Building a better Alphinaud

[CrownySuccubus]

I think a healthy balance can be struck though that can't happen until more of an effort is made to bring some genuine variety to the table with characters that appeal to a broader range of players and have different world views that actually challenge each other to do more than just convert everyone to the same stance or have only surface level disagreements.

Fordola's cynical streak is an excellent example of something I'd like to see more of. More stoic men who are driven and no nonsense would be nice to see, too - especially if they have some testosterone, are classically or ruggedly handsome and are allowed to be a little rough around the edges.

As I've said before, "classically handsome" means different things based on different cultures, time periods, etc.

Besides that, this sounds pretty much exactly like what we got in the final role quest, where we had a group that included Aymeric, Hien and Nero, who all had their own different ideas and political views on what the Garleans should do.

[aveyond-dreams]

As I've said before, "classically handsome" means different things based on different cultures, time periods, etc.

Besides that, this sounds pretty much exactly like what we got in the final role quest, where we had a group that included Aymeric, Hien and Nero, who all had their own different ideas and political views on what the Garleans should do.

And my goodness wouldn't it have been nice if we had a party as diverse as them instead of a bunch white-haired scholars who nod and agree with each other on everything.

[CrownySuccubus]

And my goodness wouldn't it have been nice if we had a party as diverse as them instead of a bunch white-haired scholars who nod and agree with each other on everything.

Thancred may have grown up in Sharlayan, but a scholar he isn't. Likewise Alisaie, whose typical response to a problem is "kill it". We also have Estinien, who is a warrior. Likewise, despite being scholars, it's not as if the Scions actually agree uniformly on every matter.

[Theodric]

Thancred may have grown up in Sharlayan, but a scholar he isn't. Likewise Alisaie, whose typical response to a problem is "kill it". We also have Estinien, who is a warrior. Likewise, despite being scholars, it's not as if the Scions actually agree uniformly on every matter.

There's surface level disagreement but when all is said and done they end up doing whatever Alphinaud desires in the end. Which, I suspect, is a major contributing factor to the reasoning behind this thread.

All of this has been explained many times before, though, from what I recall. So if you want to agree to disagree, then that's perfectly fine.

[KariTheFox]

There's surface level disagreement but when all is said and done they end up doing whatever Alphinaud desires in the end. Which, I suspect, is a major contributing factor to the reasoning behind this thread.

Well, what Alphinaud believes in this case is the essentially, the ideas of Louisoix -the founding principles of the Circle of Knowing and later the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Most of the members were recruited by Louisoix in the first place because he thought they would accept his ideas.

Is it really a problem that the members of the Scions agree with thier organization's own ideology? (Which again, is less about universal republicanism and more to do with international cooperation and collaboration.)

[CrownySuccubus]

Well, what Alphinaud believes in this case is the essentially, the ideas of Louisoix -the founding principles of the Circle of Knowing and later the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Most of the members were recruited by Louisoix in the first place because he thought they would accept his ideas.

Is it really a problem that the members of the Scions agree with thier organization's own ideology? (Which again, is less about universal republicanism and more to do with international cooperation and collaboration.)

I would imagine that if you're inherently skeptical of "globalization" as a concept, the Circle's ideals would seem annoying. And considering that the demand a few pages ago was for "more isolationist" countries like Hingashi or old Ishgard, I think that's precisely what the "problem" is.

[Vahlnir]

I would imagine that if you're inherently skeptical of "globalization" as a concept, the Circle's ideals would seem annoying. And considering that the demand a few pages ago was for "more isolationist" countries like Hingashi or old Ishgard, I think that's precisely what the "problem" is.

I have my gripes with more than a few characters in the game, as well as the story in general, but this isn't one of them. It's nice seeing a world come together like it does in this game, though it's definitely not realistic by any means. But it's a nice change of pace from the real world, I will give it that.

[aveyond-dreams]

Well, what Alphinaud believes in this case is the essentially, the ideas of Louisoix -the founding principles of the Circle of Knowing and later the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Most of the members were recruited by Louisoix in the first place because he thought they would accept his ideas.

Is it really a problem that the members of the Scions agree with thier organization's own ideology?

Their ideology has made the world less interesting with each nation they ruin. What we need now are characters as far removed from the scions as possible.

[KariTheFox]

Their ideology has made the world less interesting with each nation they ruin. What we need now are characters as far removed from the scions as possible.

I mean, that's your opinion. Even if I accept your premise that the scions are the ones responsible for political change, and not the self determination of the people in the nations involved, I still think a story about the transition from a monarchy or theorcacy to a republic is an interesting one.

I can think of countless fantasy stories about the rightful king assuming the throne, but not many where the monarchy is dissolved and a republic is formed.

My only issue is that aspect isn't explored in more detail, I just hope we can revisit Ishgard and Garlemald one day and really get into the worms of the political situation there. Since if you want a conflict of ideologies, I can't think of many settings better than the political parties and ideas that are born out of a nascent republic and political revolutions.

[Theodric]

As I've said before, "classically handsome" means different things based on different cultures, time periods, etc.

Besides that, this sounds pretty much exactly like what we got in the final role quest, where we had a group that included Aymeric, Hien and Nero, who all had their own different ideas and political views on what the Garleans should do.

I'm mostly concerned with the Japanese, European and American takes on what 'classically handsome' and 'ruggedly handsome' mean rather than what it means based on obscure cultures or different time periods. Those who want to hyper focus on that sort of thing and push for it are more than welcome to do so. I'm sure most people are well aware of what I mean when requesting for at least one of our close companions to look like Gladio, Basch, Jecht or Snow. I find the general aesthetics and character design to be far more agreeable in FFVIIR and many of the more recent and modern single player titles, personally.

As for the final role quest, it's a step in the right direction but it's hidden away in side content locked behind yet more side content and that sort of dynamic is rarely present in the MSQ's which makes up the meat of the game. It also didn't really commit to actually having diverse viewpoints since it honed in on the very one that the protagonists would benefit from and support the most. To say nothing of handling Nerva poorly and not even giving us an Echo flashback of what he looked like before his corrupted state.

And my goodness wouldn't it have been nice if we had a party as diverse as them instead of a bunch white-haired scholars who nod and agree with each other on everything.

Agreed. Another issue is many of our allies are world leaders or are otherwise just tied down to a particular location and can't travel easily with our character for more than a brief period of time. Now that we're supposedly going back to being an adventurer, however, there's ample room to...just cross paths with other adventurers who are a bit different to the usual offerings. A brutish but well meaning Xaela or Raen guy would be my pick.