Eden Normal Personal Review (Hopefully no Spoilers)

[Vahlnir]

Really?
That was the best part for me.
It wasn't some new ooga-booga they would have needed to establish and give context for at the 11th hour.
Instead it was used to show a new side to the Ascians and make them a rounder group.

I didn't mind it I guess, since it was like you said...it showed another side to Ascians that we hadn't seen up to that point. It showed us that they were no different from everyone else at the end of the day, in that they had passions, hopes and dreams, and could forge strong connections with one another. We already knew this since it was mentioned in Amaurot, and through Emet-Selch to some degree, but it was neat seeing it first hand. But on the flip side I wasn't expecting more Ascians because we had already dealt with them enough, and we continue to do so in the MSQ. And yet here's another one. It was sort of jarring for me. As far as Ascians go I guess their backstories aren't half bad though.

[TheMightyMollusk]

Really?
That was the best part for me.
It wasn't some new ooga-booga they would have needed to establish and give context for at the 11th hour.
Instead it was used to show a new side to the Ascians and make them a rounder group.

Why did it need to be a new enemy when we already had Eden and the dark fairy? Either of them could've been fleshed out as something else. Just making them an Ascian again feels cheap when Ascians are already behind 90% of the conflicts in the game anyway. Compared to Alexander (which had an Ascian in the backstory, but the driving villain was Quickthinx) or Omega (zero Ascian involvement at all), it feels underwhelming to just come back to the same ol' same ol' out of nowhere.

[Vickii]

Really?
That was the best part for me.
It wasn't some new ooga-booga they would have needed to establish and give context for at the 11th hour.
Instead it was used to show a new side to the Ascians and make them a rounder group.

In my opinion it’s just unoriginal at this point. Like they really don’t know what to do with the world and characters if they don’t have an Ascian as a villain. Raids generally are our break from this where we get something new and original.

Plus we’ve already had the best Ascians so unless they’re going to do another expansion boss one everyone else will fall flat. They’re becoming like the organisation in KH, I will always remember Lahabrea and the two from the end of SHB, but these new ones not so much.

[Vickii]

Why did it need to be a new enemy when we already had Eden and the dark fairy? Either of them could've been fleshed out as something else. Just making them an Ascian again feels cheap when Ascians are already behind 90% of the conflicts in the game anyway. Compared to Alexander (which had an Ascian in the backstory, but the driving villain was Quickthinx) or Omega (zero Ascian involvement at all), it feels underwhelming to just come back to the same ol' same ol' out of nowhere.

E9 was cool. Replace E10 with E11. Replace E11 with Griever. Replace E12 with Ultimecia Gaia/Eden.

Ending could have been the exact same almost. It becomes a proper FF8 raid with more than just music and they can keep Ascians in the MSQ where they belong.

[Vahlnir]

E9 was cool. Replace E10 with E11. Replace E11 with Griever. Replace E12 with Ultimecia Gaia/Eden.

Ending could have been the exact same almost. It becomes a proper FF8 raid with more than just music and they can keep Ascians in the MSQ where they belong.

I think my only gripe was that we didn't get a remake of Liberi Fatali. Not a huge deal breaker, I mean, I can listen to it whenever I want. But I feel it was a really big missed opportunity. Would have been PERFECT for E11.

[Khalithar]

On normal.

First boss: Not so bad but it feels really tedious to me.

Second boss: I'm not a fan of the shadow mechanic, there seems to be some inconsistency in the direction it's "facing" during the reflection.

Third boss: Mostly fine, I'm not a fan of the fog mechanic not revealing the telegraph like the mist dragon.

Fourth boss: Totally caught me offguard and not what I expected it to be. As for the mechanics themselves? Pretty much fine I suppose. Felt too similar to Shiva to me because the junction/stock felt way too similar to the mirror mechanic to me.

As for the story itself? Completely caught me offguard, I did NOT expect that in the slightest. I had a few theories of course but absolutely none of them were even remotely close to what the plot actually was.