Final Fantasy 14’s 2010 launch was a disaster that the collection barely survived. It was solely by sheer perseverance and willpower that it did, the builders at Square Enix grinding away in their very own real-world MMO.
Naoki Yoshida was given an opportunity to take the wheel and proper the ship. In the top, he and staff did so spectacularly and have cast maybe gaming’s biggest comeback story. In September of 2013, the realm of Eorzea was reborn.
Six years have handed since Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn launched and its gamers first ventured into the land of Eorzea as The Warrior of Light.
In that point, they’ve introduced peace to the Holy See of Ishgard after a thousand years of the Dragonsong War, toppled the Garlean Empire’s occupation of the city-state of Ala Mhigo, and thwarted the Ascian cult’s efforts to summon the evil god Zodiark. Every deed of heroism achieved for the sunshine, for the spectrum all of us see as righteous.
Then Shadowbringers blew out the candles and left gamers at the hours of darkness.
In Final Fantasy 14’s latest world, Norvrandt, life has been torn out on the root by a malevolent flood of brightness. Forests are actually deserts, kingdoms are actually tombs, and the people who stay concern that they may contort into eldritch horrors. Norvrandt has not seen the evening sky in a century. If gamers wish to save this world, they need to solid apart their incandescent title and grow to be The Warrior of Darkness.
“With the narrative of Shadowbringers, we focused on why so many people associate everything moral and virtuous with light,” Natsuko Ishikawa, foremost situation author for Shadowbringers, explains. “To some people, what may seem like the right of way, or what’s true or good for them might not necessarily be good for everyone.”
In Eorzea, gamers have all the time been champions of the sunshine. Every selfless deed and victory bell toll was achieved so underneath The Warrior of Light guise. Light is sweet, and darkness is evil. It’s a motif that’s been with the style’s storytelling for so long as anybody can bear in mind.
But in Norvrandt, The Warrior of Light is nobody. Nothing.
“We had the concept of turning the light vs. darkness motif on its head because we wanted players to consider how critical perspective is,” Ishikawa explains. “Players have already seen how Eorzea’s individuals view gentle as every little thing that’s ‘good’. However, gentle is the mark of evil in Norvrandt. That’s why in Shadowbringers, being a champion of darkness was an effective way to introduce that idea.
“Part of why we’re comfy doing the flipside of those motifs is that Final Fantasy 14’s narrative is ongoing. The story dates again for years now – there’s a number of materials to work with and juxtapose. Whereas if it have been a standalone title, a number of the time, it’s important to conclude the story in a single sitting. So it isn’t as straightforward to current a number of views.”
Of course, gamers want a tangible adversary to do battle with, which is the place the Sin Eaters are available. These beings are the ushers of the encroaching gentle — luminescent beasts hellbent on snuffing out all life in Norvrandt.
“We took two distinct approaches when designing Sin Eaters,” Takeo Suzuki, artwork staff lead on Shadowbringers, says. “There have been many alternative sorts of Sin Eaters that appeared all through the story that gamers needed to combat. So we needed many ranging designs.
“Unfortunately, there was not sufficient workers to create the numerous Sin Eaters we had imagined. So we needed to be environment friendly with the property already at our disposal. Some of our current monster designs already had a base coloration of white or blue, leaving us with the query: ‘can we do coloration variants on these?’”
“The other approach was a lot more work,” Ishikawa provides. “For the Lightwardens, the major Sin Eaters, an original model was created for each. These used to be a living being that was twisted into a Sin Eater by the light. So care was taken to ensure we honored what the Lightwardens originated from, whether it was a person or an animal.”
Perhaps essentially the most harrowing scene in Shadowbringers is witnessing one in all these transformations for the primary time. Limbs contort within the incorrect route as sinew tears, all whereas the sufferer writhes in agony. Horror is uncommon in Final Fantasy, nevertheless it was completely intentional.
“It’s a graphic sequence, but we wanted this scene to set the tone for the rest of the expansion,” Ishikawa states. “I kind of feel bad for players that are not fans of horror and that scene may have been too scary,” she says this whereas brandishing a devilish smile.
Shadowbringers’s narrative didn’t simply spring out of the bottom, although. The seeds have been planted in patch 2.1, A Realm Awoken, which was launched again in December of 2013. This launched gamers to the Crystal Tower storyline and its foremost character G’raha Tia. Though regardless of how well-tended the soil was, the staff couldn’t assure the story would play out precisely as envisioned.
“When work began on A Realm Reborn and the re-launch, we couldn’t be sure that there would ever be an expansion, let alone three of them,” Ishikawa says. “So the narrative might by no means go away gamers hanging for too lengthy or clamoring for resolutions that will by no means come into fruition. Each storyline must be resolved to some extent.
“However, we do go away sure unfastened ends. For instance, the Crystal Tower alliance raid collection. Part of that conclusion contained a component that we needed to make use of for a future storyline — a cliff-hanger of types. With Shadowbringers, we might lastly return to it. So there are hints like that sprawled out like that inside Final Fantasy 14’s overarching narrative, and we attempt to join these dots once we discover the proper time for them.”
The cliff-hanger she’s referring to concerned G’raha Tia being sealed away within the Crystal Tower. At the time, most gamers assumed they might by no means see him once more; he could be misplaced to time perpetually.
Then the Crystal Exarch, a brand new, mysterious hooded character launched in Shadowbringers, had his cowl torn again to disclose his true id. After six years of story patches and a number of other expansions, G’raha Tia returned, and long-time followers misplaced their shit.
“It’s an important reveal and significant moment for many reasons, not just for players, but for those of us on the development team as well,” Ishikawa explains. “It’s an instance of these unfastened ends we go away coming round full circle later down the road.
“But on the identical time, we needed individuals to come back to love the Crystal Exarch with out understanding his backstory. So that no matter their familiarity with the Crystal Tower storyline, previous and new gamers alike received to know him on the identical phrases. It’s why his face is hidden for many of Shadowbringers. Though, after all, those who performed by the Crystal Tower collection first would have that added surprising reveal. So we weren’t afraid to have a place the place some gamers may not have the entire reality behind him.”
Those narrative unfastened ends left by the staff additionally allowed them to develop upon quite a few earlier storylines that have been a bit undercooked. In patch 3.4, Soul Surrender, which was launched in September 2016, gamers clashed swords with a bunch known as The Warriors of Darkness. They had no correct names, and there was a imprecise point out of them being from a dying world consumed by gentle. It was arduous to care on the time. It was the eve of the Stormblood enlargement’s announcement, which targeted on the right here and now in Eorzea, not some far off world that didn’t have a reputation. Soul Surrender got here and went like a nasty filler arch in a main time drama. As it seems, the Soul Surrender patch was the muse for Shadowbringers.
That dying world was Norvrandt, and the chief of The Warriors of Darkness was a spunky chap named Ardbert, now your predecessor and a ghostly companion that guides gamers all through Shadowbringers. Ardbert confides in gamers that he and his comrades have been not directly liable for the flood of sunshine ravaging their homeland. They thought vanquishing darkness would result in an period of peace to Norvrandt.
“We didn’t want to paint Ardbert and his cohorts as villains,” Ishikawa states. “With the brand new role-quest system, you’ll be able to witness their triumphs, development, and inevitable fall. They had a historical past of serving to the downtrodden, of being heroes. Unfortunately, they made an enormous mistake, and their world suffered for it.
“People are inclined to imagine that darkness is inherently evil, and Ardbert thought in order effectively. He didn’t discover the evil on this gentle till it was too late. If he paid nearer consideration quite than act on intuition, issues could be totally different. From a situation perspective, Ardbert is a reminder that folks can have the perfect intentions and nonetheless fail. Again, perspective is necessary.”
Though for as magnificent because the Crystal Exarch, Ardbert, and the remainder of the Shadowbringers solid may be, one gaudy fellow with a swagger stole the present: Emet Selch, the villain of not simply this enlargement, however the architect of a lot injustice, struggling, and tragedy in Final Fantasy 14.
“I adore writing ‘last bosses’,”Ishikawa explains. “I love the concept of that kind of villain. Not just Emet Selch or any other specific character, but someone that thinks they’re in the right when in reality, their actions are monstrous. They might have a striking background that makes them relatable on some level, yet you still need to defeat them because they’re evil. I’m very proud of how I could depict Emet in the narrative.”
Even although we’re just a few months faraway from Shadowbringer’s launch, Emet Selch’s reputation has skyrocketed, with many contemplating him to be in the identical league as Final Fantasy 6’s Kefka and Final Fantasy 7’s Sephiroth when it comes to the collection finest villains.
“His popularity was utterly unexpected,” Suzuki states. “When I was designing the model from his build to his hair, to his form, to his face, he’s not exactly the best looking guy. I couldn’t believe people took such a liking to him.”
“I put a lot of work into writing Emet. He was my character, so, you know, I wanted him to be popular,” Ishikawa provides. Everyone within the room laughs.
From Rinoa and Squall in Final Fantasy eight to Tidus and Yuna in Final Fantasy 10, the collection has an extended, storied historical past with romance as a core theme. Due to its nature as an MMO, Final Fantasy 14 can’t incorporate romances into its foremost story. However, the builders have been pleased to incorporate ambiguous strains and content material that enable gamers to fill within the void of romance with characters like Ser Aymeric, Haurchefant, and G’raha Tia. With followers taking such a shine to Emet, many have debated if his relationship with the participant character had a romantic tinge to it.
“We are very particular when it comes to platonic and romantic relationships with the characters in Final Fantasy 14,” Ishikawa explains. “Especially of their relation to the participant character. Sometimes we get away with little scenes hinting at romance, for instance, the transient change with Alisaie in Shadowbringers. In most circumstances, although, it’s as much as the participant to find out what the connection is.
“So should you imagined there’s a romantic ingredient with a specific character, you’re completely superb in doing so. However, we won’t explicitly say whether or not a personality’s relationship with the participant is romantic or platonic. I do know this reply might sound unfair to some, however we do love that gamers can interpret these relationships in many alternative methods.”
There’s ambiguity, after which there’s issues gamers can solely speculate about. One such element is the white streak in Emet Selch’s hair. With the sunshine and darkish motifs of Shadowbringers, one has to marvel if it has thematic significance relating to to the idea of excellent and evil, gentle and darkness.
“Ishikawa is the only one that knows the answer to that question,” Suzuki says.
Ishikawa smiles and shrugs.
“It’s true. Maybe you will find out why and perhaps you won’t. Emet’s hair is like that for a reason, though.” Ishikawa states.
“The team is looking forward to finding out, along with the rest of you,” Suzuki replies.
Norvrandt isn’t simply one other world to discover although; it’s a mirror picture of Eorzea. The maritime land of Kholusia bears a lot of the identical iconography as La Noscea. From dock employees breaking their backs in industrialized seaport cities to the infinite blue of the ocean scraping on the horizon, the visible parallels are arduous to overlook.
“That was intentional by design,” Suzuki explains. “From a creator’s perspective, of course, it is easier to repurpose environments that already exist. That’s not what we did, though. We made some difficult decisions when it came to retaining the spirit of those old [A Realm Reborn] zones while bringing something new to them as well.”
“I feel bad because I’m part of the group that would give the design team requests on how the different arena would look,” Ishikawa provides. “Amh Araeng, in particular, was hard for the teams to coalesce on because it wasn’t supposed to be yet another desert environment. There needed to be some visual distinction to the representation.”
Suzuki grimaces a bit and stares on the ceiling.
“Yes, Amh Araeng was hard,” he sighs. “We needed to make it appear like the buildings within the zone eroded as a result of all of the wind and the sand; which is one thing the artwork staff had by no means achieved earlier than. It was an enormous problem.
“With the earlier expansions, the zones complimented new gameplay methods. Those being flying mounts in Heavensward, and swimming in Stormblood. So there have been many excessive peaks within the former and deep oceans within the latter. But with Shadowbringers, we didn’t have any new gameplay mechanics per se, so we weren’t designing zones based mostly mechanics this time. Just our imaginations. It was liberating regardless of nonetheless being tough.”
The map zones weren’t the one space the place the artwork and writing groups needed to grit their tooth to keep away from an deadlock. Amaurot, the ultimate dungeon, examined them as effectively.
In Amaurot, gamers witness the top of a world, the bookend of a long-dead civilization. It’s a harrowing imaginative and prescient. Skyscrapers collapse and bury a fleeing populace alive, whereas fireplace rains from the heavens rending the floor glass. All of this occurs whereas Emet Selch recounts the tragedy in your ear, a painful inflection in his voice.
“There were several iterations of Amaurot before we got it right,” Ishikawa explains. “Some of the discussions we had with the dungeon designers involved the dungeon coming to an end around phase two in the actual game. Before you go into space.”
Ishikawa wasn’t happy. So she pushed the designers to go greater.
“So when the dungeon team came to me and presented Amaurot’s finale. I said ‘that’s not what I wanted, let’s go higher, up into the stratosphere – I wanted to see the stars!’,” she says. “It was important for the story because I wanted players to see the whole planet was in danger.”
Her persistence paid off. In the ultimate game, at this level in Amaurot, there’s a transition from the planet’s floor up into house.
“When I heard that’s what she wanted, I was a bit worried,” Suzuki admits. “The scale was immense, like nothing the dungeon team had done before. But I’m glad she pitched the idea and pushed us further. The final product was well worth it.”
A through-line on this enlargement is the entire staff coming to belief Ishikawa with Final Fantasy 14’s writing reins. Like the expansions earlier than it, Shadowbringers has a musical quantity that encapsulates the story’s themes: Tomorrow And Tomorrow.
Pray don’t neglect us
Your bygone kin
With one world’s finish
Does a brand new start
And ought to our souls scatter
Unto the wind
Still we will reside on
“Tomorrow And Tomorrow is meant to be from the perspective of someone going away, passing the torch to another person or generation,” Ishikawa explains. “In Shadowbringers, it could be from the perspective of several characters. Maybe it’s from those that turned into a Sin Eater to those that are still alive. Perhaps it’s from G’raha Tia, Ardbert, or Emet Selch towards the player, or the Ancients to everyone that lives in modern times. It’s about trusting those that come after you.”
With Shadowbringers, Natsuko Ishikawa was given an opportunity to pen the storyline. The end result propelled Final Fantasy 14 to heights and additional solidified it as one of many biggest Final Fantasy games ever made. Time and time once more, Final Fantasy 14 has confirmed that passing the torch is important to survival. So lengthy as the brand new blood remembers to face tall.
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