I can't connect with the Memories of Vanadiel

[Chasingstars]

These Alliance raids, that may or may not be the re-imagining of another shard?

Its impressions of a different shard with Sareel Ja's fanciful exaggerations as the electrope amplifies his magic. Like the Gulool Ja Ja they have is exaggerated to look like the source version, but its not the Gulool Ja Ja we know. As the beastmen of Vana'diel are warlike and only really seek one thing, to crush the civilizations of the five races. The five races are basically the same as what we had in ARR with some minor differences, that of their own equivalents to Lalafell, Elezen, Roegydan, Miqote, and Hyurs.

[Gaddes]

Also, Sareel Ja hinted that Elvaan Guy is actually someone else, so I look forward to the next raid's cutscene when he randomly transforms into Prince Trion and everybody who didn't play XI goes "literally who?" all at once.

I might be way off the mark, but there have been indications that Alxaal might somehow actually be the player's Adventurer character... he couldn't remember his own name, he's constantly referring to wanting to explore/adventure in this new unfamiliar land to him so he definitely has the Adventurer's wanderlust, and Sareel Ja makes a point of saying his performance was unexpected. So this is an atypical character that has no clear visual comparison to established story NPCs. What I don't understand is: what is their end-goal by having the Adventurer (or a copy of them) in this? Are they either going to somehow try and corrupt him to fight us (I hope not) or instead use it as a narrative moment to show his similarity/parallels with this game's Warrior of Light?

[Chasingstars]

I might be way off the mark, but there have been indications that Alxaal might somehow actually be the player's Adventurer character... he's constantly referring to wanting to explore/adventure in this new unfamiliar land to him so he definitely has the Adventurer's wanderlust, and Sareel Ja makes a point of saying his performance was unexpected. What I don't understand is: what is their end-goal by having the Adventurer (or a copy of them) in this? Are they either going to somehow try and corrupt him to fight us (I hope not) or instead use it as a narrative moment to show his similarity/parallels with this game's Warrior of Light?

Yes, and also the main giveaway very early on was he knows Prishe for example but Prishe doesn't know him which would echo how player characters know npcs but npcs wouldn't necessairly recognize players.

[FuturePastNow]

So my theory about the overall raid story is that I think Sareel Ja is actually dead, and his soul got isekai'd through the portal into a MMORPG for the Endless in Living Memory. That's why the raids are full of notes written from the perspective of players, as are the shades in Jueno... they're echoes of Endless who were in the game when it was shut down by us turning off LM. Perhaps Alxaal is one of them, but somehow a bit more complete than the others, the last person in a dead MMO.

[LyrisAdamanteia]

From what I've heard the Zero story line was a complete rehash of FF4 and now the same appears to be happening with FF9?

Neither is the case, the only people saying 6.X are rehashes of FF4 are people who've never played FF4 and streamers trying to rage bait. It has a lot of homages to it in terms of character names but they're completely different characters and their arcs are different. Golbez isn't a mindcontrolled slave of the real villain, nor the hero's sibling like IV, he's a fallen hero trying to live up to his friend's legacy. Zero isn't the adopted child of a king who one day changes and starts warmongering and whose journey is about seeking forgiveness, she's a traveling warrior and the last of her kind whose journey is about learning to trust in others in a world that hadn't taught her that. Zeromus isn't the manifestation of the main villain's hate after death she's a manifestation of the grief of Azdaja and her want to return home. And so many other things, like the one thing they share is that Zero and Cecil both change from a dark themed job to a light themed one, big wow, much copy.

And the same thing for DT, I've read a great comment on this once but DT is insanely respectful of FF9 because of how it remixes its themes into something wholly original. Sphene (QE) is a twisted version of both Garnet and Zidane, Zoraal Ja has something similar going on to Kuja but not the same, the role of Garland is split between Gulool Ja Ja and Calyx (the former for his connection to the Kuja expy, Zoraal Ja, the latter for his connection to Sphene). But nothing is lifted wholesale from previous FFs. Yes, XIV is an FF theme park but the rides are stuff we've never scene in the exhibits they've put up. And for that matter would we call 1.0 a blatant copy of FF7? What about Sorrows of Werlyt? Did Eden rip wholesale from FF8? Its pretty disingenuous to see folks with takes like these, imo.

[Valence]

I wonder if anybody who didn't play FFXI is even interacting with the lore NPC in Lower Jeuno. Not that it's a great way to tell you about the bosses, but that's what they went with.

I did actually. I'm a rabid loremonger and that's what kept me in the game originally. I click and explore every questline, I talk to NPCs even when they don't have a quest icon above the head.

It was a good idea to have but ultimately it gave me nothing more. Some vague explanations of the basics of the lore, which like for Ivalice, was welcome, but it didn't make me CARE about the world or the story. How could I? There may be a story for XIV with Sareel Ja going on (which has been pretty poor so far), but I haven't been through the XI actual story to care about the world, nor that this makes me want to do it either. Most were also written clearly from a nostalgic perspective that felt an obvious attempt at "selling me on XI" more than anything. "Look how cool it was to be adventuring there, or how funny it was when a summoner was born and a rainbow appeared". It's exactly like when your best friend can't stop gushing about a book/movie/game they hold very dear but you never went through it and have no idea what they're talking about.

People from another MMO would feel the exact same if they suddenly had a XIV crossover in one of their raids, and they were suddenly got told to care about Ishgard, Haurchefant or Emet Selch. And when going through the hallway modeled after Amaurot with Close in the Distance blasting in the background they'd be told in a few lines how this was a turning point of the story.

[Aneshda]

If only it were just the memories of Vanadiel that I can't relate to. But there's also the Arcadion.
There isn't a single place in DawnTrail that triggers something in me. There isn't a single NPC that stands out in my memory.
Not a single emotion that I could say was funny, sad, or whatever. And there isn't a single song or specific piece of music that I remember that was particularly good.
BUT there was one monster that stuck in my mind: Drowsie, because it was so cute. I have never felt so alienated from my character and the world as I have in this expansion.

[Daralii]

If only it were just the memories of Vanadiel that I can't relate to. But there's also the Arcadion.
There isn't a single place in DawnTrail that triggers something in me. There isn't a single NPC that stands out in my memory.
Not a single emotion that I could say was funny, sad, or whatever. And there isn't a single song or specific piece of music that I remember that was particularly good.
BUT there was one monster that stuck in my mind: Drowsie, because it was so cute. I have never felt so alienated from my character and the world as I have in this expansion.

Yoshida said that this is the kind of expansion and story he's wanted to make ever since he got the reins, so it's actually our fault for liking the preceding decade and thinking that was the game's identity.

[Kirutsuki]

I have been an avid Final Fantasy fan since basically forever. I have played all of the mainline titles, but there is still a handful of games of the franchise I haven't touched, notably FF Tactics or FF XI. I do understand....
Or am I the only one feeling like this by now?

While I didn't enjoy or care much about the 1st alliance raid, I was having a blast with the 2nd. I even started to enjoy some of the characters and their struggles. But I admit, it's very little story we are getting and maybe that stems from the aspect that 11 has a pretty rich story and to fully attach itself to that would mis-represent some canonical events and they wanted to avoid that as much as possible?

The thing is I didn't particularly enjoy my time doing any of the Endwalker raids beyond the first go, after that they were just a chore, most of the fights were barely interesting. The only thing going for it was the connection to other ancients, but if you took that away and it was literally JUST the 12 gods, it would feel pretty blatant fanservice as well, but because theres this underlying notion of the 12 being something else before you sort of connect with them in a more meaningful way. But do I want to go beat mr.bowman more than I would like to go do the current alliance raid bosses? Not really. Halone was the only one that was like peak cinema.

Generally I like the current Alliance raid, atleast this new one with 7.3 and it isn't nearly as boring aswhatever the storuline with Ivalice was, cause god damn was I bored out of my mind reading that stuff.

[Aneshda]

Yoshida said that this is the kind of expansion and story he's wanted to make ever since he got the reins, so it's actually our fault for liking the preceding decade and thinking that was the game's identity.

If this is the future of this game, and if this is Yoshida's deepest wish to completely destroy everything from its predecessor, then so be it. But money speaks louder than he could imagine. Another expansion like DT, and the remaining player base will be halved.