From what I have seen of the older version of this game (that was scrapped.) the story I think seemed a bit more interesting and the world did as well. I remember seeing a video about the "Elementals" and watching them literally kill everyone near Gridania. Was actually interesting.

It just saddens me greatly that the world is so cut off, with barely any information on it in the actual game. Not saying researching is bad, but a game should put some effort into making its areas interesting. You don't really feel heroic if you don't know what your fighting for.