The treatment of the different races is kinda odd if there's supposed to be tension. XI handled racial tensions better. Non-Elvaan in San d'Oria? You'd be looked down on. Same with the Galka in Bastok - they were treated as nothing more than disposable labor forces. The Mithra and Tarutaru seemed to get along pretty well though. I always figured that Eorzea was a melting pot and that the differing races had gotten acclimated to each other.

And I just noticed that both games had a prevalent female human/elf hybrid.