Quote Originally Posted by Theodric View Post
I think there's a lot of story elements that could be tweaked to be entirely optional without impacting the overall narrative. In single player RPG's - which FFXIV is often lauded as mimicking within this very thread - the player typically gets to choose which characters they choose to bond with over others. FFXIV has the unfortunate habit of shoving certain characters down the player's throat even if they do not care for them and would rather spend time with other characters who are no less important but get sidelined.

For example, I'd happily ditch any bonding with Alisae and G'raha. I don't care for either of them. If the narrative gave me more opportunities to bond with Hien or Thancred, however, I'd happily embrace them.
Well, in a lot of single player RPGs, this is true. However, in single player Final Fantasy, it isn't really. Stories and character interactions in Final Fantasy games have always been very linear and rarely ever presented any choice to the player...