Quote Originally Posted by HyoMinPark View Post
If you are forced into giving a character redeeming qualities four years after they are introduced to a franchise, then you are completely redesigning that character on a fundamental level—which means that it was a poor character from the beginning, and haven’t you spent this entire thread arguing otherwise? If you are going to fundamentally change a character, then you should probably just create a new character that already has these qualities innate to them. You are asking for, essentially, a character retcon for Zenos. At which point, well, would you even be able to call this new character “Zenos” to begin with?

Everything you post in this thread is falling into the sunk cost fallacy. Just because he was wasted potential doesn’t mean that we need to keep bringing him back and shoving him down people’s throats for the sake of not making him a waste. If you want to explore his backstory, you can 100% do that without bringing him back to life for a third time. The implications for Endwalker—and the reason why they ended it in 6.0 versus 6.3—is because they were ready to close this chapter and move on to newer ones. New worlds; new villains. We really don’t need to keep rehashing the same ones.
I have spent this entire thread saying over and over again that Zenos was never given proper development. If that makes him a poor character in others' eyes, so be it. In my eyes, he was always wasted potential.
I definitely don't want Zenos to be redesigned from the ground up, he already has personality traits that I'd want them to keep for him, as well as abilities, physical traits, etc.

I am not asking for a character retcon for Zenos. I am asking for him to be developed properly, either in a redemption arc (because personality is fluid, and people can learn and change) or be kept as a villain or made into an anti-hero, but again, with actual stuff to do, with an in-depth story.

For me personally it wouldn't be fulfilling to explore his backstory with him being dead, given everything done with him so far, which wasn't much. So no, I want to explore his backstory with him alive.
Endwalker closed the Hydaelyn and Zodiark arc. Everything else was left open to some degree or another.

Besides Zenos, there are many other characters without proper developments such as Unukalhai, Cylva, Lahabrea, Elidibus, the other Sundered Ascians, etc. Just because they are old characters they shouldn't be ignored or forgotten about.

You can move on to new world, have new villains and still explore older characters. It isn't mutually exclusive.

Anyway, I did not make this thread to argue about Zenos or to convince people of anything in particular. I am actually hoping that someone at Square Enix actually sees this thread, that hopefully Ishikawa is made aware of the fact that there are people who still want more of Zenos and who genuinely believe he has potential and deserves more. If my thread can help with that, I'd be very happy.

I get that Zenos is a very divisive character and there are many who hate him and want him gone for good. I'm not trying to change their minds. They can keep both their hatred and their desires to have him gone for good. I'll keep my own hopes as well.