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

[Atelier-Bagur]

I wouldnt call Shb's story complex. I suppose its complex if youve never experienced any other jrpg that had similar apocalypse/alt world plots (ahem, Tales of Symphonia did it better)

And Sorrow of Werlyt funny enough had more emotional baggage than Shb's msq. However I had a few eye rolls in its story when they started to give almost every NPC their own sad story (that one girl who was standing alongside Gaius and that Elezen dude who wanted revenge commented that she had a sad backstory too is what did it for me). It got predictable.

[Theodric]

I suppose its complex if youve never experienced any other jrpg that had similar apocalypse/alt world plots (ahem, Tales of Symphonia did it better)

I think that's a rather strange assumption to make, particularly when the conversation on the previous page consists of...referencing other JRPG's and a lot of us have spoken at length over the years that we've posted here about games we've enjoyed played.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that Shadowbringers is the best story ever, though for many it was certainly one of the two expansions where the game properly embraced nuance in the main scenario quests - with the other expansion being Heavenward.

As for the overabundance of 'sob stories', that is in turn a consequence of the game's protagonists being clad in ridiculous levels of plot armour. I don't like the 'feels based storytelling' being so common, either, though if they're not going to have any lasting consequences or real stakes for the same characters we're forced to follow around from region to region then their tried and true tactic of playing sad music as an enemy or ally begins speaking on the trauma of their past is going to continue.

Sure, they could throw in a completely unsympathetic enemy but then they wouldn't allow them to actually do anything memorable given the game's current stance on meaningful consequences.