The Cosplay I'm wearing was done by the wonderful Emilie Gauvin! if you want to see the whole outfit, they made a video showing the entire thing piece by piece ruclips.net/video/68GqCaeDMD4/видео.html
Well, that can be fixed. After all, Final Fantasy XIV have an extensive free trial, that includes the award-winning expansion Heavensward, with no time limit to play.
My favorite combination of motif and lyrics is eScape and A Long Fall. Where eScape talks about Omega's journey througg space, A Long Fall talks about G'raha's journey through space and time. Same lyrics, recontextualized into two different things.
@@gateauxq4604 Alexander merged with Omega's tech and powered by the Crystal Tower. All 3 being stories heavily involving Garlond Ironworks as a whole is incredible when you think about it because in the end it showcases Nero's quite frankly incredible character growth and Cid's awe inspiring skills as an engineer cause we know those 2 were the ones to make that plan even if they never saw it's completion.
Some of the lyrics that I found such surprising meaning in after playing through 5.0 were those from "Answers" from A Realm Reborn. I know the devs have stated many times that they were often flying by the seat of their pants and didn't have the whole thing even remotely planned out back then but so many of the lyrics from "Answers" fit so perfectly with what happened to the ancients such as the sundering and the Ascians. For not being planned from the start it's amazing how those lyrics fit so well with the story almost a decade later.
I never stopped to take a look at Return To Oblivion's lyrics and I'm so glad you did that breakdown, because _wow._ No wonder people thought Hydaelin was evil! "Turn the light on and let her in"!? 😬
@@peanutbutter625 The thing about the Shiva-Ryne fight is that it is layered to work on both levels. The song uses Shiva's theme to directly connects to the fight itself while the lyric references the light. It works so well because Ryne's story also mirrors Shiva's only with a different outcome. This is the writing and music working hand in hand to carry ideas across expansions. Ysalye got the bad end and now we have to help save Ryne from repeating her fate who at this point in the story is also repeating her own fate of being overtaken by the memories of another past person once more.
Figuring out that Allagan reference in the second Myth of the Realms raid battle theme is pretty clever, and actually makes a fair bit of sense when thinking about it. Besides what you point out regarding Menphina and Dalamud, the Allagans are the oldest worshippers of the Twelve that we know of in the lore. It's even perfectly possible they were the first to worship them, or that they heavily shaped the religion into what it is known to be like in the present of the timeline, beyond just the Dalamud thing.
And then you take a look at optional sidequests at elpis and two npcs have you fight creations and you tell them what (unfortunately) needs to be done to make them flourish in nature and be accepted, and as you approach althyk and nymeia, you fight adds with very greek-sounding names (the ancients used this) in the very same order you saw them in a quest in elpis. and one of nymeia's dialogue during a cutscene after eurosphyne is (andi shit you not) word-for-word the same as one of the npcs in regards to her brother's enthusiasm. so the allagan motif in the raid music? yeah it gets a little bit deeper when you realise that Hermes was overseer of elpis and azys lla (a twisted machination depiction of pain of elpis) as amon just kinda tells that the roots of allag and the twelve are a little bit... more interconnected than you might think :3c
That motif also appears in eScape... "Try, dare the dead tread ahead on a road that is borrowed Design, through the sum of their sons do they seek tomorrow Tonight, witness then as the end shall begin what was final Their lies, folding back, further back, ever back to the primal"
Ktisis Hyperboreia's Astro weapon actually has the symbols of the 12 on it showing that at least the concept of them has existed since the Ancients civilization.
I noticed most of these but the Azys Lla one blew my freaking mind. Also quick little notice, the a realm reborn trailer song also plays at the end of 5.3 when the characters go put adventuring as they used to back on ARR and it plays when you entire the realm of the gods hub
What's neat about the last motif is how it juxtaposed two sets of Ancients with different motivations. The Allaghans were essentially an Ascian plot to destroy the star (or save it, I guess, from their perspective) while The Twelve were Ancients (or semblances of them, can't quite remember) put on Ethyris to guide and protect the people of the world as they matured enough to eventually save the star themselves.
As confirmed in the post-story for the Alliance Raid, The Twelve were Venat's inner circle. She left them unsundered so they could guide the new people of the star in becoming what was necessary to survive the Song of the End. The Twelve also had the added benefit of being worshipped, thus changing their appearances, personalities, and more.
The leitmotifs in the game are a large part of what draws me into FFXIV. There are always connections to be made between the various storylines in each expansion and to be reminded of what was and what will be has been a very emotional experience. Soken is a genius in everything he does with this game.
A thing you didn't mention that I absolute love about the Warrior of Light theme (ENDWALKER SPOILERS) In the final fight with Endsinger, she plays all of the antagonist themes of expansions' past. But when you're saved by the power of friendship and the fight transitions to the final phase, it plays YOUR theme again -- the Maker's Ruin, in all its glory, combined with the Endwalker theme, as each of the friends that got you here exclaim that civilization may fall, but it is not this day. That day, it is the Endsinger that is hearing boss music from YOU.
Going along with this for "With Hearts Aligned" (the phase 2 song) -- The "Footfalls" trailer works like an overture in opera/musical theatre, where it introduces a lot of the musical themes that will be shown throughout the work. By the time you get to Endsinger, you've heard everything in trailer version of Footfalls ... except for the guitar/drum loop that appears when Y'shtola appears before the counsel. That's the intro vamp that Soken uses to bring us into the second phase of the fight. I cheered and cried when I realized he'd sandbagged that for the entire game. That's when I knew we'd be alright and I just started jamming at 4am to finish out the fight.
Another time when we hear the WoL theme is in the final phase of the Endsinger battle - fighting the embodiment of despair itself at the literal end of the universe. Pretty badass. Also, the dragons' theme showed up in the most recent patch (6.4) when Azhdaja makes her first appearance and has several times through the patches when Vrtra talks about her.
@@ForlornLemon tbf the beginning of the video already has a huge spoiler warning. IT's not unreasonable to expect that comments would also talk about major plot points in the game.
Real glad to hear you talk about the Ysayle and Ryne connection. Love fighting against societal expectations, calling on a higher power to help you break free, it's all so good and blows me away they both made it work and also elevated both their stories in so doing. I love this video game!
damn man you should be so proud of yourself putting this together. Its super insightful and really shows your passion. Great panel! thank you for taking the time to do this
I'm sooo happy we get to hear about Ysayle and her leitmotifs, I've been thinking about the connections and meanings a lot and yet there aren't many talking about them, much less in such a concise manner. Much love from a Ysayle megafan
Firstly, the music drop in Shiva Phase 2, and noticing the same melody being shared between "Footsteps in the Snow" and "Oblivion" was when I absolutely fell in love with the music in FFXIV, and when I knew it would send me on a journey. Also, in regards to "sometimes the curtains are blue," there are some subconscious reasons that people make choices in creating their art. The power of the subconscious should not be underestimated. For example, I was going to a LARP, and I wanted to add a small amulet that represented my character's "inner demon." I sketched it up, then put the sketch away for two years, because... well, 2020 happened. Two years later, I pick up that sketch, and actually build it in Z-Brush. As I'm exporting the model to an STL file to send to my 3D Printer, I'm flipping the model over, and I realize not only _what_ it was that I had sketched two years ago, but _who_ it represented. This demon, with a smile full of fangs, and encompassing, enveloping claws, represented a couple of people who I had completely cut from my life in those two years since I had first sketched it. Sometimes we make decisions in art because we think they're awesome, or terrifying, or even innocuous, without understanding *why* we feel they are those things to us.
THANK YOU JOCAT!!! 💖 As I'm playing through Dawntrail's MSQ (98!), I can't tell you how much more enjoyment I'm getting out of its exquisite soundtrack now that I know more about what to look for and why I'm hearing certain things! (Unsurprisingly, I had no idea what a leitmotif was!)
I always wanted to know what the lyrics in the Shadowbringers theme meant: "One brings shadow, one brings light Two-toned echoes tumbling through time Threescore wasted, ten cast aside Four-fold knowing, no end in sight One brings shadow, one brings light One dark future no one survives On their shadows, away we fly" Specifically the "Threescore wasted and ten cast aside"?
I have nothing for the "fourfold knowing" line but "three-score and ten" is a biblical reference and refers to a human lifetime in the original context. The rest is speculation and Shadowbringers spoilers: The way I read it, it refers to the way the Exarch has spent a lifetime on his whole play of saving the world from the Eighth Umbral Calamity with the whole time travel gambit.
That very last one, the theme from the original ARR trailer, in my mind represents the quest for a new adventure. It always seems to play whenever one journey is wrapping up and a new one is on the horizon, like the final cutscene of 5.3. The world is safe, the threat is small, and the possibilities are endless. I love the fact that they mixed it into the boss fights of the 24-player raids because it DOES just feel like a fresh exploration, a "I have no idea what's gonna happen next but I'm looking forward to it!" mood.
It's already been mentioned by a couple of others, but I'll also throw my hat in for "With Hearts Aligned" being the BEST version of our theme. I got to Endsinger stupid late at night, so when the screen went black I thought we'd failed the DPS check, and knew I should've gone to bed instead ... No, SHE failed OUR DPS check :D That opening guitar riff and callback to "End of an Era" with the Scions actually took my breath away, and when "Maker's Ruin" kicked in around 30 seconds in on triumphant french horns and low brass, I ugly cried so hard I almost couldn't see my screen. It STILL hits like an unmitigated tankbuster over a year later. The power of leitmotifs
Seriously! Big missed opportunity to play that motif from Endsinger. When that music plays, it's basically like the WoL saying to the boss, "I'm not trapped in here with you; YOU'RE trapped in here with ME."
Duuuuude! I have an ear for music and tracking musical themes and leitmotifs has been my favorite pastime. Going through FFXIV and doing this has been a treat for the ears. Seeing you do a WHOLE panel on this with the level of passion you bring makes me unimaginably excited and giddy. Thank you so much for this! The last motif I didn't quite catch from the ARR trailer, I picked it up from that last scene in post-ShB and took it as the "brave new adventure" musical motif, which I suppose isn't too far off the mark.
Thank you so much for this JoCat! Every day I find a new way to appreciate this game. now put the analysis of the music in all the ultimates in the bag.
It's honestly incredible how many examples of this there are in the game. My favorite leitmotif is the theme of Amaurot. First heard in 'Neath Dark Waters and repeated through every dungeon from that zone as well as every fight against Elidibus
good GOD was Jo rocking that outfit. and, as always, absolutely wonderful video. i've been wanting to play ff14 for the longest time but i don't have the hardware to run it or the income flow that would allow me to be comfortable paying for ff14. anyways, really enjoyed this one!
The theme at the end with the ARR trailer and Byregot is nice too because he's "The Builder". Maybe I'm just trying to link stuff like a crazy but you know, remake, "rebuilt" game. Lol
i'm SO GLAD someone else heard the ARR music in the myths of the realm raids! my FC doesn't believe me, they said i was being nostalgic BUT I WAS RIGHT!
I never really thought much about the music until I got into the music of Pandaemonium which has some real bangers, and the way they layer and build to the final fight's song. Slightly obsessed, their musicians are fantastic
Amazing. A-mazing! Live-service games can be a quiet awesome media it looks like, as long as communication is intact. Great to see a bit of musical deep dive )
Yoooo this blew my brain too! I haven't played the most recent expansion, but I have played through Heavensward. And when that started playing I was like "Wait I've heard this before." And when you said it was in Azis La i damn neaer screamed.
That was a great panel, JoCat! Hopefully for those in there that were on the fence about trying FFXIV and like music, they're willing to give it a shot and see if they can also connect the dots in how Soken likes to play with leitmotifs around the OST. With that said, I wanna put in here too, though someone in the comments may have mentioned it already, that adds to the idea that "The Maker's Ruin" is basically the WoL's theme song: Out of the Job Questlines, none of them (to my knowledge) had the Maker's Ruin play for it like StB Dark Knight has.
What an amazing presentation. I always get a little misty eyed with this game's music and you picked some the the biggest bangers to analyze. Thanks for the chonky hit of dopamine! Also your cosplay is amazing, it suits you so well!
I saw this live at A-kon and it was great! I was able to see two of the three panels and they were both very good. Glad to see that more people get to watch them.
A fun lore point on the last bit of the video, Menphina even mentions that she didn’t always have her loyal hound, that he just appeared once Dalamund was launched and the Allagans died out.
Thank you so much for sharing this panel, didn't get to go to A-Kon this year and was a bit disappointed because I saw you'd be going but now I can at least watch this and it's on something I really enjoy!
something else you may or may not have noticed about that allagan leitmotif you mentioned is that it's also present in the "He Who Continues the Attack," the theme for the Regula Van Hydrus fight during the warring triad, as well as both versions of Unbreakable for the Aetherochemical Research Facility. It also gets replaced by the first brood theme when you get close to Tiamat's cell, which is neat.
For me it was the Twinning (A long fall) that was that mind exploding galaxy brain moment that was super obvious in retrospect. I'd seen the memes before running the dungeon and had been working my way through the expansions slowly during the WoW Refugee Crisis. I finally got to the end of ShB and ran the dungeon, and as all XIV dungeons go it was a wall to wall go go go fest with one of the best "we're here to aoe down some fools and have a good time" tracks in the background. Then I got around to looking into the lore of the dungeon and realized just what had all gone into how it got there and it was all right there in the song.
That last motif also plays in the Omega raid against robo-Omega (eScape), and the lyrics over that leitmotif foreshadow ShB. I'm pretty sure it's the Ironworks theme, up until the fight with the Twelve. "Try, dare the dead tread ahead on a road that is borrowed Design, through the sum of their sons do they seek tomorrow Tonight, witness then as the end shall begin what was final Their lies, folding back, further back, ever back to the primal"
OMG JoCat I didnt know you watched Sideways! I love his content so much that Im subscribed to his Patreon! As someone who has been deeply involved in music and plays FFXIV, I'm THRILLED you covered this topic! Cheers!
Oh Thank you! I thought I was going crazy about that subtle theme they hide in the Endwalker alliance raid. I knew it was a FF song but couldn't pin point where I had heard it.
I...I never made that connection between Ardbert and the Warrior of Light with the music before. That track plays *everywhere* in Shadowbringers, and I never realized it was the same theme as when we're fighting Ultima. I hadn't done the Omega raids when I went through ShB MSQ so I didn't have that on my mind but....wow that never clicked before.
I am full glad that some actual musical experts finally got ahold of the soundtrack of Final Fantasy 14. Has sideways actually done any videos about 14 yet? I love his videos about A Goofy Movie and CATS!
You could also add that the 3 instances of the Azys Lla theme are around some sort of subjugation of gods... Warring Triad taken captive in Azys Lla, the Omega Weapon itself, and the current alliance raids all turn to be about challenging and overcoming gods...
That last one really struck me as not only the celebration of the last 10 years of the game, but also its the promise and excitement of the first steps of our new adventure, just like A Realm Reborn was back then. 😊
Excellent Panel Jocat we know speaking in front of a crowd is not something you enjoy but great work nonetheless. I love your humor I just wish you would've included some of your artwork which is amazing!
What a good lecture dude!!! This is like the softest I've ever heard your RUclips content go! 😂😂😂 You were yelling at me this time. Hahaha no but for real, amazing job on this one.
I was hoping someone would either bring this up or it would be mentioned in the panel. But the main theme in Endwalker, Footfalls It uses all of the leitmotifs from the other expansions, as well as partially the lyrics For example, when Estinian shows up on screen you hear the dragon's chorus from Heavensward. When Zenos shows up, you hear the main Storm blood motiff and the "storm of blood, blood from blood" (I'm sure they do the same for shadowbringer I'm just not at shadowbringer yet) I bring this up because it is very fascinating as Endwalker from the get go sets itself up to be the end of this massive 10 year arc for ff14, reminding you of all of your past journeys and how you are here now
That is some amazing analysis done but I think that 2 things need to be pointed out: 1) Regarding ARR Shiva/SB Shiva themes. All of the Primal themes in Eden raids are re-arrangements of their ARR counterparts(Thunder Rolls VS Twice Stricken for example) so while Soken added some callbacks to the new Shiva fight(which is also half-Ryne fight), the curtains are, most probably, just blue. 2) During the quests leading to the second tier of EW A-raids. It was heavily implied(if not stated directly) That image of the gods changes based on the belief of the mortals. Halone was noted to be more aggressive than before(Courtesy of being the Deity worshipped in Ishgard during the Dragonsong war) and Menphina not actually having a dog before. After allagans were wiped out, people started to worship Dalamud as a second moon so Menphina got a dog as a result(Although I am not sure what is the connection to Azys Lla , since it was a science complex seemingly not related with the gods directly)
I actually noticed the Allagan Motif in Euphrosyne and it absolutely fucked me up. Glad to know I'm not the only one because the IMPLICATIONS. Also gotta say that I am surprised you didn't go with To The Edge and how the lyrics are a battle between the Ancients and Sundered life vying for their own existence over one another verse by verse. It's always Ancients > Sundered > Both > Ancients > Sundered > Both and its an incredible bit of lyrical storytelling that I feel a lot of people miss out on by not really digging into the lyrics. The song is basically as much of a fight as the Seat of Sacrifice itself is and the chorus of the song is both sides coming to an agreement that win or lose, this has to end now and its why I absolutely adore that song. One of the best parts is: Without a compass, wandering, lost in lies of faith (Faith slowly wasting away) Only alive in fighting deaths amber embrace (Hell take use heaven can wait) On hands and knees we pray to gods we've never seen (Come shadow- come follow me) The final hour upon us, no more time to breathe Which also follows the structure of the song, because every line the sundered have throughout the entire track, the ancients offer a rebuttal. Whereas the lines that the ancients have is never interrupted nor refuted by the lines representing the sundered, at all. Which shows another difference in perspective between the two sides.
I hear Noel's theme from ff13-2 in the accordion part of nophica's fight, i'm persuaded it's a reminescence because of all those end of the world thematics prior
I'm so glad that this was relatively light spoilers. I'm so far behind that I am always concerned about having everything spoiled because there is always something to be excited about. But I'm also in no hurry to rush through to the end and not have anything to do. I am enjoying experiencing the world at a leisurely pace.
The main flaw in the Menphina and Dalamud theory (I do agree with the allagan connection) is that the 12 (13?) are corrupted into other forms by worship, Menphina originally did not have Dalamud, but after so long having it as part of her Lore it changed her. Nald'Thal is a single being but worshipers of the twin churches of Nald and Thal caused his powers to alter too hence how we view him in the raid, he is the twins, not because that is who he was but what worship did to him. Given that Ishgard worships Halone and she is viewed as Ice aligned, but Corthas had the shift to icy landscape between 1.x and 2.0 it raises the question on if this part of her is a recent or if it was part of her longer. If it was longer, was this worship part of what allowed the 7th calamity to change Corthas like it did? Edit: I opted to add another point, The Allagans were active in the third age (after sundering), the first age had basically no real civilization we know of, and the second was fragmented at best. As a long lasting civilization and the first real one they would have the greatest effect on the 12 and as their beliefs would survive them the longest lasting.
I'm gonna listen to it because chances are I'm gonna have to write something for college and I want to write about final fantasy xiv being essentially a video game musical.
![A Crap Guide to D&D [5th Edition] - Dungeon Master](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ANdG2DGm0CQ/mqdefault.jpg)
The Cosplay I'm wearing was done by the wonderful Emilie Gauvin! if you want to see the whole outfit, they made a video showing the entire thing piece by piece ruclips.net/video/68GqCaeDMD4/видео.html
It looks so great! ^^
You look so good❤
That cosplay should be a Bard but actually a proto Viper in disguise
Really impressed about Jocat's hume cosplay. He actually was able to hide his cat ears pretty well!
He's wearing the male Miqo'te starter outfit though
@@artiksilver He spent all his money to hide the ears and couldn't buy a hume outfit then 😔
OK, so, call me a moron as much as you want, but don't you mean *hyur* ? Isn't 'hume' what humans are called in Ivalice? Am I missing something?
@@optimaltt6070 I'm not a FFXIV player, so idk man lol actually never read that one. Nice to know
@@optimaltt6070 I believe they're called that in Norvrandt/the First, maybe they forgot the source name
Missed the chance to end with "Pray, return to the Waking Sands," But a fantastic presentation! Sideways would be proud.
Oh boy, I can’t wait to watch a half hour lecture on a franchise I’ve never played.
me too buddy and i wouldn't have it any other way
Same as you two
Me 3 and I don't even watch this franchise on yt
Eat an entire meal of your choice missing half of 1 ingredient.
Well, that can be fixed. After all, Final Fantasy XIV have an extensive free trial, that includes the award-winning expansion Heavensward, with no time limit to play.
Description "I connect the dots like a crazy person" is one of the most accurate sentences said in history
My favorite combination of motif and lyrics is eScape and A Long Fall. Where eScape talks about Omega's journey througg space, A Long Fall talks about G'raha's journey through space and time. Same lyrics, recontextualized into two different things.
I love the final boss in that duty. It’s Alexander rebuilt with Omega’s tech and they combined both themes beautifully.
@@gateauxq4604 Alexander merged with Omega's tech and powered by the Crystal Tower. All 3 being stories heavily involving Garlond Ironworks as a whole is incredible when you think about it because in the end it showcases Nero's quite frankly incredible character growth and Cid's awe inspiring skills as an engineer cause we know those 2 were the ones to make that plan even if they never saw it's completion.
Some of the lyrics that I found such surprising meaning in after playing through 5.0 were those from "Answers" from A Realm Reborn. I know the devs have stated many times that they were often flying by the seat of their pants and didn't have the whole thing even remotely planned out back then but so many of the lyrics from "Answers" fit so perfectly with what happened to the ancients such as the sundering and the Ascians. For not being planned from the start it's amazing how those lyrics fit so well with the story almost a decade later.
I never stopped to take a look at Return To Oblivion's lyrics and I'm so glad you did that breakdown, because _wow._ No wonder people thought Hydaelin was evil! "Turn the light on and let her in"!? 😬
That line is probably Shiva telling Ryne to let her (Shiva) in (possess) fully.
@@peanutbutter625 The thing about the Shiva-Ryne fight is that it is layered to work on both levels. The song uses Shiva's theme to directly connects to the fight itself while the lyric references the light. It works so well because Ryne's story also mirrors Shiva's only with a different outcome. This is the writing and music working hand in hand to carry ideas across expansions. Ysalye got the bad end and now we have to help save Ryne from repeating her fate who at this point in the story is also repeating her own fate of being overtaken by the memories of another past person once more.
People thought Hydaeling was evil because Primal = Evil usually.
Figuring out that Allagan reference in the second Myth of the Realms raid battle theme is pretty clever, and actually makes a fair bit of sense when thinking about it. Besides what you point out regarding Menphina and Dalamud, the Allagans are the oldest worshippers of the Twelve that we know of in the lore. It's even perfectly possible they were the first to worship them, or that they heavily shaped the religion into what it is known to be like in the present of the timeline, beyond just the Dalamud thing.
And then you take a look at optional sidequests at elpis and two npcs have you fight creations and you tell them what (unfortunately) needs to be done to make them flourish in nature and be accepted, and as you approach althyk and nymeia, you fight adds with very greek-sounding names (the ancients used this) in the very same order you saw them in a quest in elpis. and one of nymeia's dialogue during a cutscene after eurosphyne is (andi shit you not) word-for-word the same as one of the npcs in regards to her brother's enthusiasm.
so the allagan motif in the raid music? yeah it gets a little bit deeper when you realise that Hermes was overseer of elpis and azys lla (a twisted machination depiction of pain of elpis) as amon just kinda tells that the roots of allag and the twelve are a little bit... more interconnected than you might think :3c
That motif also appears in eScape...
"Try, dare the dead tread ahead on a road that is borrowed
Design, through the sum of their sons do they seek tomorrow
Tonight, witness then as the end shall begin what was final
Their lies, folding back, further back, ever back to the primal"
Ktisis Hyperboreia's Astro weapon actually has the symbols of the 12 on it showing that at least the concept of them has existed since the Ancients civilization.
I noticed most of these but the Azys Lla one blew my freaking mind.
Also quick little notice, the a realm reborn trailer song also plays at the end of 5.3 when the characters go put adventuring as they used to back on ARR and it plays when you entire the realm of the gods hub
What's neat about the last motif is how it juxtaposed two sets of Ancients with different motivations. The Allaghans were essentially an Ascian plot to destroy the star (or save it, I guess, from their perspective) while The Twelve were Ancients (or semblances of them, can't quite remember) put on Ethyris to guide and protect the people of the world as they matured enough to eventually save the star themselves.
As confirmed in the post-story for the Alliance Raid, The Twelve were Venat's inner circle. She left them unsundered so they could guide the new people of the star in becoming what was necessary to survive the Song of the End. The Twelve also had the added benefit of being worshipped, thus changing their appearances, personalities, and more.
The last 2 leit motifs i didnt even connect myself but still had the inkling that i heard it before.
Thx Jocat for connecting the dots for me XD
The leitmotifs in the game are a large part of what draws me into FFXIV. There are always connections to be made between the various storylines in each expansion and to be reminded of what was and what will be has been a very emotional experience. Soken is a genius in everything he does with this game.
A thing you didn't mention that I absolute love about the Warrior of Light theme (ENDWALKER SPOILERS)
In the final fight with Endsinger, she plays all of the antagonist themes of expansions' past. But when you're saved by the power of friendship and the fight transitions to the final phase, it plays YOUR theme again -- the Maker's Ruin, in all its glory, combined with the Endwalker theme, as each of the friends that got you here exclaim that civilization may fall, but it is not this day. That day, it is the Endsinger that is hearing boss music from YOU.
The music always has two phases that follow the fight. The first phase, Endsinger. The second phase battle music? WARRIOR OF FRI3NDSHIP!
I cried as my fists flew... Euphoric moment. I can't even properly put it into words... Just...
👊🏿👊🏿👊🏿👊🏿😫👊🏿👊🏿👊🏿👊🏿
👊🏿👊🏿👊🏿👊🏿😭👊🏿👊🏿👊🏿👊🏿
Going along with this for "With Hearts Aligned" (the phase 2 song) -- The "Footfalls" trailer works like an overture in opera/musical theatre, where it introduces a lot of the musical themes that will be shown throughout the work. By the time you get to Endsinger, you've heard everything in trailer version of Footfalls ... except for the guitar/drum loop that appears when Y'shtola appears before the counsel. That's the intro vamp that Soken uses to bring us into the second phase of the fight. I cheered and cried when I realized he'd sandbagged that for the entire game. That's when I knew we'd be alright and I just started jamming at 4am to finish out the fight.
doomguy: *shed a tear* "look at him go. he grew up so fast"
18:04 I always felt this bit was appliccable to Logrif with "voice from the past" denoting Mitron
Another time when we hear the WoL theme is in the final phase of the Endsinger battle - fighting the embodiment of despair itself at the literal end of the universe. Pretty badass.
Also, the dragons' theme showed up in the most recent patch (6.4) when Azhdaja makes her first appearance and has several times through the patches when Vrtra talks about her.
i believe he dont want to spoiled that part, since its so precious to many people and new commer.
A spoiler warning would be nice on this comment
@@ForlornLemon tbf the beginning of the video already has a huge spoiler warning. IT's not unreasonable to expect that comments would also talk about major plot points in the game.
🥺🥺🥺
Real glad to hear you talk about the Ysayle and Ryne connection. Love fighting against societal expectations, calling on a higher power to help you break free, it's all so good and blows me away they both made it work and also elevated both their stories in so doing. I love this video game!
damn man you should be so proud of yourself putting this together. Its super insightful and really shows your passion. Great panel! thank you for taking the time to do this
13:10 Shiva theme is one of my favorites. I never though about the deeper meaning of the lyrics. Seeing a breakdown is really awesome.
I'm sooo happy we get to hear about Ysayle and her leitmotifs, I've been thinking about the connections and meanings a lot and yet there aren't many talking about them, much less in such a concise manner. Much love from a Ysayle megafan
Firstly, the music drop in Shiva Phase 2, and noticing the same melody being shared between "Footsteps in the Snow" and "Oblivion" was when I absolutely fell in love with the music in FFXIV, and when I knew it would send me on a journey.
Also, in regards to "sometimes the curtains are blue," there are some subconscious reasons that people make choices in creating their art. The power of the subconscious should not be underestimated.
For example, I was going to a LARP, and I wanted to add a small amulet that represented my character's "inner demon." I sketched it up, then put the sketch away for two years, because... well, 2020 happened.
Two years later, I pick up that sketch, and actually build it in Z-Brush. As I'm exporting the model to an STL file to send to my 3D Printer, I'm flipping the model over, and I realize not only _what_ it was that I had sketched two years ago, but _who_ it represented. This demon, with a smile full of fangs, and encompassing, enveloping claws, represented a couple of people who I had completely cut from my life in those two years since I had first sketched it.
Sometimes we make decisions in art because we think they're awesome, or terrifying, or even innocuous, without understanding *why* we feel they are those things to us.
THANK YOU JOCAT!!! 💖 As I'm playing through Dawntrail's MSQ (98!), I can't tell you how much more enjoyment I'm getting out of its exquisite soundtrack now that I know more about what to look for and why I'm hearing certain things! (Unsurprisingly, I had no idea what a leitmotif was!)
I always wanted to know what the lyrics in the Shadowbringers theme meant:
"One brings shadow, one brings light
Two-toned echoes tumbling through time
Threescore wasted, ten cast aside
Four-fold knowing, no end in sight
One brings shadow, one brings light
One dark future no one survives
On their shadows, away we fly"
Specifically the "Threescore wasted and ten cast aside"?
I have nothing for the "fourfold knowing" line but "three-score and ten" is a biblical reference and refers to a human lifetime in the original context.
The rest is speculation and Shadowbringers spoilers:
The way I read it, it refers to the way the Exarch has spent a lifetime on his whole play of saving the world from the Eighth Umbral Calamity with the whole time travel gambit.
That very last one, the theme from the original ARR trailer, in my mind represents the quest for a new adventure. It always seems to play whenever one journey is wrapping up and a new one is on the horizon, like the final cutscene of 5.3. The world is safe, the threat is small, and the possibilities are endless. I love the fact that they mixed it into the boss fights of the 24-player raids because it DOES just feel like a fresh exploration, a "I have no idea what's gonna happen next but I'm looking forward to it!" mood.
It's already been mentioned by a couple of others, but I'll also throw my hat in for "With Hearts Aligned" being the BEST version of our theme. I got to Endsinger stupid late at night, so when the screen went black I thought we'd failed the DPS check, and knew I should've gone to bed instead
...
No, SHE failed OUR DPS check :D
That opening guitar riff and callback to "End of an Era" with the Scions actually took my breath away, and when "Maker's Ruin" kicked in around 30 seconds in on triumphant french horns and low brass, I ugly cried so hard I almost couldn't see my screen. It STILL hits like an unmitigated tankbuster over a year later. The power of leitmotifs
Seriously! Big missed opportunity to play that motif from Endsinger. When that music plays, it's basically like the WoL saying to the boss, "I'm not trapped in here with you; YOU'RE trapped in here with ME."
Jocat you did such an amazing job and I want to thank you for uploading this panel. Well done!
This is such an awesome way to get people into FF14. 😃Also your Cosplay looks soo good!
I got to the end of the video and was like "aw i wanted more". Really awesome video! I didn't notice so many of these during my first play-through
It's impressive. Both the breakdown, and for how much intent the game creators put into the game
FINALLY!!! Someone has picked it up, too ^.^ I've been crying those bloody boss fights and I never knew why - then I remembered! It was so cool ^.^
Thank you for the great panel!
Duuuuude! I have an ear for music and tracking musical themes and leitmotifs has been my favorite pastime. Going through FFXIV and doing this has been a treat for the ears. Seeing you do a WHOLE panel on this with the level of passion you bring makes me unimaginably excited and giddy. Thank you so much for this!
The last motif I didn't quite catch from the ARR trailer, I picked it up from that last scene in post-ShB and took it as the "brave new adventure" musical motif, which I suppose isn't too far off the mark.
Thank you so much for this JoCat! Every day I find a new way to appreciate this game.
now put the analysis of the music in all the ultimates in the bag.
It's honestly incredible how many examples of this there are in the game.
My favorite leitmotif is the theme of Amaurot. First heard in 'Neath Dark Waters and repeated through every dungeon from that zone as well as every fight against Elidibus
good GOD was Jo rocking that outfit. and, as always, absolutely wonderful video. i've been wanting to play ff14 for the longest time but i don't have the hardware to run it or the income flow that would allow me to be comfortable paying for ff14. anyways, really enjoyed this one!
The shadow of a fan coming ominously at the end right before the cut
👏 I love this Panel thanks for uploading it!
The theme at the end with the ARR trailer and Byregot is nice too because he's "The Builder". Maybe I'm just trying to link stuff like a crazy but you know, remake, "rebuilt" game. Lol
This is a very-very good, fun and informative talk. Thanks for uploading it
Thank you Joseph Catterson.
I am now trying to connect more threads from the music. Soken really is a genius
A favourite leitmotif of mine are the little chimes in Back to the Future.
i'm SO GLAD someone else heard the ARR music in the myths of the realm raids! my FC doesn't believe me, they said i was being nostalgic BUT I WAS RIGHT!
I never really thought much about the music until I got into the music of Pandaemonium which has some real bangers, and the way they layer and build to the final fight's song. Slightly obsessed, their musicians are fantastic
Amazing. A-mazing! Live-service games can be a quiet awesome media it looks like, as long as communication is intact. Great to see a bit of musical deep dive )
Let's gooo!! Another lecture from Professor JoCat.
Yoooo this blew my brain too! I haven't played the most recent expansion, but I have played through Heavensward. And when that started playing I was like "Wait I've heard this before." And when you said it was in Azis La i damn neaer screamed.
That was a great panel, JoCat! Hopefully for those in there that were on the fence about trying FFXIV and like music, they're willing to give it a shot and see if they can also connect the dots in how Soken likes to play with leitmotifs around the OST. With that said, I wanna put in here too, though someone in the comments may have mentioned it already, that adds to the idea that "The Maker's Ruin" is basically the WoL's theme song: Out of the Job Questlines, none of them (to my knowledge) had the Maker's Ruin play for it like StB Dark Knight has.
mind . blown . holy moly
So thats why i always felt like bawling when the music swells in Aglaia.
Its the same goddamn leitmotif
What an amazing presentation. I always get a little misty eyed with this game's music and you picked some the the biggest bangers to analyze. Thanks for the chonky hit of dopamine! Also your cosplay is amazing, it suits you so well!
I loved the presentation and the outfit. Looking cool, -Joker- JoCat! 😎🐱
I saw this live at A-kon and it was great! I was able to see two of the three panels and they were both very good. Glad to see that more people get to watch them.
Very enjoyable video! The music in this game is a work of art and care! :)
I love this panel 🎉🎉🎉 I love you JoCat!
HECK YEAH! Love me some leitmotifs!!! And FFXIV has so many of them!
Neuron Activation from recognizing a leitmotif.
Yeah, I'm always really happy when I hear them!
A fun lore point on the last bit of the video, Menphina even mentions that she didn’t always have her loyal hound, that he just appeared once Dalamund was launched and the Allagans died out.
Thank you for sharing!
That was an amazing panel, Jocat! Congrats on a job well done
Amazing panel, very fun to watch. Although I've expected the victory fanfare at the end ;)
Thank you so much for sharing this panel, didn't get to go to A-Kon this year and was a bit disappointed because I saw you'd be going but now I can at least watch this and it's on something I really enjoy!
Woooo I am so glad you decided to put this up! Now I get to see it all again!
I really want to see this again, but with just JoCat speaking and a full screen of the PPT.
something else you may or may not have noticed about that allagan leitmotif you mentioned is that it's also present in the "He Who Continues the Attack," the theme for the Regula Van Hydrus fight during the warring triad, as well as both versions of Unbreakable for the Aetherochemical Research Facility. It also gets replaced by the first brood theme when you get close to Tiamat's cell, which is neat.
Even outside the cutscenes, if you walk onto the rock you talked to Tiamat prior, The First Brood's theme begins playing.
What a great watch! Would have loved to see it in person!
For me it was the Twinning (A long fall) that was that mind exploding galaxy brain moment that was super obvious in retrospect. I'd seen the memes before running the dungeon and had been working my way through the expansions slowly during the WoW Refugee Crisis. I finally got to the end of ShB and ran the dungeon, and as all XIV dungeons go it was a wall to wall go go go fest with one of the best "we're here to aoe down some fools and have a good time" tracks in the background. Then I got around to looking into the lore of the dungeon and realized just what had all gone into how it got there and it was all right there in the song.
Once again reminded that I should really turn on the bgm outside of running very specific dungeons/trials
Jocat really reminded me of Chidi from the Good Place so much in this
As a speaker myself, you did great!
That last motif also plays in the Omega raid against robo-Omega (eScape), and the lyrics over that leitmotif foreshadow ShB. I'm pretty sure it's the Ironworks theme, up until the fight with the Twelve.
"Try, dare the dead tread ahead on a road that is borrowed
Design, through the sum of their sons do they seek tomorrow
Tonight, witness then as the end shall begin what was final
Their lies, folding back, further back, ever back to the primal"
OMG JoCat I didnt know you watched Sideways! I love his content so much that Im subscribed to his Patreon!
As someone who has been deeply involved in music and plays FFXIV, I'm THRILLED you covered this topic! Cheers!
Oh Thank you! I thought I was going crazy about that subtle theme they hide in the Endwalker alliance raid. I knew it was a FF song but couldn't pin point where I had heard it.
I did not notice at all ! I'm glad to have learnt it today ^^
I...I never made that connection between Ardbert and the Warrior of Light with the music before. That track plays *everywhere* in Shadowbringers, and I never realized it was the same theme as when we're fighting Ultima. I hadn't done the Omega raids when I went through ShB MSQ so I didn't have that on my mind but....wow that never clicked before.
never noticed the allagan liet motif. thats really cool.
I am full glad that some actual musical experts finally got ahold of the soundtrack of Final Fantasy 14. Has sideways actually done any videos about 14 yet? I love his videos about A Goofy Movie and CATS!
You could also add that the 3 instances of the Azys Lla theme are around some sort of subjugation of gods... Warring Triad taken captive in Azys Lla, the Omega Weapon itself, and the current alliance raids all turn to be about challenging and overcoming gods...
I adored this so much. Wish I could have seen it live
We don't talk about the power of frienship scene Jocat! Especially not in public!
That last one really struck me as not only the celebration of the last 10 years of the game, but also its the promise and excitement of the first steps of our new adventure, just like A Realm Reborn was back then. 😊
Man I could listen to JoCat talk about the cool details in my favorite game ALLLLLL week
Fascinating
Excellent Panel Jocat we know speaking in front of a crowd is not something you enjoy but great work nonetheless.
I love your humor I just wish you would've included some of your artwork which is amazing!
What a good lecture dude!!! This is like the softest I've ever heard your RUclips content go! 😂😂😂 You were yelling at me this time. Hahaha no but for real, amazing job on this one.
I could listen to a panel talking about ff14 music for hours, Jocat doing the panel is just a massive cherry on top
I was hoping someone would either bring this up or it would be mentioned in the panel.
But the main theme in Endwalker, Footfalls
It uses all of the leitmotifs from the other expansions, as well as partially the lyrics
For example, when Estinian shows up on screen you hear the dragon's chorus from Heavensward.
When Zenos shows up, you hear the main Storm blood motiff and the "storm of blood, blood from blood"
(I'm sure they do the same for shadowbringer I'm just not at shadowbringer yet)
I bring this up because it is very fascinating as Endwalker from the get go sets itself up to be the end of this massive 10 year arc for ff14, reminding you of all of your past journeys and how you are here now
That is some amazing analysis done but I think that 2 things need to be pointed out:
1) Regarding ARR Shiva/SB Shiva themes. All of the Primal themes in Eden raids are re-arrangements of their ARR counterparts(Thunder Rolls VS Twice Stricken for example) so while Soken added some callbacks to the new Shiva fight(which is also half-Ryne fight), the curtains are, most probably, just blue.
2) During the quests leading to the second tier of EW A-raids. It was heavily implied(if not stated directly) That image of the gods changes based on the belief of the mortals. Halone was noted to be more aggressive than before(Courtesy of being the Deity worshipped in Ishgard during the Dragonsong war) and Menphina not actually having a dog before. After allagans were wiped out, people started to worship Dalamud as a second moon so Menphina got a dog as a result(Although I am not sure what is the connection to Azys Lla , since it was a science complex seemingly not related with the gods directly)
nice JoCat
OH MAN I didnt even pick up the alliance raid ones THIS IS WILD
Didnt ecen point out that the music for the endsinger is literally our motiff, expanded uwu
I actually noticed the Allagan Motif in Euphrosyne and it absolutely fucked me up. Glad to know I'm not the only one because the IMPLICATIONS.
Also gotta say that I am surprised you didn't go with To The Edge and how the lyrics are a battle between the Ancients and Sundered life vying for their own existence over one another verse by verse. It's always Ancients > Sundered > Both > Ancients > Sundered > Both and its an incredible bit of lyrical storytelling that I feel a lot of people miss out on by not really digging into the lyrics. The song is basically as much of a fight as the Seat of Sacrifice itself is and the chorus of the song is both sides coming to an agreement that win or lose, this has to end now and its why I absolutely adore that song.
One of the best parts is:
Without a compass, wandering, lost in lies of faith
(Faith slowly wasting away)
Only alive in fighting deaths amber embrace
(Hell take use heaven can wait)
On hands and knees we pray to gods we've never seen
(Come shadow- come follow me)
The final hour upon us, no more time to breathe
Which also follows the structure of the song, because every line the sundered have throughout the entire track, the ancients offer a rebuttal. Whereas the lines that the ancients have is never interrupted nor refuted by the lines representing the sundered, at all. Which shows another difference in perspective between the two sides.
great presentation
Shoutout to the auto-generated captions at 23:30
"I'M SUPER CUTE"
This was great!~
I hear Noel's theme from ff13-2 in the accordion part of nophica's fight, i'm persuaded it's a reminescence because of all those end of the world thematics prior
I'm so glad that this was relatively light spoilers. I'm so far behind that I am always concerned about having everything spoiled because there is always something to be excited about. But I'm also in no hurry to rush through to the end and not have anything to do. I am enjoying experiencing the world at a leisurely pace.
Also, I didn't even mention, like a jerk. This was a fascinating topic. Thank you for teaching us!
If you can, please post your other panels as well. Your one on anime was completely full.
Wow, you're so charismatic in front of a crowd! =o
The main flaw in the Menphina and Dalamud theory (I do agree with the allagan connection) is that the 12 (13?) are corrupted into other forms by worship, Menphina originally did not have Dalamud, but after so long having it as part of her Lore it changed her. Nald'Thal is a single being but worshipers of the twin churches of Nald and Thal caused his powers to alter too hence how we view him in the raid, he is the twins, not because that is who he was but what worship did to him. Given that Ishgard worships Halone and she is viewed as Ice aligned, but Corthas had the shift to icy landscape between 1.x and 2.0 it raises the question on if this part of her is a recent or if it was part of her longer. If it was longer, was this worship part of what allowed the 7th calamity to change Corthas like it did?
Edit: I opted to add another point, The Allagans were active in the third age (after sundering), the first age had basically no real civilization we know of, and the second was fragmented at best. As a long lasting civilization and the first real one they would have the greatest effect on the 12 and as their beliefs would survive them the longest lasting.
well i know nothing about the game but i thikn its cool how they use music this way.
I'm gonna listen to it because chances are I'm gonna have to write something for college and I want to write about final fantasy xiv being essentially a video game musical.
5:22 Aaand now I'm having MHW Behemoth flashbacks. Thanks Jo.