Right, then... [Nier: Automata/Copied Factory] [Spoilers]

[Iscah]

Considering how similar the FF14 world map looks to a map of Earth - with many similar cultures and landmarks in the same geographical spots! - I think there's much better arguments to be made that our Earth is somehow canon to the FF14 universe.

i feel like that's just a shortcut to establish a large-scale fantasy setting. (Not a particularly good one for immersion IMO, and the Eorzean local map is less blatant about it than the expansions, but convenient if you're going to draw on worldwide cultures/settings and need to establish a base map.)

Golden Sun did the same thing, and I'm sure there are others.


Belated edit: I knew there was another one I couldn't quite remember! Fullmetal Alchemist has quite a similar world map to FFXIV. European base setting, separate desert nations to the south and war-torn near east, snowy fortress in the north and a China/Japan-equivalent somewhere off in the far east.