Why The Post-MSQ Story SAVES Stormblood

[@Preachgaming]

Hello everyone! This one took a little while to get out :D While he's on holiday Mike tasked me with making some improvements to our editing workflow so in short, I had to mess around a lot while putting this together and put many fires out along the way. But we got there eventually. For Mike the Stormblood post MSQ really saved the expansion as a whole - but of course, something even more special lies around the corner ;) What did you think of the Stormblood Post-MSQ? - Chris

[@andrewtimothy9792]

For some reason, really liking how mike can just be in the scenes with these greenscreens. Really makes it like an official news report kinds of vibe

[@daisukesengoku4385]

😉

[@kimaclaret]

The videos have been worth the wait! Thanks! 👍

[@nyrahl593]

Once I found out that a portion of the 'Heavensward' staff including MSQ writer Kazutoyo Maehiro were taken for FF16. I started to give less criticism to 4.0. While Ishikawa's portion 'Azem Steppe' was really great and fun. Which is probably why she earned the lead writer role in 5.0+; switching places it seems with Banri Oda.

[@MonosEx]

How dare you Chris, for a second I though Mike was back from vacations haha

[@EternalFellows]

I will never get over Merlwyb absolutely ripping into varis about stealing lands and resources and he just casually reminds her that her entire city was built on piracy and still has pirates.

[@thelemstar]

Even better! There is a noticable shift in Merlwyb's behavior after that roast. Where Y'shtola did not succeed to make her break apart her mindset influenced by years of war, Varis reminded her of her own hypocrisy. Now, Varis is a terrible guy all-around, but you cannot deny his role in the arcs of several of the company leaders is immensely effective. Ironically, he ended up causing the exact thing he set out to eradicate.

[@lethargicwizard]

Not only that, but she immediately rewrote the laws to outlaw piracy after she won the Trident and gained her Admiralty, and hasn't held a new Trident since. She originally cited the invasion of the empire as the reason for postponing it before the calamity, and then afterward it just kind of never comes up again. Regardless her effectiveness as a leader, she is basically a tyrant

[@Varizen87]

@@lethargicwizard That is a good point... but I also think that the Pirate Leaders (Corvelain, Roswyn, and Hellfyr [sp on some, but I'm more interested in my point than looking up spellings]) feel she's the one that would lead Limsa toward the best path which is why they don't contest her leadership. SPOILERS FOR PREACH BEYOND THIS But Hellfyr says as much during when his 2nd in command tries leading a rebellion. Merlwyb ends up with a strong vision of the future and a lot of Limsa wants to see it succeed. I've played all of the Role Quests in the MSQ, I can't wait till the final one comes out that links them all, but I feel the roles quests neatly tie bows on so many nation stories. Some better than others... IMO the Tank quest with Kan-e-senna is one of the best, as it dips back into some 1.0 stuff, though I REALLY wish they'd given her body guard, Keeper of the Twin Serpents an ACTUAL name, considering how important he is.

[@lethargicwizard]

@@Varizen87 well yes, NOW that Merlwyb had been holding on to illegitimate power for who knows how many years at this point because the timeline is confusing, when faced with the prospect of succession and throwing into chaos all the prosperity they've reaped in building up the city state, the other faction leaders are more than ready to accept some sort of parliamentary democracy. But it was a long and rocky road to get there, and Merlwyb has a lot of blood on her hands to atone for, esp when it comes to the Sahagin

[@sweatyraider7241]

What is even better that made her one of my fravorite female characters in gaming is she used the lesson she learnt there and handled that situation in ShB perfectly

[@andrewshandle]

Of all the things in the post-MSQ MSQ, the time when Thancred doesn't wake up from the headaches was genuinely a surprise. I knew nothing of ShB, so it came out of left field but was so intriguing.

[@ArmoredPandaa]

Was even worse when it first came out because that is where that patch ended and everyone was like "WTF is going on?!" There were countless wild speculations what throwing wide the gates and the headaches meant.

[@textbookidiocy3896]

There is a reason Ishikawa has gotten standing ovation, she is a master at her craft.

[@highbrow-stonebender]

shoulda hired her to write the last two seasons of Game of Thrones.

[@VorAbaddon]

@@highbrow-stonebender In fairness, I don't think the issue there was the writing as much as it was rushed development since the head guys got an offer to go do something else and rushed the ending out to go get the next paycheck. If Squeenix rushed the production of things Ishikawa wrote it'd have the same issue. That's what I think really makes XIV so damned good: There's no ONE factor holding it up. The writing and the music and the voice acting and the camera work, etc etc etc, all work so well in tandem. Synergy is such an overused term since it's become a corporate buzzword, but it's actually true of the XIV staff.

[@markfearns8535]

Sure, in 50 years' time, people will say Tolstoy; James Joyce; Ishikawa. Lmao

[@specialnewb9821]

@Senshi This. Her writing is quite good in general but there's room for critiques.

[@highbrow-stonebender]

@@specialnewb9821 There's room for critique in Shakespeare, or Vince Gilligan's character arcs, as well.

[@tlpineapple1]

My favorite thing about the Grimlyt Dark is the solo duty when you're holding of Zenos as Lord Hien waiting for the warrior of light to save your ass. You get glimpses into the strength of your own character as you struggle to hold off Zenos, meanwhile receiving reports of how the Warrior is just bullrushing their way through entire formations of garleans to reach Zenos in time. Its a great outside perspective that really sells home how powerful youve become, as well as foreshadows endwalker in how scary you would be to those receiving your rage

[@alexanderchipman9571]

The Roleplay fights are wonderful at reminding us how awesome (as in awe-invoking, both for terror and inspiration) the WoL is.

[@bretmiller2952]

I remember a cutscene where someone basically describes the fear everyone has when they hear the WoL is coming to fight them. I believe it was the traitors on the wall during post HW. That was one of the times it really put into perspective just how powerful and, quite frankly, terrifying your character is compared to everyone else. Not to mention the solu duty in EW shows that even harder comparing you to a regular soldier.

[@LucashhLima]

Why giving a spoiler about Endwalker when comenting about Stormblood? I was enjoying your commentary until reading that random spoiler.

[@Juan-Dering]

@@LucashhLima OMG! The main character gets stronger, and gains 10 more levels in the next expansion! People fear your wrath! I didn't expect that to happen at all, you're totally right. Dawntrail, stronger. Oh no. I said the name of the next expansion with the word stronger, I should also be blocked and banned for giving out spoilers for mentioning a name. On the one hand I understand not wanting to spoil anything, because the story is a major part of the experience. But other hand. All the anti-spoiler brigading that's been going on over the last few years has been getting absolutely insane, over the top, and ridiculously annoying.

[@LucashhLima]

@@Juan-DeringThe MSQ is a crucial part of the FF XIV experience. I complained about the "foreshadowing" part, because I was invested in the coment until I read the final part. Story spoilers Game systems

[@suncommander7102]

"Emet-Preach isn't real and can't rejoin you" they said...

[@Keneset88]

I sincerely hope Mike gets invited into the next interview with Yoshi-P. It would literally be a night and day experience to say the least as these two would go about each other's work. I am truly impressed the way you guys produced this work. Keep it up!

[@Tsuna_SoulSilver]

Other than seeing Preach asking about the floor lamp issue I agree with this 100%.

[@RichDavis13]

Probably unlikely since PReach will need to be making FF content by next expac.

[@ADKV95]

@@RichDavis13 we're probably 2 years away from the next expansion and another media tour interview i think? Even if Preach do everything the game has to offer that's still less than a year total. That's a year gap, at least. I wonder if any current "new" ffxiv streamer (that joined along or after asmongold) would still doing it until next expansion, but the old ffxiv streamers can already do it for years so hopefully preach would have some plan for 14 after endwalker.

[@TheRedKnaveLP]

@@RichDavis13 Lol lmao even

[@Karakusk]

I actually think Lyse's mindset at the start of SB made sense. While she was with Ala Mhigan rebels during HW, she was with the rebels on the Eorzean side of the wall. These folks were the ones who yearned to take back their country, the ones who wanted to fight, and most importantly not the ones who were actively suffering from Garlean oppression. This experience colored Lyse's expectations that the Ala Mhigans on the other side of the wall would want and think the exact same way because they were Ala Mhigans. Her other major diplomatic mission with Papalymo that we know of is with the Sylphs and the Gridanians. The Sylphs practically act like children and treating with them would be a far different task than treating with the other beast tribes who faced persecution from the more civilized races earlier in Eorzea's history. Despite being with the Scions, I do feel Yda/Lyse was given less involved and nuanced missions, especially since the Scions revealed that they knew Lyse wasn't Yda the entire time.

[@apharys8921]

Lyse is a lot like Alphinaud but less intelligent and diplomatic. They both have very high aspirations to do what they think is right for others but were largely ignorant of the world and how it works, which they learned the hard way and grew from the experience.

[@thegamer101n]

Would also like to add that Lyse in a way was just like the warrior of light imo as both we're fairly new to being scions. But unlike the Wol, lyse was someone who had always relied upon people for guidance with Yda and Papalymo so her saying stupid shit non stop in SB MSQ felt reasonable and it also made her post SB self much more likeable as you see her grow from her experiences.

[@MenrvaS]

@@apharys8921 She is not an archon like the rest of them, basically uneducated. Alphy was a naive genius with idealistic worldview, but Lyse was a naive muscle-head with idealistic worldview. The reason why the Scion caught on very fast was because she has no fundamental knowledge, let alone being an archon.

[@sweatyraider7241]

Unpopular opinion I get how everyone felt cheesy with the immediate transition to the anthem but that moment really made me feel genuinely happy for them since you can hear in the song how genuinely oppressed they are by the empire and they just could not wait take back their anthem.

[@DifunctedReble]

It was very patriotic and cathartic when they began singing. I too loved that moment that freedom for the oppressed had been attained.

[@Ntwolf1220]

I agree, and it’s appropriate for the moment considering the earlier scene where the Garleans had stolen the national anthem

[@BrokenArrowX]

Dude these story recaps are such quality content, I appreciate these so much

[@righteouself9928]

I just love how I much preach respects the story

[@tibowmew]

When I played through SB, I didn't know anything. My brother, who had gotten me into the game, would just periodically ask me my thoughts. When I finally met Zenos, he was genuinely surprised that I liked him since, as I now know, he isn't always recieved well. Having now finished Endwalker, I can genuinely say that I still really love Zenos's character.

[@DioD3]

Zenos is great in Endwalker

[@FabbrizioPlays]

I wasn't sold by Zenos in Endwalker. I really feel like, if his arc was to realize that we'd be happy to give him the fight of his life if he'd just stop being a pest and help us for a second, he needed to do have that realization at like... the START of act 3, and spend a bit more time earning it. Not at the very last moment, coming out of nowhere saying that Krile doxxed us and gave him what's left of Hydaelyn's remains. I feel like all of that needed way more time.

[@tibowmew]

@@FabbrizioPlays The timing of it didn't bother me, but even more than that, I really appreciated that he embodied the answer to the question Meteon posed before it was even brought up. I was always drawn to his drive and one-mindedness, the same way I was to Estinien back in Heavensward.

[@Thanatos2k]

Zenos is terrible if all you had was through the end of Shadowbringers. The way the character treat Zenos to his face in Endwalker, like a nuisance and dismiss him like he's sad and pathetic was absolutely the right choice.

[@GodammmitKalcour]

Lyse: "Fordola, you can be redeemed" Fordola: "I don't, and never will, want that."

[@anexlainn4574]

and they LET her not want that. The best thing about Fordola's character is that she constantly rejects her heroes calling and the writers LET her. They don't force her to become some new person, they let her stay true to herself and it creates a really unique character with a very interesting perspective.

[@tlpineapple1]

which is why i at least consider her redeemed.

[@ProvostZarakov]

She is a hero in her own way, one who will never get or seek the spotlight.

[@TheSilverwing999]

Ishiwawa is an amazing writer. Love her work.

[@cuterpooter]

@Preach Gaming I just want to make sure that whoever is in charge of choosing the thumbnails knows how great a job they're doing. The content & Mike's opinion stands on its own, but man this image of Emet with Mike's face is STELLAR and made me click instantly. Top notch, lads.

[@shiraloli]

They know exactly how to bait Emet stans ngl. We are simple creatures, we see Emet we hit those like buttons immediately.

[@acolytesounds]

I had a great time in Stormblood. It's not just beautiful but FUN. Some of the story admittedly dragged on, Zeno was a hard to relate to villain but I came around. Gosetsu, Yotsuyu, Hien, Fordola, the tribes of the Steppes - I loved them all. I also loved that we put some interest in Yda/Lyse. I just liked how they put her in a "grooming" role by observing current leaders like Hien, Raubahn, etc. The Kami seemed a bit quirky but once I did the EX trials I no longer felt that way. Another huge factor of my enjoyment is that I'm a new player and I hit this content straight off the heels of HW, so it was so nice to have LIVELY people who seemed less serious and didn't live in a snowy desolate place. It was just so nice of a change of scenery. Mood is definitely changing again for SHB! Just starting! I also really like climbing Kugane Tower!

[@FabbrizioPlays]

I feel like Stormblood had all the right pieces to be good but it was just all used wrong. Big chunks of it that sound cool on paper wind up feeling cheap because of the execution. You've got all these great set pieces, really nice freeze frames, but the way they actually link up is a mess.

[@Miriam_J_]

​@@FabbrizioPlays I disagree. I just finished Storm blood and its my favorite expansion so far, it did everything it wanted to do pretty well imo. Never has a game made me feel so many emotions about a character like Yotsuyu did.

[@hockey1973]

My favorite part after the Rahbaun and Nanamo cutscene(s) is when Rahbaun comes out and says "yeah. . . I kinda need a job now. . . y'all hiring?"

[@FinnFann]

You know something that's invisible these days is that Stormblood was a huge quality of life expansion. Lots of mechanics changes and removal of fluff that new people didn't even know used to exist. Somehow TP apparently survived it until shadowbringers, but a lot was modified on that side.

[@Greed26]

Wasn't this the expansion where sprinting didn't completely drain your TP anymore?

[@FinnFann]

@@Greed26 Could've been. I took a break right before stormblood, and I was corrected on TP removed elsewhere. But god I wish i was there when TP was made less annoying to any capacity.

[@Maria_Erias]

I think one thing that a lot of people miss, too, is that Stormblood hugely expands the world. Not just with new lands, but also new cultures, new peoples, new races. Heavensward gave us Ishgard... and that's about it. Stormblood gave us Ala Mhigo, Hingashi (with Kugane and Shirogane), the Confederacy, Doma, Yanxia, and the Azim Steppes. It introduced us to the cosmopolitan Hingashi, caught between the Garlean Empire and the Eorzian city-states. It introduced the pirate leaders of the Confederacy. It showed us the plight of the oppressed Domans, as well as those who existed in collaboration with the conquerors - a state that was mirrored in Ala Mhigo, as well. And it introduced us deeply into the culture of the Xaela on the Steppes. So, while the story of Stormblood was a little shaky in some places, I actually liked it more than Heavensward because I found it, above all else, interesting.

[@bondsmatthew]

This thumbnail is so good

[@Aaron.Arcanum]

That's one word for it. I muttered "Jesus" to my phone and had to explain to my wife what the problem was XD

[@Lyn685]

Weird, I absolutely loved the last boss of the Stormblood MSQ. Zenos wasn't just after a challenge, he was after a spectacle. That's why he used the power of Shinryu.

[@cas6382]

Its really cool seeing you learn why we love and trust the FFXIV dev team since not only is the game just really fun and respectful of your time its also clear even if they do mess up they at least admit it and try their best to promptly fix it. As someone that plays a lot of live service/mmos its a very different world and it really makes me happy to have somewhere consistently stable. I find a lot of comfort knowing I can have fun and feel like my experience is respected by the developers so even if they make a decision I might not agree with I at least know if everyone feels that way they'll reevaluate it.

[@M0du5Pwn3n5]

I actually liked Stormblood's MSQ. There are some little, weird things, but in a lot of ways I actually preferred it to Heavensward. Heavensward promised this big, grand battle between Ishgard and the dragons, then said "Doesn't that sounds awesome? Great! Okay, grab your little band of people and fuck off on a different secret mission while all that cool stuff happens.". And then you just keep showing up back in Ishgard AFTER the main action to clean up with a boss fight or a very brief rebellion...before you have to leave once again on another little squad mission that no one can know about/no one will understand/is the only hope for resolving the big conflict (that you don't get to be a part of). Stormblood had me actually working to liberate Doma and Ala Mhigo. I actually helped Hien get the forces he needed and actually took part in storming the castle. I actually pushed through Gyr Abania with the alliance forces to Ala Mhigo. It wasn't perfect - storming the castle had that MMO problem where the force we saw was comically smaller than the force we sounded like we were gathering; Lyse's progression felt very undercooked - but it still felt like I was actually there for the big story, not off on some secret, smaller story that would be a backdoor to resolving the big story. Hell, they even let you be the khagan, which surprised me - after Heavensward I thought for sure that would be Hien and I was just along for the ride. I also don't feel like I understand why people feel like the parts of Stormblood were too disconnected. I thought they meshed quite well. There are thematic echoes, but also you get two different story structures. You see two different kinds of revolutions. Even the map progression is different: in one you're circling the castle's walls, getting closer, gathering allies, preparing to take it. In the other, you have your force from the beginning, and it's about a long, tough, linear campaign to reach the city's walls. And they really used the split to sell the idea of a long, hard-won campaign in Gyr Abania. Instead of just resolving the whole situation in Gyr Abania in a sitting or two, you struggle forward, have setbacks, and LEAVE, which allows them to do a time skip. They can make it feel more like a long slog of a campaign, like the alliance is clawing territory an inch at a time from the Garleans, because that part happens off-screen (though the on-screen parts are part of the actual campaign too, not some secret secondary mission like in Heavensward). Which is also why it's so strange that one of the main criticisms here is that in the main MSQ of Stormblood the NPCs act as if time hasn't passed when you aren't there - Stormblood was so good at doing the exact opposite!

[@gabrielamaro1470]

These story review videos have been really well made so far! Kudos for including the Tale, not enough people read those

[@neretilderem7029]

That thumbnail picture is the embodiment of "we got Emet Selch at home" meme

[@SkodLife]

"(...) if I was a betting man, after the high bar that Heavensward set, I would almost guarantee, that when Stormblood came out and the reception was mediocre-to-good, the writing team sat down and knew they had to step up their game." I don't have the source for this, but I destinctly remember hearing that when 5.0 was released, 5.3 was more or less planned. The reason I mention this is because I find it hard to see a timeline like: 4.0 released Reception mediocre Writers write the story The team makes the cutscenes, animations, duties, dungeons, etc. In less than 4 months. Even if parts of this was made before the release of 4.0 (dungeons, reused animations, etc.), this is still a lot of work to be done, and I find it even more unlikely considering how big 4.1 MSQ felt and how good it was. What I think happened is simply that the writers didn't communicate properly and that there weren't enough time to change it. The Ala Mhigan parts could be seen as a beginning and an end and the east could be seen as the middle, but it feels like something is missing in between. Case in point: Lyse. She felt stupid in the beginning, didn't get a lot of sceens where she did something showing her strengths and learning, and then comes back being a more learned person than before. To put it simple, I think Ishikawa and Oda didn't know what the other were writing and Lyse' character suffers because of it. If I have to be brutally honest, I dunno which writer wrote her worse. In Ala Mhigo she went from pants-on-head-retarded to leader of the people, and in the East it feels like every other character got a moment where she got nothing. This is probably also why people say the East is better, because while Lyse is underdeveloped (or underwritten), the rest of the characters aren't as bad. My two biggest problems with SB 4.0 have always been that the two continent do not feel very well connected and that the story does not tell the player what they need to know (or expect the player to remember what happened in the previous expansions without callback). Conrad's reasons for picking Lyse as the leader of the resistance was explained in a short story (Lyse being a banner) and only hinted at by Ilberd in 3.5 ("[The Ala Mhigans will] happily mouth the words, but they won't spill the blood!"). This is not in the 4.0 MSQ, and it baffles me it isn't in it. Do I think they knew they had to step up their game? Yes. But I think this happened weeks (or months) before 4.0 was released.

[@gateauxq4604]

I also can’t cite a source 🤦 but I read that they started plotting out the plot going forward at some point in HW. That would mean that, among other things, the Warriors of Darkness was not some randomly inserted plot thread left dangling for ‘just in case’ but they knew the WoDs would be used at some point in the future and had an idea of where they were going in Shadowbringers. I’m sure it wasn’t fully fleshed out but it was at least outlined which is outstanding IMO. XIV is really in a great place, especially if, as YoshiP says, they have the next several expansions mapped out.

[@dattand2085]

I love these. As well as your streams. It's like experiencing the story again for the first time with all the excitement and wonder. Much love

[@serisothikos]

You can just *feel* when the writing changes hands. The storytelling in 4.4 and onward has a totally different purpose in mind.

[@Ladywizard]

She also had the Azim Steppes

[@katarh]

Interestingly, we also learned that the English localization was undergoing a subtle shift at the same time, from Koji the meme master to its current owner, Kate. Koji is now her supervisor and also supervising the XVI localization team, so almost all the translation work in 5.0 onward was done by her (and I believe she had been helping Koji since long before that.) The change was so clean that nobody noticed it until they announced it during the live letter.

[@MuzikalNotes]

Ishikawa and Oda were already head writers by Stormblood. This was the first expansion they worked on after taking over from the last head writer, though, and I think they did a good job, all things considered

[@4567samsung]

@@Ladywizard oh she handled the steppes storyline ? ... it makes a looot of sense now .. that was my fav zone is SB

[@JulianSkies]

@@MuzikalNotes From what I understand, Oda was never like... *Writer* the way you're talking about, but he had always been the head *setting* writer. He'd always been in charge of the world itself, not of the stories told in it. I can be mistaken, though.

[@MrFitzonic]

The scene with Hien, Yugiri and Lyse taking on "Zenos" is so well directed. Also her delivery of "DAMN YOU" is so fuckin' raw. Love it.

[@Ensvir]

I was not expecting this much effort in the video. Gave it a like and subscribed.

[@chonjuan2591]

Finally a content creator that FFXIV deserves!

[@DonaldTurner]

really, really good video, Mike and team. i so dig your thorough approach to it all, solid criticisms and praises both. this game, is rich.

[@danielj6897]

Love the use of lighting during the fireplace scene to make it seem like he's actually in front of a fire for storytime.

[@grahamstavers5130]

Stormblood was my fave for a long time (prob due to being my first launch expac) even though the story is lacking, it shines with the characters. Zenos and Fordola are my favourite characters in the game.

[@RedRune9]

Phenomenal beginning and ending skit editting! And really on point analysis!

[@Serasu33]

The production value on these now that you all have the dedicated office is incredible.

[@Nazstyle12]

Loving the production quality

[@detheccus1132]

Preachy Salad isn't real, he can't hurt you. The thumbnail:

[@Orchested]

The post-stormblood was one of the most hearthbreaking questlines for me, so much pain :/

[@Mechanikatt]

I wonder, was the fruit as sweet... as he remembered?

[@AnklebiterTypeR]

The old "Legacy of..." Videos are, to date, some of the best content I've ever seen in KZbin. And while you will never do another one, technically, it's nice to see you returning to that style of video production, and keeping the feel going in spirit as you move into FFXIV content.

[@TheChunkeyNinja]

Never again hmm? ;)

[@MythrilShotgun]

@@TheChunkeyNinja He's stated that he has ceased producing content for WoW aside from perhaps heavily social/community stuff. Is that permanent? Dunno, but for the forseeable future, that seems to hold true.

[@Chibikins]

The opening was SO GREAT! Seriously. And I honestly agreed with most of this, I recently went through the STirmblood MSQ and found that I liked the patch content a lot more, and that Lyse was much better by the end. I didn't mind the ending with Zenos in the garden, I could see him being that crazy and already knew he would be back due to all the trailers for the later expacs so I knew he wouldn't actually end there, so maybe that helped preserve the impact of that scene.

[@Lancun]

I actually think the Lakshmi scenario was a missed opportunity to Temper Lyse. Ga Bu was obviously a motivation that was set up for Alisaie back in Heavensward, but the real way to put the Primal threat into true perspective for the Warrior of Light is to illustrate that none of your friends in the Scions besides Arenvald and Krile are safe. Lyse's story was mostly done at that point since she took a major back seat to Raubahn and the potential could have been there to have a heartbreaking "will you or won't you" scene where the WoL comes into Lyse's jail cell as she's mindlessly chanting in worship of Lakshmi and leaving you with a question mark if you mercifully kill one of your friends and main companions of the Stormblood expansion. Ultimately the decision would be to not kill her so the urgency for a solution to tempering becomes that much more real. Keep her around for too long and she may summon the Primal again with some help. But kill her and a major companion will be lost.

[@JohnStamR]

From here on out, I cannot wait to see your thoughts on the next 2 expansions, now that we are past the low between 3 beast expansions.

[@jjfrank]

He’s already completed Shadowbringers 5.55 on stream, he’s kind of way behind on recap videos lol.

[@MythrilShotgun]

@@jjfrank Well, he has to collect his thoughts, write, shoot, and edit. I'll gladly take the quality of these videos at the cost of waiting a bit. Plus, I think he's on vacation for a bit atm, so he may have backlogged a couple of vids.

[@Dieci-9]

Happy to see that you've been having a blast with the MSQ. Even happier to tell you that it only gets better and better in ShB and EW, even the side-content is amazing.

[@jjfrank]

He’s already completed Shadowbringers 5.55 on stream and he said it was the best RPG he’s ever played. He will be starting Endwalker when he gets back from his vacation! :)

[@Dieci-9]

@@jjfrank Happy to hear that. Tbh, I had forgot he had already made that video on Bozja, but happy to see he's enjoying the game and can't wait to see what he thinks of EW.

[@SusanChan]

omg I laughed so hard at the opening of this video xD thanks for this :D

[@belld.s5276]

Side note, Fordola's voice acting is top notch. Peerless.

[@PetarBladeStrok]

That's a misconception. Banri Oda does the lore. Ishikawa and some others do the character writing. And in Ghimlyt Dark you fought Elidibus in Zenos' body. Not Zenos. BTW. This video is amazing. Editing is amazing.

[@Dreamboum]

Banri Oda is absolutely a writer on Stormblood on top of being a lore supervisor and writer.

[@jaesaces]

Fun fact: When you're in Shadowbringers, Fordola and Arenvald are slaying primals in your absence, since there are few besides you capable of resisting primal influence.

[@drkirchoff]

the production is killer!! y'all are incredible

[@Zedword42]

I cant say enough how happy it makes me to see you having fun making videos again

[@Trojita]

Preach, loved the editing at the beginning and use of the green screen when talking to the audience with the game footage behind you.

[@sijrichters]

Loving the quality of these vids from the new office! Keep it up guys!

[@drunkenprayer8390]

The entire post MSQ with Goetsu and Yotetsu/Tusyu (yes I probably mis-spelled all of that) was genuinely one of my favourite RPG storylines ever. I know Yotestu was a complete villain and psychopath even if her back story slightly gave twisted reasons to why. But fucking hell the turn from her lost memories back to her old self when she saw her parents fucking broke me. Her parents were complete assholes and I did not regret for one moment seeing them die, but that was the moment where Yotesu could have chosen to turn around and not go back to her old self. She didn't even seem to want to but in that moment she seemed resigned to thinking of herself as a monster undeserving of forgiveness despite knowing that the person who hated her most on the planet would still have welcomed her back if she just turned around at that point. Hell she could have murderer her parents and pretended not to know anything about it and most people would have if not believed her at least pretended to. Then Gotesu kneeling over her body like a father who lost a child. Fuck man. That entire storyline I could write an essay on morality, determinism and more philosophical topics about. Edit: I don't get the hate some people have for Xenos. In some ways he's very one dimensional, but only if you don't look beyond the surface.

[@Windupchronic]

I don't particularly care for the MSQ for Stormblood, but I love the content: the dungeons, the raids. That stuff is fantastic.

[@ByronAndOnAndOn]

Very this! Omega is IMO such a step up from Alexander: different themes, bosses actually look different, they cut out the chaff at the beginning, and the finales are so memorable. It's clear that Eden and Panda were designed after the model Omega perfected.

[@arachnofiend2859]

@@ByronAndOnAndOn Huh? I have the exact opposite opinion. The first two tiers of Omega are just nostalgia bait with no substance, you could cut them out entirely and the story would improve in basically every way. The final tier is what makes it required reading anyways but Alexander was gobby-good fun from start to finish.

[@crimsonwolf3421]

Omg the ending to this video… I cannot wait to watch you wrap your head around the first parts of shadowbringers.

[@dianak6537]

That intro cracked me up! It’s also interesting to see which story beats and character moments really resonate with different people. Seems most expansion stories do take an extra patch or two to fully capitalize on the initial content’s buildup. Though Mike looks a bit like he’s suffering from frostbite when sitting on that couch… Might be my phone, or the scene may need more green.

[@allmight1799]

Can’t wait till you get to SB! An amazing expansion from start to finish.

[@flipnskater]

Mike the showdown with Zenos wasn't Zenos tho? It was Elidibus. I think you maybe just forgot to mention that.

[@Harkmagic]

Lots of streMers seem to miss this and I don't know why. Onviously, he'll figure it out but they tell you it right away, so its weird that people miss it.

[@dianak6537]

I think it’s just tangential to the point he’s trying to make, which is that a big baddie deserves the feeling of actual danger, and it’s less about who’s orchestrating it and more that the stakes were proportionate this time around. He did acknowledge the ascian part in the segment about Varis.

[@UmatsuObossa]

I actually thought the slow plodding made Zenos scarier. It's how UNSERIOUSLY he's taking you, how LITTLE effort he needs to put into kicking your ass. You're BORING him, and you can SEE you're BORING him, you can see he's BARELY even TRYING to beat you, but he's still absolutely thrashing you.

[@kuronaialtani]

One of my least favorite feelings in the FFXIV community is that I feel wrong for liking, if not loving, 4.0 as much as I do When I first did it, I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it more than HW, including the post patches leading up. When I found out that SB is not only liked less as a whole but considered some of the lowest points in the game, I thought I had done or felt something wrong. But the more I play through Stormblood the more and more I love it despite the flaws that I understand. Maybe it’s that I’m a war story nut, maybe it’s that HW really didn’t catch me like it apparently does literally everyone except me, maybe it’s that I felt way more intrigued by the “we don’t want you here, this is not your war” feeling of Ala Mhigo and Doma that Lyse is forced against at every turn, forcing her in turn to wake up I don’t get why 4.0 is hated as much as it is, and I probably never will because of my position towards it compared to pretty much everyone I know. I just want to be able to talk about it without feeling like I’m getting a gun aimed at my head if I say even remotely anything about HW not being that good to me

[@xXLordYggdrasillXx]

Dont worry. There are a lot of people who enjoyed SB. Vocal people can often make you feel like there is no other possible opinion. But that's just stupid. Enjoyment is so incredibly personal. IMO there is no reason to even argue about it. Was it fun for you? If yes then perfect. Dont let anyone tell you what to like or dislike. I honestly think that our comparing and rating culture is such a detriment for just enjoying things. It does not matter if 70% of people dislike something. You can be in the 30% that did like it. So dont feel discouraged by the opinion of the very vocal people to try something and stand by your opinion even if it is different than the majority. I liked HW. I also liked SB. Maybe even a bit more. Cant really compare two very different stories that I experienced at two very different times in my life. I like telling people that FF13 and its sequels are some of my favourite games ever and watch them rage and claw at me for having a good time with those games.

[@seekittycat]

For me it's just the pacing I don't enjoy and some writing issues. I enjoyed it overall fine

[@Ultima_Cloud]

You aren’t alone. To this day Stormblood is still my favorite expansion. I love the story, even though I know other expansions are more well written for sure, but the main reason is that it brought so much great stuff to the game. I love all of the new areas (Kugane!!), the soundtrack is fantastic, Samurai is my favorite job, awesome characters (Hien, Gosetsu, etc.) and the Ivalice raids. Not to mention all of the QOL changes to the gameplay, which new players don’t get to notice at this point. Everyone just focuses on the quality of the MSQ these days, but it brought a lot more to the table.

[@alexanderchipman9571]

I love Stormblood as a whole. However, to quote a friend, “they told a story of broken people and their resignation, and then started up the same story somewhere else in one go, and then we picked back up the first story and did the same thing.” The symmetry was good, but the start of the expansion was just SO ROUGH from a “doom and gloom” perspective.

[@AuraXars]

Fordola seeing your story was such a great point

[@ffsshaz2395]

Production value with the new office is through the roof. Stonks Rising

[@sandnoodles]

This was my exact feeling when doing STB post-MSQ. Love the intro too haha

[@KornOil]

Loving these videos preach.

[@Yggdrasiel_]

You can really see how much he is making the new office and upgrade in tech and space work in these videos. Love the tremendous leaps he and the team have been able to do!

[@JackgarPrime]

The 4.x content is some of the best stuff they ever put into the game, legit.

[@angryoaf]

Peach gaming has become my favorite game story analysis channel. I don't always agree with Mike's opinion but you can completely understand his perspective and his observations are often astute.

[@renehoyvik]

Love these recaps. Hope we don't have to wait as long for the next one :D

[@GodOfWar187]

Considering he's arguably one of the best, and probably my favorite of the Stormblood characters, I'm surprised you never once talked about Hien in any of your Stormblood videos.

[@babananabanana9163]

HAHAHAHA funny intro, finally after so long im waiting for this.... thanks Chris !

[@djaesy]

YAY PREACH!! LOVE CHRIS AND BEX AND THE GANG!

[@jesuisradmusic]

One thing I still really think was a missed opportunity with Lyse and her redemption was having her stay and fight during the rematch with Lakshmi... You spend the entire first phase having to stop fighting to go defensive and shield people from being tempered. Lyse realizes that you need help and goes to get Fordola, the only other person around with an Echo who can withstand tempering, which is smart--but then she STAYS and fights too, becoming a liability that you have to protect. Having her realize that sometimes there's an enemy that she shouldn't fight and that getting out of the way is the greater help would have been a GREAT evolution from the start of Stormblood, where she impulsively rushes Zenos and gets Y'shtola put in the hospital for the entire expansion. I dunno, missed opportunity for growth there...

[@kuronaialtani]

Doesn’t she literally say why she doesn’t run, since Raubahn is also there? Pretty sure fordola tells her to piss off and Lyse says she needs to prove (to herself) she has the will to lead by standing her ground I’d say she had growth just fine, but that’s me and I am one voice

[@Lancun]

I actually think the Lakshmi scenario was a missed opportunity to temper Lyse. Ga Bu was obviously a motivation that was set up for Alisaie back in Heavensward, but the real way to put the Primal threat into true perspective for the Warrior of Light is to illustrate that none of your friends in the Scions besides Arenvald and Krile are safe. Lyse's story was mostly done at that point since she took a major back seat to Raubahn and the potential could have been there to have a heartbreaking "will you or won't you" scene where the WoL comes into Lyse's jail cell as she's mindlessly chanting in worship of Lakshmi and leaving you with a question mark if you mercifully kill one of your friends and main companions of the Stormblood expansion. Ultimately the decision would be to not kill her so the urgency for a solution to tempering becomes that much more real. Keep her around for too long and she may summon the Primal again with some help. But kill her and a major companion will be lost.

[@jesuisradmusic]

@@Lancun That would have been awesome... One of my biggest problems with Lyse as a character is she never has any consequences or takes any responsibility for all the mistakes she makes... I know they use her errors to drive a lot of the plot, but that doesn't mean she can't learn from them too. Your scenario would have been a perfect use of the character and brought the tempering plot to the forefront for a lot more people.

[@Lancun]

@@jesuisradmusic It also would have been something to more organically help bring Fordola's redemption forward. There's a lot of dead space between the Post-Stormblood MSQ and when she just shows back up in the 5.5 chapter, suddenly fighting for the cause. If the girl who had faith in her fell to a primal's brainwashing, then you could have a scene or two of her trying to reach that feisty girl who never gave up on her, only to fail as Lyse just continues praying to Lakshmi.

[@fjshdf]

"Nanamo is the number one" Lalafellin Supremacy 9:32 Funny, because I had the exact opposite responses, I couldn't really forgive Yotsuyu but sympathized with Fordola more.

[@SirGrimly]

With Stormblood under his belt, it actually would be really cool imo if his Shadowbringers review also included a reaction to the opening cinematic... it's my personal favorite of the bunch :D

[@Theendgamelv3]

Very interesting thing about black rose, it's introduced in a small side quest at the beginning of Stormblood that you could easily miss. I was very shocked when I played that quest line cause I was leveling a different job. Obviously you don't need to do the quest line to know what is going on with black rose, but it's neat that so big could have it's roots in a side quest storyline.

[@heartlacies]

“Lyse is an A tier character” Ummm… okay. I mean, sure. 👁👄👁

[@JMulls]

That intro is incredible 🤣🤣🤣

[@WoWsalutare]

just with the intro you earned my like ;3

[@glorreya6763]

Great video, not sure I agree though that "Varis' grandfather is making sure he has the black rose ready'. It seemed to me more that Varis was 100% convinced black rose was the right move and that Emet-Selch realizes he can use that to his advantage as well, as evidenced by some of his side dialogue where he ponders the question of it's aspect.

[@Vokoca]

I can't believe Exarch jumpscared me twice, once in the game, and once in this video.

[@inuclearpickle8628]

Can’t wait for thoughts on Solus

[@EhhmmmNo]

It is such a massive shame that Varis had such a short character arc, he was legitimately amazing and I really wish we had more moral ambiguity moments with the empire than we ended up with before Endwalker, but alas, the route that they ended up going with Garlemald wasn't terrible, either.

[@raphaelaldenmendoza8468]

Great video once again! 👍👍👍

[@ronsorage78]

I do love Fordola a ton. Just like I loved Yotsuyu as well.

[@glain42]

Another important part of the post-MSQ that saved Sormblood for me were the Omega raids (8 man) and esp. the Four Lords quest line and their trials and the Ivalice alliance raids (my favorite alliance raids in the game).

[@darthmarth87]

As far as base Stormblood goes, I'm not nearly as down on it as many people are but can see where the sentiment comes from - but yeah, there's no question that the quality improves dramatically in the 4.x series. Well done redemption arcs that weren't just "okay we're all super friends now," some of the best storytelling setting up and during a boss fight I've seen in any game (Tsukuyomi), great solo instances and dungeons and of course the big "WTF is happening" during the Shadowbringers lead in . . . good stuff

[@kn0bhe4d]

You can really tell where someone is from by their reaction to the Ala Mhigan anthem.

[@gabbyk1391]

You're really good at story reviews.

[@ColeMu]

these starting bits are a blast

[@Theaikro]

Damn Mike really got in shape and look healthy AF 🙏

[@astrealove1]

The opening sequence was so funny.

[@flamingosalad3541]

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Shadowbringers, this has been really good!

[@GEMINIVice1]

13:01….not Zenos at that point, another of the body snatching Ascians

[@phoenix221186]

Bat stinien ... he's on top of the vault at night saying I am the lance! I Am Batstinien!!!!

[@tuckapeak]

Well done team! You have earned some respite Warrior of light, go get some rest

[@ViewTube_Emperor_of_Mankind]

When we made Fordola see a new perspective was one of my all-time favourite parts of the game: Quote Fordola after witnessing the WoL journey via the Echo: All that power... All that pain... It’s too much... Too much for anyone! The things they’ve done to you. The lies, the betrayal, the endless fighting... Yet there you stand, unbroken. How...? Why...?

[@khmatrix]

Post Stormblood MSQ was a TRIP! Loved it!

[@MrDoot-hj2ir]

"I should be the one to sigh" A single sentence was enough.

[@maartenvandervoort8232]

That opening, perfection!

[@Gunnerjl86]

Production quality is so good

[@vintagetimmy1893]

New PG Intro is dope af Mike!