Reminder to my lore nerds, this entire series is designed not to spoil things for people playing through the game. If there’s a fact that we learn later - I will include it when we learn it. Want to learn more, these videos will help: If you're interested in learning more might I suggest: FFXIV Pre-History Lore - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GaQ__5ZBwBc.html Astral vs Umbral - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ThahHzMScl4.html
Hey thanks for playing all that 1.0 footage, I genuinely didn't realize that the party of heroes that is introduced after Heavensward, were the poster kids from the original iteration of the game. That makes the later events of some of the other expansions have a lot more impact.
@@happyninja42 Honestly, it's easy to miss, you don't see that group together until the HW patch content, but once you know, it's hard to miss: they're wearing the artifact gear from ARR for their classes... and the 6th member of the party you don't see between the 1.0 trailer and Shadowbringers.
1.0 ending with the scene of Bahamut just obliterating everything is possibly the strongest game endings of all time "Oh btw you failed" servers shut down. I remember watching videos of people gathered around watching Dalamud descend in real time, pretty chilling
Sitting there just /waiting/, listening to the heavily distorted version of Answers. Just sitting there with the other players, knowing it's going to end soon and... And... And just uncerimoniously seeing that 'connection lost' screen.
Yea, well, I was there. No real way to describe how haunting it was in those last days and weeks, and especially in the last hours knowing it would all end for good and you, the player--the hero--had failed. So marvelously designed by the team to bring that to and end and bring in what we have now. It's cliché, but--you had to be there to truly know what it was like.
This is why I love the animation at 23:48 . Since I first saw it, with no knowledge of 1.0, I thought, "This is the hero of all the RPGs you've played, realizing he's failed, thinking this is the end of the world." Beautifully done!
@@NobuxD There's a version of Answers on the in-game music player that would get claimed immediately if you were to play it on a livestream, but I think playing it with the cinematic is fine. Something similar with Dragonsong from Heavensward too. The music company behind those songs have caused a lot of problems over the years for FF14 enjoyers.
@@NobuxDsquare has an open stance on the music from specifically 14 where it MUST be accompanied by gameplay footage or part of some other form of commentary/discussion. If it’s a complete rip of the song as a video it gets flagged. So no he is likely safe. As there are many channels that do rip the songs and just show footage of them playing the game in the background to avoid copyright.
*spoilers for the video* I never even realized that I didn't actually know why the armies were fighting at Carteneau. And Gaius helping stop Nael, what a twist! It's really cool to finally see all these scraps of the 1.0 story brought together after only getting parts of the picture for years.
Honestly, now it really makes sense why Gaius seems weirdly conciliatory even as he professes he sees you as savages to rule over. Unlike most Garlean rulers, he actually would have provided stability to Eorzea (at the price of the tribes not being able to summon Primals for protection) and improved the lands within a Garlean framework, and his rhetoric is not just justification to raze whomever lives there once conquered.
@@iantaakalla8180 I think this also ties a lot into a lot of why he's so bitter to the player during the Praetorium speech and a few of his interactions prior as well. He interprets the actions during the Answers cutscene as nothing more than another Primal summoning instead of basically a once-in-a-lifetime specialized ritual to try and halt a Calamity, and thus grew a lot more incensed at the city-states in kind.
There's something interesting role play wise with that too. It feels like tons of characters who were not able to know the details just assumed it was just Garlemald and Eorzea fighting for land. To the public suffering from amnesia, it'd easily get covered up about the whole moon cult thing.
Help, I still don't understand why they were fighting in Carteneau. If the leader with all the control was dead, and Gaius wanted nothing to do with the moon, why have the army fight there?
Funny detail that was probably cut for time reasons is that 1.0 players who rested at, I think it was inns? They could actually be shown a special cutscene that foreshadowed the calamity! And iirc a hauntingly distorted version of Answers, which is the song that plays during that final 1.0 cutscene, would play throughout most of the world as the plot got super close to the calamity and the game to shutting down in transition to 2.0. A version that is very like 1.0's distorted Answers is still played every year during the annual Rising event in certain locations in the three starting cities.
Yeah it was crazy. It was not resting though. It was an actual log out function by using your bed. Next time you log in you would see the cutscene that basically acted as a nightmare you had while you were sleeping. Caught many people by surprise. 1.0 had its major flaws but overall it was an unique experience that made it special. It's kind of sad that so many people never got to experience it. I also remember fondly the rumors and speculations going around what that small red dot in the sky is. Before the corresponding patches hit and nobody knew what it was there were major discussions ingame and in forums about it. You could even notice it getting bigger from patch to patch and speculations ran wild. The entire buildup to the end of 1.0 was just magical.
@@IrideaeSnowbloom Answers - Reprise is actually a bit different as it only has a small section of the lyrics. The song that played during the end times is usually known as "Dalamud Answers" The full version of that song is over 10 minutes long, you can find it on RU-vid.
"And so, Gaius learned not to listen to the words of someone who clearly lost their marbles that he forgot he had a memory of a goldfish and decided to listen to the words of someone who clearly lost their marbles, but this time they were wearing a black hood and red masks."
As someone that played since the original 1.0 beta, the final event they did culminating in the cutscene as they shut the servers down was such a moment.
"The heroes failed" is a common enough backstory to a game. But to actually play through that failure? I envy you just a little. Not too much, 1.0 was a hot mess.
@@Kairamekvery true, but by 1.21, the game was pretty enjoyable. I remember that specific version number because that’s the one I recall the game truly turning around for the better in so many ways.
Hearing this makes the rest of the Gaius arc make so much more sense! I played a bit of 1.x but was too turned off by the game play so I went back to FFXI. When ARR came out I waited until people were raving about the improvements so I was playing again by 2.1. I wish they included more of this story in ARR! They touched on it at times in the side stories but man, what an intro into the world, I really wish I stuck with it just to hear this story real time. I wish they would do a Eureka type thing where we go back in time and live the events again, maybe cleaned up a bit to fit the current story and story telling cadence.
What you said makes no sense. "I played a bit of FFXI but was too turned off so I went back to FFXI"? HAH?!?! (The joke is that 1.0 and FFXI share a dev team and it recycled a lot of design philosophies from FFXI, while still having its own systems.)
Even though I've experienced this lore from playing 1.0 , seeing it all together in a concise way makes watching the footage at the end hit much more satisfyingly! Great way to get hyped before the new expansion, thanks for the great video!
I'm so glad you included the ARR cinematic uninterrupted. It's honestly one of the most impactful pieces of media in the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole. Gives me chills EVERY time.
Jesse you broke my heart... How could you do such a masterpiece of a video?? That was just so, so perfect, in ways I can't explain. Thank you for doing this, I cried and feel even more in love with the lore of this game. They need to link your video in the main menu of the game, because no one should start playing without this.
Thank you for your series on Hydaelyn history up through 1.0. I'm a newly minted sprout who began playing FFXIV about 6 weeks ago, and your videos have really helped me get up to speed with the history of the world I'm playing in.
Aahhh that cutscene is still my all-time favorite. I'm still glad I was a part of the 1.0 gang, but boy the game was not very good before ARR. I remember when ARR was announced - how I did not at all believe they would be able to relaunch the game and be successful, how very wrong I was! And here we are, one day till another great expansion
dude these videos are killer. i forget a lot of details and never really wanna go back and re watch cutscenes. you should really cover the rest of the expansions, too! i’m sure it’s tedious but that would be really awesome.
There is also the Path of the Twelve, who were all gifted with the Echo and were an organization dedicated to gathering and protecting them. They merged with the Circle of Knowing to become the Scions. Though there were Path of the Twelve members in 1.0 that you could recruit and they will help you; I think you could even make them into retainers if I remember correctly. The ones you couldn't recruit were seen helping with especially dangerous missions in the later patches of 1.0 and they reappear in 2.0 in the Waking Sands. They were dejected that no one know who they were as they were the original Warriors of Light that everyone forgot about if you didn't have a 1.0 character yourself. Sadly, they perished during a particular event, symbolizing the death of the 1.0 warriors of light and paving the way for the 2.0 warrior of light if your character didn't progress in 1.0.
Damn that Battle of Carteneau, it get's me crying each time. Being there in game with the Moon ever approaching knowing the game was close to it's end, unaware of Yoshi-P's plans it hit's me so hard each time. The music and visual's were and still are the best.
This is such a well made video. I will always appreciate the former history teacher giving lessons about one of my favorite games. These 1.0 cutscenes were really something else, especially the WoL and the Archon's confrontation with Gaius. Much more fluid than what we currently have right now. Hope we can come back to this style again some day. 18:33 This little tidbit kinda makes me wish that this was mentioned during the Myths of the Realm Alliance Raid - if not by the NPC scholars then by the actual characters and bosses in the raids themselves. That transition from 1.0 to ARR is definitely a once in a lifetime thing that you had to be there o fully experience what the hell just happened. From the server shutdown to the eventual reveal of 2.0, pulling off that kind of miracle is such a monumental feat. Makes me wanna rewatch the Noclip documentary all over again.
When I tell you how loud I screamed when I saw you'd FINALLY brought this series back!! Duuuuude yesss, thank you thank you thank youuu I have all 3 volumes of Encyclopedia Eorzea but I loved just kicking back and watching your lore videos, and I hope you won't keep us waiting another couple years for the next one :P
damn got chills at 20:00. I remember playing and seeing this as the servers went down. even the great Gobbue wall fell.. But we WoL returned and been kicking ass ever since.
I will never not get shivers any time that small flute tune plays, the one when the WoLs reappear after the battle of Carteneau. It's such a simple theme but it's FFXIV's most iconic sound for the wonder of adventure.
I am a new players, currently in heavensward, and I gotta say I really enjoy these little lore video for beginners. They are pretty well made and compact, while also been very interesting to learn about. Also Answer still hit me in the feel
There's just something about that cutscene, man. I think it's a serious contender for one of the best of all time. And it sets you up so perfectly to understand and respect Louisoix, even if you didn't play 1.0. That moment when he lets go and smiles gets me every time. Not that Answers doesn't draw an ugly cry from me EVERY time I hear it, but I digress... It'd be one thing to let all the NPCs talk him up in ARR, but showing him stepping up to face Bahamut like that, his persistence in protecting the Adventurers, gah, gets me in the feels every time, too. Also, it lets ARR players somewhat understand the shoes everyone is trying to fill and why that's a nigh-impossible task. Oooh, hey, on that note, it's been a while since I watched it, but the fact that Thancred is dourly praying near the symbol Louisoix set up, in contrast to the other Archons just enjoying being alive nicely teases his arc in ARR.
As I recall, Nael is meant to be a Sephiroth reference. Hence the meteor, the walk through flame, and the Latin boss music. They also head the Seventh Legion.
The Battle of Carteneau is my and many other 1.0 players' version of "I was there Gandalf, I was there 3000 years ago. A lot more standing around in lines than documented."
😮 man, This is the most complete explaining piece of info and illustration of mainquest story i've ever seen from 1.0 ! Now, many many things makes sense and many characters grow big into my view. Thank you for making this Jesse!
I love how you let the final cutscene introduce Bahamut for you. There truly is no better way to do it. Square Enix went the absolute hardest they could with that cutscene
Maaan this is the summary I had been missing!! I didnt learn any of this context around Dalamud, Cid, and the Empire until I stumbled into the Bozja questline. Then I asked a veteran friend to fill in the blanks... First time I really felt liked I'd missed out in not being around for 1.0!
I think, in my opinion, the coolest part from 1.0's end was the fact that, for a period of time before the final moments, there was a final battle versus Bahamut and a small sneak into ARR. At least, if I remember correctly XD I watch one of my favorite youtuber's at the time challenge it, and it really made me want to play ARR and be part of the story beyond it. Of course, it took my years before I actually did, but since then, I've found my love for the story, made numerous friends, and have had nothing but fun, fury, and fright throughout all of ARR, HW, SB, ShB, EW, and recently DT.
As someone who missed out on 1.0 and was uh...less than invested in 2.0, thank you. Thank you thank you thank you for all the effort, the footage, and the care put into this video. I only hope you have the means to continue, because this is absolutely brilliant and a wonderful way to brush up on lore!
One: Massive thanks for these lore vids, I watched them all in one sitting and they are really good for someone who'll soon start their trial (that being me). Two: The cinematic at the end makes me having massive déja vu, in an FF7 taste. In short, much like with this cinematic, my first ever FF "anything" was the Advent Children movie. The music was good, the fights were awesome but I was confused, lacking the context and the necessary background. Now after learning the lore, just like Advent Children, that cinematic makes so much more sense. And hits more to be honest. All in all, big thanks again for these lore vids, can't wait for the next one and keep up the good work! 👍
Bro, Holy crap!! You did some damn good work here. This was obviously a lot to take on, so thank you so much!! Wonderful video. Sharing to everyone I know.
THIS IS SICK!!!! How'd I just now find this channel?!? Also, yay just now is a perfect time to find this channel! Thanks for all this work I've got about 300 hours and am approaching storm blood and have no idea what's going on since I've got here over like 10 years lol
Excellent video Jesse. It hits all the major plot points of the end of the story. I think if there was perhaps two things I would consider including (which may be an interesting point in a focused video of each of the individual city-states of Eorzea), it would have been the internal politics of Ul'dah, Gridania, and Limsa Lominsa prior to the formation of the grand companies and how the grand companies were founded. There's a lot of interesting character moments in that of the political leaders establishing themselves beyond their country's borders. The other thing that I would have included would be just how terrifying the descent of Dalamud was, how with each new patch (every couple months or so) the damn thing kept getting bigger... and bigger... while perhaps minor in the grand scheme of themes, it set the tone of anticipation of what was going to happen -- ending in what is probably the best send-off to an MMO on the brink of collapse. Anywho, those are my two cents!
Answers is such a powerful song and such an insane cutscene. Like, when I started playing FFXIV, I had no idea who any of these people are, what even was going on for at least half the runtime. I didn't play 1.0, I didn't even know there was a 1.0. The earliest time I was made aware of FFXIV was A Realm Reborn. The earliest I ever saw anything of the game was Heavensward. Answers, as the opening to ARR, I saw when I started playing later on free trial, and meant next to nothing to me. It just looked flashy and cool, and also important somehow, but I didn't have context for anything so I just accepted it and moved on. Then, after I beat ARR, I decided to watch it again. So much has suddenly made sense. Now, watching it again after beating Endwalker, it means so much to me. Hearing that song... uhhhh the emotions it makes me feel. Incredible. Absolutely insane. Thank you for giving it the gravity it deserves.
Excellent video Jesse! That 1.0 footage is great. I also appreciate that you addressed my own immediate follow-ups, which are a few of the more specific story beats that get referenced in 2.0 and later but aren't recreated, specifically Thancred, Minfilia and F'lhaminn and how their little found family gets started (which really impacts Thancred's later story arcs), and for a more light hearted side, Hildebrand's 1.0 adventures.
Haven't seen any of your videos before, but i have to say. This one was amazing! You earned a sub! Also, the footage from 1.0 used was just incredible. Kind of made me want to at least try 1.0 :D
Actual shivers. For me FF14 1.0 was always the MMO that failed and then had to be rebooted but having watched this I can tell how much effort and soul still went into it and its story. That end was absolutely bombastic and what a great way to prepare the game and the story for a whole new beginning.
Absolutely love how you just... let the Answers FMV play out without a word. Because it needs none. Dalamud had a dragon the size of manhattan in it, it blasted a hole in the continent, the end, see you in a year then 2.0 drops.
Holy shit I didn't think this series was ever coming back. I subscribed specifically for these years ago. Thanks for bringing it back! Of all the lore vids yours are the easiest to understand and digest!
I always love it when Jesse Lore deep dives or goes into crazy theory crafting. With Dawntrail a day away I can't wait to see how much Jesse gets right. Also no matter how many times I've seen the Answers opening and theme it always hits hard. It really it is one of Uematsu's greatest pieces.
This is amazing and I never knew any of this despite being a huge story person in ffxiv, thank you Jesse this was great research and an amazing job and telling it too.
Showing this godsdamned cinematic at the end of the video is a low blow, Jesse! Worse of all - it works. Again it worked on me. It always does. Every. Single. Time...
This video is so fucking rad, thank you Jesse for all the love and care you've poured into this! I remember to this day that my spouse and I actively made the decision NOT to play 1.0 because of all the problems we were hearing about it. But we joined ARR when it first came out, and every time I see 1.0 footage I (scream internally) always tell myself that I should've followed my gut and played 1.0 problems and all. I really appreciate that I can have understanding of 1.0 lore because of videos like this, thanks again :^D
Wonderful video! Great job summarizing without over explaining, this is what I'll be sending friends once i finally rope them into the joy of FFXIV. One day...
Yes, after going through later expansions, much of how/why this all happened is much clearer. But not to be written here, of course. However, much of this involving Gaius I had not known. Thanks, Jesse.
They were so great when the game ran higher than 15 fps. The OG 1.0 ran sooo badly though. In part because of too many polygons on everything. Flower pots in cities had more polygons than actual player characters.
@@NaturesFlame - I can also understand why they leaned more on using the canned animations from ARR onwards, they didn't have much time to redo the game and besides it made it easier to produce more content at a faster rate. Here's hoping we get more of the high quality motion capture in DT's main cutscenes.
It's crazy how the party of adventurers that fought at Carteneau look exactly like the warriors of darkness from Heavensward, yet were confirmed to be different people.
Thank you, Jesse. The part about Louisoix's plan gives some additional context to what Gaius says during his speech that so many of us have heard so many times now. Made me go "ohhhh... so that's why he brings that up!" and appreciate certain parts more. Also, like others have said, the highest-res footage of 1.0 I've ever seen, with the Player Character being named "Ardbert Derpland" is just *chef's kiss.
I hope you continue this series this was really cool! I have been an avid player since ARR but I did not get into it till right before HW released. I like this series would like to see more please continue the entertaining history of this MMORPG
I’m most grateful of this explaining the lore of 1.0, as I’m a new player I felt pretty disappointed of hearing how it’s impossible to find this kind of stuff but this really explains well and I love it!
Really goes to show how fucking powerful Bahamut really is (and how it's baffling he's handled in an optional raid in Realm Reborn). The ending cutscene is just dark and once he escapes the prison, everything is engulfed in bright red, white and yellow of his destruction rampage
I love the fact that there are several layers to Bahamut's release. It ends 1.0, it gets the player character of 1.0 to ARR, and it's the event that awoke the new player characters of ARR.
Jesse, you already know this but… this is good stuff and i(and many others) appreciate it! You mentioned covering ARR so that gets me excited that eventually you’ll do all expansions INCLUDING dawntrail and following(I hope!) love this content… rock on sir! “You got coxed!”
I never realized that Nael literally does the walk through flames evil psychopath FF thing after going crazy and all before making a meteor fall. VIIth legion indeed... I'd heard they were inspired by Sephiroth, but just assumed it was because of the meteor bit.
Excellent work Jesse ❤ Truly top notch 👌 The Final 1.0 scene has always been my favorite Cinematic and has only doubled so after Endwalker ❤ Can't wait for all the rest !
When you started with the "how will you explain the story of an MMO in a short video" question I kind of expected something like a punch line that 1.0 barely had any story ^^; Oh, and nice use of the "haunted radio song" in one of the bits about Garleans.
