#some particular onions comparing torna with the main story

[yoshizora]

tl;dr addam >>> rex

don’t read if u stan rex 

imho xc2′s weakest point was its overarching focus on Rex and Pyra’s relationship. which... isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because the development between them was necessary for the player to give a shit about Rex’s quest to get to Elysium, but there was so much focused around them and everything revolved around THEM and THEIR mission that it gave barely any room to allow other party members to grow at an equal pace (lookin at Dromarch and Mòrag). that blanket theme of finding one’s place in the world and accepting yourself and others was strong but ultimately, it sort of fell flat when the game tried so hard to set up romance between Rex/Pythra/Nia to convey that, as well as throwing their hands up in the air as far as Malos and Jin were concerned. 

Addam is set up as a natural leader everyone admires, which would make it easy to see him as yet another Rex-type protag who’s just naturally good at everything and is shoved in our faces like “LOOK! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO LIKE HIM!!!” but he ultimately fails and despairs and doesn’t win. Torna was always set up to be a story about a group of people who failed in spite of everything but we can’t help but root for the heroes anyway even though we know what happens to them. 

Torna is about a time when hope failed and people died. the main story is about a boy and a girl being together and like... sure? i just really appreciate how the relationships were built in Torna in comparison— Addam treats Mythra more like a sister or daughter, Jin and Lora are devoted to each other without it being gushy or mushy, and Hugo’s purely professional with Brighid and Aegaeon. it shows that a good story doesn’t need a bunch of romcom elements to be captivating, while xc2 leaned too hard on Rex being the guy that girls fall for cuz he’s... nice. 

Rex isn’t necessarily a bad character. he’s normal, he’s kinda greedy, and he’s unconditionally kind and supportive. but when the narrative solely revolves around him he becomes extremely tiring and downright bland, when they keep emphasizing how he’s perfect for the Aegis because of how special and nice he is. Torna circumvented that problem by weaving all these characters together to be about Addam wanting to save people, Lora just trying to live her life and help others, Jin’s devotion to Lora, and everyone else banding together for a common cause.

2/10 we should’ve been able to visit temperantia and mor ardain tho