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Natsuko Ishikawa, FFXIV ShB scenario writer, receives tear-jerking praise from the PAX West crowd.

taepoppuri

taepoppuri

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,185
Yesterday at PAX West, there's narrative and visual Insights panel featuring Art Team Lead Takeo Suzuki and Main Scenario Writer Natsuko Ishikawa from FFXIV Development team. There're a lot of people attended the panel since Shadowbringers receives such a positive reception. When Ishikawa introduced her role as a main scenario writer, the crowd stood cheering for a standing ovation.





She deserves all the applause and praise she got for writing one of the best stories in JRPG. Shadowbringers reminds me of the good old classic FFs and surpasses those in some aspect (I'm looking at you Emet-Selch, you magnificent bastard). It's heartwarming to see fans gave such an overwhelming support to the person behind the scenes.

Ishikawa joined the team back in 2013 and had a major role in scenario team, but this is the first expansion she wrote all the main scenario quest. Good to see SQEX have talented new blood!


You can watch the full panel here - Creating FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers - Narrative and Visual Insights

(Warning: there's a massive spoiler in there since this is the discussion of how they create final area of the expansion)
 
Apollo

Apollo

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,094
She's done an incredible job. The DRK quests have always been well regarded, but the Shadowbringers story exceeded all expectations as far as I'm concerned.
 
Neiteio

Neiteio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,135
That's heartwarming :-D

Is this game playable offline in single player tho?
 
HK-47

HK-47

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Oct 25, 2017
5,595
I'd love to experience it, but the ARR content is such a massive gatekeeper.
 

Deleted member 1589

User requested account closure
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8,576
oh for fucks sake.

....is it possible to play FFXIV solo now? Are the best stories behind the raids or can I just wing it
 
kennyamr

kennyamr

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Oct 25, 2017
3,587
New York, NY, USA
It's a 10/10 story imo. Very well deserved. :)
After playing Shadowbringers, I now consider FFXIV my all-time favorite game, surpassing my beloved FFIX.
 
Lump

Lump

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,034
HK-47 said:
I'd love to experience it, but the ARR content is such a massive gatekeeper.
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They're aiming to condense/streamline the ARR experience in version 5.3, which should be in about a year. Next summer (fall?) will be the perfect time for new players when that improvement releases.
 
kirbyfan407

kirbyfan407

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,114
This is a very heartwarming moment. Congratulations to her! It's great she created something that so many players appreciated. It's thanks to her that I eventually want to play FFXIV, so I hope the team appreciates her work, too!

Lump said:
They're aiming to condense/streamline the ARR experience in version 5.3, which should be in about a year. Next summer will be the perfect time for new players when that improvement releases.
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I'm counting on this. My fingers are crossed that the overall becomes much more approachable for a new player!
 
Brazil

Brazil

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Oct 24, 2017
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Neiteio said:
I wonder if they could ever make a single-player version of it
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They've recently made big advancements in terms of tools that can help players quest by themselves (like the addition of NPC companions for dungeons), but it's still all within the framework of the online game, and you still have to party up for the hardest battles.

I think that it could happen eventually, but since not even FFXI has a single-player version yet, you'll probably be waiting a long time for something like that.
 
Lord Vatek

Lord Vatek

Avenger
Jan 18, 2018
21,514
That's awesome and well-deserved. Fantastic work.

Flutter said:
oh for fucks sake.

....is it possible to play FFXIV solo now? Are the best stories behind the raids or can I just wing it
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The main story quests are done solo but you still have to do dungeons with a group and they're required for the story. It's not like you need friends though, there's a dungenon finder.
 
WetWaffle

WetWaffle

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Oct 25, 2017
4,604
So is this story that's supposedly one of the best for the entire franchise found in the raids? Sidequests or just the main quests? My subscription ran out right at the beginning of heavensward so just wondering if I should try getting back into it until I get to the new one
 
tulpa

tulpa

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
3,878
God, I really want to return to FFXIV. I stopped midway through Heavensward even though I was really enjoying it. It's just such a timesink. I can't play that game without having it take over my life to the exclusion of every other game
 

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WhoaIsThatMars said:
Honest question: do you ask because of the cost of subscription and/or because you don't want to play with other people? Because honestly most of the game is single player except for end-game content
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I dont mind playing with other people, but I stopped playing RR because I couldnt commit to it and got admonished by my guild leader for not trying my best.

I have a low attention span for games. I usually stop playing every half an hour or so to read or do something else. I can do hour long dungeons, but then I just put it on pause for a bit.

*looks at Astral Chain on pause at the side of the table*
 
Sandfox

Sandfox

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Oct 25, 2017
24,743
WetWaffle said:
So is this story that's supposedly one of the best for the entire franchise found in the raids? Sidequests or just the main quests? My subscription ran out right at the beginning of heavensward so just wondering if I should try getting back into it until I get to the new one
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It's the main scenario.We're only at the beginning of the Shadowbringers raids.

Inuhanyou said:
she should be in charge of FF16 scenario
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I want more XIV personally.
 
Kingpin Rogers

Kingpin Rogers

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Oct 27, 2017
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So I guess it's bad that I've been skipping almost all cutscenes and dialogue boxes since like lvl 10 right? I've actually been missing out on like 200 hours worth of story? Damn.
 

Deleted member 3888

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Flutter said:
oh for fucks sake.

....is it possible to play FFXIV solo now? Are the best stories behind the raids or can I just wing it
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Haven't started shadowbringer, but so far the main story is basically 70-80% of talking to NPCs with some single player stuff, the rest are dungeons/bosses that you have to do with other people, you can just pretend they're AIs since most of the time they don't even talk if you're doing things right.
 
WhoaIsThatMars

WhoaIsThatMars

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Oct 25, 2017
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湘南
WetWaffle said:
So is this story that's supposedly one of the best for the entire franchise found in the raids? Sidequests or just the main quests? My subscription ran out right at the beginning of heavensward so just wondering if I should try getting back into it until I get to the new one
Click to expand...
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Just main line it with the main story. ShB does make some references to the raid in ARR, but it's not necessary to understand the story. Also, if you didn't play HW, you're in for a wild ride because that main scenario is amazing.
 
Brazil

Brazil

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Oct 24, 2017
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São Paulo, Brazil
Flutter said:
I dont mind playing with other people, but I stopped playing RR because I couldnt commit to it and got admonished by my guild leader for not trying my best.

I have a low attention span for games. I usually stop playing every half an hour or so to read or do something else. I can do hour long dungeons, but then I just put it on pause for a bit.

*looks at Astral Chain on pause at the side of the table*
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You don't need a guild at all to get through the main story content. And I'm pretty sure none of the dungeons last anywhere close to 1h - unless the group is doing something very wrong, haha.
 
Sandfox

Sandfox

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Oct 25, 2017
24,743
Flutter said:
I dont mind playing with other people, but I stopped playing RR because I couldnt commit to it and got admonished by my guild leader for not trying my best.

I have a low attention span for games. I usually stop playing every half an hour or so to read or do something else. I can do hour long dungeons, but then I just put it on pause for a bit.

*looks at Astral Chain on pause at the side of the table*
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
FFXIV raids are separate from the main story and they have easy versions that you can easily beat with random people for the less hardcore people that still want the story.

Dungeons in FFXIV are only ~20-30 minutes each depending on the group.
 
Lump

Lump

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Kingpin Rogers said:
So I guess it's bad that I've been skipping almost all cutscenes and dialogue boxes since like lvl 10 right? I've actually been missing out on like 200 hours worth of story? Damn.
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Levels 10-45 is just continuing to go back to the Waking Sands whole Minfilia pretends to do things. You're fine. Just start paying attention to the story during the climax of ARR and around level 50.
 
Wolf

Wolf

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Oct 25, 2017
4,849
Well deserved. She wrote one of the best Final Fantasy stories ever.
 
Apollo

Apollo

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Oct 25, 2017
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Kingpin Rogers said:
So I guess it's bad that I've been skipping almost all cutscenes and dialogue boxes since like lvl 10 right? I've actually been missing out on like 200 hours worth of story? Damn.
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You weren't missing much early on imo, but partway through the base game patch stories the plot picks up and never lets up for the remainder of the experience. It's honestly nuts just how consistently good it is.
 
Tatsu91

Tatsu91

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Apr 7, 2019
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Lump said:
Levels 10-45 is just continuing to go back to the Waking Sands whole Minfilia pretends to do things. You're fine. Just start paying attention to the story during the climax of ARR and around level 50.
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I say the story picks up at around 35 is when you should watch when a certain event happens onwards
 
SauceTakoyaki

SauceTakoyaki

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Jun 24, 2019
71
Very deserving for the 5.0 main story, but the lvl. 80 DRK quest completely went over my head. I can't remember much about it other than the end which was cool. Maybe it was the different format that the class quests were handled in ShB?
 
Sibylus

Sibylus

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Oct 25, 2017
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Well deserved. Her work has consistently been the game's best and most affecting since ARR.
 

B.K.

Member
Oct 31, 2017
17,038
Lump said:
They're aiming to condense/streamline the ARR experience in version 5.3, which should be in about a year. Next summer (fall?) will be the perfect time for new players when that improvement releases.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Only for 2.1 to 2.5. They aren't touching the base 2.0 MSQ.
 
Zomba13

Zomba13

#1 Waluigi Fan! Current Status: Crying
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Oct 25, 2017
8,940
So nice to see her getting the recognition she deserves. She did a fantastic job with the DRK job quests before ShB so I was hopeful for ShB and glad she did a great job. The Lvl80 DRK quest was also good, if predictable BUT SHE KNEW YOU WOULD THINK THAT and leant into it in the journal entries (that you should read for the DRK quests because they are actually amazing).

Really hope she does the writing on the next expansion too. Would be good if it is Galemald that we get some well written Garleans considering who we have to come.
 
Sibylus

Sibylus

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Oct 25, 2017
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Ira said:
It was really great to see, more than deserved. Her writing has always been some of the best in the game even before shb. She's a treasure.


Did she really only join in 2013? That seems surprising since she did writing for 2.0's MSQ.
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Don't remember offhand, but the game shipped in the same year and her prominent work for 2.0 seemed to be the Coerthas quests (which were probably my favorite part). Crystal Tower and Rogue quests came in later patches.
 
SlickVic

SlickVic

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Oct 27, 2017
4,961
USA
Man what a great response from the audience, and well deserved for Natsuko Ishikawa, who helped make Shadowbringers such a memorable journey for me so far. Makes me wish I was part of that crowd and seeing that panel live. Hats off to the whole XIV team.
 
Sevyne

Sevyne

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
529
I found the story to be pretty solid from lvl 50 MSQs and beyond, but ShB MSQs were in a league of their own. Seriously ShB is probably the best story of any FF game for me. She's got some serious talent.
 
Chaos2Frozen

Chaos2Frozen

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Nov 3, 2017
28,049
Ocean Bones said:
What made the writer here so special? I ask as someone that's never touched the game.
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She's really good at her job, quite a noticeable difference in quality when she's the writer compared to the other writers.

I suppose if I were to boil it down to one point it would be she's pretty good at writing nuanced characters
 
The Praiseworthy

The Praiseworthy

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Oct 30, 2017
9,215
Give her FFXVI to write... please... the franchise needs her, she write the scenario and FFXIV team handle the game entirely.
 
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