In your darkest hour: DRK's identity crisis

[Joe777]

In VII and IX, weapons didn"t have types besides "<character's_name> weapon". In fact, one of Cloud's Weapon was a Katana and one was even a Club. And Steiner could equip a Venetian Shield, making the concept of "two handed" weapons very...blurry.

And neither Cloud nor Steiner are technically Dark Knights.

Of course they aren't, but you don't have to tie a weapon to anyone or anything for it to be its own thing. The characters that did wield them had other options, but could still wield them anyway. That means the weapon type, greatsword, existed period, and that's what truly matters.

[Reynhart]

That means the weapon type, greatsword, existed period, and that's what truly matters.

Greatsword still weren't related to DRK before FFXI, and even there, it wasn't their staple weapon...but Scythe is a dumb weapon.

[Eyvhokan]

Greatsword still weren't related to DRK before FFXI, and even there, it wasn't their staple weapon...but Scythe is a dumb weapon.

That's not exactly the point. The large sword (or greatsword) was made iconic in FF7, and people associate a lot with it.

In FFXIV, the only way to use a large sword (greatsword 2H style) is by playing DRK.

It's not specifically about the historic DRK (e.g. Cecil) but the use of the large sword in the game, and how weapon types are associated with the jobs.

[Reynhart]

It's not specifically about the historic DRK (e.g. Cecil) but the use of the large sword in the game, and how weapon types are associated with the jobs.

It still makes that sentence :

But it shouldn’t be. It’s one of the most well-recognised jobs in the franchise. Most fans of the series know Cecil. Pretty much everyone knows Cloud. You could make the case that, if you haven’t run into an angsty, greatsword-wielding protagonist yet, you’re probably not playing a Final Fantasy game.

off-topic, since Cecil didn't wield a Greatsword but was angsty (until he became PLD), and Cloud did wield a Greatsword but was not angsty (for the most part of FFVII), and surely not a Dark Knight.