Quote Originally Posted by Zanarkand-Ronso View Post
Ill shill the Heck out of Shadowbringers, But not because I think its some Masterpiece or because it did anything better, took risks and all this crap people throw around.
I just think it was an interesting story, and just about everything we knew and learned in previous expansions came to a-head (If Im using that word correctly) I loved the Reveal of Hydaelyn and learning more about the Ascians and learning about their Motivations, I liked that things became a little grey and how I began to question things. I just enjoyed that.

Heavensward is a great story to with a Great Villain...but I do think HW personally is abit over-rated. Its good, really good, but I dont feel it to be the height of the Game or the best of the Game.
Also..heck yeah, Tales of Symphonia.
I love HW and ShB stories for what it brought to the overall FFXIV narrative as a whole, but I also hold the same standard and regard for ARR, SB and EW too. I dont think each one does anything better than the other as it delves into completely different things that'll be a hit or miss with people. Some people enjoy dragons a lot so they give HW such an easy time despite its flaws, others like me enjoy the more grounded strife and war tales with SB even though its overambition was its own fault, some like isekai-shin megami tensei apocalypse themes so ShB was their cup of tea etc.

Also I hope we're talking about Nidhogg rather than Thordan and the Heavensward when it comes to HW's main villian because that old man and his entourage were the biggest let down in terms of character and depth Ive been wanting for my villains. They werent even entertaining on-screen imo.

Also heck yes Tales of Symphonia is super great. Ive played a ton of jrpgs, and I mean A TON! so I feel like I have a general scope when it comes to a standard good quality jrpg story. FFXIV's narrative is pretty top tier due to its expansion structure, but when we single out each one on it's own in compared to single player stories, those narratives lack a lot of oomph and depth needed to stand on its own. Which is why I always say that cherry picking expansion narratives is a bit pointless when it relies on the game's foundation to give meaning despite its terrible pacing.