The EDW story is basically one huge reference with little original lore. And I'm not talking about the post-EDW content, about 6.0.

So many things, concepts, backstories, and entire characters exist as references. Some are very major ones. The backstory of the world is a reference itself. But you probably wouldn't notice if you're unaware of the source of that reference. And they change things around so it's not the same. XIV's Ivalice lore for example, is so different from the Ivalice games, and stands on its own just fine.