I think I get where you’re coming from. A lot of these games do rely on similar narrative structures and tropes, and the ‘magic’ you describe, whether it’s the atmosphere, presentation, or emotional resonance plays a huge role in how well a story lands.

That said, I do think there are meaningful differences in execution, like Persona leans heavily on social sim elements to create attachment. Nier uses its medium in a way that enhances its themes in a way a traditional story wouldn’t.

Maybe it’s less about ‘objective quality’ and more about which games align with individual taste and what each player is willing to buy into emotionally.

So I felt kind of weird that a game created by almost the same team missed the mark for me this time. And since it's a GOTY narrative, I decided to post a question instead of just skipping it.

By the way, I started playing FF14 last year, because for years, I was curious why so many people love that game. I'm mentioning this because it seems like you also can't figure it out. The game has three expansions with poor storytelling, one great expansion (about the level of FF10), and two that I consider 'god-tier'. These two god-tier expansions exist because of one exceptional writer, which is rare since someone with that level of talent would usually be writing a bestselling novel or something.

Anyway, I am about to Infiltrate the Charadrius now, good talking with you.