Quote Originally Posted by Dikatis View Post
Well, it's been ground under heel by the Garlean Empire for the past 20 years and many of the local landmarks have been defaced or destroyed as part of Garlemald's M.O. of cultural destruction in the name of stopping the eikonic threat. It'd be weirder if everything were sunshine and roses.

That said, Gyr Abania is plenty beautiful if you know where to look. Ala Mhigan culture is also fascinating with how they've had to adapt and develop food and remedies from the local wildlife given how barren the ground is there. I love the sidequests in Ala Ghiri too and there's even a throwback to 1.0 in there.
I think the main issue with Ala Mhigo isn't the cultural aesthetic or appearance of the region, which does have some really beautiful vistas. It's just that there really isn't very much to do in those places.

It's less "people don't like these cultural aesthetics" and more "zones without much in the way of quests or content aren't super popular."

Also, Rhalgar's reach is probably the least interesting hub area to navigate. If they had just let it stay destroyed and moved all the essential NPCs to Ala Mhigo proper, maybe all those zones would be more fondly remembered.