I was actually thinking about this before...

If you analyze almost every Final fantasy game after VI, you will notice that there is a "Plot device" that kind of connects the story and the Gameplay. For example: Materia, Guardian Forces, Trance, Spheres, Espers...etc.

I think that the Echo could be FFXIV's Plot Device. The echo is a pretty interesting little thing... it can happen anywhere like a small vision of the past, or you can control it and use it at will...But...Why does this happen only in Main scenario quests?...why cant this happen during our normal levequests and missions?... Im not talking about something fancy like a cutsene, however; im talking about a little interaction between the story and the gameplay. In my opinion, The Echo as a Plot device would be perfect... without any connection between setting and gameplay, we are not living eorzea, we are just walking it >.> and thats no fun.

[SIZE="5"]How do you think the echo could be implemented on levequests and normal quests?[/SIZE]