What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[aveyond-dreams]

I found it rather hard to consider the Endsinger to be a 'deadly threat' when the entirety of the second phase consisted of awkwardly flailing about as a bunch of characters who have consistently been given everything they desired throughout the story proclaim that they've endured 'so much'.

It's a particularly strange claim when one looks at what the likes of the Garleans and Ancients have endured by comparison, through no fault of their own. Though the game has long since pretended as if that character with the weird half-shaved hair - Moenbryda? - is as devastating a loss as someone losing literally every single friend and family member they have ever known. Not that it's a competition, though there is most definitely differing degrees of traumatic events to consider...

While I understand that they tried to do the whole FFIV thing where the party members we left behind pray for our victory from afar...it can have less impact if you're someone that just doesn't feel that strongly about them.

The second phase of the fight is also poorly designed. At that point we've already beaten it, there's no reason for it to last as long as it does.

Also big agree on the whole Moenbryda thing-her and Haurchefant were just sort of there, then not there for me and I was surprised to see how emotionally invested others were in these characters when there were more interesting people around.

[Theodric]

While I understand that they tried to do the whole FFIV thing where the party members we left behind pray for our victory from afar...it can have less impact if you're someone that just doesn't feel that strongly about them.

The second phase of the fight is also poorly designed. At that point we've already beaten it, there's no reason for it to last as long as it does.

Also big agree on the whole Moenbryda thing-her and Haurchefant were just sort of there, then not there for me and I was surprised to see how emotionally invested others were in these characters when there were more interesting people around.

If nothing else, if the game is going to go all out with the fanservice then I want it to do it across the board. I care very little for the Scions but there are plenty of characters elsewhere that I like, both in terms of antagonists and protagonists.

I'd have appreciated Nabriales getting a mention. Yes, he killed Moenbryda (back in the days when a character screeching and recklessly charging headfirst towards an enemy would result in the logical consequence) but given that we've since learned what, exactly, he was fighting for then you'd think he'd get some proper closure.

Equally, I was waiting a long time for something to come of Regula's sacrifice and final words but there was never any option to bring him up during the peace talks with Varis and the game conveniently forgets that the pair had a friendship together that spanned decades. Which makes it a bit more of a meaningful relationship when compared to Haurchefant and the player character. He's an Elezen who knew the adventurer for...a few weeks or months at most, given how little time passes between events in the story and even then it can be argued as to how much of his 'sad sacrifice' was about him being honourable and how much of it was due to his obsessive crush upon the player character.

I suppose it's another reason why I didn't like Endwalker. The game skimped on bringing back so many characters, even in passing. The game is constantly pushing the very 'safe' characters who all conveniently agree with one another and the characters with more depth to them are either ignored after their initial appearance or quietly shuffled off into side-content.

[BaconBits]

Makes you wonder what the rest of the surviving sundered Ascians are up to. Maybe Travanchet's been vibing in Costa Del Sol all along drinking fruit smoothies after messing around with the people that built Alexander.