What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[aveyond-dreams]

I didn't play the event nor do I plan to given the fact the headpiece, for some reason, wasn't dyeable-but anyway the overly predictable sequence of events in the final stretch of Endwalker was not handled well nor am I surprised that people are concerned for the future MSQ. Ultima Thule and the events that happened there were cheap, but most of us who played Endwalker at launch were helped along by the hype. Nowadays I don't think I could've taken the fake sacrifices seriously.

Especially not after Stranger of Paradise, Final Fantasy Meme Central, managed to pull off meaningful sacrifices in its final act. The Frank Sinatra song that apparently is supposed to represent Jack manages to feel more fitting than Close in the Distance does for the Scions, due to how little these characters evolved during Endwalker and their lack of substance. Or, in G'raha Tia's case, a total fall from grace compared to how he won a decent amount of people over as the Crystal Exarch, only to exhaust our patience once he became a plushie.

This is certainly not the case for numerous numbered mainline titles as well as spinoffs. When the time came for the final showdown, there was far more suspense and *danger* besides clouds of dark smoke. Crisis Core, anyone? FFXIII-2? FFXV? FFX gets a special mention-the Aeons, the mostly silent beings who I called on in nearly every battle became one of my last opponents. A single line each, them fighting me with the same abilities that I had given them, it all made for so much more impact than Ultima Thule.

Which is to say nothing of the events that took place after the battle with Yu Yevon. Yuna performed one last sending, and one by one they were all set free. The emotional catharsis brought on soon afterwards solidified Yuna as one of Final Fantasy's best heroines, and that cast as one of the strongest in the series.

I'm not particularly excited for the MSQ of 6.1, but my opinion could be swayed depending on what we see in the trailer. I'm still wary of Thancred allegedly having a "cool moment" which could possibly mean that we get an expensive animation of him eating sushi or something. There will almost certainly be more slice-of-life filler quests in Sharlayan surrounding the old teacher whose name I forgot, and I pray that the scene with Estinien is him inviting us to go on a monster hunt and the subsequent patch dungeon.