This stream was very special for me. This was the best stream I've had in 2.5 years of streaming, and this entire experience was profound. It has offered so many joys from creating content, to the story, to the friends I've made along the way. 2 years ago, the world felt so grey. I felt like my whole life I was waiting for the part where it would get good, and it was honestly very depressing. But admist the deepest of despair, light everlasting. This game found me at the perfect time, and I know many people wont get the experience I got. This game is full of allegories, where if you dig through the literal story there's a sea of narratives all exploring complexities of life, as all good art does. This game has intertwined with my own life. The empathy I'd feel for Emet selch, or G'raha tia, or Hydaelyn, or Alphinaud, is not for a fake video game character. The empathy, love, hate, understanding, and compassion I feel is for myself. For my friends and loved ones. Feelings I have about life itself. Channeling through this game I am able to reflect on life. And don't let me forget the simple joy of enjoying a game that's made well, and with care. Something made with sheer love and skill. To be able to share that with you all, and with my close friends. I truly am honored. I am on the other side of paradise. In many ways this isn't about FFXIV, it's about my coming of age story as I made some of the biggest strides in my life. I can draw a point from here back to where I began and realised what has changed. I love myself, I am comfortable in who I am, I am comfortable living. Some may think it's not that deep, and honestly maybe they're right, buuuut I'm a pretty emotional person, teehee. I have grown so much and have so much more to do. Endwalker has taught me how it's truly okay not to know what's coming next. Not because conflict won't arise, but because I am the Warrior of Light, and I can handle it, no matter what may come. I've tried so many times to put what I feel into words, and I can never do it, even in comments like this. Perhaps I'll make a main channel video about it if I can ever capture this feeling, but if I don't, know this: I will cherish this experience for the rest of my life. :)
I felt similar. All the characters are reflections of different moments in our lives and help demonstrate how to move forward even after despair. I can't wait to see where you go from here!
Shadowbringers came out after my main battle with cancer. Endwalker came out after I had to bury my parents after their very sudden and horrible deaths. I'm almost scared to see the next expansion. But yes, Endwalker broke me too. I hope you continue through all the patch quests, as one very simple thing, silly probably to some, was bothering me until the end of the first patch MSQ - related to the first blasphemy. It ended in a way that was simple, but brought me some peace. May you ever walk in the light of the Crystal.
D'aw. But you know, it's funny. As a therapist I oftentimes find myself thinking back to FF14 when trying to help people move onwards and for myself when things in life start looking grim. Maybe it's a bit banal, but inspiration and life-lessons do come from interactions from others and experiences. Perhaps sometimes it's from heartfelt fiction as well.
From Hydaelyn's "Hear. Feel. Think," to Meteion's, "I wish only to hear your words, share your feelings, and know your thoughts." FFXIV closed it from the very beginning to the end. Ishikawa is a masterful storyteller.
When I was in the Hydaelyn trial for the first time and the speech bubble popped up that suddenly explaining everything about the Answers theme song that played during the Bahamut cutscene I was literally shouting and crying at the same time...
We REALLY do NEED more talent like Ishikawa-San to join the Gaming development community and help to produce S-Class, God-Tiered Game Lore for the future generations of gamers... Needless to say that people of Ishikawa's Caliber are basically "once in a generation" level of talent and hard to find, let alone have them join the game development community!
I love how much Emet's VA is able to change up his range on the character. With all those burdens lifted he sounds so much gentler. He still has that sarcasm and bite, but it isn't harsh or mocking in it. It's much softer. Shows you how his sorrows twisted his personality.
@@burtwonk God.. i love this statement.. i cryied my heart out tbh at this scene.. for a villain.. he is a very likeabale buddy i would proudly call friend.
@@oliverurbanik9647 Yeah, he’s a very sympathetic villain. It is his motivations and the true nature of his heart that allow us to make peace with his spirit. He has done terrible things, but he did what he believed was right. When he finally comes around to see that humanity doesn’t need to be rejoined to be whole, he passes the legacy onto us. Very bittersweet.
There are two wolves inside you One says "you know, it's fascinating the varied interpretations of nihilism that are expressed in the various residents of Ultima Thule, in this essay I will..." The other says "holy fuck alphinaud just panhaima'd a fricking planet"
Alisae's VA really knocks it out of the park whenever she has to get emotional in a scene. Shadowbringers and Endwalker both, she just delivers absolute gut punches.
The strongest moment in the scene after the walk is when he baits you with tales of places you have not been. But he has. That is a perfect way how this character should have behaved. I started bawling when I got to that part, cause that was his way of telling me to go on, to see the things he has seen, to have the adventures he had. What a lovely way how to write him.
"What they live for, what gives their lives meaning... There was never a single answer." It's hard to put into words just how impactful and meaningful the journey through this game is. It truly is something that just has to be experienced and taken in on an individual level, and it fills me with joy to see that you got the chance to do so.
Pint, a month ago: Yeah, I'm ready for endwalker to be over. Pint, 3 weeks ago: No, like when endwalker ends I'll be ready. Pint, 2 weeks ago: Man, I can't wait for endwalker to be over, just to really wrap up the last couple years of my life. Not that I'm EXCITED for it to be over, but like... it's time, you know? It's right. Pint, last week: Here we go, I am ready for Endwalker to finish. Pint, 22 hours ago: Yep, I'm ready, let's finish Endwalker. Pint, finishing Endwalker: N-NO PLEASE!!! I'M NOT READY!!!
thanks for strummin, Pont. Good experience, I love reliving experience to new players but you truly digested and enjoyed it in a beautiful and refreshing way.
It blows my mind how far Zenos has come. Not only did he listen to what Alisaie said, he took it seriously and used it. He didn't just challenge you, he offered help first and then requested the challenge in return later. Zenos, of all people, decided to get what he wants through persuasion. Is that not so, _Adventurer_ ?
a million people have probably commented this but i will never NOT think of this meme whenever i fight endsinger; THE CRUEL INDIFFERENCE OF THE UNIVERSE WHEN THE INDOMITABLE HUMAN SPIRIT ENTERS THE ROOM
I feel like a lot of people who haven't touched XIV, don't understand how impactful this game can be, and why some of the players are so keen on trying to make new people experience it. It is just something you've to experience yourself, and no amount of words can truly convey how deep this game hits, when and if it does. It is why XIV is and always will be a game I'll recommend to anyone I hear that hasn't had the chance to experience it yet, cause I wish more people get to go through it. And while it might not hit everyone in the same way, I feel like when it hits, it is almost always on a life changing scale. An absolute work of art, and one of the best stories ever made.
Agreed! Most people who play video games don't spend 700 hours with the same characters and the same story. Coming from WoW, yes we had Thrall and Jaina and whatnot but they weren't the same living, breathing characters that Squeenix managed to pull off. It's more akin to a 500 episode series coming to an end than it is to a video game 'ending' imho
Endwalker has many themes about confronting finality ...and I always found endearing that in the end meteion ultimate answer to hermes question to "the worth of life" was acceptance even if it brings pain
I had struck out to try something I never thought I could do. It was such a career switch... and I'm older, so change like that is scary. I started this game as part of the Asmongold wave (tho I was never a Wowhead), but I saw Asmon play and I knew I had to try for myself... and I ended up crying my way through UT on Christmas morning alone. It was so cathartic. Particularly G'raha Tia's words when he visits at night and then later in UT. It was what I need to hear--that our past doesn't have to define our future, and that our future, although scary, can be faced because #1, we're stronger than we think, and #2, we aren't alone. I'm glad you too found encouragement for your heart in the story as well. :)
I think there were a lot of people who jumped on the bandwagon when FF14 boom started, but the ones I enjoyed watching most were you and Preach. I think the game hits everyone different, but watching the journey and seeing how everyone had a chance to share in your experience was really something. I really hope you continue to enjoy the game but even if content falls off or you move to other games, at least you had the chance to experience this, which is what it's all about.
@@arseniykorchevskiy1564 I always enjoy the channels that take time to just enjoy the journey. They also tend to have the best discussions and reflections on the experience. Pint, Preach, Grinding Gear, Jesse Cox. Absolute Titans.
I do really love how Zenos' plan from the beginning of Endwalker got flipped upside-down/inverted. Instead of creating despair as a bait to fight the WoL after absorbing Zodiark, Zenos gets his wish only after absorbing what was left of Hydaelyn in order to come help us fight despair.
Even interacting with the influences Zenos had in the post EW content has been incredibly interesting ^^ Love the story and looking forward to next patch for sure to see more of a resolution to our current situation.
The entire ultima Thule sequence leading up to final dungeon felt like a bad dream. it didn't feel quite real, seeing various civilisations coming to the same depressing conclusion of life. dismantling nihilism is now one of may favourite themes in media, and I'm glad FF14 explored it as a fitting end to the MSQ. When I played this sequence back in 2021, I still struggled with the contradictions and fallacies of optimistic nihilism. beating this game was that one final push that helped me reconsider my path
The final clash against Zenos was, indeed, better as a Femroe. Also, hopping on Shinryu’s back and clutching the Crystal of Azem while the Final Fantasy theme swells in the background is peak Final Fantasy.
I always get such a joy from watching people experience the end of EW. It had and still has such a profound impact on me, I cannot even go to Ultima Thule to grab maps without tearing up hearing the music. When the dust had settled and EW was done, I remember just laying in bed and crying. It felt like such a release. EW is so special to me and its helped me to accept that life is something special and not endless disappointment that I just have to trudge through, that we must treasure it and hold those we love most close to us before they are gone. I am so honored to see every single person who shares their EW ending experience because it has always been beautiful and just renews my feelings about it and life and every tear I've cried because some dumb pixels on a screen lol. Forge Ahead, Pint!!
I gotta say. Being a streamer and reaching that point with the field of flowers and coming out to have people waiting for you on the quest "Youre not alone" has to be such a beautiful feeling.
i will NEVER forget my first time in endsinger. it was a full party of ppl that were doing it for the first time and we all died except for our machinist who solo'd until rez phase and i remember screaming and cheering and everyone was just cheering in chat, it was so good.
As a vod watcher who specifically stayed the whole live stream to be an emotional vampire, we love you Pint and will support you no matter where you walk ❤
I'm glad I was able to watch this live near the end of the stream. Kudos to those who have been there since the beginning of that almost 8 hour EW finale. The Comp 1 7-1.mp4 - VLC media player (awesome name btw) video at the end was so wholesome to watch. Pint should definitely upload that as a separate video and if possible, have someone add Japanese subtitles so the devs can see it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, thank you Pint for sharing with us this amazing moment as you walk to the end of this journey, towards the beginning of hopefully many wonderful new experiences.
I'm SO SAD I missed this live. I only started 14 early last year cause I lost a bet and this game has changed me beyond belief!!! Getting to Endwalker was such an experience and being able to follow you though it has been amazing
It was a privilege watching you experience this and I'm happy you and so many of us have taken the lessons of the story to heart, finding small and large ways to change and grow. It's amazing how powerful something genuine and good-hearted can be.
Congrats Pint! From a humble vod watcher, seeing you play the game makes me feel the same feeling I had when I started and finished Endwalker! Cheers to more future content 🎉😊
Its been such a long ride watching you slowly digest the MSQ of this game, and my journey has indeed been worth it. So happy to see you enjoy the game so much, connect with it, try to hide tears and emotions, as we all do. Glad to have you in this game, and heres to enjoying more of the game moving forward, oh and hope to see you play XVI as well! cheers!
3:31:28 It's so cool to see Pint jam the fuck out of that song instead of being a bawling mess like most of us were XD God bless this journey and the one we took alongside Pint was probably one of the best I've experienced :D
im crying with you i love this. i never catch your streams because of work and time differences, but i watch all hours of reuploads here, and i love re-living it through you. thank you for your content.
"Thought there like 12..." Oh no, Hades goofed real bad. He sent THOUSANDS out into the universe, and inadvertantly sowed it's destruction. I love how all the souls the Meteion's have stolen are of the "ALL SHALL SUFFER, AS I HAVE SUFFERED!" mentality. Unable to see past their own pain, that others may not need to suffer like they did.
This was the first stream I showed up to as a mostly vod watcher, and it was worth it. I look forward to the future, and how you handle the story to come.
Normally I listen to these like podcasts while at work, but I think I'll need to wait until I get home so I can watch it directly! I'm excited, both to hear your thoughts and to reexperience it myself!
Glad I was able to make it to both greetings and watch the stream. The VODs are one thing, but seeing you complete this journey live was an experience. Love your personality and the content you make. Here’s to the future, Pint, glad you joined FFXIV.
Even though i caught this one live im still watching this vod because you're amazing and i have short term memory loss anyway lol. Im glad you're having a good time ❤️ its fair to say a lot of people feel like this game changed their lives.
Awesome ending to the stream, Pint. Thank you! That was so heartfelt and genuine. Isn’t it amazing how you can pick up valuable truths and perspectives from a video game? I’ve been gaming for more than 3 decades at this point ( I’m 42, with wife and kid now) and while I have “grown up” and matured (I hope), video games have shaped me more than I care to admit, and while sometimes life WILL throw curveballs, video games will always be a part of my life. I hope to be playing until the day I can no longer hold a controller or type on a keyboard! The journey through FFXIV’s first story arc is complete, we all have memories of what we went through, but just like with real life, everything continues onto new (hopefully better) things! I wish you well on your personal journey, Pint. Keep the memories and lessons learned close, and you will always find your way back to the light!
Finally watched the entire VOD. Certainlly CBU 3 created a true epic in the same vein as Homer's Illiad & Odyssey. Yoshida and the entire team pulled not only a miraculous recovery but also set in motion a story with such a rich world and environment where the game itself is just a device to enjoy such a gran epic. Pint also deserves commendation. Not only did his narrative choices, and affable streams enriched the experience for those of us whom preferred to exists as spectators. It made Pint Fumpyrat's adventures one to be remembered through times immemorial. Thank You, the adventure isn't over. For the end of one story always leads to the start of the next.
This is probably the weirdest thing I am ever going to say to a content creator, if you even see it. But I see you struggle to shed that cloak of detachment and irony that so many younger people shroud themselves in to protect them from the constant psychic bombardment of the modern age. How you want to be more genuine but have this fear of being judged for it like we all do. And I see you push through it, and make a real connection with your viewers and the story you are experiencing, that you put the real you out there even when that's a terrifying notion. It makes me feel so goddamn proud of you. As a person. And it makes me regret that I'm now probably too old to ever have a son of my own, because if I could just help someone grow to interact so authentically with the world around them as you do, I'd know that my own journey had been worthwhile. Stand tall my friend.
3:29:14 Close in the distance is one of my favorite tracks. Tearing up almost every time I hear it. Especially at the refrain "tales of loss and fire and faith, every word in our hearts engraved." - need to sign along everytime. Tearing up of course And 4:08:00 hearing those quotes made me cry even more 5:33:48 and our boss music ofc
Anyone saying "HADES WAS AZEM" in chat has room temp iq, he's just saying that even though he wanted to kill us all he still saw it as his duty to live, experience, and explore all that the planet had to offer, even in the current age
As has been seen with recent interviews Yoshi P has given for 16, reading comprehension is a challenge for the typical FF fan. Which is ironic all things considered.
It's funny cause there's literally no reason for this theory. The theory about the last telep being a gift from Zenos at least can be a speculation cause it was left open, but everyone knows Venat was the previous Azem and Hades was Emet. 🤷♀️
The most that comment can be stretched is 'Emet was technically the bearer of Azem's crystal and did exploring in the meantime' But still wasnt officially Azem
@@pozziellen Man I never heard about the teleporter being a gift from Zenos before. I don't know if I buy into it, but honestly it's a cool thing to think about. In a place like that, his last, emotion-turned-reality is to give you a means to return.
I want to share my Ultima Thule story. Me and a friend had been playing the game together since July of 21. Sometimes I would play ahead, sometimes he would pass me, but we both went through Endwalker together. After crying through the last walk, we got to the last quest in the Elpis flowers. And… we got a notification that Servers would be going down for maintenance in 20 minutes. We were really sad to end there, but we didn’t have a choice. So what we did instead was turn yell and shout chat back on. We’d turned them off so people couldn’t spoil anything, and since we were at the end we figured we were safe. And the chat was instantly flooded with people, saying things like “I can’t see I’m crying too much” and “it’s okay, I’m here for you.” We sat down in that field of flowers, and one by one people sat with us. We talked about the expansion, about the game, about a lot of things. By the time the servers turned off, we had at least 20 people sitting around and relaxing at that flower patch. A screenshot I took is still my desktop background over a year later. I’ll never forget that specific part of the map. That was my “moment.”
Poor Zenos. Such a long journey only to have your tombstone at the edge of the universe read "Here lies Zenos. Beaten to death by a small bare-handed child."
I don't really think he cares. He went all out against a worthy foe at the end and felt satisfaction. At that point, where and how he dies doesn't really matter to him.
im not playing any MMOs atm for reasons but the music in this last zone is insanely good. I remember the first time i dont think i stopped crying the whole time i was doing the quests. I swear the team is a group torturers they hit every single note to just murder any of those who didnt get teary-eyed at the rest of Endwalker. There has never been a more fitting end to a game ever.
It’s hard to explain to others what this game can mean to them, when nothing comes close to anything they’ve experienced. I hope more can bring themselves to play this
Alisaie is best girl, and that cutscene puts this on full display. She stares death in the face and says it's not fair. It's not fair that YOU have to bear the burden of loss, of having to push on alone. I love her so much T_T
When i finished it there was almost nobody else in the entire zone but i pre-ordered and played through it in early access, the day before official launch i was done. That was a long emotional weekend.
Now that it's over, I wanna say my final thoughts. Admittedly, my friends and I were a little annoyed knowing Pint was spoiled by so many things about Endwalker, especially when he would ham it up a bit and do fake reactions on the things he already knew or making near perfect "predictions". Or when he would stall particularly hard on some streams. BUT, I knew even though he was spoiled on stuff he still enjoyed his time and even though he stalled he was just afraid to end it too quickly. So I set aside my personal annoyance since it wasn't that important anyways and just watched for Pint, and you know what, I think he more than made up for it when he would make his own commentary and say his thoughts on a subject. It was nice to hear how he felt or what was his takeaway on things. I'm happy I stuck around, congrats Pint. TL;DR- it was a bit rough but I'm happy I stuck with it to see his journey.
Now that you've finished Endwalker, there's a bunch of good short stories and side quests added in the .1 through .3 patches so far that are really good. I highly recommend the Omega one. It's really sweet :)
When I feel sad and depressed, I think of Zenos's words "I had assumed you would be above something so banal as despair" Edit: Pint, you chose "correctly" Zenos will call you out (the player) as being in denial and he'll be disappointed in you if you don't choose "That I cannot deny"
(I'm at 2:25:20, so if he talks about this later, my B) Just to point out a theory: a lot of people are confused, or call it pointless, when Urianger sacrifices himself alongside Y'shtola. He justifies it that subterfuge would not be needed in this type of place. But what no one seems to remember is that, as explained in Heavensward, Y'shtola is using up her own aether to be able to 'see', since she was blinded after the first time she was brought back from the Lifestream. So I feel like Urianger sacrifices himself alongside her to guarantee that there would be enough aether and/or dynamis to change the path forward for the rest of them T.T
I've personally interpreted his sacrifice as him knowing that, even though he could create an inventive path forward, he knows he could not overcome any despair for long. So he joins Y'shtola so that she can devote the entirety of her soul in overcoming the Ea's despair while he devotes his soul to creating that path.
If I may add my own two cents here, the conclusion I came to is simply that Urianger doesn't believe he is capable of overcoming Meteion's despair alone. In the conversation with the WoL and G'raha just before the sacrifice he tells you that he is going to sacrifice himself now because he feels it is when his convictions will be strongest. This is because he thinks that he does not have (or never had) a strong enough will to affect the dynamis and that his only strength is subterfuge or lying. "Since subterfuge is not required thou shalt not suffer for mine absence." Urianger has never acted purely because he believed that he and he alone could solve an issue and has often expressed guilt and regret over his decisions. He was only able to lie to Elidibus and the Warriors of Darkness because he trusted Minifilia to bear the burden of stopping the Flood. Then in Mare Lamentorum he expresses how he blamed himself for condemning her to that fate. When he was asked by the Exarch to help hide his identity and true intentions, Urianger went along with the plan despite disagreeing with it. Even if it meant silently accepting that the Exarch would die as a result. Then later apoloises for once again lying to you. In both these cases, he did not have to strength of will to try and find a different way to solve the issue that did not cause harm to someone he cared for...But he was able to follow through with both plans, even though it caused him pain to lie to his friends and watch them leave, because he TRUSTED in them wholeheartedly. And that is where he knows he is the strongest. When assisting someone else. If he can't affect the dynamis enough by himself, all he can do is assist the others and lighten their burden. And who better out of the remaining cast than Y'shtola who he has known and been friends with the longest. "My resolve hath never been as strong as thine. Full oft have I wavered in my decisions and, afterwards been stricken with regret. In spite of this, I may still stand with my comrades, supporting them as they attempt the greatest of feats."
I beat the game three days after Pint, and this was after starting the game after his black mage video LOL This was a great journey Pint, thank you for getting me into this game.
I have had a lot of great moments playing video game. Both counting completing obstacles with friends or just the challenge or the emotional catharsis of great storytelling played through first person. But the only day I honestly thought I could turn and walk away from video games and still have heard everything important they had to tell me, was the day I finished the 6.0 MSQ
I LOVE the comment from chat about enabling cheats, getting everything then wondering why you play the game. This is never more apparent than in Valheim.
Ok, lalafell makes it not feel as serious as it should be, but you gotta give props to the devs for making zenos attack in accordance to his stature, how he legit swong down to hit her.
Gameplay mechanics actually convinced me for a short time that all those sacrifices were gone for good. I realized that Player + Twins + G'raha makes a full Trust for the final dungeon regardless of the player's Job and that had me convinced it was all for real until the G'raha part. I actually felt RELIEVED when he went because that meant they had to come back.
