Not really dismissing the story, but it just feels very barebones, almost as if it was meant as trial storyline, and not MSQ. I was thinking that there is more to it if you know the story of FFIV, but alas, according to your words, references are just fun side remarks, not something that adds context to FFXIV's story. In that case, I would just have to conclude that this story is simply nowhere near the standards I would expect this game to have.
