FF is not GoT.

[CyrilLucifer]

Oh boy, looks like someone didn't play FFXI.

I actually started writing out a list of characters that either flat our die or suffer unpleasant fates in one of XI's many multiverses, but stopped when I hit 7 because I realized that holy hell XI is a depressing game and it basically nullifies your point entirely because it would list every single named character in the game. I'm sorry. Seekers of Adoulin alone is almost brutal enough to put Heavensward to shame; the one character that does live through his death ends up a vampire...thing, not just a fakeout death like XIV is prone to.

But I respectfully disagree. You can make many generalizations about Final Fantasy, but your vision of what Final Fantasy 'should' be isn't always what Final Fantasy 'is;' there is no one singular, unified Final Fantasy. Death has been a thing in FF all the way back in FFII, where you had more playable characters dead than alive. And FFI? That entire game is about characters suffering horrible fates in a time loop. I'm sorry you don't enjoy Heavensward, but I don't think it's really anyone's place but the developer's to make the decision on the tone of the story.

[dejiko_san]

Oh boy, looks like someone didn't play FFXI.

I actually started writing out a list of characters that either flat our die or suffer unpleasant fates in one of XI's many multiverses, but stopped when I hit 7 because I realized that holy hell XI is a depressing game it basically nullifies your point entirely. I'm sorry. Seekers of Adoulin alone is almost brutal enough to put Heavensward to shame; the one character that does live through his death ends up a vampire...thing, not just a fakeout death like XIV is prone to.

Yeah agree, FFXI has some gut wrenching moments! I stopped FFXI right at that expansion, maybe I should go back and play through it!

[CyrilLucifer]

SoA is worth a playthrough, at least, since you'll get to experience the new Yhoator-styled zones, complete with maps just as useless as Yuhtunga's. They also have a really neat Trust system where you can summon NPC allies, even rather legendary ones, like the Ark Angels. Also the SoA villain is very XIV-inspired, to the point where it's basically copy-paste (and, wouldn't you know it, he's the best character in that expansion, too).

Rhapsodies, the free expansions, kinda jumped the shark, though. While I can't recommend not playing them, because they're a finale to the game's story, they're - well, I think it would be best to draw your own conclusions. Still, if you've some free time, definitely try it.

[Fenral]

But I respectfully disagree. You can make many generalizations about Final Fantasy, but your vision of what Final Fantasy 'should' be isn't always what Final Fantasy 'is;' [...] I don't think it's really anyone's place but the developer's to make the decision on the tone of the story.

Only thing I have to say to counter that is that there was a pretty long stretch where each numbered Final Fantasy was aware of the themes of the games preceding it, and up until 3.2, FFXIV pretended it wasn't. Pretended. After 3.2, I'm much more willing to believe the devs do know what they're doing, but for a while it was like we had regressed back to FFII levels of death and nihilism without acknowledging that VI and IX were also a thing that happened.

The other thing to take into account is how SquareSoft used to operate, back in the day. They had a number of producers working on a number of different brands, each with their own "series" that was pretty much theirs to do with as they saw fit. Hironobu Sakaguchi had Final Fantasy, Akitoshi Kawazu had SaGa, Koichi Ishii had the Mana games, etc. Tetsuya Takahashi had Xenogears, which he packed up and took with him to his own company as Xenosaga and now Xenoblade.

Final Fantasy happens to be the one S-E brand that has survived long past its creator's time on the payroll, and to this day it continues to get passed around to different producers and directors trying to recover the magic it lost. Which is not to say that games since haven't been good in their own way, just that there hasn't been a consistent hand at the wheel since FFIX, and everyone has their own ideas on what to do with it.

[AutumnHarvestwind]

Oh boy, looks like someone didn't play FFXI.

this is somewhat of a tangent, but outside of the storyline, you had a real sense of urgency that you WOULD die and get a severe penalty like deleveling! I remember just spending hours in camping... valkrum dunes, quifum, the jungles ( OH GOD WOULD YOU GET LOST), crawler's nest, the deserts... so on and so forth and then boom, you'd accidently get aggro from an 'impossible to gauge!' trusight mob or something and DELEVEL A LEVEL AND A HALF!!
I remember when you first entered the promyvions ( i thnk thats what theyre called?) youd get the most CREEPIEST MUSIC, and names like 'weeper' and shit....just creepy, dark.
Also the base quest for fighting the shadowlord was so heartclenchingly dark...and... (again) creepy..
Not to mention, the game had a habit that nightfall = undead strong mobs would spawn. ( I always hated night time, while running through zones on low levels)