As someone who loved it, why I think Dawntrail didn't work for everyone [Spoilers]

[Cilia]

Is it? Because while I think we can all agree that it borrows heavily from IX, I'd hardly call it an adaptation. It just borrows some names and figures, has a final zone deliberately evoking Memoria, and characters clearly riffing on Garnet and Steiner. I'd hardly say Dawntrail resembles FFIX in more than trappings at all, any more than I'd say Stormblood resembles XII. Hell, Sphene and Otis are more dark mirrors of Garnet and Sphene than anything.

I agree with Cleretic. It has some small parts of IX to illicit a kind of small response but it doesn't commit to anything large scale for IX to feel like an adaption but more borrowing concepts. The Alexandria Dungeon had the vibes of it and fit the look but I think that's as far as I can go with how much it borrows.

Sphene's MO and goals are, broadly, identical to Garland's but adapted to service XIV lore. Her character bears Garnet's compassion, but in almost every other way besides appearances Sphene and Garland (IX) are pretty much the same character.

It's not a 1:1, but there are entirely too many similarities to call it its own story. If not an adaptation it is heavily derivative of IX, so much that if you're familiar with that game it's very obvious how things with Alexandria are going to shake out in the second half of the story.