I just finished Shadowbringers and...[Spoiler: 5.0]

RSS News

Syndicated News Service
First of all, I've been playing the game for months, it's truly incredible, it's become one of my favorite Final Fantasy games! I love Alphinaud's character, I love the WoL, I love the music, the story, and the narrative!.

I finished Shadowbringers a week ago, it was a great experience. I had some issues with its narrative; it's not particularly my favorite and some parts felt like a slog but... in the end, it was totally worth it! I don't think it's the best expansion, that's Heavensward, but ShB definitely takes second place! There are so many things I'd like to comment on, but I think everyone knows the main reason to play ShB is Him.

Emet-Selch or Hades, a morally grey character. On one hand, he's an "Ascian," one of the few survivors of a race that met a tragic fate at the hands of their own. He's a weary man but with incredible willpower, endowed with unprecedented magical power that he never flaunts. He's loyal to his race but unable to disregard the fragmented beings. Someone who forged a militaristic, expansionist empire yet loved the arts, critique, and the humanity shown by his servants. A man of many faces burdened with a cruel destiny. He hates the idea of performing the Rejoinings but must do it for the sake of his race. He hates being the monster and staining his hands with the blood of innocent people, but he does it because his will is infinite. He's not a hero or a villain; he's simply someone who can't let go of the past and also can't ignore the present! His character has so many nuances; he's contradictory yet genuine.

My first impression was totally sour. Seeing this character acting like a cartoonish villain in SB left a bad taste in my mouth. I thought: "Another bland villain, I already had enough with Zenos. Game, please don't give me another disappointment!" But in ShB, he totally changes. I have a theory that the Emet-Selch we knew in SB and the one in ShB are not the same, but I can't confirm it. I'm not sure, but certain things like his expressions and poses are totally different from the ones in ShB. In ShB, he doesn't come across as cruel or bloodthirsty; he seems like a completely tired guy who has to repeat the same thing over and over. The scene where he confronts the Scions and his expressions contradict his own words shows me that! Maybe I'm reading too much into the character, but he's definitely the best thing about Shadowbringers.

My favorite scene is when they're fixing the path to Mt. Gulg and he appears and opens up to you. He talks about how seeing those conquered by the WoL put aside their differences, help build a future just as he tried to do, and how seeing something like that reminds him of the glorious days when the Ancients were all people who helped each other, where everyone could understand one another and something like "division" didn't exist. Beautiful from his perspective, but frankly sad because he's a tormented soul who had to witness firsthand how his friends and loved ones were reduced to nothing. I'm not justifying his actions; he's a murderer, he helped kill millions of people, but I can understand why he would seek to restore his race.

I love his character. Too bad it's over! But I was told we can get to know him more in-depth in EW, so I'm excited!.

I wrote this right after I finished ShB back in February. Now I'm on 5.3. The patches for the following expansions are always incredible, and certainly in ShB, it's not disappointing! I'd like to talk about many more characters like Alphinaud, who is directly the best Scion and the third-best character in this game! Or Ardbert, the very personification of tragedy, but I think I'll make a post commenting on that another time. I really hope it maintains the level, and once again this game shows me that there are great people behind it! Seeing Elidibus possess Ardbert's corpse made me angry, it infuriated me, but so far he isn't doing anything that tarnishes his name which is being cleared!

Remember...remember us... Remember...that we once lived...

https://preview.redd.it/gjflafb6qip...bp&s=9760b69310e36636d457929ddc621fe2ecda92f8

submitted by /u/Aetherventus
[link] [comments]

Continue reading...
 
Back
Top