

For real, it was purely a cancer ass chat from 2018 regarding FFXIV to the recent months, it's been a LARGE change to where a shit ton of the WoW community is even playing or moving over to the game because of the big WoW boys doing it, to where even ASMON is agreeing to play the game. Kinda nuts

[@Grumpypu]

@@Zephhi Good, this will either be a wake up call to Activision to finally do something about WoW or it will be the end of it, im fine with both. The game is just suffering at this point, everyone hates to see the state its in, do something about it or end its suffering. Glad to see people finally realise that its not worth their time and there is plenty of good MMOs to play now, a lot of good ones to look forward to also.

[@Alec_cz]

@@northwestclasspnw7974 What joke incel??

[@og777_]

"Do you know... LAHEE ?" ~ Soken Masayoshi, 15 May 2021

[@Felblaze]

This had me in literal tears. The different between WoW and FF14's management could not be any more different.

[@bycandlelight2957]

I lost my aunt to cancer, and she was such a big part of my life. Watched as she just faded away with the chemo, having to wear wigs and barely able to get around. You can see it in this man's face, in his demeanor. He's been through hell. Not knowing if he'd ever come out the other side. Nothing but respect.

[@blueberry5822]

Me too man, I watched my aunt take her last breaths as that fucking disease stole her from my family, from my mom. Fuck cancer.

[@katy9291]

Im so sorry for your loss ♥️🙏♥️

[@rieJW]

Oh dear hope you are feeling better now

[@orangeorange5045]

From this moment, the lyric of song “To The Edge” has another meaning.

[@Astralaeyna]

Honestly, if anyone hasn't yet they need to look up the lyrics to the song. Whole different meaning after this announcement was made.

[@Naxthural]

"Hell take us. Heaven can wait." That to me sounds like Soken personally. He let the hell of his cancer take him, so he could fight off the end. Heaven can wait because this legend isn't done yet.

[@Lucyfer1102]

"Only alive in fighting Death's amber embrace"

[@UltaFlame]

Quick to their ends our candles burn until we're free Come shadow come follow me

[@angrythomas6954]

Chat wasn't nearly as toxic as I expected

[@JM-ym8mm]

Just kidding, that was some weeb shit. Seven hundred and seventy seven octillion seven hundred and seventy seven septillion seven hundred and seventy seven sextillion seven hundred and seventy seven quintillion seven hundred and seventy seven quadrillion seven hundred and seventy seven trillion seven hundred and seventy seven billion seven hundred and seventy seven million seven hundred and seventy seven thousand seven thousand and seventy BALD.

[@EverianKalim]

I dont think anyone can joke around when it comes to Cancer

[@captaincyrmu7349]

@@EverianKalim there were some absolute shockers like i saw one saying i dont know him i dont care

[@araragisenpai4088]

There's literally someone saying "It's compassion marketing." as if this was a business plan... stupid kid in chat.

[@blueberry5822]

I saw someone making fun of Yoshi P’s ears during it. Some of them are so defensive of wow they would rather make fun of someone affected by their friend’s cancer than show respect. Insecure the lot of em

[@Kage5868]

He asked why is he working hard, because he is a god

[@rieyuki]

Also because he loves his fans, who have provided him love and support through the years

[@MurakamiTenshi]

This is why we love FFXIV. The dev team works hard, and we players repay them in kind

[@stonex3077]

Soken was the only one who believed in Yoshida when he became lead producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV at the end of 2.0. Both of them have a really special relationship

[@ChivalryTheHero]

This is WHY I respect FFXIV's team over Blizzard.

[@Spudawg]

That entire stage just emits Chad energy. What an amazing bunch of people. Happy to pay my sub to FF14 and buying all the xpacs. Phenomenal game.

[@ka-bar5060]

It was so awesome when he sang Lahee because it was before he told us about his cancer. Soken was embracing the fun after beating cancer which is fantastic! This is what makes the FFXIV Dev Team so great. I wish Blizz was more like this. Honoring the fans, having a deep desire to make great content for the fans, and embracing the fun even when it is at their own expense.

[@Scyle92]

>doublezeerro: THIS * * * IS FAKE AS * * * I hope he gets banned from chat.

[@themagus8214]

The actual sadness of his employees crying just shows how much they care.

[@DawgFL]

Get you devs who can literally make you laugh your ass off and also cry in the same sitting.

[@RySoRy]

Fuck people discounting this as JUST "Japanese work culture". This is true, real dedication and is extremely admirable.

[@calmexit6483]

If anything they forget that staying active in your passions helps you to combat sickness. Japanese medical practitioners always place a heavy emphasis on that.

[@MaakaSakuranbo]

@@calmexit6483 Yeah, probably also helps you to distract it from it while you get through it.

[@ChainedPhantom]

But part of it IS Japanese work culture. Yes, it's real dedication, and extremely admirable. But there IS a cultural influence too that can't be discounted.

[@dejatwixt9214]

Soken for life. Even when his time comes with death. Soken foerver!

[@InfiniteRetro]

If you dont cry you must be a blizzard employee

[@northwestclasspnw7974]

Or sometime whoo has no connection to this world 🤷‍♂️

[@rygauk9315]

@@northwestclasspnw7974 Humanity?

[@schwartzprime3045]

the more content i see about this game the more i wanna give it a chance.

[@Astralaeyna]

You really have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Worst case, you don't like it and it's not for you. That is okay. But best case? You have a new time sink. Win/win in my opinion. Though if you do free trial, as many do and honestly it is recommended considering how much of the game is free rn (up to the first expac), you won't be able to join an FC (ffxiv abbreviation for Free Company which is basically a guild). Nor will you be able to do certain methods of communication. But you should be able to communicate enough to hook up with new friends in Discord until you decide whether or not to subscribe.

[@hosheep]

literally half the game is free, go for it

[@luchts4547]

You should give it a shot, play it for a week and see how it feels. I've talked to many new players who came from WoW with low expectations and negative assumptions about it, but ended up enjoying it.

[@blueberry5822]

Do yourself a favor and try it. Even if its jot for you, at least you tried :)

[@therealwilliamholdin]

That lahee song would be really hard to perform the way he did as a music composer because there were so many dissonant harmonies, he had to sing "wrong" if that makes sense

[@itsbeebles]

Wow, sitting here crying watching this video. As a long time Final Fantasy fan and loving the music so much, it makes me have so much more love and appreciation for the music in FF. Amazing story and much love to him

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

Me too i dont even play ffxiv but as someone who lost multiple people to cancer in my life this vid made me super emotional. Fuck cancer

[@its-natalieeee]

I love Asmon but this just shows how toxic a percentage of his chat can be. So many stupid comments like "Who cares, I don't know him" and thinking he's lying about cancer. Asmon NEEDS to get better moderation

[@colonelcorndog]

imagine malding so hard over a dying game that you call someone announcing their cancer battle to their best friends and coworkers fake and staged. that takes some serious level of vitriol and immaturity

[@ragingphoinix9144]

I don't disagree that the chat needs better moderation, but let's be real about this: no one cares about anyone but themselves...and things that affects their being. Like school shootings. People virtue signal over it but are they actually going to help better the situation? Fuck no. Until it affects them directly, they don't give a shit. I think Soken is definitely admirable and inspiration on a moral level, I don't personally care about the individual.

[@its-natalieeee]

@@ragingphoinix9144 That sounds like you projecting your feelings of not caring about the individual on to everyone. Not everyone thinks the same as you.

[@crazys4173]

prob xqc brainless young kids

[@ronniehatter5118]

Soken is amazing the amount of people calling it fake or scam in that chat was embarrassing.

[@treesuschrist1782]

Sokken is a legend, both in the musical community and the gaming community. His dedication and love for his work is no less then amazing, and his passion for the game makes it all the better.

[@Piccolololmao]

I love how pathetic some of the chat is saying "BORING" "WHO CARES" god how shitty their life must be.

[@trial_with_an_error9687]

It's so hard to imagine what had to have been running through Yoshida's mind at that exact moment. His best friend had cancer...his best friend could have died, and he wouldn't have known, all because Soken didn't want to make him, the team, and us, worry.

[@bradleyedson8596]

Yoshi did know but soken asked him not to tell the rest of the team.

[@julinde]

@@bradleyedson8596 To kind of make this worse, he had lost another recent best friend to cancer about 7-8ish months ago. So in the time he had to mourn his other best friend, then to be told that Soken, his other best friend, has cancer. I can understand how Yoshi broke.

[@Murdus81]

@@julinde Excellent point, ty for recalling this.

[@KuribPlays]

Consider what happened to Maidy, I can't imagine the amount of fear he has during those times.

[@julinde]

@@KuribPlays I can't either. I was ok for the most part through the whole speech until I saw Yoshi break. That's what broke me personally. To lose not one but almost 2 just broke my heart.

[@ShiMusume]

This is one of the things I love about Final Fantasy. The devs have fucking heart. They put their blood, sweat, tears, and passion into their work. They don't just say it, they fucking prove it. Activision on the other hand feels like nothing but just some machine.

[@rieJW]

Fax

[@bobpope3656]

i am trying FF14 because of asmongold watching this video lol. they need to sponsor him. also what server should i play on?

[@Kelpie9423]

Mateus!

[@coqzilla3811]

Whatever will give you the best ping. That's it. The game is very hard to pull off with higher ping. (Before i get slaughtered in the comments i play XIV for 6 years)

[@galaxis912]

@bob pope Hi Bob! Welcome to FF. Seasoned raiders player on Aether/Primal data centers. RPers Balmong. But in 6.0, ALL servers can play together and visit other worlds to play with everyone. Right now, u can visit worlds now, but it's very limited. It will be Global world visits soon. So, just pick the world your friends are on, for now. Note: you can visit every server in your data center.

[@northwestclasspnw7974]

Sheep

[@namim629]

@@northwestclasspnw7974 dude i've seen you comment on everywhere on this vid talking down to everyone to anyone who's said anything positive about ff14 and then call US sheep? imagine having that little self awareness.

[@williamcummins8429]

Damn this makes me want to play the game. They have passion and actually care

[@Til_What]

The free trial covers the base game and first expac so give it a shot. Nothing to lose besides time.

[@lalosalamanca1208]

Asmon’s chat saying “this is pathetic” or “fake AF” just goes to show that America needs to work on their education system.

[@welpheresanamei9445]

You do realize some of them are just trying to troll, yes some might actually think there faking but you gotta remember it's the internet there is allot of trolls out there, and i think you fell for it

[@ashbjorn]

@@welpheresanamei9445 there is a disturbing high percentage of people in that chat that have no clue about what struggles life will throw at you, since they are still in their secure bubble. It will bite their butts in due time.

[@xviii5780]

The chat was full of hearts and pepeclaps and you still somehow found those 3.5 spamming trolls

[@zackr.7628]

Honestly i couldn't hold back my tears when yoshi-p spoke not about his co-worker, but about his best friend

[@Aelwyn666]

Anyone who battles Cancer is a True Warrior. Fighting an invisible enemy that lives inside you is the hardest of battles. My heart goes out to everyone who is currently fighting or has been afflicted by this terrible disease. God bless you all. X

[@tiduskurai]

6AM every morning in this zone, LA HEE begins and we are ready.

[@omegagilgamesh]

Western Game Development Executives: The players want something great, let's overwork our employees. Japanese Game Development Executives: The players want something great, let's overwork ourselves.

[@justinblack8124]

This hits us WoW players because we used to feel like Blizz was like this. Blizz was our game .. our community .. until it became all about the shareholders and profit. Blizz forget about us plain and simple.

[@StarboyXL9]

This guy is a true artist. He turned his pain and suffering into art that uplifts and inspires, unlike modern artists who churn out garbage that depresses, deconstructs, and belittles.

[@GoldenMushroom64]

Well said!

[@herbertlucas749]

I was emotional and then LAHEE came up and my face went from Sadge to KEKW.

[@TheFancyKyle]

The ultimate memer, Composer and legend Soken Masayoshi!

[@ryancresawn4726]

Square is gonna need a new office building just for Soken's giant balls

[@TairaEldritch]

I think the La Hee song is unironically(?) an awesome song, I love all the heart put into it! and I know almost everyone agrees even though it is called a "meme" ~

[@XionAvalonArcadia]

This is why To The Edge will always be my favorite song. Not only because its a banger but for what it meant.

[@shakeweller]

I'm actually scared about next BlizzCon. They will probably try to copy Fanfest in the most cringe way possible.... And then advertise their next mobile game

[@devilsluk]

Wrath of the Mobile King, your favourite expansion in the palm of your hand

[@matthewhendricks7127]

Really an antithesis to Blizzard's crazy bullheaded pervert dev team.

[@TheArrivalCyberse]

That guy in the comments saying "who cares KEKW" at 4:04 deserves hell.

[@thehurricane6767]

The very few people in his chat that insulted the speech suffer from sbs

[@cirno9.915]

Can't punish someone, who is already emotionally inept.

[@Grumpypu]

Idiots that didnt have to deal with someone they love passing away or something serious happening to them, they dont know how hard these things can be so they are being edgy because they think it makes them look cool, just brain damaged spergs. The mods are usually quick to ban these idiots but idk what was happening at this moment of the stream because there were like 3 guys spamming the same shit over and over, i guess mods were afk.

[@Makai-]

The person in the moogle costume did not sign up for this.

[@notrace7966]

I wish blizzard would have atleast 1% of their dedication. Never gonna happen

[@daevien71]

Huge ffxiv fan here and I could never bring myself to watch that part of fanfest. First time I watched it was through this channel. Only recently learned about Asmon, went from poor opinions to actually really high ones. Sorry for initially misjudging you. You're a cool guy, I hope you enjoy FFXIV, and if you don't, I still honestly hope WoW improves itself so myself and others can have two fantastic games to bounce between during slow times, rather than being stuck with just one game.

[@sharpes123]

and as per usual, chat is being an absolute cesspool.

[@ynzsbstn]

My god this was emotional as hell. You can see how much of their hearts and souls they put into the game.

[@overlord7647]

I seen this at least 20 times and still it is not any less sad seeing this again. This is why the community love them, because they are not a big corporation, They are just living breathing human being with heart and a passion for their game.

[@fredy2041]

I feel bad for Asmongold here, I'm not sure why the chat went annoying and insane after, asking him non stop to play Twinning song as well, and I speak as a FFXIV fan. Like come on guys, thats not cool. He already played the Rak'tika song, let him be.

[@NinjaFrog65]

They probably meant the performance of Twinning that was played at the FanFest, where Soken was playing as well with several other dev team members were dancing. Was a big highlight of the FanFest.

[@fredy2041]

@@omensoffate Is a shame, but well, and I would like to believe that were both his viewers and the ff fans or maybe that the ff views's first time viewing Asmongold on stream and didnt quite understand it.

[@Astralaeyna]

@@omensoffate I wouldn't say lunatics, just exceedingly passionate with a tendency to be a bit pushy about that which they are passionate about. FFXIV community is honestly not the craziest community I have seen when it comes to their love for something. Or am I the only one who remembers how bad the Homestuck community used to be?

[@Toquer88]

Hardcore! My White Mage will heal with his health in mind. God bless ♥️

[@ShafroPlaysMinecraft]

The amount of people in the chat that said "who cares" is actually pathetic.

[@jernyx9139]

Asmongold has been uploading a lot of FF videos lately... nice I hope he quits WoW even tho I dont play FF

[@ashleybarnard4955]

And another reason why I need to play FF14 over WoW

[@Astralaeyna]

Once you commit to that jump, I hope you enjoy your time in Eorzea! Don't hesitate to ask any questions of the community, a lot of people are very friendly and willing to guide new players.

[@sneaksies8931]

@@Astralaeyna u seem so happy about ffxiv and i truly do love it, ive seen u in a ton of comments. i wish i could like the game :( the devs are amazing and community is great but i just cant enjoy the gameplay, i really dislike it but i want to like it. any suggestions? different class (job i think its called)? give it another try?

[@nicot653]

@@sneaksies8931 greetings sneaksies, i might not be the preposter yet still id like to give some advice! What actually is bothering you? (: are we talking about the gcd? The leveling curve ? Tell us more, so we might find a solution to yer dilemma!

[@sneaksies8931]

@@nicot653 main problem is me i think, ffxiv just isnt the game for me. i play mmos for high end pve content. ffxiv to me seems more story driven with a lot of cutscnes that annoy me (granted the bits of story i did pick up on were good thats just not what im into). gcd feels kinda slow too. i come from wow which has many many problems but one thing it does great is raids/encounter design and i dont know if ffxiv can match it in terms of complexity and difficulty (from what ive seen) i think i might need to change my mindset and play it as a story adventure (like witcher 3) rather than an mmorpg and i might like it more.

[@milten4321]

@@sneaksies8931 I wouldn't worry too much about end game content - I'm long time WoW player(mostly private 3.3.5(12/12 ICC hc)/2.4.3 servers because I can't stand newer expansions but I played on retail during WoD, Legion and early BfA) with all Legion AOTC achievements. FFXIV taught me to enjoy the content and during my 3 years I've never felt the urge to step into high end raids, there is so much other content you kinda forget about raiding.