For me, the juxtaposition of Quintus taking his own life alone in a cold train car against Jullus with warmth, food, and friendship is extra impactful. Welcoming warmth and camaraderie into your life is a decision. Hope is a choice we can all make.
Julius is younger and thus didn't experience too much of the suffering the Garleans had to endure, so he was more open to accept help. Quintus was a old soldier who probably lived through much of the suffering that they were forced to endure at the hands of the Hyur Barbarians. As such, he was too broken to accept that any other way but conquest would lead to subjugation and suffering, to be treated again as less then human because of their inability to control aether.
@@sitarsenshi8512 Yeah, but the Empire isn't even like 50 years old, even after exile the Hyur Barbarians hunted them trying to bring them to extinction. They only survived because they hired Roegadyn War Magi, who abandoned them. Before Solus came along, the Garlean Republic was barely clinging on to survival, huddling around burning Ceruleum pits to keep warm.
@@verdantmischief7092 After 800 years of abuse? Yeah, I get why the Garleans are angry and unwilling to surrender to people who have proven time and time again to be no better then the savages that pushed them out of their homes and attempted to genocide them. But let me guess, you are the type of person who thinks that Varren vas Valens equals all Garleans or that the 7th and 12th Legion equals the entirety of the Garlean Army. Sounds to me like you are a little racist.
2:36:28 - my favorite moment in Endwalker. A stack marker appears. You have no party, you have no healer, but Garlean citizens rush in to stack with you anyway.
@@CrusesFear It's just kind of interesting the way it shows the kernel of truth within the Garlean lie. The inability of Garleans to use magic DID create a need for excellence in other metrics. Where the individual was small, the group was mighty. The idea of supreme Garlean unity replaced the idea of non-magical Garlean inferiority. Magic became shunned as fake strength, and only Garleans had "true strength".
Garlemald is a really good representation of how ideology and propaganda can completely destroy the ability of people to accept others. The civilians are complicit as oppressors, there's no good guy, no innocents, and yet everyone is also a victim. Garlemald shows how war is hell.
The best part about it is the Garlemald itself had been created by the oppressed who had been forced out of their lands to such a cold and harsh place having no other option. The world effectively created such a place that felt justified in their actions believing it to be the only way to make the world a better place.
It is more complicated than that. Garlemald's history primed it to be turned into what it became. The Garlean people see the rest of the world as savages in part because the vast majority of their interaction with the rest of the world has been foreign powers invading, killing and stealing what thier lands and driving them further and further north till the Garleans were forced to survive in a barren frozen wasteland so devoid of value that no one could be bothered taking it from them. In a way, the Garleans way of seeing the world was if they didn't do it to others, others would do it to them.
@@brynphillips9957 There's more. With what we learned at the end of Stormblood and thanks to Emet-Selch the ascians used what you said and tempered the Garleans into their Weapons. The whole Ideology was formed around the fact that the Ascians needed a beating stick to induce calamities ... just like the Allagan Empire before it. The Garleans ate it up and why wouldn't they? Everyone else treated them like shit and less than human so a guy demonstrating that "NO look at our powerful honed bodies and VAST technology Prowess! They are the savages! Not us!" is a pleasing thing to believe in. In the end aside from some truly vile shit stains the average Garlean was a victim of the ascians like the rest of the world ... at least in my view.
I wouldn´t call most of the Garleans complicit, I see them as victims, ppl whose fear, ignorance and pride has been manipulated and weaponized, sometimes more literally than anecdotally, in order to achieve a dream of peace and prosperity that ends up being smoke and mirrors
Magitek is a pretty recent discovery. The rise of the current Empire happened during Solus' time, engineered by Emet-Selch (possessing Solus' body). Before that, Garlemald was just a group of people without the ability to use magic, huddling in the frozen north, just struggling to survive the harsh winters. Quintus was old enough to remember the way it was before Magitek, before Solus/Emet-Selch engineered the rise of Garlemald as a conquering empire. While Jullus still saw a way forward for Garlemald that could include peace with Eorzea, all Quintus could see was a return to those days when life meant just eking out an existence, desperate for food and warmth, where they were at the mercy of the people who might come to finish the job one day. He saw the Empire as the only salvation for his people--without it, there was no reason to live and watch what he thought was inevitable. It's really, really sad, but even sadder that you can see why he did it. That doesn't make it right, but you can see why he didn't have the hope and faith that Jullus did. He was an old man who'd seen far worse than Jullus maybe ever will.
FFXIV took a very brave risk considering the Japanese social issues with and around suicide. For them to place it so firmly at this point knowing what a divisive choice it would be was pretty ballsy. There were lots of people who had very strong reactions when they reached this part of Endwalker's story and lots of folks were linking suicide prevention services etc for those who might need them.
there is also some historical/political shit tied up in it. there is a reason like half of all japanese cultural output post WW2 is about how japanese imperialism was awful, and another third is about how nuh-uh it was cool actually. the people in charge during it still got to run the country afterwards! they killed half the country's young men and got away scot fuckin' free! there's some cultural baggage there! not that Garlemald=Imperial Japan wasn't hammered into your skull enough by the refugees huddled in the subways hoping for reinforcement that will not come, but there is a bonus level of wish fulfillment/rip on Shinzo Abe and company's grandfathers. 'you fuckers told the common soldiers death before dishonor, and then when you lost, when you had to admit you'd killed all those people for NOTHING, you fuckers crawled on your bellies for the people who beat you so you could retain your power. wouldn't it have been great if fucking ONE of you did what you all told us it was our duty to do, if only so we wouldn't have to look at your disgusting faces anymore.'
Many countries have this issue, in the usa we have a major issue of men murdering others AND THEN killing themselves, im glad they pushed the boundaries and showed how cowardly it was
Not entirely fun fact: if you have the text auto-advance in the Quintus cutscene, the final shot coincides perfectly with the applause part of the BGM. Added another layer of irony(?) to the scene for me.
Okay, that moment when you see the chair, I immediately knew what he was gonna do- and my heart dropped into my stomach. Ishikawa is a sadist. I loved it.
This whole section messed me up. I’m older now, I feel more. In my life, I am losing loved ones to age, to illness, and time (though thankfully, not to war). I am more afraid of loss and of dying, and of losing my faculties. Garlemald touched on the terror of these things in a raw and honest way, and it hit like a runaway yacht. All of this to say, good writing is not just snappy dialogue. It’s an exploration of the human experience, the primal fears we distract ourselves from. It’s a vehicle for tropes like “the power of friendship” to deliver potent emotional payoffs. It was good to relive this section of endwalker with you Pint. I went through more than a few tissues lol.
You trying to explain everything to Jullus at 1:00:42 and it turning into this convoluted mess all for him to just say, "I'm sorry. Forget I spoke." Almost like he thinks you're a lunatic now is so perfect. lmao!
Man I love that solo duty. It was disorienting and stressful and a great example on how storytelling in videogames can make you experience something in such a personal and visceral way that a movie or book can't. Endwalker has its ups and downs but Garlemald is definitely part of the ups.
I still cry at this part when i rewatch it, with Jullus and the soup and stuff... all of these feelings of hope and sorrow and joy mixed together. But i ugly cry, even straight up sob at the ending of 6.0. If youre tearing up at this part, you will probably cry at the end too.
10:21 Very meta commentary for Octavia - All of those time doing roulettes where we get to run Praetorium again and again with different job classes, just casually chatting with each other talking about non game related stuff, trying to see who gets to pull the most number of enemies before we finish them off with our AoEs like they were nothing. It's easy to see why they see us as monsters. That Duty at the end of the video is still one of my favorite things about the game. Not only does it shows the obvious huge power gap between the WoL and a regular Garlean Soldier, but it also shows how someone like Fandaniel, an sundered, to actually be a dangerous threat and use his knowledege to basically make a repeat of what happened to Thancred when he got possessed by Lahabrea all the way back in ARR using Aulus' research during StB. The best part is what he did was not just for sh**s and giggles, as we see later when we encounter our first trial where he let Zenos basically practice now piloting a body in case they do manage go with the original plan later.
@@KMCA779 Oops yeah, corrected that mistake! I forgot that Fandaniel wasn't part of the Big 3 (Lahabrea, Emet-Selch, Elidibus) Unsundered. Still, even as a sundered the mayhem he caused together with Zenos was definitely nothing to sneeze at (Emet may have instilled those beliefs and ideals that the Garleans have now, but both Zenos and Fandaniel inevitably used this to their advantage causing the empire's downfall).
Zenos taking your body, was also very very unsettling to many players, esp. women. This whole Garlmerald arc was a "we took every possible PR risk in the story to make you feel as uncomfortable as possible".
I meant it was meant to be unsettling. Ive seen people being overdramatic over it though. If a game unsettles you this much because your player character gets played by someone else, btw a trope as old as time, mb u have other issues to work out.
Exactly, Endwalker does not make much sense without shb, and shb, while kinda completed, doesn't hit such a high point as in one package with endwalker. Really the definition of perfect sequel.
there is a joke hidden in Quintus' final speech, and it rules. because you have heard this speech before. all that meandering self-pity, from a man sitting amid the ruins of his dreams and those he was sworn to protect. he did exactly what he was taught, what he believed with all his heart was best, and it lead him to ruin. such devastation. this was not his intention. *BLAM*
To be fair Pint. I just just played through my 3rd character in Endwalker. Now that I gone back through and listened to lore vids everything makes WAY more sense.
always nice to come to these comment sections, where people who have lost the ability to empathize with the "other" gleefully cheer for this scene. There's also tons of nuanced perspectives on the scene in your section, so kudos for fostering that, at least.
Something newer players don't experience like veterans is how they spoil certain details of the story in the hype trailers. They leave out the context, of course, but many of us immediately had a sense of dread when they put those collars on because we saw the twins huddling in the cold alone together. It's easy to say "they wouldn't dare" but in that moment, the foreknowledge adds even more tension knowing things could/would go wrong. Edit: I realize it may come off sounding wrong, presuming new players don't get spoiled when they obviously do. My point was more on the nature of the spoiler. Where a new player can be spoiled on the full context of the situation, the hype trailers drop just breadcrumbs where we still have a lot left to the imagination.
I can not stand Quintus a single iota, but that final scene of his was still really powerful....even if i literally despise everything about his character.
"New expansions may not live up to the standards of ShB or EW, but they will new expansions, crafted with life, and love, and hope and we cannot stand by and let nostalgia of the previous ones destroy them" :)
Everyone thought EW wouldn’t live up to SB but it did and exceeded it in my opinion. I trust 7.0 will live up to the standard they’ve put forth so far.
@@aeolussvichi7680 I truly think that's an impossible ask. ShB and EW both blasted out all the 10-years worth of buildup they have. They no longer have the ammo to pull another one. I expect 7.0 to plant the seeds to be harvested later.
About the thing that Alise was talking about “Intervention” from other nations...it is one think to intervene when the world is at stake, but a different story when that intervention happens due to squabbles between two different nations...at what point do we say ..we are not the world police
Pint saying he's glad he took his time, imagine being with this game the entire time from beta. The attachment the music and characters has on my emotions is direct, Soken can control me a like a muppet.
As much as some people like to reduce Garlemald to "lmao garleans are nazis," I actually really sympathize with the Garleans and their soldiers. Quintus truly believes what Garlemald is doing is right and just. The Garlemald he knew and loved is no more. The ideals he upheld were twisted by an Eikon of their own design and used against them to a tragic end. He was a loyal Garlean through and through, so much so that his whole life was wrapped up in Garlemald's success as a nation. He was the last true Garlean we see in the story and his death represents the final dying breath of Garlemald as a nation. Him releasing the soldiers under him represents the new future for the Garlean people, whatever that may look like.
And garlemald was founded out of necessity for the garlean's point of view it was either come together and protect each other or die in the cold divided.
@1:28:05 that is a very interesting point, but I think FFXIV will retain any audience it grabbed no matter what because: 1. It doesn't beg you to play it and force you to spend unecessary time you don't want to in it, even if you're at baseline a hyper casual who doesn't touch it for years, you can always sub back in at the end of a patch cycle before an expansion and catch up in no time. 2. There is an emotional connection most players form not only to the community but also the world and its characters, even if FFXIV was dragged down the dirt I will always come back to see my favorite characters interact more 3. You can easily play both games and not be overwhelmed, and just do content in FF whenever you have the time to. Even if you're a high end raider, chances are ultimates and savages will still have people clearing them years later because of fun, rather than rewards Maybe I'm hardline on copium but this is why I'm not worried that FF will ever sink back down whilist WoW players go back to their game, because I've seen WoW players who like DF STILL play FF even after it.
I'm german and my grandpa always used to tell unadorned stories of what he experienced at the russian front during WWII as a way of coping with life after the war. Save to say, Garlemald really hits home for me and it's a damn shame there's so many players that took nothing from all of it other than "lmao fuck garlemald xDDD quintus idiot"
the amount of streamers, Pint included, who all but said "Yeah maybe it's for the best you die bro" nonstop to Quintus until the second they realized what he was gunna do is beyond counting.
It is very much a phyrric victory that is won in Garlemald. We were never willing to employ an all out assault to take over, since that would make us no better than them. Unfortunately though, as soon as we learn of just how precarious the foundations of the nation are it has already fallen. With Emet it was a more bittersweet victory. Think of it as in 5.0 you ask "why did it have to end this way?" but in Garlemald you shake your head and say "it didn't have to end this way."
I don't remember the lore exactly, but I know settlements and civilizations spring up around Aetherytes because they're, like, good for supporting life. Maybe they are just big batteries?
@@GilliamYaeger Well, yes and no. The Encyclopedia Eorzea states, under Aetherial Travel (page 10) "Aetherytes (massive concentrations of crystallized aether) serve as the beacons, most often appearing in areas where the corporeal and aetherial planes are the closest. These areas are already teeming with life because of this proximity, which is why centers of population can be found near aetherytes." and also "Historically, settlements have been established around existing deposits of aetheryte--areas teeming with life due to their proximity to the aetherial plane. However, the Sharlayans, despite a lack of comprehension regarding the process involved, have succeeded in applying technology from previous ages to the construction of 'portable' aetherytes which can be placed in almost any location." Both of these quotes, to me at least, imply that aetherytes do absolutely form naturally and support life in their vicinity, but can also be constructed with ancient technology, I assume from _THE_ ancients.
Dragonflight story is a good wow story... which means its passable. Nothing amazing, nothing bad. Its obviously no where close to FF14 story which I think is just fine as is.
@@aeolussvichi7680 we need to install a friendlier government first though, their senate survived so there's the possibility they will take over, but until more is known... v('-')v
The only time I ever truly enjoyed WoW's narrative was Warlords of Draenor. Say what you want about the endgame or dubious premise of that expansion, but the leveling experience nailed the presentation and delivery of the lore in a way that had you invested for whatever came after.
So, hear me out. About your concern that dragonflight might pull all players away from ff, I don’t think people who love ff will *move* away. I’ve been playing ff14 for 10 years maybe? I’m not counting anymore. Done all savages and ultimates, so like during before endwalker launch I’m at that point where I either go insane spamming mentor roulette or just go play other games. So I tried dragonflight (and still playing). I tried getting into it before during the mass exodus, but I absolutely hated it lol. Now I can get into normal and heroic raid at least. But I can absolutely tell you, wow still haven’t put a lot into storytelling. Even with campaign being a thing now, it’s still very much an afterthought. With exception of the cinematics they’ve 80% showed us in trailers/marketing, cutscenes all feel pretty cheap. The only part that made me go wooooow was probably the bronze dragon campaign. And the raid? I’m glad there’s less gatekeeping now and there’s actual challenge in the fights which I absolutely love. But with all QoLs I’ve experienced for almost a decade or so in ff, it just makes no sense that a game that have been existing longer than ff still makes you do all the time consuming unnecessary stuffs nowadays. Anyway, exciting for PLL tonight and looking forward to the new ultimate.
I think this expansion is a great litmus test for seeing who can empathize and who isn't able to. Mentioned trying to see things from the Garlean perspective (while not agreeing with it) in another streamer's chat (Nyxipuff) and she, and most of her viewers dogpiled and shamed me. Glad you try to take everything in with a more macro perspective Pint.
Its pretty sad how some people fail to see what Alisae was just talking about in the previous cutscene, how everybody has as stake in this world. This apply to the oppressed and, like you or not, the oppressor. While the world is a better place off with genocidal authoritarian maniacs (this includes you, oh my beloved Solus/Emet) and their bloodlust generals, i don't think a suicide should be celebrated. Hell, i've see some people mock this. They are still people and Garlemald is a book lesson on the banality of evil, on how YOU/US the WoL killed some many Garleans too. Another perfect scene to capture this sense of perspective is yet to come on Pints stream so i won't comment further.
@@Wylyth-nr3hq when you consider how fucking cold the environment they got pushed into is, they survivors and thrived, yeah it's only natural they'd want revenge. Empire was a literal defense to the alternative of being wiped out.
@@neloverg3774once they had cereleum tech they could have become an extremely wealthy nation by trading, instead they chose conquest. No reason to accept their position that they had no choice but to conquer.
@@lberghaus Now that is foolish. Why would they trade their tech with people who had, even in their recent history, attacked and subjugated their people? Just hope the good faith you have as your only advantage won't be ignored and simply used against you? They wouldnt have been wealthy cause, more likely than not, they would have been conquered by said countries they traded with for their natural resources.
I am seriously becoming obsessed with Pint's reactions. His comments change a sad moment into hilarious one and I just cant stop laughing xD Its wrong, I know, but fuckin hell 1:21:35 xDDD
Im a little mad Zenos did no damage to the Scions, I would have at least liked a few slices or so, so much build up for him to only coem there and smile.
In From The Cold really shows who ran Eureka / Bozja when they were current and who didn't, tiptoeing through the mob's aggro ranges and line of sight. Or WoW too. Plenty of "I don't want to fight you I'm just trying to get to the next FFFFF-".
I was in a blind panic through that whole event. I had no idea where to go or what to do, and all I could think was that Zenos was going to kill my friends. :((((((((
ngl Endwalker did a lot of building up characters for a moment then when you're just getting used to them. BAM Dead. Dead in the most horrible way they could imagine.
Nothing about enemy aggro behavior in this duty has changed. They were sight-based since day one. The only nerf was to the lower difficulties. The reason so many people found it hard was because they had trouble with the dropping of clear path to an objective. I liked it, but many others felt lost because of that.
Honestly in a video game I'd much rather see a graphic monster transformation than a death by self. Not for trigger reasons, monsters are more interesting.
Seeing Julius break down just brought me to tears, I was bawling my eyes out. But come on Lucia, it is not a cheerful thing, Julius is breaking down and Garlemald is in ruins and the Garleans are suffering, not really dream materials man.
I'm an old fart and I've loved the Final Fantasy series since the NES days...gotta admit, with 'Stranger in Paradise' and what I've seen of XVI...kinda starting to feel 'meh' about the series. But that could just be grumpy old man syndrome on my part. Likely edit this as I keep watching the other 2 hours and change, just wanted to toss my two cents out there on this point EDIT: Hell, just the fact it's on PS5 despite the fact that damn near nobody seems to have one due to shortages blamed on everything besides Sony just fucking up.....seriously, by the time PS5 is readily available we're probably going to be bitching about nobody being able to buy a PS6.... cause Sony really sucks at making consoles in large numbers
Honestly if it weren't for streaming I wouldn't even consider playing FF16 on consoles, id just wait for the PC release. 16 interests me more than most other ff games, solely because of the potential storytelling with ishikawa.
Meh, coward took the easy way out. If he wanted out, i was on my way, Quintus was a fool & exemplified everything wrong with the Empire. I still feel a certain retired Legatus needs to be taken care of.
The reshade filters he is using makes the game look so shitty. Is there really anybody that enjoys everthing being super glowy, and the wierd ass fake depth of field effect?
