Please bring back Ishikawa and give her free reign!

[not_ya_wify]

Shadowbringers has been widely accepted as the best expansion and it was written by Ishikawa. Then Ishikawa gave an interview about her plans for 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0 shortly after which was not what we got with End Walker and Dawn Trail. End walker's convoluted mess of a story to finish everything screamed of executive meddling where they shouldn't have been meddling and now Ishikawa didn't get to write Dawntrail at all. What do we get? Another "genocide is ok as long as it's not us" story and an underwhelming trial boss.

You have an incredibly talented writer in Ishikawa who could be reviving Final Fantasy's heyday of the 90s and you choose to get in her way then get rid of her?

Put Ishikawa back in the writer chair and let her write whatever she wants. No more executive meddling. Let the expert do her craft! PLEASE!

[Dikatis]

It's not that they pulled her out. She stepped away so other writers could get their big break just as she did. She's still on as a scenario writer, she's just not the head writer anymore (her name is in the credits and she also wrote the song lyrics for "Smile").

[Zakuyia]

It's not that they pulled her out. She stepped away so other writers could get their big break just as she did. She's still on as a scenario writer, she's just not the head writer anymore (her name is in the credits and she also wrote the song lyrics for "Smile").

Ah yes the toxic positivity strikes again...all jokes its ok for new writers to step in yes but the direction of the story should have been viewed much more carefully.

[Dikatis]

Ah yes the toxic positivity strikes again...all jokes its ok for new writers to step in yes but the direction of the story should have been viewed much more carefully.

It's not even toxic positivity. It's Ishikawa's own decision to step away and let her juniors have the spotlight for once rather than clinging to the job forever. It's in her explicit wishes.

Edit: Ah, it was a joke. Still, while I agree that Dawntrail could have been better told, I don't particularly like how people put Ishikawa on a pedestal just to verbally flagellate any of the other writers.

[Cleretic]

Still, while I agree that Dawntrail could have been better told, I don't particularly like how people put Ishikawa on a pedestal just to verbally flagellate any of the other writers.

Every story could be better told, honestly, especially on a subjective 'what I would like more' level which is what most people are working on, even if they don't realize it. The fact that you could make improvements isn't a fault of the writers, and trying to call for the people responsible to be run out of the game is just awful.

It's honestly a big part of why I wish we'd stop exalting Shadowbringers. That story also has some serious flaws, and things other expansions do much better at, but found its success form taking a few gambles that happened to pay off among the wider playerbase. But as long as we keep treating it as The Perfect Expansion That Must Be Constantly Replicated, we fail to treat it like it deserves: as a story itself, that's got positives and negatives.

[Balmung_Griffin]

You guys should stop putting people on a pedestal.
Yoshi-P was also treated like a god by some, and well...here we are, people digging quotes from past lessons learned that were clearly forgotten.

And more importantly, does Ishikawa wants to be Main Scenario Writer? Are you saying as Senior Scenario Writer, fan base favorite and a Manager she has no say on where this was going or she saw and chose to say nothing?

It's just like people say Yoshida is a small fry inside SQEX and can't make things happens when he's part of the board and his rescued game has been footing the bill for sometime.

[Cilia]

If Ishikawa wants a break I say let her have one, especially after the divisive response to Endwalker.

If rumor is to be believed she's on tap for being the lead writer of XVII, and if that's as wildly successful as Shadowbringers / Endwalker it really could propel the franchise back into the mainstream. Don't expect everyone to get a happy ending, though.

[Lyth]

You'll need a Goobbue wall to summon Ishikawa.

I don't think anyone would want to be credited as MSQ writer for this game. There were people cheering Daichi Hiroi's announcement as lead writer on this subforum because they were upset about Amaurot, so I guess there's a degree of karma in this outcome. I similarly think that people won't have any idea how good Yoshi-p is for the game until he decides to pass off his mantle (I think he's probably the only defense against this game being aggressively monetized and then discarded).

There are probably a lot of equally capable writers and everyone will have different preference around philosophy/themes, but I think Ishikawa respects the player as their own individual the most in her writing (a lot of her philosophy of writing comes out in her metacommentary during the Dark Knight quests). I think this was the point of both the Frey and Azem characters, because it let her create a structured, driven narrative while also letting the player be whoever they want. It's essentially a Revan trope, but it works really, really well in interactive fiction.

If I had to come up with a list of what I would hope from a MSQ writer at this point, I think it would be:

• Keep the player character central to the narrative. Proxy heroes are a terrible idea (see: GW2's Trahearne).
• Incorporate lots of player dialogue choices, and avoid deliberately reinterpreting what the player says. This is obviously not a branching storyline, but sometimes a snarky or humorous comment is the only way that the player can diffuse their frustration over a plot direction they have no control over.
• It's probably safer to build new characters over a long time (ideally a couple of expansions) so that you can lay down the groundwork and gauge audience reactions before giving them a more important role. It feels like characters like Krile and Estinien had bit parts for years before they got their big break.
• Be respectful of the work of your predecessors, both in terms of earlier worldbuilding as well as previous Final Fantasy installments. I didn't enjoy bratty Ramza or evil Garnet. Let me preserve the positive memories of these classic games, please.
• If you're going to use up a plot hook, leave another one for the next writer who comes after you. It really feels like we're burning through shards lately for the sake of cheap drama. We have three unknown shards left. Each 'mostly destroyed' shard that we get is a massive loss of worldbuilding potential.

In short, my biggest concern with Hiroi's writing currently is I get the feeling from the Dawntrail MSQ that he doesn't really value the player or the game and series lore that he's inherited, and I was never left with this sense in prior writing. I really want to know if he wrote Arcadion, because I instantly felt more comfortable with the style of writing in that storyline.

I can't put my finger on the exact words to describe it, it's just a general sense of discomfort and distrust around the writing style. I hope they can fix it soon, but something has gone seriously wrong with the writing.

[justausername]

If I had to come up with a list of what I would hope from a MSQ writer at this point, I think it would be:

• Keep the player character central to the narrative. Proxy heroes are a terrible idea (see: GW2's Trahearne).
• Incorporate lots of player dialogue choices, and avoid deliberately reinterpreting what the player says. This is obviously not a branching storyline, but sometimes a snarky or humorous comment is the only way that the player can diffuse their frustration over a plot direction they have no control over.
• It's probably safer to build new characters over a long time (ideally a couple of expansions) so that you can lay down the groundwork and gauge audience reactions before giving them a more important role. It feels like characters like Krile and Estinien had bit parts for years before they got their big break.
• Be respectful of the work of your predecessors, both in terms of earlier worldbuilding as well as previous Final Fantasy installments. I didn't enjoy bratty Ramza or evil Garnet. Let me preserve the positive memories of these classic games, please.
• If you're going to use up a plot hook, leave another one for the next writer who comes after you. It really feels like we're burning through shards lately for the sake of cheap drama. We have three unknown shards left. Each 'mostly destroyed' shard that we get is a massive loss of worldbuilding potential.

[*]Keep the player character central to the narrative. Proxy heroes are a terrible idea

very much disagree on this point. I, and my entire group of friends and FC mates very much enjoyed that we took a step back to foster the adventurous spirits of others, and that our otherworldly power wasn't the focus of the story. Been getting REAL tired of that for a while now. Like I get it. We're stronkist. Woo. Let's talk about something else and not have the weight of the world or even universe on our shoulders for a little while, yeah?

[Moomba33]

I enjoyed the writing in Dawntrail more than most people. It addressed a lot of little issues I've had with the game over the years, like letting you be a bit harsher to the antagonists than usual. I also liked how the lower stakes didn't make it feel like you were ignoring a crisis to hang out with the locals.
I do understand its uncomfortable when the game makes your character do things/have feelings you don't agree with (for me, I'm perhaps one of a handful
of people that dislikes the Dark Knight quests), I just lucked out and the narrative went in directions I enjoyed this time.

[*]Keep the player character central to the narrative. Proxy heroes are a terrible idea

very much disagree on this point. I, and my entire group of friends and FC mates very much enjoyed that we took a step back to foster the adventurous spirits of others, and that our otherworldly power wasn't the focus of the story. Been getting REAL tired of that for a while now. Like I get it. We're stronkist. Woo. Let's talk about something else and not have the weight of the world or even universe on our shoulders for a little while, yeah?

Same here.
It was also a nice change to me having the npcs you meet excited to see Wuk Lamat instead of you. I was a bit disappointed when the Arcadian went back to "Omg you're the best fighter ever we love you" with some npcs. Although nothing will ever be egregious as the Ancients praising you as the bestest familiar ever.

For me, Dawntrail's main struggle was pacing. Some stuff dragged on for too long (see the alpaca trading arc), and gameplay could have been spaced better throughout. But I do like the overall story and wouldn't mind seeing more from these writers.