She's a war criminal and deserves execution. That is what makes her story so fascinating: she *is* evil, and then the game humanizes her to a point that we question the line between justice and hatred. I think that Fordola - her parallel character - does the story better, but I understand the love for Tsuyu among the fanbase.
@@TheWickedWizardOfOz1 Every single thing Yotsuyu did was a product of the fact every single person in her life, even her parents, did nothing but use, abuse, and then sell her off to prostitution the instant they could. Her cold 'evil' demeanor is a product of an entire life of being hated, abused, and villified. Does that justify all of her actions? No. that short amount of time she lost all her memories, etc. Her family. her own flesh and blood, right down to her brother did *EVERYTHING* in their power to ensure Tsuyu remembered who and more importantly *WHAT* she was. It was a carefully orchestrated ballet of 'fake diplomacy' while also seeding Tsuyu back into what she was before. It was the ONLY way to justify full on martial law/eradication that Asahi and Garlemald wanted. She wasn't an evil force on her own right. She was *molded* into one. Hell. The Tsukuyomi fight? How Gosetsu was actually shown as *STRONGER* than even Zenos himself? Gosetsu was the only person in her entire life who believed in her, or cared for her in her entire life. That clash defined the tragedy of her character.
She is evil. She's killed people. That said, there is a reason she became who she is. It's not an excuse, but we all know things might have been different.
There's so many leitmotifs in this fight it's insane. Nothing out of the ordinary for FFXIV, but the music really takes you on a journey as it builds up into her proper theme. Stormblood's endgame was peak FFXIV for me, the balancing, the fights, the music, the story building up to Shadowbringers. It was an amazing time to be heavily invested in the game.
Too bad this story in particular was worse than a mexican telenovela tier writing, characters being killed off but then revealed to have survived in a deserted island, characters loosing their memory and then regaining it only for a cheap emotional tearjerk that is super forced, the only thing missing was the evil twin being revealed. The fight itself is top tier though, one of the bests in XIV
@@devildante9Yes, because the redemption of the old samurai who had slayed 1000s of Domans to keep himself alive in order to return to Kaien by caring for a daughter he never had, only to lose her in the end due to her evil, maniacal brother who we find out was a reincarnation of both a super-depressed Ascian and criminally insane Allagan scientist is such a bad story. Oh, and the fact Yotsuyu was sold into sex slavery, then used that sadness to rise in power for her own revenge on the Domans, culminating in her memories flooding back soon after she had finally found the father figure she needed all along…resulting in the revenge murder of her own parents. Then her brother completes the transition in order to have her trigger a primal summoning that involves all the men in her life she’s looked to impress, finishing with the one man who loved her like a true daughter with the persimmon. Yeah, that’s really crappy writing. I agree the death and resurrection was a bit annoying. However, juxtapose that with the actual supposed deaths of Papalymo and Minfilia and the Warriors of Darkness going to the first, and it was a twist pull out. Stormblood is by far the weakest of the expansions, but the Doman storyline was solid when Lyse shut up.
@@devildante9 TERRIBLE take Just filthy It's almost like these tropes were used as a vehicle for the larger theme of Stormblood post patches which is the possible redemption of the victims and perpetrators of the imperial rule Oh and btw, naming tropes ain't critique.
First time I've ever cried DURING a fight. You are right to hear a sad tune within the medley. This woman realized just how lost and wayward she truly was, and this is her kind of embracing her sad and cruel fate. Such a dark and unforgiving antagonist, but one you're honestly hoping can break free and find her happiness. Nightbloom is an arrangement of the country's theme that is being oppressed. It's their anthem. The second piece is the soft tune that plays in the countryside that she originally is from, albeit arranged in a more tragic light. Cyan's theme (from final fantasy 6) also has a cameo here. Finally Wayward Daughter: The same countryside theme, but this time with heavy lyrics and a sense of determination and tragedy. The thing I love about these songs is the familiarity they create within the world. Each song has an origin, and tying events use this base to build and move you through the story and themes. Dragonsong, Answers, Tomorrow and Tomorrow ... They all do this. And I never get sick of it. A beautiful song! Thank you for sharing your reaction. (Also Husky is fantastic ;) have fun!)
I love it. Story telling through mechanics. First phase: As you said at the start, Demonic. The way we've always known her in the story. The way most people sees her. And perhaps, the way she sees herself. Second phase/add phase: We see her true feelings. And after knowing her background story, hits like a truck. Third phase/last phase: The inevitable end. We see the result of her choices. After everything that happens. After everything that we've learned of her. This is the end she chose for herself. In a way, it's her having her final say. Having control in her life.
lyrics: english Flower waiting to be plucked Each petal a promise torn Shorn one by one and cast to the winds, I gave unto them my all...all... No...No more! Westward lies bleed t'ward the east Wayward daughter, step into the night Restless eyes, blind to the beast Barren waters yield unto the tide Sanctuary of the moon Tainted by the crimson light Naught save the night shall know our sorrow, we give unto it our all...all... No...No more! Rōmaji/English hana wa shousoku imi hitohira wo sadameshi ya ware iku wo tachihirugaeshite sa iza―― Westward lies bleed t'ward the east Wayward daughter, step into the night Restless eyes, blind to the beast Barren waters yield unto the tide yorube no tsuki wa guren ni saete nokoseshi wa aragai no nagori nomi naredo sa iza―― Westward lies bleed t'ward the east Wayward daughter, step into the night Restless eyes, blind to the beast Barren waters yield unto the tide
Fits neatly with the etymology of the word as well, since in medieval to early modern times, madness was often associated with the changing phases of the moon.
No need for a long elaboration from me. I'm just happy that the wait was worth it. A song gets requested a lot, you develop expectations. It exceeded them. Sick.
This storyline was quite tragic. She was one of the main villains from Stormblood, but in the storyline following you find out more about her, her childhood and upbringing...and it explains how she became the monster she did. Upon losing her memory after Stormblood, she regressed to an almost childlike state and you get to see the person she could have been. It feels like a redemption arc at first, but her memories were then intentionally and forcefully restored by the Empire and she was transformed into Tsukuyomi. She leaned hard into her rage and pain, but that started to fade, which led into the second phase. There, she called upon the shades of all her hurtful memories to torment her and fuel that pain and torment. Except the image/memories of one hero who had been acting as her guardian angel after she lost her memory appeared to protect her. That's the part in the middle where she asked why he was there. She had been treated terribly and told she was worthless her entire life by absolutely everyone, so she didn't know how to react to someone actually caring for and supporting her. For us players, it was a bittersweet ending. She was a villain, a true monster of one, but like so many FFXIV villains she had a reason she was the way she was. One can only wonder if she could have found happiness had her memories never returned. To quote an exchange at the end between her and your character... "What's the matter? The witch of Doma will soon be dead.", "Tsuyu deserved a kinder fate.", "Her happiness was never to be... Not in this world."
@@Torryinabox I thought it was obvious given the first few sentences. I can't imagine reading past "...and it explains how she became the monster she did." if you didn't want spoilers. Remember, Jesse specifically mentioned wanting people to explain more in the comments section.
My favorite touch of detail is the use of hanakotoba, the Japanese language of flowers. The spider lily is a flower that represents 'never to meet again' and 'final goodbyes' and it ties in well with her choice to go out by cop. You, the Warrior of Light, unfortunately being the cop to ensure the job is done.
I love the back and forth between the female and male vocals and what they represent in her story. The female voice representing her and her own sorrow, while the male voice represents those male figures in her life pushing her further and further into her sorrow (asahi, zenos, her husband, etc) the female voice is lamenting her suffering, while the male voices urge her to “step into the night”, pushing her further beyond redemption. This song is so sorrowful, yet angry, yet impactful :(. This fight always makes me tear up.
I really love and appreciate that you pretty much hit the nail on the head by understanding the vibe of the song in correlation to the character/situation for most of the songs.
I love stormblood music and yes there is a vibe. Traditional eastern instruments, large western orchestras, East meets West thing and great guitar. Me waiting for Jesse cover when 👀. And you totally got it the second part is reflective we literally get to see her memories and beat up her abusive parents in her mind. For wayward daughter the male choir sings in English while the female vocalist sing in Japanese. The English vocalist are the voice of the colonizers and her abusive parents, how she's a "wayward daughter". And the Female vocalist is Tsukiyomi saying how she can't take living anymore.
Wayward daughter is indeed soken, glad to see one of his songs now up with your favorites from 14. Fun fact: as much as everyone (for good reason) loves the shadowbringers and endwalker soundtracks, stormblood is soken’s favorite.
Even to this day, her mob phase has my favorite mob phase music in the series. The music is sorrowful yet powerful. Top that up with the backstory of it all and what the shades represent too? Genius. ...I was really hoping she'd have turned good. 😔
Dude. It's been my favorite since this patch released. I still, TO THIS VERY DAY, tear up and cry every time I hear Lunacy. Soken is such a musical genius for putting so much emotion into a short mob phase like that.
This trial, more than any other tells a story and it's a sad one. The middle part of the trial is us protecting the boss from manifestations of her horrible past, giving us a glimmer of hope that we might redeem her, only to snatch it away again. The entire story line of this boss is just an emotional rollercoaster and the trial is too. And yes, there are English lyrics. The woman sings in Japanese and the men in English. Many tears have been and continue to be shed during this song.
She did horrible things, unforgivable. Yet can we really blame her when she doesn't know who she is anymore? It jusy leave you in this back and frouth question.
I call her story "The Tragedy of Tsukuyomi". No real story definition, as others went into it already. While I adore her and her story; she's a monster. A woman turned monster to survive the cruelty she endured, but still, a monster. My heart weeps for what she could of been, but accept the fate she had to end in. (Fan art with Gosetsu and her living happy lives as grandfather and granddaughter make my heart sing)
There are very few songs that hit so hard in the feels during a boss fight like Tsukuyomi's. We're following her story from nearly the start of Stormblood and this was a fitting end to her arc.
The chorus is in English, the rest is Japanese. As for how long Lunacy plays, it plays as long as the phase continues, but you need to wrap the phase up fast or you will wipe, so it can be longer, but you usually don't want it to be. Also there was a bit of editing, but not a lot. As for who made it, it was made by Soken, the lyrics are by Ishikawa and Koji-Fox, the main story writer and translation leads respectively, and the singers are Sakoto Fujita, Takashi Baba, and Joe Tsuchizaki. As for the story, in FFXIV faith and belief can influence reality and create "gods", she gets her hands on a mirror infused with belief in the goddess of the moon, Tskuiyomi, and basically becomes possessed by this manmade god. As someone whose main job is to end these beings as you are immune to their corruption, you basically have to smack her down.
Tsukiyomi is 2 sides of the moon, light and dark. It wasn’t just the mirror, but also the dual personalities of the weak and scared child next to the powerful and emotionless evil that pulled the kami out of the mirror. A mirror shows the truth of someone’s soul, a reflection in dreams.
@@BlakeAustin2011 And in Shinto she is actually a he and married to the sun though...estranged after he murdered the goddess of feasts finding out where a feast came from. His brother is another of the summons in stormblood Mr. god of revels himself
Furthermore, Yotsuyu is really acting the part of the crazed primal. Before, she was cruel, but she was not crazy; it only makes it clearer how she wanted to die.
one thing i like from ff14 is when they kill big boss like this, you can see the atmosphere when they celebrate after the fight is done (the usual victory fanfare after every fight that we see in jrpg) usually its the "we did it!!!" vibe, but for this one, everyone just stay quiet and stand still as in paying respect. because it is, the whole thing is just a tragedy and pure bad luck (or fate i guess). we the player just happened to stuck in between their feud
It got number 1 because of recency bias. They did the vote after the patch the song was in just came out. Of course, that's not to say it isn't a fan favorite, but I don't think it would have got number one if it was done later.
I like how the three different songs represent the different aspect of her identity: The first a militaristic march representing her loyalty to the Garlean Empire, the intermission the moment of reprieve after she lost her memories and she almost got the feeling that there is a better life out there somewhere for her, Wayward Daughter just being her deciding to go out with a bang and even then the Garlean Empire seems to encroach on it with the english choir, showing that she will never be able to escape its influence. Good song, definitely one of my favorite. And yes, the length of the three songs reflects the length of the three phases of the fight. Btw Tsukuyomi is the japanese god of the moon.
To be quite honest, this is my favorite music from Stormblood (Wayward Daughter.) It's so good, and with the lyrics version, it's so much better to fully understand.
Yeeeeeessssss. The way Sokken makes the music for ffxiv to coincide with what you’re fighting is fantastic. Wayward daughter’s 2nd and 3rd phases hit HARD when I got to this trial for the first time 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
Oh, Cyan's theme from FF6 is in here. I guess it makes sense since they used the name Doma. The theme is super noticeable at 4:50. EDIT: Oh, it's pretty much all variations of Cyan's theme
This bit of the story and the song itself have literally made my impression of Stormblood multiple points higher in my mind. There's so much I love about the story arc that culminates in this fight and the song is an incredible capstone for it.
pretty sure we swapped from world building to the Shadowbringers and Endwalker lead story for the post patches. She wrote Azim Steppe in base stormblood(and crystal tower before that and dark knight quests)
many will argue...but this is the heaviest FF14 song.....Tsuku's story leading up to this and how Soken wrote the different views.....it's so heavy....I love it, It's a dirty musical secret that I don't bother letting people know about
It's great that you listened to all of them. A lot of boss fights have music for multiple phases which should really be listened to together because of the way they juxtapose.
Wayward Daughter is my favorite theme from XIV since it came out to this day. Thematically and musically it's just so beautiful. The story leading up to this point is just so damn heartbreaking and there is no happy ending, just a tragedy. As for SB having a theme, majority of the xpac takes place in the East, so most songs fall into having that vibe, from Amatsu Kaze, to Sunrise to Wayward Daughter, there's no shortage of eastern sounding themes, which at the time from me, with the exception of Wayward Daughter became very grating for me then. Nowadays I love Sunrise more now where I was just bored with it then. 2 years of nearly endless Eastern themes for every boss became a headache, despite it thematically fitting.
This is the first song I fell in love with when I started. The boss’s tragic story (Tsuyu) really helps boost it an extra level. Dark is a good way to describe it.
You finally came around to this. I remember recommending this way back when you first started doing ff14 songs :D. You mentioned different metal influences but to me it's more noise rock than anything. I love the guitar blending in almost as a wall of sound and the vocals are just beautiful. Very fun track, definitely one of my favorites in ff14.
This set of songs perfectly reflects character's story from being presented as pure evil up to being revealed as victim of a tragedy. This phase features 3 phases - phase one you fight against Tsukuyomi inside of the Castrum and it's a normal fight, first song plays there. Phase 2 - Yotsuyu sheds her Primal form and attacked by visions of her past - you need to kill adds before her suffering reaches maximum, making this phase extremely short even if you do Extreme version on minimum ilvl without Echo - so song for this phase is also very short Phase 3 is again fight against Tsukuyomi until she's defeated, but now she changes arena from Imperial Castrum to her own palace and adds new mechanics, like Full Moon/New Moon that kills party if players don't pay enough attention and just yolo it. On Extreme that mechanic is made even harder to do right because it requires players to understand where they want to put meteors properly. It's one of the better fights in the game both from narrative and gameplay perspective alike Tsukuyomi's story is a long tragedy of one of more memorable villains in Stormblood. Yotsuyu is presented as irredeemable bitch (idk better word, sorry), owning nation of Doma under rule of the Empire. She does a lot of evil things and at the end of her story in base game she presumably dies along with our friend samurai Gosetsu whom she shoots before crumbling castle collapses on them. However, at the end of Stormblood we realize that both Gosetsu and Yotsuyu are alive and somehow live together. As we find them later, it seems that Yotsuyu has lost her memory and became almost childlike in her demeanor. Later we learn her story. She was not particularly loved by her family, and her father literally sold her to a brothel after years of abuse, beating and who knows what else - game doesn't really specify that, but leaves enough for you to think about. She was never loved by anyone aside of some men that used her and when Empire came, she just sold her nation to the Empire because she truly hated everything around her. And later yet we meet her brother Asahi- even more irredeemable bastard, who by now one of few characters you still want to beat the shit out of - he's literally one of the worst people on the planet. So what he did? Well, he literally used some of the local relics - a mirror, to bring doubt in Yotsuyu and forced her to run. When she started remembering what she did (and the fact that people kept reminding her about it, while at the same time there were people that treated her well), she couldn't bear it and was ready to end her life. Yet, at the moment when she put the blade to her neck, Asahi manipulated her parents to show up. Right at that moment. With their behavior she kills them on spot (not like every single person who saw the cutscene wasn't on her side, lol, I also said "DESERVED") and gets into Asahi's trap. He manipulates her to use relic, abundance of crystals and Yotsuyu's hatred (to everyone, including herself) to make her Summon a Primal, although Yotsuyu instead of summoning Primal, transforms into it and becomes Tsukuyomi - while not normal case of Primal Summoning, definely not unheard of (especially remembering Heavensward where Ysale has been transforming into Shiva on multiple occasions). Asahi uses it as Casus Belli to begin new war against Doma and stop all negotiations with nation as Imperial law forbids Summoning and considers it one of worst things ever. And since Yotsuyu is considered Doman, she's officially used as case of why Doma has to be destroyed. And as we defeat Yotsuyu in combat, Asahi basically tells us his plan and keeps screaming how he hates us for killing Zenos, which distracts him and gives Yotsuyu just enough time to make final attack and kill him. As both of them lie down, Yotsuyu only asks "Why are you not happy? The witch of Doma is finally dead" before closing her eyes and leaving this world. I am not best storyteller and my memory for phrases is not perfect but man, 4.3 ended up on really sad note. And then we proceed to war against Empire, Varis basically tells us truth about The World and Rejoining in a form that would have made Hitler feel awkward and we proceed to some wacky shit that leads us to Shadowbringers, I hope I didn't miss much with this explanation.
Nice to see you check this one out. Also excited to see what you think of Husky's video. He's was one of the first youtubers to start doing rock covers of FFXIV, pretty much since a realm reborn came out and even Soken himself loves watching his videos lol.
she wasn't really possessed. I can't remember the exact reasoning but some primals (like Tsukuyomi) kind of need a "vessel" to be summoned rather than just being their own being after being summoned.
Nightbloom is actually my favorite out of the three. Such an imposing song, perfect for fighting a god in a peace meeting gone wrong. I understand why people like Wayward Daughter so much though, and I'm happy you got to listen to all three phases :D Super excited to hear that you're going to do a video with Husky as well! Yotsuyu's (the boss) story is certainly sad. A woman sold into prostitution by her own family, who later, filled with hatred for her countrymen, betrays the nation that betrayed her by becoming a political spy for an occupying army from a foreign empire. After the heroes defeat her the first time, she loses her memory and regresses into an innocent, childlike state. There's some conflict about what to do with her, whether she should be made to pay for crimes she cannot remember... when the choice is taken out of your (and her) hands, as her brother betrays her again by using her as a vessel to summon a god in order to upend a "peace" conference between the two nations. With her memories returned, and now possessing the power of a god, Yotsuyu embraces her hatred and evil once more. But there's a sense of tragedy as she mourns the innocent and happy life she experienced briefly without her memory, but that was never truly hers. During the transition, when Lunacy plays, she briefly loses her godlike form and specters appear from her imagination. Most are of her family and superiors, who attack her and fuel her hatred so she can regain her godly powers. But one is of the man who took care of and protected her while she had amnesia, even though he was an opposing general and should have been her enemy. Hence the more reflective and sorrowful nature of Lunacy. Sadly, she resolves that it's too late for her, and transforms into the god again so that she can rain down misery in revenge one last time before she dies, with the song transitioning to Wayward Daughter.
Not to mention, but Gosetsu was also tortured directly by Yotsuyu, and lost his wife and daughter to the Empire, but didn't let hatred influence his actions, cementing him as one of the best characters in Final Fantasy 14
This is still one of my favorite track sequences in the game and it's been out since I want to say 2017. It's a great climax for Stormblood and echoes the sadness in the storyline super well
I play FFXIV since 2.0 so imo I had the opportunity to enjoy the impact of every fights from patch X.3 (from ARR to SBs it was always the big big fight that concludes the storyline of the expension). Since it's from SB here it's from 4.3. ANYWAY. This one will always be my favorite because like many ppl, I DIDNT want to fight her, even tho I knew she was already doomed. The music, the lore, basically one of my foundest memories from the game.
This is my favorite song in FFXIV, I've literally queued for this battle over 30+ times by now here and there just to experience it and listen to the music. Also immediately got the mount when I heard it plays the song wherever you go while you ride it. I'm not sure what kind of music this would be classified as, but I enjoy songs like this where it combines sort of slow/melodic vocals with a fast-paced drum/beat track. (Another one with that type of style is Shibuya Survivor in The World Ends with You, if anyone suggests that at any point I definitely have to see your take on it!)
perfect, i recently found out this song and i just so freaking love the male chorus in this one also spoilers her last words are - i wonder is the persimon was as sweet as he remembers - her last thought while dying was about old guy who helped her while she lost memories, which is huge character change to her
Her song is really put into context when you know all of the story pieces that the music (and the fight) is reflecting. This is quite possibly one of the most tragic stories ever implemented into 14, and this fight is a capstone of it, along with the music you not only experience her entire life and struggle, stomblood spoilers here. You are putting down effectively 2 people: - one is a girl who was abused, sold into sexual slavery, bred resentment and never saw a happy day in her life, hated by her parents, her captors, her husband who beat her, completely left in misery, only to take revenge and blame all of doma for it (her home counry). She was transformed into a monster, was a war criminal, killed people, made people kill other people and existed only to reflect her hatred onto the world (hence why the mirror is such an important thematic item in her story) - the other is a woman who was kind to others, knew not who she was, but from the day she was "born" (aka when original yotsuyu lost her memories) was treated with nothing but kindness, love from her surrogatte father (Gosetsu), and, while she was feared, she was not subjugated by present day domans. Tsuyu deserved a kinder fate.
I'm a big nightbloom fan personally. It has that epic, dramatic pseudo orchestral vibe that works so well with any boss fight combined with the drama behind. I'm a sucker for those I guess, and one theme you have yet to check out on XIV I think is Penitus (Praetorium theme). Very similar, also has torn from the heavens vibes, and a relatively unique take.
2:28 I never noticed that 'The Measure of His Reach' sample in that part before. Neat! I guess it could also be 'The Measure of Our Reach' technically as it's a boss fight connected to the Garleans, but IDK if 'Our Reach' is used in Garlean-occupied Doma as it's a rewrite of the Ala Mhigan anthem.
I haven't listened to your reaction yet (I'm going too,) but I have to say that this is easily one of my top three Boss Themes in FFXIV. I absolutely love this song, it's so full of emotion and it really contains a lot of pain from a character that by all accounts started the story as one of the most hated villains but was well on her way to being redeemed.
Speaking of transitional melodies between tracks I really see those a lot in Prog Rock when bands do like concept or story type albums. I know for a fact that Rush did it a lot, especially in 2112, and I think there were couple in Dream Theater's Change of Seasons album. I guess that's part of the reason I like this fight so much, it starts out with this like rage, this darkness, this woman in command and then it sort of transitions into a like... A Nightwish song.
Tsukuyomi is the god of the moon in Japanese myth, hence all the moon imagery. In the myth Tsukoyomi is cursed to chase his wife, Amaterasu the sun, across the sky but never reach her which is the same for this version, chasing a happiness she can never have. The character that transforms into the god is heavily associated with the Spider Lily flower which is associated with death/final goodbyes, you see a few in the fight and we find out that her life has been full of death and goodbyes, with this fight finally being hers. Its a very tragic story and a sadly fitting end for her.
This is the best trial in the game aside from a few others , as it's the only one that tells you the entire story about the conflict not only through the music but even the gameplay and visual.
Stormblood is very themed around revolution, and the horrors and tragedies of war, so you're right that it's own sort of feel to it. Although there are a lot of side content fights with a much more eastern type of feel, if that's what you meant as well. This song falls into the Venn diagram of both, since it's also part of the main story. This character is particularly tragic and evil at the same time.
Between the excellent music and the whole story of her (Tsukuyomi) this is hands down still one of my favorite fights. I know, story in this game lol. But this song is really so good. I don't think I can call it my complete favorite, but it puts up a good fight for it.
Some fun bits about this whole fight, the female vocals are sung by the Japanese voice actor of the boss you fight, so it gives it even more of a personal feeling. The whole fight is choreographed like a play, with all 3 phases- The first represents the oppression she's dealt with from Doma and the Empire. The second represents the woman's background and festering hatred for her family, her homeland, the empire and herself- then realizing her sliver of hope was never going to be granted. The third is essentially her resigning herself to her death and knowing there will be no redemption or forgiveness for everything she's done. I actually found the official lyrics and some notes from the songwriter: The Japanese portion of the lyrics represent the voice of she who has become Tsukuyomi, while the English portion features the voices of those who have restrained her (represented with the fiercer tone in the male chorus). Throughout the entire song, the structure of the song goes back and forth between the two voices singing to one another. In a story of revolution and liberation, she also fought to try and release herself, which was included as the final line of the song. Also hyped af to hear you've been talking with Husky!
It'll be hard for you to get up to date on this game, it's 10 years old this month (happy birthday 14!) and they come out with new songs at least every 3-4 months due to its MMO nature. Enjoy :p
Jesse, I've been here from the very start of the React arc (I think I watched garuda about a week after it came out, so. 10 days after ye started that)... and honestly, I think I would appreciate it if you DID go back and re-listen to (or at least skip through) old tracks that are related to new ones you're listening to. Particularly for ff14, there's a LOT going on beneath the surface - general themes, musical patterns, leitmotifs, etc are used and iterated upon ad nauseum, and that's a huge part of why I find the music to be so impactful. This one, for instance, is INDEED closely related to the orchestral version - but you also entirely missed that *the first segment, Nightbloom, is a variation / rearrangement of **_Revolutions_** in a Minor key instead of a Major one,* which is another song you listened to. You haven't heard it, but Wayward Daughter, fun fact, is *also* a variation on a pre-existing theme -- that of Yanxia, the area Tsukuyomi is from and rules over. The names of the day and night themes of that area reference her Mother and Father, who are ultimately at least SOMEWHAT responsible for turning her into the heinous bitch (or wayward daughter) she is. Idk at least pinging someone and being like "yo have I heard related songs before" would be very much appreciated.
There is "Themes" through each expansion and you mentioned Stormblood feeling like there was one you remembered. There is 2 in Stormblood but gotihic is kinda one. Stormblood had 2 parts to the story, tthe Desert / War part and the Eastern Asian part. A Realm Reborn - "Classic Final Fantasy Style Music" (thanks Nobuo) Most the music here is what you expect from a FF Game. While the type is music is very different the themes are very Core FF game thematically. ARR has some great music and its very nostalgic for older FF games. That said it does go hard like with Titan and Shiva. Shiva is probably my favorite music from ARR even though its post ARR but still such a good song and the Eden version is even better. ARR is just a very solid Final Fantasy soundtrack. "Answers" is the big ARR song for a lot of people. Heavensward - "Gothic / Classical" style music with some outliers (Ravana and Sepirot outliers) (Dragonsong and Nidhogg as Gothic) This was the main merging point of the old FF heavy themes and the newer Soken style blending. It has some very gorgeous music and its all just very heavy and sad thematically. Generally this is a high point in most peoples memories because its just the perfect ,ix of a lot of elements in writing and music and makes for such an engaging expansion with a very very solid theme. Sophia (Equilibrium) might be my fav from HW, there is also a very good Pulse Remix of it. HW was the first taste of "There is still more to tell" for FF14. Stormblood Part 1 - "Gothic / Orchestral / Middle Eastern" style music in the Ala Mhigo section (Lakshmi for middle east and Shinryu for gothic) This section in the Desert and during the main war plot is a interesting mix of middle eastern style music with some more gothic music to represent the war and just a really nice mix of orchestral too with stuff like "Revolutions". Its a very "sounds of war" feel. This part of the story is very different paced and its the start and end of the expansion so smaller sections but has some gorgeous music as Lakshmi's theme is one of my favs. The Pulse Remix of Lakshmi is God Tier, its FF Music meets Persona Music. Stormblood Part 2 - "Eastern Asian Music Theme" (Susano, Tsukuyomi, Byakko, Suzaku, Seriyu) The "Main meat" of Stormblood really and what most people think about from it is the Asia section and it is a mix of just very different kinds of music and visuals and is just such a nice change of pace. There is a lot of very great songs in this section and all heavily Asian themed but with twists. Suzaku is one of my personal favs along with Tsukuyomi, both are always playing in my personal house in game which is where i keep my "Top favs" playing on the playlist. My FC house is where is have the "Sounds of Sad" as i like to call it, using all the really hard hitting music because that is also my Trophy Room of all my accomplishments through the game. Shadowbringers - "Rock / Orchestral / Orchestral Rock" music with a bit of everything (Shadowbringers, Innocence, To the Edge, Black Wolf) Shadowbringers has the strongest musical theme you just always know a song is from this expansion when you hear it because its just a very unique feel. Generally considered some of the peak of FF music and storytelling as it was a big deal story wise and just was the perfect place to have fun with the music and Soken did. Titania's theme is one of my favorites from this expansion because its just so unsettleing but also happy but also just off sounding, such beautify song themeing. To the Edge is of course in the songs of sadge. Endwalker - "Rock / Orchestral / Classic FF" style of music, its a mix of everything that came before and the End of this Final Fantasy Story. (Endcaller, Your Answer, Flow, The Final Day) I would say Endwalker also has a very core music theme that you hear a song and know its from Endwalker as its all just sooooo powerful feeling, like it all just hits your soul musically. Its hard to explain but its the perfect music to the such a long told story with. Probably my fav track from this section is "Close in the Distance" for just how the song comes to be, its just beautiful story telling and music writing and it is just the perfect song to walk to the End to. Post Endwalker - "You thought we were done?" music theme (Pandemonium / The 12's Themes) The only way i can describe the post Endwalker music is as everything before it and everything past it too. Music showing there is still more tricks in the soundtrack's bag and room ahead to go even further. You hear this a lot with Pandemonium's music which is a lot of old themes come back to take it one step further. You hear this most with some of the final songs but also early songs, many of which are old music themes they used before taken further. Pandemonium 4 "Hic Svnt Leones" feels like the perfect mix of the classic FF sounds with Shadowbringers style and then pushed harder and further into its own style. Pandemonium 11 "Fleeting Moment" is the perfect evolution of "Near Dark Waters" and "To the Edge" but the "Heroic" version of those songs. Pandemonium 12 "The Tireless One" is also another pushing of themes as it feels to me like an evolution of the Shiva style of music we hear in ARR and Shadowbringers just modernized more which just works so well. The 12's themes are all really damn good and really fresh and new too. They dont really sound like anything before but are all so strong sounds that they just create this very specific feel. So far we only have 2/3rds of them but we are getting the last ones soon and i cant wait to see what the team still has in store for us. "in the Balance" and 'Dedicated to Moonlight" being the big standout songs so far for 12's themes. This post got long but ive been around this series for a long time and have a lot to say about the journey. Its one of my favorite game soundtracks of all time easy. Its just been such a journey from the start to the end. The only way i can explain it is it feels like you felt when you played through all the old FF games growing up, stories told every couple years in your life that affected you greatly and made you a better person through it, thats been the FF game series for me from 1-14 over the past 30 years of my life. Thats the feeling FF14 gives as it was a story told over almost the the same amount of time as FF1 to FF10; 1 to 10 is 14 years long (87 to 01) and 14 is 10 years long (13 to 23 or 11 to 21 depending how you count it). Poetic. I hope you still enjoying hearing FF14 songs for the next 8 years as you work your way through the soundtrack, it should be a ride for you too.
Man, I was just fighting her yesterday and thought, how amazing the song was 3 years ago (first time listening) both choruses,rhythms, transitions phases and story being presented by music, it's more Sad than Demonic, but yes, Yotsuyu could live, but Tsukuyomi needs to die, and both are the same and now, and today, you put reaction to it, good timing Uncle Jesse!
So, the three sections of this song really does reflect the character better than probably any other boss in the game. Like, her fight - and every aspect of the fight, from the mechanics to the set dressing to the music - act as a condensed version of her story from start to finish. So, section 1 - you called Nightbloom which honestly if it isn't the actual name it probably should be - does feel very militaristic which reflects her status as a Viceroy. She was put in charge of governing her home nation after an empire conquered it. Except... she *hates* her homeland. In her "youth" (game doesn't elaborate beyond that what age she wactually was), she was sold to a brothel, and was consistently treated like garbage by the people that should have been looking out for her and she understandably gets some joy out of bringing that pain and anger back to the nation she now found herself in charge of. Section 2 - Lunacy - represents where her character went after the big confrontation with her earlier in the game. Where she had a second chance. A guy who had been very gung ho about killing her, now finds himself as a self-appointed guardian, having kind of adopted her as a surrogate daughter after she lost her memory and all that malice and hatred just... evaporated. But the specters of her past (manifested literally in the fight as ghosts attacking her) keeps threatening to pull her back from that chance of happiness and peace. Section 3 - Wayward Daughter proper - is something of a finding peace and harmony between those halves. If she can't have the happiness and peace dangled before her, then she can at least savor the thrill of the battle immediately before her. There, she has discarded who she was - both the Viceroy and Tsuyu - and is now just her. Lost in that singular moment, and focused on the people who really put her there. After all, the whole thing is - in part at least - an excuse to kill her brother who dragged her away from her happiness.
Minimal spoiler summary if you're interested in understanding the context better: This is a villain who initially seemed completely irredeemable, but then you learn more about her and she's almost given a chance at redemption and a happy life just to end up being turned into the villain you initially believed she was going to be, yet now wish she wasn't.
Oh Yotsuyu, you poor, terrible monster 😢 Poor Gosetsu😢 Most emotional part of the expansion for me. (I wasn't gonna say anything spoilery but apparently everyone else already has)
I really hope someone requests the 10 year community medley at some point. Because i feel like Jesse already heard almost all of the songs they used in there
These set of songs are the ones I would pick if I just had to pick only one song to show someone what FFXIV music is like (and I can get away with that technicality because these songs are really just one song, they all play together in the fight). They showcase every aspect of Soken's breadth of sounds and it ties so beautifully to the story. This fight is an underrated masterpiece, not enough people bring it up when talking about great fights in FFXIV.
I wouldn’t say stormblood was necessarily “darker” than the other expansions, but it 100% felt more personal? It was a whole expansion about very real issues like war and tyranny and the long term effects on cultures that are in the middle of stuff like that. So while other expansions were darker in theme stormblood had that sense of like dark relatable realness that you don’t get from expansions about dragons or other fantasy stuff
Funny that you get the sense that Stormblood is darker than the other expansions, I found it to be, this part aside, like coming up for air compared to the expansions that bookend it. Felt much lighter overall.
To give some context. Things like night and day and mirrors are very woven into her character. One of those people who is evil with a part of her that is innocent.
![Twenty One Pilots - “The Line” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E2Rj2gQAyPA/mqdefault.jpg)
"I'm guessing she's really evil because this song is really... demonic"
the FF14 community: "Nah. This is a tragedy."
Id say she's one of the first truly complex villains in FFXIV, but she still absolutely was demonic and terrible.
She's a war criminal and deserves execution. That is what makes her story so fascinating: she *is* evil, and then the game humanizes her to a point that we question the line between justice and hatred. I think that Fordola - her parallel character - does the story better, but I understand the love for Tsuyu among the fanbase.
@@TheWickedWizardOfOz1 Every single thing Yotsuyu did was a product of the fact every single person in her life, even her parents, did nothing but use, abuse, and then sell her off to prostitution the instant they could. Her cold 'evil' demeanor is a product of an entire life of being hated, abused, and villified. Does that justify all of her actions? No. that short amount of time she lost all her memories, etc. Her family. her own flesh and blood, right down to her brother did *EVERYTHING* in their power to ensure Tsuyu remembered who and more importantly *WHAT* she was. It was a carefully orchestrated ballet of 'fake diplomacy' while also seeding Tsuyu back into what she was before. It was the ONLY way to justify full on martial law/eradication that Asahi and Garlemald wanted. She wasn't an evil force on her own right. She was *molded* into one. Hell. The Tsukuyomi fight? How Gosetsu was actually shown as *STRONGER* than even Zenos himself? Gosetsu was the only person in her entire life who believed in her, or cared for her in her entire life. That clash defined the tragedy of her character.
She is evil. She's killed people. That said, there is a reason she became who she is. It's not an excuse, but we all know things might have been different.
she's evil but in a way that makes people think "I can fix her" (you can't, but she can make you worse)
Everyone stand up for the I can fix her anthem
We couldn't. A shame.
She somehow lived and now she and adopted dad has a Dango shop somewhere nobody knows /breaths copium
@@seekittycathand me some of that please
My 'I can fix her' character was always Fordola- and while I failed, Arenvald seems to have succeeded.
@@deanospimoniful atleast she took assahi with her
"I really like the percussion, though..."
Percussion: *Picks that exact moment to fade out*
There's so many leitmotifs in this fight it's insane. Nothing out of the ordinary for FFXIV, but the music really takes you on a journey as it builds up into her proper theme.
Stormblood's endgame was peak FFXIV for me, the balancing, the fights, the music, the story building up to Shadowbringers. It was an amazing time to be heavily invested in the game.
Too bad this story in particular was worse than a mexican telenovela tier writing, characters being killed off but then revealed to have survived in a deserted island, characters loosing their memory and then regaining it only for a cheap emotional tearjerk that is super forced, the only thing missing was the evil twin being revealed. The fight itself is top tier though, one of the bests in XIV
@@devildante9Yes, because the redemption of the old samurai who had slayed 1000s of Domans to keep himself alive in order to return to Kaien by caring for a daughter he never had, only to lose her in the end due to her evil, maniacal brother who we find out was a reincarnation of both a super-depressed Ascian and criminally insane Allagan scientist is such a bad story. Oh, and the fact Yotsuyu was sold into sex slavery, then used that sadness to rise in power for her own revenge on the Domans, culminating in her memories flooding back soon after she had finally found the father figure she needed all along…resulting in the revenge murder of her own parents. Then her brother completes the transition in order to have her trigger a primal summoning that involves all the men in her life she’s looked to impress, finishing with the one man who loved her like a true daughter with the persimmon. Yeah, that’s really crappy writing.
I agree the death and resurrection was a bit annoying. However, juxtapose that with the actual supposed deaths of Papalymo and Minfilia and the Warriors of Darkness going to the first, and it was a twist pull out.
Stormblood is by far the weakest of the expansions, but the Doman storyline was solid when Lyse shut up.
@@devildante9Gee, I guess that's one way to see it, but I actually loved the Stormblood patches story lol
@@andr0zzsenpai It's practically a meme for people to tear down Stormblood at every turn, you just learn to ignore em.
@@devildante9 TERRIBLE take
Just filthy
It's almost like these tropes were used as a vehicle for the larger theme of Stormblood post patches which is the possible redemption of the victims and perpetrators of the imperial rule
Oh and btw, naming tropes ain't critique.
First time I've ever cried DURING a fight. You are right to hear a sad tune within the medley. This woman realized just how lost and wayward she truly was, and this is her kind of embracing her sad and cruel fate. Such a dark and unforgiving antagonist, but one you're honestly hoping can break free and find her happiness.
Nightbloom is an arrangement of the country's theme that is being oppressed. It's their anthem. The second piece is the soft tune that plays in the countryside that she originally is from, albeit arranged in a more tragic light. Cyan's theme (from final fantasy 6) also has a cameo here. Finally Wayward Daughter: The same countryside theme, but this time with heavy lyrics and a sense of determination and tragedy.
The thing I love about these songs is the familiarity they create within the world. Each song has an origin, and tying events use this base to build and move you through the story and themes. Dragonsong, Answers, Tomorrow and Tomorrow ... They all do this. And I never get sick of it.
A beautiful song! Thank you for sharing your reaction. (Also Husky is fantastic ;) have fun!)
I love it. Story telling through mechanics.
First phase:
As you said at the start, Demonic.
The way we've always known her in the story.
The way most people sees her.
And perhaps, the way she sees herself.
Second phase/add phase:
We see her true feelings.
And after knowing her background story, hits like a truck.
Third phase/last phase:
The inevitable end.
We see the result of her choices.
After everything that happens.
After everything that we've learned of her.
This is the end she chose for herself.
In a way, it's her having her final say.
Having control in her life.
lyrics: english
Flower waiting to be plucked
Each petal a promise torn
Shorn one by one and cast to the winds, I gave unto them my all...all...
No...No more!
Westward lies bleed t'ward the east
Wayward daughter, step into the night
Restless eyes, blind to the beast
Barren waters yield unto the tide
Sanctuary of the moon
Tainted by the crimson light
Naught save the night shall know our sorrow, we give unto it our all...all...
No...No more!
Rōmaji/English
hana wa shousoku
imi hitohira wo
sadameshi ya ware iku wo tachihirugaeshite
sa iza――
Westward lies bleed t'ward the east
Wayward daughter, step into the night
Restless eyes, blind to the beast
Barren waters yield unto the tide
yorube no tsuki wa
guren ni saete
nokoseshi wa aragai no nagori nomi naredo
sa iza――
Westward lies bleed t'ward the east
Wayward daughter, step into the night
Restless eyes, blind to the beast
Barren waters yield unto the tide
Lunacy is indeed a play on words. Tsukuyomi is a moon deity.
Fits neatly with the etymology of the word as well, since in medieval to early modern times, madness was often associated with the changing phases of the moon.
No need for a long elaboration from me. I'm just happy that the wait was worth it. A song gets requested a lot, you develop expectations. It exceeded them. Sick.
This game does such a good job of making Extreme boss grinds worth it with their music. This was 100% one of those situations.
This storyline was quite tragic. She was one of the main villains from Stormblood, but in the storyline following you find out more about her, her childhood and upbringing...and it explains how she became the monster she did. Upon losing her memory after Stormblood, she regressed to an almost childlike state and you get to see the person she could have been. It feels like a redemption arc at first, but her memories were then intentionally and forcefully restored by the Empire and she was transformed into Tsukuyomi. She leaned hard into her rage and pain, but that started to fade, which led into the second phase. There, she called upon the shades of all her hurtful memories to torment her and fuel that pain and torment. Except the image/memories of one hero who had been acting as her guardian angel after she lost her memory appeared to protect her. That's the part in the middle where she asked why he was there. She had been treated terribly and told she was worthless her entire life by absolutely everyone, so she didn't know how to react to someone actually caring for and supporting her. For us players, it was a bittersweet ending. She was a villain, a true monster of one, but like so many FFXIV villains she had a reason she was the way she was. One can only wonder if she could have found happiness had her memories never returned. To quote an exchange at the end between her and your character... "What's the matter? The witch of Doma will soon be dead.", "Tsuyu deserved a kinder fate.", "Her happiness was never to be... Not in this world."
At least put a spoiler tag up before this mess of a wall of text, yikes.
*shot through the heart*
I'd forgotten about that dialog exchange... 😢
@@Torryinabox I thought it was obvious given the first few sentences. I can't imagine reading past "...and it explains how she became the monster she did." if you didn't want spoilers. Remember, Jesse specifically mentioned wanting people to explain more in the comments section.
If you think about it, considering the events of endwalker her happiness was truly not meant to be in this world
Geez I can’t imagine her being alive during the final days stuff. x.x
I always shed a tear whenever I listen to this song, especially when you know the sad and tragic story of Yotsuyu
My favorite touch of detail is the use of hanakotoba, the Japanese language of flowers. The spider lily is a flower that represents 'never to meet again' and 'final goodbyes' and it ties in well with her choice to go out by cop.
You, the Warrior of Light, unfortunately being the cop to ensure the job is done.
She is Evil, but also she isn't evil. The host used to summon Tsukuyomi has one of the better stories in the game.
I love the back and forth between the female and male vocals and what they represent in her story. The female voice representing her and her own sorrow, while the male voice represents those male figures in her life pushing her further and further into her sorrow (asahi, zenos, her husband, etc) the female voice is lamenting her suffering, while the male voices urge her to “step into the night”, pushing her further beyond redemption. This song is so sorrowful, yet angry, yet impactful :(. This fight always makes me tear up.
I really love and appreciate that you pretty much hit the nail on the head by understanding the vibe of the song in correlation to the character/situation for most of the songs.
I love stormblood music and yes there is a vibe. Traditional eastern instruments, large western orchestras, East meets West thing and great guitar. Me waiting for Jesse cover when 👀. And you totally got it the second part is reflective we literally get to see her memories and beat up her abusive parents in her mind.
For wayward daughter the male choir sings in English while the female vocalist sing in Japanese. The English vocalist are the voice of the colonizers and her abusive parents, how she's a "wayward daughter". And the Female vocalist is Tsukiyomi saying how she can't take living anymore.
Wayward daughter is indeed soken, glad to see one of his songs now up with your favorites from 14. Fun fact: as much as everyone (for good reason) loves the shadowbringers and endwalker soundtracks, stormblood is soken’s favorite.
Even to this day, her mob phase has my favorite mob phase music in the series. The music is sorrowful yet powerful. Top that up with the backstory of it all and what the shades represent too? Genius.
...I was really hoping she'd have turned good. 😔
Spoiler
She couldn't forgive herself T_T
@@StarShadow9009 Yep. Even more tragedies.
Dude. It's been my favorite since this patch released. I still, TO THIS VERY DAY, tear up and cry every time I hear Lunacy. Soken is such a musical genius for putting so much emotion into a short mob phase like that.
@@aeonianrot Couldn't have said it better myself. 👏
This trial, more than any other tells a story and it's a sad one.
The middle part of the trial is us protecting the boss from manifestations of her horrible past, giving us a glimmer of hope that we might redeem her, only to snatch it away again. The entire story line of this boss is just an emotional rollercoaster and the trial is too.
And yes, there are English lyrics. The woman sings in Japanese and the men in English.
Many tears have been and continue to be shed during this song.
She did horrible things, unforgivable. Yet can we really blame her when she doesn't know who she is anymore? It jusy leave you in this back and frouth question.
I call her story "The Tragedy of Tsukuyomi". No real story definition, as others went into it already. While I adore her and her story; she's a monster. A woman turned monster to survive the cruelty she endured, but still, a monster. My heart weeps for what she could of been, but accept the fate she had to end in.
(Fan art with Gosetsu and her living happy lives as grandfather and granddaughter make my heart sing)
There are very few songs that hit so hard in the feels during a boss fight like Tsukuyomi's. We're following her story from nearly the start of Stormblood and this was a fitting end to her arc.
This whole lead up to the final phase had me going " please dont make me fight you" with tears in my eyes first playthrough
The chorus is in English, the rest is Japanese. As for how long Lunacy plays, it plays as long as the phase continues, but you need to wrap the phase up fast or you will wipe, so it can be longer, but you usually don't want it to be. Also there was a bit of editing, but not a lot.
As for who made it, it was made by Soken, the lyrics are by Ishikawa and Koji-Fox, the main story writer and translation leads respectively, and the singers are Sakoto Fujita, Takashi Baba, and Joe Tsuchizaki.
As for the story, in FFXIV faith and belief can influence reality and create "gods", she gets her hands on a mirror infused with belief in the goddess of the moon, Tskuiyomi, and basically becomes possessed by this manmade god. As someone whose main job is to end these beings as you are immune to their corruption, you basically have to smack her down.
Tsukiyomi is 2 sides of the moon, light and dark. It wasn’t just the mirror, but also the dual personalities of the weak and scared child next to the powerful and emotionless evil that pulled the kami out of the mirror.
A mirror shows the truth of someone’s soul, a reflection in dreams.
@@BlakeAustin2011 And in Shinto she is actually a he and married to the sun though...estranged after he murdered the goddess of feasts finding out where a feast came from. His brother is another of the summons in stormblood Mr. god of revels himself
Furthermore, Yotsuyu is really acting the part of the crazed primal. Before, she was cruel, but she was not crazy; it only makes it clearer how she wanted to die.
one thing i like from ff14 is when they kill big boss like this, you can see the atmosphere when they celebrate after the fight is done (the usual victory fanfare after every fight that we see in jrpg)
usually its the "we did it!!!" vibe, but for this one, everyone just stay quiet and stand still as in paying respect. because it is, the whole thing is just a tragedy and pure bad luck (or fate i guess). we the player just happened to stuck in between their feud
It's really cool you found Husky. You'll definitely see the FFXIV community at It's best with any of his collabs. The recent one is definitely 🔥
"I wonder…Was the fruit as sweet as he remembered?"
In 2018 there was a "FFXIV: The Best" album released with the top 50 songs as voted by the players. Wayward Daughter was number 1 :)
FF14 players are blessed by the music god soken so we got good ears!
It got number 1 because of recency bias. They did the vote after the patch the song was in just came out. Of course, that's not to say it isn't a fan favorite, but I don't think it would have got number one if it was done later.
@goldi947 it's still top 3
I like how the three different songs represent the different aspect of her identity: The first a militaristic march representing her loyalty to the Garlean Empire, the intermission the moment of reprieve after she lost her memories and she almost got the feeling that there is a better life out there somewhere for her, Wayward Daughter just being her deciding to go out with a bang and even then the Garlean Empire seems to encroach on it with the english choir, showing that she will never be able to escape its influence.
Good song, definitely one of my favorite. And yes, the length of the three songs reflects the length of the three phases of the fight. Btw Tsukuyomi is the japanese god of the moon.
Whenever i think of Yotsuyu, i always think of Gosetsu and my heart aches all over again.
To be quite honest, this is my favorite music from Stormblood (Wayward Daughter.) It's so good, and with the lyrics version, it's so much better to fully understand.
Yeeeeeessssss. The way Sokken makes the music for ffxiv to coincide with what you’re fighting is fantastic. Wayward daughter’s 2nd and 3rd phases hit HARD when I got to this trial for the first time 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
The second Theme, Lunacy, carries a leitmotif of Cyan's theme from FFVI, due to Doma adopting his theme as well.
Oh, Cyan's theme from FF6 is in here. I guess it makes sense since they used the name Doma. The theme is super noticeable at 4:50. EDIT: Oh, it's pretty much all variations of Cyan's theme
i'll always upvote an artist giving their unique perspective on one of my favorite works of art.
I'm always happy to queue into this one, and the music is definitely one of the main reasons!
every time you release a xiv video I have to resist telling you to drop ALL of your life commitments and get into this game, but I'll settle for this!
There’s a motif in the last section from Final Fantasy VI from 1994 that’s used in Stormblood for a few reasons
This bit of the story and the song itself have literally made my impression of Stormblood multiple points higher in my mind. There's so much I love about the story arc that culminates in this fight and the song is an incredible capstone for it.
pretty sure we swapped from world building to the Shadowbringers and Endwalker lead story for the post patches. She wrote Azim Steppe in base stormblood(and crystal tower before that and dark knight quests)
probably my favorite boss theme in the game, it just hits every time man
many will argue...but this is the heaviest FF14 song.....Tsuku's story leading up to this and how Soken wrote the different views.....it's so heavy....I love it, It's a dirty musical secret that I don't bother letting people know about
Thank you for another FFXIV song Uncle Jesse :D
It's great that you listened to all of them. A lot of boss fights have music for multiple phases which should really be listened to together because of the way they juxtapose.
Wayward Daughter is my favorite theme from XIV since it came out to this day. Thematically and musically it's just so beautiful. The story leading up to this point is just so damn heartbreaking and there is no happy ending, just a tragedy.
As for SB having a theme, majority of the xpac takes place in the East, so most songs fall into having that vibe, from Amatsu Kaze, to Sunrise to Wayward Daughter, there's no shortage of eastern sounding themes, which at the time from me, with the exception of Wayward Daughter became very grating for me then. Nowadays I love Sunrise more now where I was just bored with it then. 2 years of nearly endless Eastern themes for every boss became a headache, despite it thematically fitting.
I'm kind of amazed it took so long to get around to Wayward Daughter. The song rules.
This is the first song I fell in love with when I started. The boss’s tragic story (Tsuyu) really helps boost it an extra level. Dark is a good way to describe it.
You finally came around to this. I remember recommending this way back when you first started doing ff14 songs :D. You mentioned different metal influences but to me it's more noise rock than anything. I love the guitar blending in almost as a wall of sound and the vocals are just beautiful. Very fun track, definitely one of my favorites in ff14.
This set of songs perfectly reflects character's story from being presented as pure evil up to being revealed as victim of a tragedy.
This phase features 3 phases - phase one you fight against Tsukuyomi inside of the Castrum and it's a normal fight, first song plays there.
Phase 2 - Yotsuyu sheds her Primal form and attacked by visions of her past - you need to kill adds before her suffering reaches maximum, making this phase extremely short even if you do Extreme version on minimum ilvl without Echo - so song for this phase is also very short
Phase 3 is again fight against Tsukuyomi until she's defeated, but now she changes arena from Imperial Castrum to her own palace and adds new mechanics, like Full Moon/New Moon that kills party if players don't pay enough attention and just yolo it. On Extreme that mechanic is made even harder to do right because it requires players to understand where they want to put meteors properly.
It's one of the better fights in the game both from narrative and gameplay perspective alike
Tsukuyomi's story is a long tragedy of one of more memorable villains in Stormblood. Yotsuyu is presented as irredeemable bitch (idk better word, sorry), owning nation of Doma under rule of the Empire. She does a lot of evil things and at the end of her story in base game she presumably dies along with our friend samurai Gosetsu whom she shoots before crumbling castle collapses on them. However, at the end of Stormblood we realize that both Gosetsu and Yotsuyu are alive and somehow live together. As we find them later, it seems that Yotsuyu has lost her memory and became almost childlike in her demeanor. Later we learn her story. She was not particularly loved by her family, and her father literally sold her to a brothel after years of abuse, beating and who knows what else - game doesn't really specify that, but leaves enough for you to think about. She was never loved by anyone aside of some men that used her and when Empire came, she just sold her nation to the Empire because she truly hated everything around her. And later yet we meet her brother Asahi- even more irredeemable bastard, who by now one of few characters you still want to beat the shit out of - he's literally one of the worst people on the planet. So what he did? Well, he literally used some of the local relics - a mirror, to bring doubt in Yotsuyu and forced her to run. When she started remembering what she did (and the fact that people kept reminding her about it, while at the same time there were people that treated her well), she couldn't bear it and was ready to end her life. Yet, at the moment when she put the blade to her neck, Asahi manipulated her parents to show up. Right at that moment. With their behavior she kills them on spot (not like every single person who saw the cutscene wasn't on her side, lol, I also said "DESERVED") and gets into Asahi's trap. He manipulates her to use relic, abundance of crystals and Yotsuyu's hatred (to everyone, including herself) to make her Summon a Primal, although Yotsuyu instead of summoning Primal, transforms into it and becomes Tsukuyomi - while not normal case of Primal Summoning, definely not unheard of (especially remembering Heavensward where Ysale has been transforming into Shiva on multiple occasions). Asahi uses it as Casus Belli to begin new war against Doma and stop all negotiations with nation as Imperial law forbids Summoning and considers it one of worst things ever. And since Yotsuyu is considered Doman, she's officially used as case of why Doma has to be destroyed. And as we defeat Yotsuyu in combat, Asahi basically tells us his plan and keeps screaming how he hates us for killing Zenos, which distracts him and gives Yotsuyu just enough time to make final attack and kill him. As both of them lie down, Yotsuyu only asks "Why are you not happy? The witch of Doma is finally dead" before closing her eyes and leaving this world.
I am not best storyteller and my memory for phrases is not perfect but man, 4.3 ended up on really sad note. And then we proceed to war against Empire, Varis basically tells us truth about The World and Rejoining in a form that would have made Hitler feel awkward and we proceed to some wacky shit that leads us to Shadowbringers, I hope I didn't miss much with this explanation.
Nice to see you check this one out. Also excited to see what you think of Husky's video. He's was one of the first youtubers to start doing rock covers of FFXIV, pretty much since a realm reborn came out and even Soken himself loves watching his videos lol.
In darkness blooms the spider lily, from mortal husk I rise anew.
she wasn't really possessed.
I can't remember the exact reasoning but some primals (like Tsukuyomi) kind of need a "vessel" to be summoned rather than just being their own being after being summoned.
I have heard this song so many times from soloing the fight on Blue Mage for the spell, and I still absolutely love it.
One of my absolute fav themes stormblood in general had the best ost imo at least for me
Nightbloom is actually my favorite out of the three. Such an imposing song, perfect for fighting a god in a peace meeting gone wrong. I understand why people like Wayward Daughter so much though, and I'm happy you got to listen to all three phases :D Super excited to hear that you're going to do a video with Husky as well!
Yotsuyu's (the boss) story is certainly sad. A woman sold into prostitution by her own family, who later, filled with hatred for her countrymen, betrays the nation that betrayed her by becoming a political spy for an occupying army from a foreign empire. After the heroes defeat her the first time, she loses her memory and regresses into an innocent, childlike state. There's some conflict about what to do with her, whether she should be made to pay for crimes she cannot remember... when the choice is taken out of your (and her) hands, as her brother betrays her again by using her as a vessel to summon a god in order to upend a "peace" conference between the two nations. With her memories returned, and now possessing the power of a god, Yotsuyu embraces her hatred and evil once more. But there's a sense of tragedy as she mourns the innocent and happy life she experienced briefly without her memory, but that was never truly hers. During the transition, when Lunacy plays, she briefly loses her godlike form and specters appear from her imagination. Most are of her family and superiors, who attack her and fuel her hatred so she can regain her godly powers. But one is of the man who took care of and protected her while she had amnesia, even though he was an opposing general and should have been her enemy. Hence the more reflective and sorrowful nature of Lunacy. Sadly, she resolves that it's too late for her, and transforms into the god again so that she can rain down misery in revenge one last time before she dies, with the song transitioning to Wayward Daughter.
Not to mention, but Gosetsu was also tortured directly by Yotsuyu, and lost his wife and daughter to the Empire, but didn't let hatred influence his actions, cementing him as one of the best characters in Final Fantasy 14
This is still one of my favorite track sequences in the game and it's been out since I want to say 2017. It's a great climax for Stormblood and echoes the sadness in the storyline super well
I play FFXIV since 2.0 so imo I had the opportunity to enjoy the impact of every fights from patch X.3 (from ARR to SBs it was always the big big fight that concludes the storyline of the expension). Since it's from SB here it's from 4.3.
ANYWAY.
This one will always be my favorite because like many ppl, I DIDNT want to fight her, even tho I knew she was already doomed. The music, the lore, basically one of my foundest memories from the game.
This is my favorite song in FFXIV, I've literally queued for this battle over 30+ times by now here and there just to experience it and listen to the music. Also immediately got the mount when I heard it plays the song wherever you go while you ride it.
I'm not sure what kind of music this would be classified as, but I enjoy songs like this where it combines sort of slow/melodic vocals with a fast-paced drum/beat track.
(Another one with that type of style is Shibuya Survivor in The World Ends with You, if anyone suggests that at any point I definitely have to see your take on it!)
perfect, i recently found out this song and i just so freaking love the male chorus in this one also
spoilers
her last words are - i wonder is the persimon was as sweet as he remembers - her last thought while dying was about old guy who helped her while she lost memories, which is huge character change to her
Yotsuyu's story was the highlight of stormblood for me.
Her song is really put into context when you know all of the story pieces that the music (and the fight) is reflecting.
This is quite possibly one of the most tragic stories ever implemented into 14, and this fight is a capstone of it, along with the music you not only experience her entire life and struggle, stomblood spoilers here.
You are putting down effectively 2 people:
- one is a girl who was abused, sold into sexual slavery, bred resentment and never saw a happy day in her life, hated by her parents, her captors, her husband who beat her, completely left in misery, only to take revenge and blame all of doma for it (her home counry). She was transformed into a monster, was a war criminal, killed people, made people kill other people and existed only to reflect her hatred onto the world (hence why the mirror is such an important thematic item in her story)
- the other is a woman who was kind to others, knew not who she was, but from the day she was "born" (aka when original yotsuyu lost her memories) was treated with nothing but kindness, love from her surrogatte father (Gosetsu), and, while she was feared, she was not subjugated by present day domans.
Tsuyu deserved a kinder fate.
The Japanese choir singing in English can be tricky to decipher but once that realisation is in your mind I find it a little easier to hear.
I'm a big nightbloom fan personally. It has that epic, dramatic pseudo orchestral vibe that works so well with any boss fight combined with the drama behind. I'm a sucker for those I guess, and one theme you have yet to check out on XIV I think is Penitus (Praetorium theme). Very similar, also has torn from the heavens vibes, and a relatively unique take.
2:28 I never noticed that 'The Measure of His Reach' sample in that part before. Neat!
I guess it could also be 'The Measure of Our Reach' technically as it's a boss fight connected to the Garleans, but IDK if 'Our Reach' is used in Garlean-occupied Doma as it's a rewrite of the Ala Mhigan anthem.
This was actually got me into ff14. Then I played her story, and man, I’m never prepared for it.
Best story arc of this expansion tbh.
This track is tragedy more than anything. Rather than anything evil.
I haven't listened to your reaction yet (I'm going too,) but I have to say that this is easily one of my top three Boss Themes in FFXIV. I absolutely love this song, it's so full of emotion and it really contains a lot of pain from a character that by all accounts started the story as one of the most hated villains but was well on her way to being redeemed.
Speaking of transitional melodies between tracks I really see those a lot in Prog Rock when bands do like concept or story type albums. I know for a fact that Rush did it a lot, especially in 2112, and I think there were couple in Dream Theater's Change of Seasons album. I guess that's part of the reason I like this fight so much, it starts out with this like rage, this darkness, this woman in command and then it sort of transitions into a like... A Nightwish song.
Tsukuyomi is the god of the moon in Japanese myth, hence all the moon imagery. In the myth Tsukoyomi is cursed to chase his wife, Amaterasu the sun, across the sky but never reach her which is the same for this version, chasing a happiness she can never have.
The character that transforms into the god is heavily associated with the Spider Lily flower which is associated with death/final goodbyes, you see a few in the fight and we find out that her life has been full of death and goodbyes, with this fight finally being hers. Its a very tragic story and a sadly fitting end for her.
this is by far my favorite 8 man extreme trail in the game, such a well designed fight with great music
The session drummer for Wayward Daughter deserves a goddamn award
I actually just watched the other video you did of this with the orchestra yesterday; saw this and I'm like what. LOL
This is the best trial in the game aside from a few others , as it's the only one that tells you the entire story about the conflict not only through the music but even the gameplay and visual.
There is a bit of tragic beauty in this track. The English lyrics is sung to the tune of Doma/Hien's theme.
this one hit hard on launch day (aside from the wipes from people trying the fight for the first time lol)
Love the stormblood ost so much.
Stormblood is very themed around revolution, and the horrors and tragedies of war, so you're right that it's own sort of feel to it. Although there are a lot of side content fights with a much more eastern type of feel, if that's what you meant as well. This song falls into the Venn diagram of both, since it's also part of the main story. This character is particularly tragic and evil at the same time.
Between the excellent music and the whole story of her (Tsukuyomi) this is hands down still one of my favorite fights. I know, story in this game lol. But this song is really so good. I don't think I can call it my complete favorite, but it puts up a good fight for it.
Some fun bits about this whole fight, the female vocals are sung by the Japanese voice actor of the boss you fight, so it gives it even more of a personal feeling. The whole fight is choreographed like a play, with all 3 phases- The first represents the oppression she's dealt with from Doma and the Empire. The second represents the woman's background and festering hatred for her family, her homeland, the empire and herself- then realizing her sliver of hope was never going to be granted. The third is essentially her resigning herself to her death and knowing there will be no redemption or forgiveness for everything she's done. I actually found the official lyrics and some notes from the songwriter:
The Japanese portion of the lyrics represent the voice of she who has become Tsukuyomi, while the English portion features the voices of those who have restrained her (represented with the fiercer tone in the male chorus).
Throughout the entire song, the structure of the song goes back and forth between the two voices singing to one another.
In a story of revolution and liberation, she also fought to try and release herself, which was included as the final line of the song.
Also hyped af to hear you've been talking with Husky!
It'll be hard for you to get up to date on this game, it's 10 years old this month (happy birthday 14!) and they come out with new songs at least every 3-4 months due to its MMO nature. Enjoy :p
Funny day for me to choose to wear my fanfest Tsukuyomi shirt.
Jesse, I've been here from the very start of the React arc (I think I watched garuda about a week after it came out, so. 10 days after ye started that)... and honestly, I think I would appreciate it if you DID go back and re-listen to (or at least skip through) old tracks that are related to new ones you're listening to.
Particularly for ff14, there's a LOT going on beneath the surface - general themes, musical patterns, leitmotifs, etc are used and iterated upon ad nauseum, and that's a huge part of why I find the music to be so impactful.
This one, for instance, is INDEED closely related to the orchestral version - but you also entirely missed that *the first segment, Nightbloom, is a variation / rearrangement of **_Revolutions_** in a Minor key instead of a Major one,* which is another song you listened to.
You haven't heard it, but Wayward Daughter, fun fact, is *also* a variation on a pre-existing theme -- that of Yanxia, the area Tsukuyomi is from and rules over. The names of the day and night themes of that area reference her Mother and Father, who are ultimately at least SOMEWHAT responsible for turning her into the heinous bitch (or wayward daughter) she is.
Idk at least pinging someone and being like "yo have I heard related songs before" would be very much appreciated.
There is "Themes" through each expansion and you mentioned Stormblood feeling like there was one you remembered.
There is 2 in Stormblood but gotihic is kinda one. Stormblood had 2 parts to the story, tthe Desert / War part and the Eastern Asian part.
A Realm Reborn - "Classic Final Fantasy Style Music" (thanks Nobuo)
Most the music here is what you expect from a FF Game. While the type is music is very different the themes are very Core FF game thematically. ARR has some great music and its very nostalgic for older FF games. That said it does go hard like with Titan and Shiva. Shiva is probably my favorite music from ARR even though its post ARR but still such a good song and the Eden version is even better. ARR is just a very solid Final Fantasy soundtrack. "Answers" is the big ARR song for a lot of people.
Heavensward - "Gothic / Classical" style music with some outliers (Ravana and Sepirot outliers) (Dragonsong and Nidhogg as Gothic)
This was the main merging point of the old FF heavy themes and the newer Soken style blending. It has some very gorgeous music and its all just very heavy and sad thematically. Generally this is a high point in most peoples memories because its just the perfect ,ix of a lot of elements in writing and music and makes for such an engaging expansion with a very very solid theme. Sophia (Equilibrium) might be my fav from HW, there is also a very good Pulse Remix of it. HW was the first taste of "There is still more to tell" for FF14.
Stormblood Part 1 - "Gothic / Orchestral / Middle Eastern" style music in the Ala Mhigo section (Lakshmi for middle east and Shinryu for gothic)
This section in the Desert and during the main war plot is a interesting mix of middle eastern style music with some more gothic music to represent the war and just a really nice mix of orchestral too with stuff like "Revolutions". Its a very "sounds of war" feel. This part of the story is very different paced and its the start and end of the expansion so smaller sections but has some gorgeous music as Lakshmi's theme is one of my favs. The Pulse Remix of Lakshmi is God Tier, its FF Music meets Persona Music.
Stormblood Part 2 - "Eastern Asian Music Theme" (Susano, Tsukuyomi, Byakko, Suzaku, Seriyu)
The "Main meat" of Stormblood really and what most people think about from it is the Asia section and it is a mix of just very different kinds of music and visuals and is just such a nice change of pace. There is a lot of very great songs in this section and all heavily Asian themed but with twists. Suzaku is one of my personal favs along with Tsukuyomi, both are always playing in my personal house in game which is where i keep my "Top favs" playing on the playlist. My FC house is where is have the "Sounds of Sad" as i like to call it, using all the really hard hitting music because that is also my Trophy Room of all my accomplishments through the game.
Shadowbringers - "Rock / Orchestral / Orchestral Rock" music with a bit of everything (Shadowbringers, Innocence, To the Edge, Black Wolf)
Shadowbringers has the strongest musical theme you just always know a song is from this expansion when you hear it because its just a very unique feel. Generally considered some of the peak of FF music and storytelling as it was a big deal story wise and just was the perfect place to have fun with the music and Soken did. Titania's theme is one of my favorites from this expansion because its just so unsettleing but also happy but also just off sounding, such beautify song themeing. To the Edge is of course in the songs of sadge.
Endwalker - "Rock / Orchestral / Classic FF" style of music, its a mix of everything that came before and the End of this Final Fantasy Story. (Endcaller, Your Answer, Flow, The Final Day)
I would say Endwalker also has a very core music theme that you hear a song and know its from Endwalker as its all just sooooo powerful feeling, like it all just hits your soul musically. Its hard to explain but its the perfect music to the such a long told story with. Probably my fav track from this section is "Close in the Distance" for just how the song comes to be, its just beautiful story telling and music writing and it is just the perfect song to walk to the End to.
Post Endwalker - "You thought we were done?" music theme (Pandemonium / The 12's Themes)
The only way i can describe the post Endwalker music is as everything before it and everything past it too. Music showing there is still more tricks in the soundtrack's bag and room ahead to go even further. You hear this a lot with Pandemonium's music which is a lot of old themes come back to take it one step further. You hear this most with some of the final songs but also early songs, many of which are old music themes they used before taken further. Pandemonium 4 "Hic Svnt Leones" feels like the perfect mix of the classic FF sounds with Shadowbringers style and then pushed harder and further into its own style. Pandemonium 11 "Fleeting Moment" is the perfect evolution of "Near Dark Waters" and "To the Edge" but the "Heroic" version of those songs. Pandemonium 12 "The Tireless One" is also another pushing of themes as it feels to me like an evolution of the Shiva style of music we hear in ARR and Shadowbringers just modernized more which just works so well. The 12's themes are all really damn good and really fresh and new too. They dont really sound like anything before but are all so strong sounds that they just create this very specific feel. So far we only have 2/3rds of them but we are getting the last ones soon and i cant wait to see what the team still has in store for us. "in the Balance" and 'Dedicated to Moonlight" being the big standout songs so far for 12's themes.
This post got long but ive been around this series for a long time and have a lot to say about the journey. Its one of my favorite game soundtracks of all time easy. Its just been such a journey from the start to the end. The only way i can explain it is it feels like you felt when you played through all the old FF games growing up, stories told every couple years in your life that affected you greatly and made you a better person through it, thats been the FF game series for me from 1-14 over the past 30 years of my life. Thats the feeling FF14 gives as it was a story told over almost the the same amount of time as FF1 to FF10; 1 to 10 is 14 years long (87 to 01) and 14 is 10 years long (13 to 23 or 11 to 21 depending how you count it). Poetic.
I hope you still enjoying hearing FF14 songs for the next 8 years as you work your way through the soundtrack, it should be a ride for you too.
I've been waiting for him to hear this for a hot minute now
The Stormblood expansion has some of my favorite music for this game.
Man, I was just fighting her yesterday and thought, how amazing the song was 3 years ago (first time listening)
both choruses,rhythms, transitions phases and story being presented by music,
it's more Sad than Demonic, but yes, Yotsuyu could live, but Tsukuyomi needs to die, and both are the same
and now, and today, you put reaction to it,
good timing Uncle Jesse!
BTW all, Husky is going to be performing at Lunarcon next week! I assume he'll be streaming on RUclips.
So, the three sections of this song really does reflect the character better than probably any other boss in the game. Like, her fight - and every aspect of the fight, from the mechanics to the set dressing to the music - act as a condensed version of her story from start to finish.
So, section 1 - you called Nightbloom which honestly if it isn't the actual name it probably should be - does feel very militaristic which reflects her status as a Viceroy. She was put in charge of governing her home nation after an empire conquered it. Except... she *hates* her homeland. In her "youth" (game doesn't elaborate beyond that what age she wactually was), she was sold to a brothel, and was consistently treated like garbage by the people that should have been looking out for her and she understandably gets some joy out of bringing that pain and anger back to the nation she now found herself in charge of.
Section 2 - Lunacy - represents where her character went after the big confrontation with her earlier in the game. Where she had a second chance. A guy who had been very gung ho about killing her, now finds himself as a self-appointed guardian, having kind of adopted her as a surrogate daughter after she lost her memory and all that malice and hatred just... evaporated. But the specters of her past (manifested literally in the fight as ghosts attacking her) keeps threatening to pull her back from that chance of happiness and peace.
Section 3 - Wayward Daughter proper - is something of a finding peace and harmony between those halves. If she can't have the happiness and peace dangled before her, then she can at least savor the thrill of the battle immediately before her. There, she has discarded who she was - both the Viceroy and Tsuyu - and is now just her. Lost in that singular moment, and focused on the people who really put her there. After all, the whole thing is - in part at least - an excuse to kill her brother who dragged her away from her happiness.
The tragedy of reconnecting with your inner child, but too late to heal it
i was waiting for this since last year, yeeeees!!!
To be fair the reason it was longer was mostly because it was set on loop while the person in the video did the fight.
You really should play the game. How Tsukuyomi came to be is really quite tragic.
Minimal spoiler summary if you're interested in understanding the context better:
This is a villain who initially seemed completely irredeemable, but then you learn more about her and she's almost given a chance at redemption and a happy life just to end up being turned into the villain you initially believed she was going to be, yet now wish she wasn't.
Oh Yotsuyu, you poor, terrible monster 😢 Poor Gosetsu😢
Most emotional part of the expansion for me.
(I wasn't gonna say anything spoilery but apparently everyone else already has)
Omg I'm glad you know Gojira :D
AND HUSKYYYYY, FRANCE POWER INDEED
I really hope someone requests the 10 year community medley at some point. Because i feel like Jesse already heard almost all of the songs they used in there
hmm...
These set of songs are the ones I would pick if I just had to pick only one song to show someone what FFXIV music is like (and I can get away with that technicality because these songs are really just one song, they all play together in the fight). They showcase every aspect of Soken's breadth of sounds and it ties so beautifully to the story. This fight is an underrated masterpiece, not enough people bring it up when talking about great fights in FFXIV.
Like u enjoy it. The structure are quite unique.
I wouldn’t say stormblood was necessarily “darker” than the other expansions, but it 100% felt more personal? It was a whole expansion about very real issues like war and tyranny and the long term effects on cultures that are in the middle of stuff like that. So while other expansions were darker in theme stormblood had that sense of like dark relatable realness that you don’t get from expansions about dragons or other fantasy stuff
We need to make it a 100k celebration you get into 14
Funny that you get the sense that Stormblood is darker than the other expansions, I found it to be, this part aside, like coming up for air compared to the expansions that bookend it. Felt much lighter overall.
To give some context. Things like night and day and mirrors are very woven into her character. One of those people who is evil with a part of her that is innocent.
I'm surprised it took him this long to watch this one