The Journey Never Ends- A Discussion (FFXIV spoilers) · 4:19pm Dec 7th, 2021
Hey guys, Frost here. I wanted to take a moment today and tell you guys about something. No, this doesn't have to do with anything about my stories or anything going on IRL. I just wanted to try and talk to you about something different since I haven't really seen anyone try this. I know that people have a habit of claiming that their favorite titles are good games, but I want to talk more about one game that really made a lasting impact on me as a writer.
Since December of last year, I had started my journey in the World of Eorzea on Final Fantasy XIV. Of course, the journey was bumpy at first... but as I got into more of the story and dove into the expansions, it quickly became one of my favorite games and with the amount of hours I put in, it's the game with the second most amount of hours that I put on Steam.
Of course, in my mind, a game is fun to play not just because of the gameplay, but also the story. There are many different elements from Final Fantasy XIV's story that have left an impact on me and also serve as an influence to my own writing projects and when I try to explore different concepts and possibilities. So today, I want to talk about a few of them that stand out the most. There's quite a lot, but I want to start with three in particular and see what everyone thinks.
As a forewarning, some of the things I plan to discuss may contain spoilers from either the expansions or particular questlines, with a couple of points from Endwalker itself. I will try to keep these to a minimum, but if you rather not be spoiled on these and rather experience what I'm going to talk about for yourself, then I would recommend leaving now and coming back later.
Without further ado though, let's get started.
1. The Dark Knight Questline-
When I originally started playing FFXIV, I wanted to play Dark Knight. With my background when it comes to games, I have played quite a few titles where you can play characters who fight with oversized weapons and effectively wield them like it's nothing. Of course, when I actually started the questline, I began to realize that there was more to it than just that. In fact, when you start, you begin to realize that there's more to your 'mentor' Fray than you might think.
These quests are some of my favorite class quests in the game because it doesn't just run you on the same grind like many others, for this quest line also explores how your character is psychologically. Hell, the writer for the questline later on became the writer that wrote all of the Main Story Quests for Shadowbringers, and that expansion received much high praise for its storytelling.
2. Character Growth-
Given how long Final Fantasy XIV has been around and that there's now four expansions for it, one of the things that I wondered was that with such a big worlds and so many characters was how exactly does each character grow and change as the story continues. Over the course of my journey, I've seen several characters that are allies to you, The Warrior of Light, grow and change for the better. They learn to adapt and overcome any hardships or difficulties they face, despite any doubts they might have. Even if its too difficult for them to face, they face it regardless.
There are quite a few characters in the Scions of the Seventh Dawn that have grown a lot over the years, yet one particular character for me that fits this well is an Elezen that you meet that goes by the name of Urianger.
Before we go on, I am well aware that Urianger is the subject of many memes within the FFXIV community and he's known in said community as a walking dictionary because of how he speaks. Personally though, I don't care about that. I'm more focused on the character. You meet him in A Realm Reborn and he is involved in several different plot points over the course of the first few expansions. However, in the later expansions, he grows to the point that he's not seen as a meme or a joke to me in my eyes, but as someone that I... well, could relate to in a sense. And in Endwalker, much of the plot points that were established in A Realm Reborn revolving around him come full circle and reach a rather satisfying conclusion.
Another character that fits this bill is Gaius Van Baelsar.
When you first meet him, you see him as the central antagonist of A Realm Reborn. Legatus of the XIV legion for the Garlean Empire and apparent master of elevator speeches to the point that someone even asked Gilbert Godfrey to voice it. Like that with Urianger, there's quite a few memes of him from back in A Realm Reborn. However, in the Post Stormblood story, Shadowbringers and even the Sorrows of Werlyt questline, you learn about him to the point that he's more than just someone that could be seen as a joke. He character shifts from being the generic villain to someone who's shed the pelt of who they were before and tries to change for the better. There are people that he cares for and he's not as stoic as he appears to be.
3. Actions have Consequences-
For this to be fully explained, there's something that I should expand a bit more on. Throughout the early game of Final Fantasy XIV, one of the main central threats is the Garlean Empire. With them being modeled after the Roman Empire, the Garlean Empire is a world power in Eorzea that is bent on conquering the realms beyond their borders for some time to 'unite the realm' together one banner. Despite it only being one nation and the Garlean's themselves being unable to wield magic, they have relied on other methods such as Magitek machinery (which is technology that's ahead of much of the tech in different corners of Eorzea) in order to fulfil their goals.
However, by the time Shadowbringers main story concludes and the post content leading up to Endwalker kicks off, one event causes a chain reaction that has the entire empire erupt in civil war and come crashing down.
A once prosperous Empire is in ruins and when a major threat aside from them looms on the horizon, we are tasked with trying to help those who once tried to take over the world we call home. However, it's not that simple. For your many deeds and heroic acts against the Garleans are not easily forgotten... and it makes it that much harder to try and help them.
A few people I play with in FFXIV on occasion pointed out to me that much of the story in Garlemald reminds them a lot of another game called 'This War of Mine'. While I haven't played the game myself and can't quite really make any connections to it, I can say that the narrative in Garlemald is very impactful and also some of the best in Endwalker so far. It turns the tables a bit and surprised me with a lot of the different twists and turns over the course of the story
So, yes, those are a few of my favorite points in the game so far from a narrative perspective. I was considering possibly going more in detail about a few more of my favorite things in FFXIV in other blogs, but I wanted to see what you guys thoughts are on it. If it's to your liking, I can prepare another one for you.
Until next time
-Frost
