FF is not GoT.

[Arienal]

This has got to stop..this is at the point where everyone seems to be either killed, or cripplingly maimed. I play these FF games because this sort of thing historically doesnt happen this much. in the last 7 games we've had ONE major character death, and ONE person who got crippled, and the latter was quickly healed. Now i cant even bear to LOOK at the trailers as they come out, and frankly, im too terrified to even start 3.2's story, as everyone keeps getting killed or hurt, not to mention the FC giving non-spoiler warnings. This method of storytelling is fine in avenue's where thats the premise, LIKE GoT. its expected, thats what people go there for. I come to FF because this sort of thing doesnt happen, and now i dont even feel safe being logged into the damn game..

[dejiko_san]

They've killed off a lot more people over the course of their games than just one.

Just look at ffviii or ffx, there were a lot of people dying in those... Or look at the purge from FFXIII.

Shit happens in wars which is what's happening at the moment.

Not to say your post has no merit but death in FF isn't unheard of.

[CyrilLucifer]

Oh boy, looks like someone didn't play FFXI.

I actually started writing out a list of characters that either flat our die or suffer unpleasant fates in one of XI's many multiverses, but stopped when I hit 7 because I realized that holy hell XI is a depressing game and it basically nullifies your point entirely because it would list every single named character in the game. I'm sorry. Seekers of Adoulin alone is almost brutal enough to put Heavensward to shame; the one character that does live through his death ends up a vampire...thing, not just a fakeout death like XIV is prone to.

But I respectfully disagree. You can make many generalizations about Final Fantasy, but your vision of what Final Fantasy 'should' be isn't always what Final Fantasy 'is;' there is no one singular, unified Final Fantasy. Death has been a thing in FF all the way back in FFII, where you had more playable characters dead than alive. And FFI? That entire game is about characters suffering horrible fates in a time loop. I'm sorry you don't enjoy Heavensward, but I don't think it's really anyone's place but the developer's to make the decision on the tone of the story.

[dejiko_san]

Oh boy, looks like someone didn't play FFXI.

I actually started writing out a list of characters that either flat our die or suffer unpleasant fates in one of XI's many multiverses, but stopped when I hit 7 because I realized that holy hell XI is a depressing game it basically nullifies your point entirely. I'm sorry. Seekers of Adoulin alone is almost brutal enough to put Heavensward to shame; the one character that does live through his death ends up a vampire...thing, not just a fakeout death like XIV is prone to.

Yeah agree, FFXI has some gut wrenching moments! I stopped FFXI right at that expansion, maybe I should go back and play through it!

[CyrilLucifer]

SoA is worth a playthrough, at least, since you'll get to experience the new Yhoator-styled zones, complete with maps just as useless as Yuhtunga's. They also have a really neat Trust system where you can summon NPC allies, even rather legendary ones, like the Ark Angels. Also the SoA villain is very XIV-inspired, to the point where it's basically copy-paste (and, wouldn't you know it, he's the best character in that expansion, too).

Rhapsodies, the free expansions, kinda jumped the shark, though. While I can't recommend not playing them, because they're a finale to the game's story, they're - well, I think it would be best to draw your own conclusions. Still, if you've some free time, definitely try it.

[Fenral]

But I respectfully disagree. You can make many generalizations about Final Fantasy, but your vision of what Final Fantasy 'should' be isn't always what Final Fantasy 'is;' [...] I don't think it's really anyone's place but the developer's to make the decision on the tone of the story.

Only thing I have to say to counter that is that there was a pretty long stretch where each numbered Final Fantasy was aware of the themes of the games preceding it, and up until 3.2, FFXIV pretended it wasn't. Pretended. After 3.2, I'm much more willing to believe the devs do know what they're doing, but for a while it was like we had regressed back to FFII levels of death and nihilism without acknowledging that VI and IX were also a thing that happened.

The other thing to take into account is how SquareSoft used to operate, back in the day. They had a number of producers working on a number of different brands, each with their own "series" that was pretty much theirs to do with as they saw fit. Hironobu Sakaguchi had Final Fantasy, Akitoshi Kawazu had SaGa, Koichi Ishii had the Mana games, etc. Tetsuya Takahashi had Xenogears, which he packed up and took with him to his own company as Xenosaga and now Xenoblade.

Final Fantasy happens to be the one S-E brand that has survived long past its creator's time on the payroll, and to this day it continues to get passed around to different producers and directors trying to recover the magic it lost. Which is not to say that games since haven't been good in their own way, just that there hasn't been a consistent hand at the wheel since FFIX, and everyone has their own ideas on what to do with it.

[AutumnHarvestwind]

Oh boy, looks like someone didn't play FFXI.

this is somewhat of a tangent, but outside of the storyline, you had a real sense of urgency that you WOULD die and get a severe penalty like deleveling! I remember just spending hours in camping... valkrum dunes, quifum, the jungles ( OH GOD WOULD YOU GET LOST), crawler's nest, the deserts... so on and so forth and then boom, you'd accidently get aggro from an 'impossible to gauge!' trusight mob or something and DELEVEL A LEVEL AND A HALF!!
I remember when you first entered the promyvions ( i thnk thats what theyre called?) youd get the most CREEPIEST MUSIC, and names like 'weeper' and shit....just creepy, dark.
Also the base quest for fighting the shadowlord was so heartclenchingly dark...and... (again) creepy..
Not to mention, the game had a habit that nightfall = undead strong mobs would spawn. ( I always hated night time, while running through zones on low levels)

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

I'm very curious to see your response to 3.2's Main Scenario, personally.

[Kallera]

Terrified is better than bored.

In fact,one of the reasons Heavensward has been a lot better than the plot in ARR, is because this is also affecting (on a subtler level) the main character. The choices in dialogue and ultimate path the story takes is still vague enough to fit any type of character in, but it goes to show that no one goes through such personal hardships unscathed.

This also sets the stage for further character growth, where before there couldn't be any. To simply fight to gain the power of being a hero, well we already are a hero now, damn important one too. But to just stay that way, and just throw in "find the crystals again" bit through expansions, makes for a boring and rote character. That's because we already know they are strong and supported with or without the blessing.
It is one thing to become strong, to get The Blessing back, we were almost kinda of expecting it over and over. but what if next expansion we had to work though our inner demons? Or give The Blessing to others? Or maybe find that reason to believe in Eorzea again? This is what keeps things fresh in the story, to make a character that lives and feels within the setting, not apart from it.

[Belhi]

FF isn't really in the same ball park as GoT. I think the tone of 3.2 is important. In many ways its a retrospective plot where the WoL and Scions have to look at what they are fighting for and what that means and make some choices. Personally I think for me the final scene with Alphinaud was probably one of the most important because it was aan affirmation of what we are doing and as small as the scene was it was kind of a hopeful, drawing a line in the sand scene for me, not naïve, but not willing to give into cynicism.