Quote Originally Posted by AnaviAnael View Post
On topic, I prefer XIV's cutscenes because I actually feel like the main character. When I played XI, I felt like I was a random bystander who happened to be there while all these NPCs were doing most of the heroic stuff during its cutscenes. Really it boils down to personal preference.
^This. In XI you were never regarded as anything more special than a mere adventurer who had a penchant for putting their nose where it didn't belong (and thus found themselves in the middle of events that concerned Vana'diel's future), and there was never any explanation as to how they were powerful enough to take down gods, they just were, only to then have the npcs like Aldo and Prishe take all the credit and the player's contribution covered up, "as the truth is too dangerous to reveal yaddayadddayadda" (yes, the end scene for the Windurst storyline pretty much said that).

At least here in FFXIV, despite the slight tendency to veer into Mary Sue territory, my character actually feels like they really are affecting events and being given credit for what they do, and the storyline actually involving them actively, rather than just a sidekick. But as Anavi said above, it's personal preference.