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

[CrownySuccubus]

I actually have a lot of unease about the possibility of a focus on the New World, because how they've handled elements of it, or elements adjacent to it so far, do not fill me with a lot of reassurance about being respectful or avoiding caricatures - but then again, I did really enjoy Thavnair and thought it was handled well, so who knows?

Another thing I'd like to do is investigate the corrupt government of Hingashi.

The samurai questline made it abundantly clear that the shogunate there is doing things like burning the parents of dissenters alive in front of their families and then just....dropped it.

We're told that Makoto is working from the inside to slowly change the government over several generations...but we are literally the person who overthrew a corrupt church and two imperial occupations. It makes zero sense that nobody considers this a concern.

[aveyond-dreams]

Despite my issues with EW, I’m participating in this (and other threads) because I love this game and how Venat was written is an issue towards my enjoyment. If I was concerned the devs were unable or unwilling to keep on making a product I was interested in, I’d simply unsubscribe and play something else. Pretending like I must be catered to or the devs “will be sorry” because “everyone secretly agrees with me@ is a pointless enterprise. The expac I wanted from EW probably would have been deeply unpopular; I can acknowledge the unpopularity of my views and still hope that my thoughts and concerns reach the devs. A minority voice is still valuable—sometimes, the most valuable.

As a live service game there is an expected degree of accountability given the very nature of this product. In any case my takes are in fact usually the correct ones, as they have been since the troubles of the 2019 Baldesion Arsenal/Blue Mage/Male Viera fiasco and other matters that were consequently resolved.

Please continue to do as you wish. I will watch from afar as more and more people eventually come around to my way of thinking as time goes on, a solution is then implemented, and things get better. See Bozja, the (seemingly) abandonment of Limited Jobs, and the eventual inclusion of Male Viera along with Female Hrothgar coming down the line.

[Brinne]

Another thing I'd like to do is investigate the corrupt government of Hingashi.

The samurai questline made it abundantly clear that the shogunate there is doing things like burning the parents of dissenters alive in front of their families and then just....dropped it.

We're told that Makoto is working from the inside to slowly change the government over several generations...but we are literally the person who overthrew a corrupt church and two imperial occupations. It makes zero sense that nobody considers this a concern.

I wouldn't mind this, per se, even if I don't have particular interest in Hingashi specifically. (But then, I wouldn't say I have particular interest in most settings specifically in general. You can always make good stories anywhere.) The way the samurai quest was handled in Stormblood was pretty boggling given the context of, well, the rest of Stormblood. Again, is violent revolution in the face of a cruel and oppressive regime justified, or not, Stormblood?

[Theodric]

I'd rather not have another expansion based around regime change, personally. Hingashi intrigues me quite a bit - perceived flaws and all. A highlight of Stormblood for me was actually preventing a violent uprising instead of stoking the flames of one.

[CrownySuccubus]

I'd rather not have another expansion based around regime change, personally.

But, that's pretty much what Final Fantasy is. Standing up for what's right by defeating the corrupt power structure is pretty much what every game in the series is about.

Hingashi intrigues me quite a bit - perceived flaws and all. A highlight of Stormblood for me was actually preventing a violent uprising instead of stoking the flames of one.

Gotta say, it felt weird working for the stormtroopers that one time.

[aveyond-dreams]

But, that's pretty much what Final Fantasy is. Standing up for what's right by defeating the corrupt power structure is pretty much what every game in the series is about.



Gotta say, it felt weird working for the stormtroopers that one time.

Yes but usually it doesn't end up with Alphinaud creating yet another republic and adding it to his growing list. The typical aftermath of overthrowing evil regimes in Final Fantasy games is usually one of the heroes ending up on the throne, or the dissolution of the state in its entirety.

Historically, such stories are oftentimes more tolerable than the present trends here.

[KageTokage]

Another thing I'd like to do is investigate the corrupt government of Hingashi.

The samurai questline made it abundantly clear that the shogunate there is doing things like burning the parents of dissenters alive in front of their families and then just....dropped it.

We're told that Makoto is working from the inside to slowly change the government over several generations...but we are literally the person who overthrew a corrupt church and two imperial occupations. It makes zero sense that nobody considers this a concern.

I feel like they probably left that open as a subtle thread that might lead into a Far East focused expansion eventually.

If the shogunate decided to start aggressively exerting influence over Othard's mainland including Doma and Nagxia that would provide an easy reason for us to get involved, and the Scions now being scattered all over the whole of the Three Great Continents was probably partly to provide us with numerous potential bearers of bad news for the sake of leading into conflicts both side story and MSQ related.

[CrownySuccubus]

Yes but usually it doesn't end up with Alphinaud creating yet another republic and adding it to his growing list. The typical aftermath of overthrowing evil regimes in Final Fantasy games is usually one of the heroes ending up on the throne, or the dissolution of the state in its entirety.

Okay, then dissolve the shogunate.

Just saying it's weird that we have a government so corrupt that half of its own police force were either defectors or planning a secret coup, and it's just treated like an "Oh well".

[aveyond-dreams]

If I remember correctly, Hingashi appears to draw from the era just prior to the Meiji Restoration of Japan so any future conflicts there are more likely to arise from within, with the fall of the Shogunate leading to the rise of a new visionary and forward thinking Emperor. Pair that with a Yokai or demon infestation and inspiration from games like Sekiro or Nioh, and you have an excellent basis for an 8.0.

[Theodric]

But, that's pretty much what Final Fantasy is. Standing up for what's right by defeating the corrupt power structure is pretty much what every game in the series is about.

Eh, each to their own but that was never what drew me to the games in the first place. It was the nuance of the more mature titles - a trend I hoped that FFXIV itself would follow. FFXII appealed to me in large part because it didn't result in the Archadian Empire being cut apart and done away with. Larsa ascended the throne but we didn't get rid of the concept of an Emperor.

FFIX didn't end with Queen Garnet abdicating the throne either. I like Empires, Knights, Monarchies and other similar tropes. I'd rather not see them done away with or gutted to the point of every region just subscribing to the same bland set of modern day real world ideals that the Scions often enforce on everybody but themselves.

After seeing how the Ancients and Garleans were handled, I'd rather not see more elements of the game that I like be completely or near completely destroyed and changed. The game's rated for ages sixteen and up in my region so it can...afford to have some grit to it. Not everything needs to wrap up perfectly in a neat little bow.