Quote Originally Posted by Nayukhuut View Post
It's even worse than that. Not only what you say, but also we find out that once again it was a plot from Venat to help guide us and keep the mess she created from destroying itself. I did the quests with my sister, and there was much swearing on my end. Which, to her credit, she found hilarious. I have given up on this story applying its morals equally. Venat didn't want people to rely on Zodiark and wanted to give the new life a chance, so she wiped out ALL life and instilled herself and her creations as gods so we could rely on HER teachings instead. Why? Because it's not evil if Light Mommy says so. -_-

It wouldn't be nearly so bad if the story didn't keep treating her as a selfless hero, but it does. I wish I had more dialogue options to tell her actions off. I understand they won't lead anywhere, but it would be soothing at least.

Worst part, the end of the quest doesn't fix anything. We still have to pray energy to the machine they left otherwise Venat's mess still caves in on itself. What happens when people stop believing in gods? When will this story admit that Venat screwed everything up?

Whew, and that was my rant for the evening, sorry. Just so frustrated with the story. Tired of being told one thing as a base for morals, and then having other things play out.
Yeah, that's the core of it for many of us posting here. The game spent close to a decade insisting that the protagonists clung dearly to a specific set of beliefs and those beliefs involved acts of genocide and racial replacement to be a line in the sand that could never be crossed no matter how sympathetic the motives leading to such acts happened to be.

Personally I never wanted Venat to be an outright villain, I simply wanted her to be held accountable for her actions in a way that didn't push her as a selfless hero. If her actions were directed at the Sundered, the Scions would have very different things to say about her.

A serial killer could go out of their way to protect me, though if I learned they were a serial killer after that fact I would be horrified and disgusted. That wouldn't negate what the serial killer did for me but nor would it demand that I approve of the baggage elsewhere in their life.

A bit of a playful analogy, perhaps, though it fits. Just switch out serial killer with genocidal eugenicist and you have Venat. Even more hilarious is Athena's story in Pandaemonium is really just Venat but honestly written - with characters actually showing disgust and calling out her plans as explicitly involving genocide. As an aside isn't it strange how the English localisation often refuses to call the Sundering precisely that, though does for the Rejoinings?

In all honesty Dawntrail just being a casual romp might be for the best if the writers aren't willing to commit to consistency when it comes to darker narratives with heavier stakes.