Revelations from the Announcement Showcase

[TheRod]

Got to read the lastest Yoshida interview for Famitsu (just now translated by AkhMorning) and I immediatelly reminded of this passage in my previous post:

(...)

I expect even more on the typical idealism again. This imagery of the Paladin - bar all the Cecil parallels - displays exactly the imagery of the noble good knight clad in shiny armor to save the day - our typical heroic fairytale.

And Yoshi-P basically confirms that the main reason for the Paladin choice wasn't especifically meant as Cecil reference, but the typical imagery of the "heroic hopeful knight" the Paladin presents:

Famitsu: The main job for this expansion looks to be Paladin here, does this mean you’ve picked the job because of its connections to FFIV, or is there any other reason behind the job selection?

Naoki Yoshida: When I thought of how to illustrate what hope means to myself and other people in a straightforward manner, I thought Paladin would be the most suitable one to represent that theme among all the jobs in FFXIV. When I think about who would be the first one to move forward while carrying the burden of everything even when cornered, this job would be the best to represent that… so it was a straightforward reason and also the major one behind this decision.

And as essentially extracted from the PLD symbology/iconicism, story keeps en route with the idealistic stuff:

Naoki Yoshida: This applies to Final Fantasy XIV overall here but I think the story that is weaved throughout the Hydaelyn-Zodiark saga does have the aspect of “hope against despair” here. For example, the same is also true for the image of that slight despair that was felt when the legacy of FFXIV was running, and from there comes the release of “A Realm Reborn”.

How the players will manage to find hope within the “despair over the apocalypse” situation will also be included as the theme for this expansion. The heroes who will face the hardships with the despair looming around them… this will be the nuance I wish the players would understand here.

Overall, he said story will be very epic/much bigger, but not necessarily it'll be unexpected:

Naoki Yoshida: (..) To me, instead of portraying something that subverts everyone’s expectations, I’d say the desire to surpass the scope of imagination is actually much stronger here.