TYFP

Destrado. Nihilism. Suicidal Ideation and Suicide.

Low points: moon bunny parts, Zenos

High points: Elpis story line, Ultima Thule

It’s hard to call the high points ‘high’ in this story. Epic, well written, deft, thorough, moving, thrilling, almost all of which are calamitous, but to me ‘high’ feels too happy. Which very much of this experience is not.

Its hard to come up with a way to praise Endwalker that won’t sound like fanboying, because everyone who reviews the game falls in love with, and like the despair during the final days is spreads. 

It will be easiest to get the low points out of the way first. The moon bunnies are are hit or miss, Livingway’s dialogue being their sole saving grace. They are too cartoonish to affect any actual comedy relief, and don’t really offer any reprieve from the otherwise nihilistic and heavy main story line. The second miss in the tale is Zenos. His alliance with Fandaniel turns out to be completely useless to both of them, making Zenos feel as if he were shoehorned in because he’s liked by Square Enix. Before the scene where Fandaniel takes Zodiark from him, he almost achieves some semblance of presence, and very nearly does so at the very end of the narrative; however the other events surrounding him and starring him drift too far into generic anime storyline that it forced me to actually cringe. Specifically, his arrival at the end. There was no reason for Krile to trust him in any way and there was no hint that there was any remainder of “mother crystal” left for him to feed on. He was a flawed character from his inception and he never really recovers here. How he conveniently refuses to attack or use our allies as any kind of bait grates, and the body switch scene, while initially shocking and dramatic, makes no sense from Zenos’ stand point. His intent is to face the Warrior of Light, both of them at their peak, thus placing the hero into an extremely weakened state is completely counter productive. Paired with his refusal to harm our allies, when it would be easy for him to do so to stoke our rage, makes him the worst part of the narrative entirely. When he arrives at the end it beggars belief that Krile would help him, let alone he would ‘make a deal’ with anyone beneath him. The line “I take it this is your prey, but why does it yet live…etc” is the best line he has the entire expansion. While the final fight with him ends in a visually pleasing way, his claims that the Warrior of Light longs to die in combat like him is jarring.

There were some anime/JRPG tropes that usually come up disappointing for the hastiness and exposition it requires to force into a limited story format. Things that leave a bad taste in the mouth during anime series or Final Fantasy 9 where the real super bad guy is introduced at the end.

Revealing Meteion as a character in what is essentially the final 10% of the narrative and revealing her to be the (kind of, part of) primary villain even later was an extremely risky move. But it works amazingly well. The character as introduced immediately endears the player, and through her interactions she is revealed to be an intricately written character. From the stutter in her speech to her insistence that “apples covered in syrup” are her favorite food (she cannot eat) the character is fleshed out in remarkable fashion and detail in an efficient timeframe. The nature of her eventual turn to villain is fast, but seems so natural to her character that it strikes truly as a natural matter of course. Her acceptance also comes from the impressive narrative crafting power of Ishikawa and Yoshida in making a puzzle out of the mystery of the Final Days, and introducing Meteion as the missing puzzle piece. Clumsier execution of the character would have resulted in the player feeling like she was hamfisted into the story and would have removed the very real pangs of sorrow the character imparts on the player. 

Then there were the really profound elements of the story.

The storyline in Elpis is amazing. Looking at the characters, and their completeness is astounding, and every member of the dev team deserves adulation for it. From their looks, to their dialogue, to the music and how it subtly works off queues from the conversations is absolutely painfully beautiful. Hythlodaeus exudes friendship and warmth, Emet-Selch’s cantankerous delivery of his lines thinly masking his love for his friends, and Hermes’ quiet anguish are all perfect. Venat’s interactions with them rounds out their ‘party’ and the introduction to the person who held the seat of Azem before the Warrior of LIght is a interesting interaction. The exploration of the role of Azem, and how the various persons to fill the seat are beloved by all but Emet, feels right and is satisfying. Being able to use Emet, Hythlodaeus and Venat as allies in the dungeon here was a perfect choice. The culmination of Hermes’ betrayal of his friends, and then of himself is hard to rewatch. Witnessing the man crumble in the face of the nothingness he discovered hearkens to our own feelings of despair, and Hermes grows closer to the viewer’s heart through this shared suffering. Likewise Venat working with her disciples reflection from the future and seeing her take a liking to the player character is warming, comforting even. Taking a moment to think back on this part after completing the game really has an impact; Venat watched her friends and loved ones and people die over and over, spent thousands of years alone in the aetherial sea; waiting for a shard of her friend and student to be born on the source that would make the journey to the past and remember her. And all along, she she did what she could for her star and children. Facing her in a rematch, this time as the will of the star, sets up the chapters’ closure, where tearfully, everyone says their goodbyes. Venat surrenders everything she has left to fuel the flight of her champion, telling the scions as well that she has always, and will always love them.

Using the Scions as trust allies for the trial at the Mother Crystal was a good decision in engaging the player. The trust system utilized in Shadowbringers (adapted from the system in FFXI) was a risk taken no doubt. Many people began to ask why it was being implemented, and naysayers loudly stated it was the harbinger of the end of the MMO aspect of the game. While it is easy, narratively, to see random adventurers meeting up at a tavern to plumb the depths of Wanderer’s Palace; its far more natural for the story to have the Scions in the party to fight Hydaelin. The narrative bonus of taking the Scions through dungeons is far more rewarding than a party of random players. All those who were worried about it damaging the game’s inegrity as an MMO were proven wrong however, as the roulette system, Free Companies, and Party Finder all keep the multiplayer aspects of the game alive and healthy.

But the hardest part is still ahead.

The final zone, Ultima Thule, left such a draining impact on me that I after unlocking flying and the optional dungeon there I haven’t returned. The music and desolation serve as a permanent reminder of what the Warrior of Light and Scions went through to finish their quest. The sequence of Scions committing suicide to advance the Warrior of Light and the remaining Scions left me and my wife gasping at points, especially after Urianger’s revelation that he wanted to end it most of all. I still struggle, days later, to fully express my feelings over his revelation, his guilt. The sorrow of the events in Ultima Thule is stark and piercing. I found myself feeling things I had never felt over a video game before, things that I had felt about real experiences in my life began to rise up in my chest. I wasn’t feeling bad in an artificial way for Urianger’s guilt over his betrayals, but I was suddenly attacked by reminders of feelings I had after betraying someone’s trust or lying to a friend or family member. The tragedy throughout Endwalker ended up finding a home in my heart over and over, especially in the last half of the game. 

After crossing the crystal bridge, and alone, encountering the black voices of the lost. You are faced with the loneliness of the Warrior of Light; because after all this time, the Scions, your friends, your own life, were naught but fuel and engine to carry you to the end of the universe to face oblivion and save Her remaining children. The cost of what it took to get a weapon within striking distance of the end of all life was indeed high, and the fact that it was eagerly paid by those needed to sacrifice for it makes it no easier to bear.

Listening to Flow on repeat hasn’t been conducive to my emotional state in the slightest. 

I don’t have the strength to even write this right now, it’s taken me days to put these thoughts together. I truly do hope that Hythlodaeus’s wish does come true some day far into the future: that he is reunited with Hades, Venat, and Azem.