(Wildly speculative) idea about the next overarching threat - *spoilers*

[Cleretic]

I mean... I also don't think that's the case because no mainline numbered Final Fantasy has never been directly tied to the setting or narrative of any other mainline numbered Final Fantasy, and I believe Yoshi-P has directly said XIV and XVI aren't somehow an exception to that rule.

Which I didn't think he needed to, but I just keep seeing people speculate that they are. (I blame Clive looking too much like a default Midlander; I've never seen a protagonist design so uninspired it literally causes brand identity issues before.)

[Iscah]

In the Heavensward post patches, you speak with Minifilia/Hydaelyn who has now become the Word of the Mother, and here she explains that she has failed to stop the 7 previous calamities/rejoinings and you can't let them do it once more because she won't have the energy. So the basic idea is in place pretty early in the story, granted not as fleshed out as we come to understand in Shadowbringers.

So, even putting aside Cleretic's objections to your post, the issue is entirely about Hydaelyn's strength and nothing to do with it being a turning point for Zodiark's reconstruction. And we still could have hypothetically found some way of recharging Hydaelyn, like Urianger did by bringing us together with the Warriors of Darkness to offer our crystals.

[Kesey]

So, even putting aside Cleretic's objections to your post, the issue is entirely about Hydaelyn's strength and nothing to do with it being a turning point for Zodiark's reconstruction. And we still could have hypothetically found some way of recharging Hydaelyn, like Urianger did by bringing us together with the Warriors of Darkness to offer our crystals.

Well, yes and no? I think they made it pretty clear in Shadowbringers, then reiterated it in Endwalker, in way more detail, that Venat was needed to make the "correct" Hydaelyn. Anyone else would have bumbled it because they didn't have all the info, because only Venat and the WOL are the only people with their Elpis memories intact. So using all her energy and summoning her back would be imperfect.

The recharging, which I guess was a possibility, would have required a large quantity of aether, which we only know was available through a calamity/rejoining, so unless they were willing to get Ascians one step closer and sacrifice a whole planet's existence, basically morally comprising themselves, I don't think was an option at all.

[ReynTime]

I mean... I also don't think that's the case because no mainline numbered Final Fantasy has never been directly tied to the setting or narrative of any other mainline numbered Final Fantasy, and I believe Yoshi-P has directly said XIV and XVI aren't somehow an exception to that rule.

Which I didn't think he needed to, but I just keep seeing people speculate that they are. (I blame Clive looking too much like a default Midlander; I've never seen a protagonist design so uninspired it literally causes brand identity issues before.)

People who play XIV and will play XVI are able to discern the characters. As for people outside of the fandom... Tetsuya Nomura characters suffer from this constantly. Rinoa, Kairi and that girl from The Bouncer look like the same character with different ages.

[Cleretic]

People who play XIV and will play XVI are able to discern the characters. As for people outside of the fandom... Tetsuya Nomura characters suffer from this constantly. Rinoa, Kairi and that girl from The Bouncer look like the same character with different ages.

The Derplander/Clive confusion is actually something I've mostly only seen from FFXIV players, although I've seen one person outside of it get them mixed up so I know it's not just a 'them' thing. And to the second part, three things.

1. I said 'protagonists' for a reason; Rinoa might be the only smart person in the VIII party, but she is not a protagonist, and none of those three exist in spaces separate from their protagonist in any situations that are all that relevant.
2. I don't think I've ever seen any Nomura Girls mistaken for each other, because at the very least people generally know that 'different hair color = different person' with high-anime styles like those games.
3. If the exact situation you just described happened, I'd be most confused as to why someone who barely knows Square stuff is in a situation where the extended cast of The Bouncer is coming up. I think that's a situation so unlikely that it can be safely considered an outlier!

[RukoBoshi]

Which I didn't think he needed to, but I just keep seeing people speculate that they are. (I blame Clive looking too much like a default Midlander; I've never seen a protagonist design so uninspired it literally causes brand identity issues before.)

I think this man is worst than Clive, first time i saw him, i thought about the WoL from Shadowbringers, and many others had the same reaction in the live stream chat.
Then there's also the moogle of FFXVI that are 1:1 the same as the one in FFXIV.
https://youtu.be/Ssu1hhJpUTo

I feel like this game is gonna borrow more from FFXIV than the rest of the serie.

[SannaR]

That's only his drawing. Barnabas doesn't look as Derplanderish in game as he does there. I think the similarities are only really there due to the armor which, I mean is that way for a reason. Same or highly similar moogle models aren't anything new. IX practically had the same models that VII had. There's probably more exactly or almost exactly model sharing with moogles than there are where the looks are different.

[RyuDragnier]

I feel like this game is gonna borrow more from FFXIV than the rest of the serie.

I have a sneaking suspicion Yoshi-P and the dev team purposefully moved assets into FFXVI development so they can upscale it, get things done in a reasonable manner, and then move those assets back INTO FFXIV for the big graphical update. 2 birds, one stone.

[RukoBoshi]

I have a sneaking suspicion Yoshi-P and the dev team purposefully moved assets into FFXVI development so they can upscale it, get things done in a reasonable manner, and then move those assets back INTO FFXIV for the big graphical update. 2 birds, one stone.

Oh you're right, that sounds possible. I'm sure there's a lot of elements that would translate well from FFXVI to FFXIV since they got the same engine.
With the devs who worked on FFXVI seemingly returning to FFXIV, the team will be well equipped to make the game feel more modern in terms of textures and lightning.

[RyuDragnier]

Oh you're right, that sounds possible. I'm sure there's a lot of elements that would translate well from FFXVI to FFXIV since they got the same engine.
With the devs who worked on FFXVI seemingly returning to FFXIV, the team will be well equipped to make the game feel more modern in terms of textures and lightning.

It might result in some epic fight scenes again too. If I recall, the last really big epic fight scene we had was Shinryu vs Omega at the end of HW...which is when I suspect they started working on FFXVI.