Quote Originally Posted by Atelier-Bagur View Post
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.
Oh yes, Definitely Nidhogg. The Heavensward wasnt that interesting to me, even though they are the source of Nidhoggs Rage. Which I could relate to abit, because they made me mad with the crap they pulled. A time you can understand the Villain.
And yes, I kind of poke fun at one of my friends that: You only love Heavensward because of Knights and Dragons.
He is in fact into that stuff, so obviously HW tickled that passion for him.

I agree with you, honestly I think its just weird overall to compare any single expansion to a Full Single Player experience.
They are just different animals entirely. Some things work better then others, but its really just a subjective opinion, one that will be different for everybody, like how I like and Im engaged with where EW's post is going, while others dont feel the same.

Dumb unrelated question....you think Tales of. Could make a decent MMO?
I know Tales of Radiance was a mixed bag, but hey they made 3 games. Now just imagine that on an even bigger scale.