I prefer/cried more with SHB then EW [SPOILERS FOR EW YOU BEEN WARNED]

[Ririta]

Eh, we already knew at that point how badly things can go when you don't discard Nidhogg's eyes.

The one living person who had any practice in maintaining just one of them was in terrible shape.

The disposal site put the eyes in the most remote place any Ishgardian could ever come up with. The plan would have worked perfectly if Ascians weren't able to fly into weather that would kill any mortal.

That's exactly why we should've destroyed them right there like Estinien did at the end of Stormblood so nobody could use them ever again.

I'm not saying that it's bad, but people notice it if they're not emotionally invested, which is the question that person was aking (if you being emotional makes a story better). If the moment resonates with you then you won't really think about its implications and why it was a bad idea, I myself was only caring about Estinien the first time I saw that scene.

[Lersayil]

Eh? I guess I prefered ShB for the more charismatic and story centric villain, and it put a decent twist on the ancient civilization theme that I haven't seen in a while.

EW is by no means bad, but I felt like I was playing JRPG/FF ending bingo with way too many free spots on the card. After decades of JRPGs it felt very formulaic, and it took out the wind from many of the feely scenes.

[Floortank]

Not to say I did not like EW, but 1 thing that really felt SUPER lackluster was... our Final Days... happens what in two locations? Super underwhelming for an expantion that so heavily advertised it as the end of days!

Only to have it start happening and its terrible for a bit then... "hey lets all just go get some foods and talk as if this big world ending calamity isn't happening!" Just feels so tonally disconnected.

Then theres Meteion... I am starting to feel it was a mistake to conclude all of EW in just the base xpac, purely cause they try to get you to feel for the one you meet, buuuuut for me personally there just wasn't enough time to really get attached plus it was SO easy to tell something would happen to her for me anyways.

Also... trying to pull the "oh no everyones sacrificing themselves in the final zone!" Had like zero impact on me cause what again... it happens so fast for thancred with like really no dwelling in it to know "yeah we will bring em all back so no emotional stuff here"

I agree with a lot of what you said here, and I'd like to elaborate on my thoughts about it.

The biggest problem I had with Endwalker's story is the constantly deflating tension.

The pacing was terrible, and played a big part in this regard. The story shows you at length how terrible the Final Days will be, and then when they arrive, the story constantly hits the brakes to have long conversations, chats and tea time. You go on a guided tour of Sharlayan, seeing every nook and cranny, with the end of the world right around the corner. Every NPC that makes it into camera frame gets to make a long speech, introducing themselves, and filling you in with all kinds of minor details. Nothing is brief or hurried and you actually do sit down to eat a banquet while being in a race against time.

The tendency to just slam on the brakes and make me give Loporrits a tour of a vineyard or talk to a lot of unimportant NPCs or have a meeting that is no doubt emotional but entirely beside the point, all of that bad pacing goes into making the Final Days feel less tense and less interesting. As much as I loved Ameliance, the entire scene where she explains the homelife of the kids and their relationship with their father (as if you didn't already understand it) felt like a huge luxury expense in time that the heroes just did not have. She could have conveyed a tearful goodbye to them and gave them all her love and their gifts at a better place in the story. It's not that the details are incorrect--most people love this scene--it's just that the entire story comes screeching to a halt repeatedly in service of what comes down to huge pauses. And I'm like "wait, isn't the world about to end?" the entire time. All of that goes into deflating the tension, because yeah, the huge excessive conversations and meals and tours and fetch quests do not actually cost them anything. It becomes clear that no matter how many unbirthdays they celebrate the Final Days is going to cooperate and only show up after all of the ARR style fetch quests and introductions to individual shopkeepers in the entire town is finished.

They even had a dude walk up and explain lengthily in the last Sharlayan visit why Alphinaud and Alisaie's dad acts the way he does. As if it wasn't already like manifestly obvious a thousand times over. This character just out of nowhere materialized to deliver a plot point you already knew.

Another thing they do to deflate the tension is... deliberately deflating the tension. Sure, she hands you a widget that makes it very clear the Scions won't stay dead. I don't really have a problem with that.

I do have a problem with Meteion abruptly turning "good" at the end. Just going full 180 and deciding we're the bee's knees. The moment they showed the little blue bird buzzing around the boss-form's face crying "stop it please" it destroyed the entire moment of that boss. It had a chance to be Zeromus, the bringer of universal death, the unequivocal end, but that one decision to have Meteion be the victim of herself ruined it entirely, because it made it 100% clear that the moment the big bad died, the little girl would turn good again and all would be forgiven. It just... sucked.

[Ranaku]

Also have to agree, Elpis felt rushed and Meteion was introduced way too rushed too, so there was no emotional connection like with Emet who just accompanied us over a whole expansion. All they did was just establish Meteion as a emo gothgirl and let us flatline her, she had basically no personality and was even established as just a mindless construct with one goal decided by the one who created her species. Which lead to me having as much a connection to her as i have a connection to the mars rover.

And yeah the final days were really idk, i think it's good that they integrated them into the role quests cause they have to do with local outbreaks all over the world. But yeah would have been great to see more burning than just poor old Thavnair.

Moon also felt forced. "Repair the swords only you can do it." and then two seconds later we fight Zodiark in a completely stupid showdown with no buildup. Sure that was always the case for the first trials but heck for something we were told since day one that it is the most powerful ancient primal and the god of the ascians and all that Zodiarks "death" was really...sad and not so epic.

[Lenivy]

I have to ask, and this question goes for anyone. Do people judge how good a game's story is by how much it emotionally moves them?

If they wouldnt judge with bias and emotions, ff14 stories would be 4/10 at best. Still quite high for isekai spam sandwich.

[Floortank]

If they wouldnt judge with bias and emotions, ff14 stories would be 4/10 at best. Still quite high for isekai spam sandwich.

Oh fine, I'm curious.

What story is good that does not give you an emotional reaction or play on anyone's biases?

[Lenivy]

Oh fine, I'm curious.

What story is good that does not give you an emotional reaction or play on anyone's biases?

One that You judge without emotions or bias and can call good and not forced and isekai-like.
I am not Your homeschool teacher nor I am Your friend to care enough to educate You on the topic.
Read something historical or about a topic wich has no main heroes. Something that doesnt give You those cheap "attchement" points.