REVIEW: Final Fantasy XVI
Developer: Square Enix Creative Business Unit III
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: 2023
Platforms: PS5 | Steam (future release)
Final Fantasy XVI is a great game that’s somewhat hindered by its story pacing.
My ideal RPGs need to be action focused. It helps that literally the Devil May Cry devs contributed to this game, and they did an excellent job delivering on said action.
Eikons grant powers that Clive rotates between, similar to Dante with his swords. Three can be equipped at once, each offering a special action (“Eikonic Feat”) and two attack slots. It doesn’t sound like much, but one Eikon’s slots can be freely swapped out with another’s, which provides a decent amount of depth and customization to the system. It’s not nearly as complex as DMC, but that’s not a bad thing.
My favorite build for a significant chunk of the game.
As far as builds go, FFXVI favors mobility, melee, and counter attacks. This was perfect for me, but Vel reported that his magic focus was limited.
A small nitpick I have with ranged attacks is that a lot of them have a “nuke everything” strategy. They’re powerful despite the long cooldowns, but they highlight the narrow options for mages versus melee builds.
There’s already a Devil Trigger in this game. Just make it generate the nuke-tier damage, rather than offer a meager boost like those forgettable hold items in Pokémon games.
Despite this shortcoming, there are still multiple options to play with, including offensive, defensive, or even Vergil.
Combat in FFXVI is a blast. The story, however, is a complicated relationship.
This game and XIV are my entry points into the series. My understanding of Final Fantasy is that there’s always a lot of reading and/or cutscenes to sift through. Both of my chosen games share the same merits and drawbacks to this design.
I think it’s awesome that FFXVI features a lot of small talk in addition to the high-stakes moments. NPCs are given a spotlight that otherwise would make them part of a faceless crowd. Clive’s kinder side shines through, too. If you only chase the main cutscenes, I reckon he’d feel like yet another Cloud (during the time he’s a blank slate).
Most side quests are slow burns with great payoffs. For instance, what starts off as a stupid fetch quest for dirt later rolls into lore about surviving in Valisthea’s punishing environment. It creates nice breadcrumbs of world building.
FFXVI introduced the godsend known as “Active Time Lore,” which is basically Amazon’s X-Ray feature. It’s invaluable as a quick refresher on characters, locations, and political powers. I’d love ATL to be retroactively built into every Final Fantasy.
Unfortunately, XVI also shares the pacing issues that XIV has. After a fantastic crescendo in the plot, there’s a cool down period with small talk that goes on for literally hours. The formula is relentless and stubborn in its ways. It’s always side quests, then big plot development, then side quests again, over and over. As much as I praised the small talk, this predictable formula often felt like the dreaded work office grind.
It doesn’t help that characters cycle through dry and calculated idle animations. They turn to each other with the grace of rotating an action figure’s head. I don’t blame the devs for doing this; video games (and especially RPGs) need a set of generic expressions to keep the scope of the project under control.
The issue is that FFXIV reminded me how expressive a lot of their recycled animations look in comparison. Even the most mundane parts are often easier to sit through.
You can’t simply skip and return to XVI’s side quests later, because the main plot can and will cut them off. It’s a bit difficult to help out a small village when it gets burned to the ground later on.
There’s a bonus problem of side quests primarily existing for the sake of it. The main reward for completing them is the lore and scraps of “Renown” points, which may not be a great motivator for some players.
Fortunately, the Renown system does provide a silver lining. It works similarly to achievements. Completing quests will build it, and over time Clive is handed bundles of items, some of which can be highly useful. The Berserker ring - a core part of my build - was obtained exclusively through Renown.
I do wish that a harder difficulty was available from the start (maybe a tier below “Final Fantasy”). Even though I could skip the cutscenes, I was too burnt out to dive into a second run after the story concluded.
It’s critical to play Final Fantasy XVI’s demo before considering a purchase. It offers a good slice into what you need to brace yourself for. I enjoyed this game overall, but its plot progression is flawed and not for everyone.
Thumbs Up
SCORE CHANGE (2024)
I’ve demoted my final rank for this game by one level. I played Stellar Blade in March, which gets a “Thumbs Up” for being heavily flawed but fun. After some consideration, I don’t think that FFXVI is superior to it; if anything, I’d recommend Stellar over the other.
