Quote Originally Posted by Cilia View Post
Funny enough, deconstructing the "epic hero" archetype started back with VII's Cloud before fanon turned him into an angsty brooding loner. 2.x was a reconstruction of that archetype on the surface in regards to the PC, but the DRK 30-50 line takes the archetype and rips it to shreds, showing just how little self-worth someone like the Warrior of Light probably has (even after the shadow offers to set you free, the Warrior of Light chooses to remain everyone's "Weapon of Light" because, arguably, it's the only worth they find in themselves).
Uh, Tales of Phantasia would like to have words with you (granted that was more of a final knife twist than a full deconstruction, and even then not the first), but you're more or less correct about how, in-series, hero deconstructing started with VII. I certainly would never try to imply that FF14's writers haven't played any Final Fantasy beyond FF1 up to Matoya's Cave, FF3 up to the end of the Floating Continent, and the World of Balance arc of FF6, because that would just be a cheap shot. XIV doesn't really count as a reconstruction of anything, because aside from the DRK storyline, any obviously unfortunate implications are either handwaved or ignored entirely. A reconstruction only happens when those implications are faced head-on and addressed properly.

Quote Originally Posted by Cilia View Post
Can't comment on NPCs, because that's up to their character, who I don't write.
2.0 lived and (violently) died by the idea that NPCs exist solely to reflect an image onto the player. They may have had a complicated childhood, burgeoning powers they barely understand, be your only link to a shadowy organization that surely can't be totally irrelevant to the ongoing plot, or even a fellow chosen one, but none of that actually matters. Even if Minfilia's every (in)action negates what characterization she's been given, what matters is that you understand your role in shaping the future, and that someone with strictly informed importance is telling you how important you are.

3.0 is all about how there's a better way, and that NPCs can be more than just people who order you around. Arguably it needed 2.0 in order to enhance the contrast, but ultimately, those same people who proved to you that they, too, could do things on their own were rewarded by a half half dozen oddly-shaped bridges falling on them simply to ensure that, when the dust settles, you are still the only one left capable of doing anything positive for anyone.

So we're still stuck as the one and only hero, but they're trying. I think.