Zenos: The Big Bad (The Feedback Thread, Part 1)

[ItMe]

    PART 3

               I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

God I love that meme.
Thank you, it's made my night ♡

[KikiTia]

I've honestly always enjoyed Zenos as a character. He's such a picture perfect image of a classy FF villain with his own distinct story and personality. Moreover, as the only one who has managed to single handedly hand our ass to us multiple times, I feel that there are few better opponents fit to be the big bad, or at least play a role in the grand finale. In terms of spirit and power, he is our equal and opposite. He openly calls us out for not really being part of this world, for instead living for the intense life or death moments, for the emotional tragedies and the ecstatic returns, and claims to share that reason for living as well. It's almost like a 4th wall break of sorts. I have no clue what they intend to do with Zenos but I have no issue with him playing a major role again in the MSQ. He's probably the only person we as the WoL would actually consider a serious threat we might not have the power to defeat, and I love how they've been adding onto that by having Zenos literally return from the dead of his own volition (as far as we know) and when he gets his body back suddenly having Ascian powers out of nowhere and then being able to *remember* events we only saw through the good grace of Emet-Selch. He's becoming almost a Nemesis-esque character and I'm eager to see the direction his story goes, though I suspect that he may not be our true endgame villain. To me Fandaniel seems too insane to be totally wacko and unhinged, I feel he is likely the complicated, tragic center of this entire narrative. As for how, we can only guess, but I don't believe he is a random subordinate bad guy whom is only here to help the villain get what he wants.

[Anonymoose]

He's such a picture perfect image of a classy FF villain with his own distinct story and personality.

Now this is something I've been thinking about a lot. Zenos is shaping up to be the very modern model of a modern major ... boss ... fight. (That sounded better in my head.) I can't deny that I love the idea of an early Final Fantasy end; we all know Yoshida-san is especially fond of the classics. What gives me pause that the Final Fantasy XIV has a team that has been utterly dedicated to (mostly) sensible, polished continuity that holds up under scrutiny. (Eventually. Lookin' at you 5.0 time travel.). Can we have the classical boss...without having the classical utterly random and inexplicable nonsense that oft comes with classical bosses? /panic

[Vyrerus]

Now this is something I've been thinking about a lot. Zenos is shaping up to be the very modern model of a modern major ... boss ... fight. (That sounded better in my head.) I can't deny that I love the idea of an early Final Fantasy end; we all know Yoshida-san is especially fond of the classics. What gives me pause that the Final Fantasy XIV has a team that has been utterly dedicated to (mostly) sensible, polished continuity that holds up under scrutiny. (Eventually. Lookin' at you 5.0 time travel.). Can we have the classical boss...without having the classical utterly random and inexplicable nonsense that oft comes with classical bosses? /panic

Of course! This is just like FF1, only instead of Garland turning into Chaos out of nowhere, Zenos will suit up as Zodiark out of somewhere!

[GoldStarz]

Of course! This is just like FF1, only instead of Garland turning into Chaos out of nowhere, Zenos will suit up as Zodiark out of somewhere!

I really hope they don't go through with Zenos' dumb plan. That's like my biggest fear right now.

[Vyrerus]

InB4 it's actually just like FFII, and Zenos is a weird Leon situation and Estinien pulls a Ricard.

[Guiballad]

I too ask myself where the HELL am i about Zenos.

I really liked him back in 3.0 and if i'm being honest he felt very engaging. Yes he's not deep but sometimes "i wanna throw hands really bad" is motivation enough for a character. Ironically i really wanted SE to bring him back somehow.

And then they did. And... i don't know how i feel about that to this day lmao

Like i definitely can say i hate how they keep dangling him like a fat carrot in front of me but i don't know why. Why is he back? What plot is he gonna drive? Why do i keep seeing cutscenes of him doing absolutely nothing except talk with that sexy slow voice he has?

Zenos has been back from the dead for like 2/3 years now and i still can't tell why and i feel like that is a mishandling on the writer's part. "Oh he wants to fight you" so does half the universe. The ~implications~ that there is a lot more wrong with him than just being a Resonant is the most we have on him for this pretty long period of time he has been in the plot. I can only feel we haven't been given the proper "key" to understand it all, sure, but it has been soooo long. I wish we had something and i could form a proper and definitive opinion on him but until 6.0 (or maybe 5.5 who knows) i'll keep feeling pretty underwelmed seeing him and Fandango apparently take center stage on the big finale of the big mythology arc the game has built.

[Recon1o6]

some of the other replies in the thread got me thinking and tbh I agree with the notion that elidibus should have not been offed in 5.3's story being the final unsundered ascian and one closest to zodiark. They could have kept his twists for the finale of 6.0

while I disagree entirely with the notion of zenos ex machina being brought back, since the writers did so, 5.2 and 5.3 would likely have been ample time to deal with whatever secrets he's holding since its apparently emet-selchs doing. This would have left 5.4 and 5.5 to set up Elidibus and Fandaniel. Elidibus, being the disembodied mind of zodiark, would be starting to struggle what with being the last of the unsundered. Fandango would then use this opportunity to kick start the final days for shits and giggles at 5.5s climax or whatever his motive is.
The final days would cause elidibus to realise this was his original purpose (and his status as zodiark) and as soon as fandaniel was executed for his treachery, would have turned on us specifically to strike us down as hydaelyn's chosen using all of zodiark's power

We might actually be weak enough having just stopped the final days for hydaelyn to sacrifice herself for us permanently and kicks the bucket. We win round 2 thanks to the power up thereby finishing 6.0
alternatively, zodiark uses up too much power defeating hydaelyn and thats why we manage to finish him off while he's weak. (wouldnt be the first time elidibus underestimated us)


and there you have it, an alternative plot that minimises the terrible character that is zenos and ties off elildibus with the screen time he deserved.

[Vyrerus]

some of the other replies in the thread got me thinking and tbh I agree with the notion that elidibus should have not been offed in 5.3's story being the final unsundered ascian and one closest to zodiark. They could have kept his twists for the finale of 6.0

while I disagree entirely with the notion of zenos ex machina being brought back, since the writers did so, 5.2 and 5.3 would likely have been ample time to deal with whatever secrets he's holding since its apparently emet-selchs doing. This would have left 5.4 and 5.5 to set up Elidibus and Fandaniel. Elidibus, being the disembodied mind of zodiark, would be starting to struggle what with being the last of the unsundered. Fandango would then use this opportunity to kick start the final days for shits and giggles at 5.5s climax or whatever his motive is.
The final days would cause elidibus to realise this was his original purpose (and his status as zodiark) and as soon as fandaniel was executed for his treachery, would have turned on us specifically to strike us down as hydaelyn's chosen using all of zodiark's power

We might actually be weak enough having just stopped the final days for hydaelyn to sacrifice herself for us permanently and kicks the bucket. We win round 2 thanks to the power up thereby finishing 6.0
alternatively, zodiark uses up too much power defeating hydaelyn and thats why we manage to finish him off while he's weak. (wouldnt be the first time elidibus underestimated us)


and there you have it, an alternative plot that minimises the terrible character that is zenos and ties off elildibus with the screen time he deserved.

They'd have to rewrite things completely, and it makes much less sense for Elidibus to sit around twiddling his thumbs for that long, compared to how it has actually gone, after Emet-selch's demise.

[Roda]

I am absolutely bored of the edgy OP prince with greasy hair. He isn't interesting, he's just fight horny. I get nothing out of his character.
TBH his character could just be replaced with an actual, literal, mundane grizzly bear and nothing would really change. (Except the cutscenes would be more endearing 'cause bears are kinda cute in a fluffy murder dog kinda way)

I was really hoping for like a boulder to come out of nowhere and crush him pre-6.0 to just remove a contrived threat like they did with black rose being a big ol' heap of nothing.