Awfully weak story... or is it? [WARNING:SPOILERS]

[Astarica]

Complain that the storyline is 'bad' because of it if you must, but just remember that this is a Final Fantasy game - there is no choice to play as 'villains' instead of the 'good guys' - no 'Alliance/Horde' system here, it's the nature of the beast.

Sure, it's probably too much to expect even a superficial appearance of having choices, but in that case don't force players to make totally stupid decisions and expect people to be immersed. The Company of Heroes arc is an obvious one, but in general it just doesn't feel like the guys you're fighting for is even worth the trouble given they show no appreciation for your efforts either. At several point in the story you are able to choose some kind of response. It'd be nice if those actually appeared to have an impact. For example, if you can say, "Don't send me with those losers called Company of Heroes again", then later Minfillia can at least apologize for wasting your time.

Case in point. In the Company of Hero arc, multiple guys on your side pointed out that you're working for a bunch of idiots on the far fetched hope that they actually know something. In fact, you, the Warrior of Light, is the biggest endorser of the said group of buffoons. While others express skepticism, your character is presumably saying, "I LUV KILLING DRAGON FOR CHEESE! WOULD DO IT AGAIN!" This is where having the hero not talk hurts a lot, since he doesn't talk we have to assume he has to be mentally retarded. If he talked, he could say like well these guys aren't reliable but they're our best bet. It'd still be pretty dumb but it'd give the hero a chance to prove that he's not retarded. It's because the story forces you automatically into some very dumb decisions and the fact that the hero never even tries to attempt to defend himself (because he can't talk) you get those compounded effect. Why am I fetching stew on the eve of the attack into Praetorium? But since the hero doesn't explain, I must assume the hero is just dumb and enjoys wasting his time.