Quote Originally Posted by Rulakir View Post
I'm not speaking only of deaths, in which case there were two of the main cast regardless of whether or not one could be undone with a lot of effort in a terribly written sequel. (The gameplay was fun though.) Much like LotR where only one member of the Fellowship died (permanently), but most of the others went through a lot. Meanwhile, I've got Thancred complaining about how he doesn't have a single scar to brag about at the end of all things. :P
This argument only really applies to Endwalker specifically, which isn't really a fair comparison.

Endwalker was more applicable to, like, the "Disc 3/4" content of a PS1-era game. We've already been through most of these characters' emotional journeys. I'm not arguing with the fact that Endwalker was rather "toothless" in how it challenged or harmed its main characters, but it's not really comparable to judging an entire story and the growth of its characters from start to finish.