Originally Posted by
BokoToloko
And what you discredit as "summoning" has been the core gameplay of summoning for pretty much the bigger part of the FF franchise. Both in mainstay games, spin-off games (like FF Tactics) or jRPG from the same company like Bravely Default and Tactics Ogre.
One big flashy AoE or beneficial effect.
So yeah, it's not really hard to understand why SE and many fans would actually consider current iteration of summoning as true to the source because, in case the innumerable references to previous FF games haven't drilled the point, FFXIV is and always has been a FF theme park MMO. And one that, for the most part, draws from the older games not the newer ones.