Launch Trailer Hype Thread

[ZhaneX]

I took the line about bending vs breaking in an ominous tone... it's better to bow to the empire than be broken by it...

Yet it was also paired with the line "therein lies hope". While the paired "therein lies freedom" might imply something like finding peace in enslavement, "therein lies hope" almost seems to imply waiting for the opportune moment to strike back against your oppressors.

[YianKutku]

Yet it was also paired with the line "therein lies hope". While the paired "therein lies freedom" might imply something like finding peace in enslavement, "therein lies hope" almost seems to imply waiting for the opportune moment to strike back against your oppressors.

Assuming the line is said by Yotsuyu, the key word in there would probably be "waiting". As in not acting immediately or in the near future, but waiting for some undefined moment in the far future, during which time Yotsuyu and the Imperial occupation can continue to strengthen their rule.

I think she's making that speech to the subjugated Domans (or presenting it as her justification to the WoL or some such) in order to quell their discontent. (Or try to, at any rate.) Don't resist and rebel, but just accept your current situation, and you'll live to see another day.

[ZhaneX]

-Snip-

Seems a very valid inference to make. Particularly given her rather condescending tone of voice.

[CatStarPrime]

I would offer, that, near the end of 3.0, Midgardsormer hizzownself said of us - the WoL - "Of all thy kind, none is stronger" - or very close to those words.

So unless you opine, Middy is playing fourteen layers deep in his own game (possible) and lying about that; in that particular moment in the Story - the WoL is, in fact, practically undefeatable, 1v1, against "our kind" - humanoids (?).

The only thing which keeps the WoL from being an unstoppable Mighty Engine of Destruction, is the Plot Railroad.

[Cilia]

Yotsuyu's line is actually very familiar to me. I remember an aphorism that was something like "trees are ripped up in hurricanes, but reeds bend," which is close enough to what she's saying. It's supposed to mean something along the lines of "accept change or you will be left in the past," which to her credit does seem to be what Yotsuyu is telling people. Only by embracing change can you find hope and freedom; clinging to the past results only in misery (see: Dragonsong War). The problem is that the kind of change Garlemald brings... isn't wholly good. (Other than technological advancement it's wholly bad, actually.) Being someone who has benefited from the change Garlemald brought to Doma, Yotsuyu would naturally try and push others to do so as well... or use it as an excuse to abuse her power and tyrannize the citizens.

Midgardsormr's comment on our strength... well, to be philosophical about it, he probably wasn't talking about our combat prowess, but our resilience and fortitude. Hydaelyn allowed him to seal away the Blessing for the express purpose of showing him why we are Her chosen, and the sheer amount of crap we went through from 2.55 to 3.0 (End) without losing our way did just that. Note that strength does not equate to power - while we might have more resilience and fortitude than anyone else, that doesn't mean we're the greatest fighter on Hydaelyn. From what we've seen so far Zenos appears to be superior to us, at least in terms of raw power, and we'll need to find a way to bridge that gap one way or another.

[Cilia]

Ultimately it comes down to the fact that, even if you want to discount the Blessing of Light granting us power on some occasions, the number and variety of enemies we've faced should allow us to match Zenos blow for blow thanks to sheer skill - yet what I've seen suggests he's going to curbstomp us early in 4.0. This could only be explained logically by him having some kind of power booster... that's my best guess, at least.

Anyway, since I did something like this before Heavensward, here's some fun.

Warrior of Light: A-TEN HUT!

Alphinaud: Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Alphinaud Leveilleur, and I'm puttin' together a special team, and I need me eight Scions. Eight Doman and Eorzean Scions. Now y'all mighta heard rumors about the Assault happenin' soon. Well, we'll be leavin' a little early. We're gonna be dropped into Othard, dressed as civilians, and once we're in enemy territory, as a bushwhackin' guerrilla army, we're gonna be doin' one thang and one thang only: killin' Imperials. Now I don't know 'bout 'chall, but I sure as Hells din't come outta Sharlayan, cross three thousand malms o' water, fight my way through half a' Gyr Abania, and jump outta a [kupo!] aeroship to teach the Imperials lessons in humanity. Imperial ain't got no humanity. They're the footsoldiers of a beastman hatin', mass-murderin' maniac and they need to be deestroyed. That's why any and every sumbitch we find wearin' an Imperial uniform... they're gon' die. Now I am the grandson of Louisoix Leveilleur. That means I'm from Sharlayan. But our battle plan will be the opposite of a Sharlayan resistance! We will be cruel to the Garleans, and through our cruelty they will know who we are. And they will find the evidence of our cruelty in the disemboweled, dismembered, and disfigured bodies of their kin we leave behind us. And the Garlean won't be able to help themselves but imagine the cruelty their kin endured at our hands, and our boot heels, and the edge of our knives. And the Garlean will be sickened by us, and the Garlean will talk about us, and the Garlean will fear us.

*Warrior of Light grins*

Alphinaud: And when the Garlean closes their eyes at night, and they are tortured by their subconscious for all the evil they have done, it will be with thoughts of us they are tortured with. ... SOUND GOOD?!

Scions: YES SIR!

Alphinaud: That's what I like to hear. But I got a word of warnin' for all you would-be liberators. When you join my command you take on a debit. A debit you owe me, personally. Each and every Scion under my command owes me one hundred Imperial eyes! And I want my eyes! And all y'all will get me one hundred Imperial eyes, taken from the heads of one hundred dead Imperials! Or you will die tryin'!

Yes, I am aware the Inglorious Basterds are not exactly heroic; that's half the point of the film.

[CatStarPrime]

I will still fall back on, Midgardsormr's words to us, when he remarked, of all our kind, none were stronger than us.

Now, there are many aspects to strength, as we know. Strong as we are, we still fell victim to an ordinary citizen drugging us to sleep, just as one example.

The only way Zenos beats us in a straight-up fight, is under extenuating circumstances of wounds, weakness, fatigue, surprise - or circumstances of character; put most succinctly by someone who said "No. You are not evil. There are some things you just won't do, no matter what. For you the end does not justify the means. (Baddie X) doesn't have that problem."

[Balipu]

i honestly wouldn't mind if he really were that much stronger. It's only the second expansion. It's a bit early to be demigods. Who will be a credible threat in 9.0?

But really we have no idea how he beats us. Even the "I'm gonna let you live cause you are not strong enough" part is just speculation. And I sure hope it will end up being wrong.

[Enkidoh]

In keeping with the current speculation and debate on just how strong Zenos is and how and why we're apparently so easily routed by him in the trailer, I just noticed an important detail I have not yet seen mentioned that hints at how the expansion's storyline is going to be executed. Everyone seems to assume that the Resistance launches an attack on Ala Mhigo which they claim victory for, only for Zenos and Fordola to launch a feint and rout them, forcing the player to Doma to get added support.

Now, what I noticed in the trailer is right at the very end, where is shows Zenos about to strike down Derplander in the rain (the scene where Urianger? recites the most recent New Year's poem), behind Zenos can be seen not what would be assumed to be Ala Mhigan structures as seen at Rhalgr's Reach.... but that weird magitek gate that protects Doma Castle.

Therefore, what if the story gives the player a choice of which path to take, which ultimately lead to the same conclusion? What if, early on in the expansion, the player is asked to either proceed to Rhalgr's Reach and assist the Resistance in retaking Ala Mhigo, or head eastwards across the ocean to Othard with Goesetsu and Yugiri? And that at some point during both scenarios, the insurrection against the Garleans fails horribly when Zenos shows up and makes sport of the player (for whatever reason), and then they proceed to the 'other' region to regroup and gain support?

It seems to definitely make the "Two paths, two swords" line in Revolutions ring true, as well as support a comment I understand that Yoshi made a while ago about Stormblood's storyline that "the player has a choice between two scenarios early on and which path they take is up to them".

Either way, we'll find out in a few days if I'm right or horribly off the mark.

As for Zenos's strength, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and think that we just severely underestimated him, given the previous legatee we've rumbled with have been.. well.. already humbled before we fought them. Gaius was somewhat of a combat pragmatist who tended to actually prefer not to fight himself if he could help it - he only fought us in the Praetorium because we had disposed of everything else he threw at us!; Nael Ulua was already unhinged before the final battle of 1.0, and her rematch in the Second Coil was just a mere fragment of memory wearing her face; and Regula... kept running away every time we challenged him!

Zenos is clearly different to those earlier three, as he is an unknown quantity, underestimating him is probably what leads to our defeat in that scene, which also explains how Yugiri's Doman Insurrection was put down if he was that powerful (and why he was tasked with filling Gaius's vacant position as Viceroy of Ala Mhigo - what better way to finally bring those troublesome Eorzeans finally to heel?).

EDIT: And silly me just realized I made a blunder with the Revolutions line - it's not "Two paths" but "Two lives" But I guess metaphorically you can take that to mean the same thing.

[Theodric]

The Warrior of Light and Scions being unable to charge in and easily defeat their latest key opponent is one of the best things that can happen with the game's story. A bitter struggle is much more engaging than seeing yet another key antagonist being overwhelmed the moment that they cross blades with the Warrior of Light and his allies. The ridiculous amount of plot armour surrounding the protagonists will - hopefully - also be reduced during 4.0 so that the antagonists can be allowed to be a legitimate threat.

It's a disgrace that characters such as Regula, Gaius and Lahabrea are built up to be very strong combatants with intriguing backstories only to be swatted away like flies to appease those who seem to only be concerned with their version of the Warrior of Light immediately defeating or routing everything that bars their past. I mean, some of the same people who were stating that they wanted more nuanced antagonists are now complaining because the likes of Zenos, Fordola and Yotsuyu are implied to stick around beyond their initial appearance and prove to be legitimate threats for once.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At no point has it been implied that liberating Ala Mhigo or Doma would be 'easy'. Furthermore, the single player Final Fantasy games have almost always had fearsome opponents that can easily match or even surpass the protagonists in terms of power or skill. Sometimes they are beaten back after a bitter struggle, or some form of weakness is exploited such as arrogance or a special relic. Other times there's a deal struck - such as an opponent having a change of heart or deciding to work alongside the protagonists for the sake of the greater good. Heck, sometimes a somewhat harmless threat is underestimated and manages to cause a lot of trouble as a result. No matter which route we see the story go down I have a good feeling that it'll be both interesting and satisfying.