Quote Originally Posted by aveyond-dreams View Post
Basically this. I want a story that does more than just hand me victory on top of victory combined with whipping out the Azem crystal every other trial - and I'd like to be surrounded by more traditional archetypes rather than the OCs and comfort characters like G'raha Tia and the myths roe that have come to burrow their way into the game.
I wouldn't mind a story without a foregone conclusion.

It is true that every expansion is obviously going to end in success, that's been the norm. And due to that, some story elements will be written to reflect that. Some may feel like excuses to some, or deus-ex-machina to others. This is normal because it's ultimately an anime game, so these tropes will normally happen.
Take Dynamis, for example. That's like "Applied Anime-ism", where you make the fact that the world operates in an anime-esque way something tangible to excuse those moments. Dynamis exists to explain why the Warrior of Light can endure ridiculous odds or why their friends matter more than just very strong personal relationships. It exists to justify why our wins will obviously happen: We're the hero, we will win, and the power of friendship is our power.

Call it what you will, have whatever opinion on it as you will. But the game has established that much. Which means that while it's obviously a tool to be as anime as we can be and a card used to overcome odds as they come, it also means it can now be subverted. Something like how our understanding of Dynamis is limited, or how Dynamis in general isn't something only the Warrior of Light has mastered.

So far, whenever we have failed, it's either retconned (technically; I'm thinking of the Sultana dying plot), or we just need a few levels (us being unable to beat Zenos). It would be nice to actually see dire situations again, without needing to fall into edgy levels of bad. We don't need to blow up characters for the sake of consequences. But if they die as a consequence, it's fine. What I mean by this, if it's a bit awkwardly explained, is that throwing in an expansion where stuff hits the fan for the sake of having something dark isn't ideal either. It should happen organically and with thought. "Bombs explode, everyone dies" isn't good writing. Randomly chopping off characters isn't good writing either. But if a consequence has to happen, then it should be natural, and if such a consequence is a death, then it should be justified and understandable. Not everyone wants a super gritty story that clashes with the rest of the game either.

So... yeah, bring on dire straits and situations where the Warrior of Light cannot actually win and it leads to something major happening, rather than it being played off as "better luck next time" or "dw, they were just minor, walk it off". They have ample opportunity to do so, provided it's done well and with a good structure.

As for your assessment of G'raha and the femroe in the Secrets of the Realm thing... Eh, your opinion. But we shouldn't try to axe people just because we don't like them. We should at least give them the chance of having more before picking up the axe :|