Quote Originally Posted by arstoka View Post
To add to this, references should be the icing on the cake when it comes to writing a story. It rewards those who have played other games with little easter eggs but does not take away from the entertainment of the story. A story should be able to stand on its own merit. Relying on external media for emotional moments will be detrimental to the story itself unless its a direct sequel that is building on the pre-established story.
Its a contributing factor as to why the post 6.0 patch storyline was bollocks. They tried WAAAAAAAY too hard to shoehorn FF4 into the game without considering how it played into FF14's history and development. Obsession with fan-service over writing. Alexandria is the same.