Final Fantasy 16 Review

Final Fantasy 16 Review – What Do I Really Think?

I’ve been a die hard final fantasy fan since the original Final Fantasy 7. I played and loved them all up until 15.

It just didn’t grip me like previous mainline final fantasy games.

I didn’t look at too many trailers for Final Fantasy XVI, the only thing I knew was that it was different to the traditional final fantasy games.

As soon as the demo has dropped, I loaded it up and….oh my god! Final Fantasy XVI is amazing!

Now don’t get me wrong, there are things I don’t like about it but no game is ever going to be 100% perfect.

I was blown away by the demo and luckily it was only dropped a few weeks before the full game, so I wouldn’t need to wait too long to play it.

Since I’ve started playing Final Fantasy XVI, I’ve not been able to put it down.

Square Enix have certainly taken a new direction with this game.

The game’s content is more mature, with a lot of adult content and swearing. I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the profanity but I like it.

I’ll admit sometimes its a bit over the top but i’m a firm believer that profanity when used in certain situations just shows passion or pain. This making the characters more believable and more realistic.

Characters

As with other games in the final fantasy series, Square Enix does a great job at world building. The main characters are great, they’ve got in-depth and interesting back stories and the voice acting is spot on.

Story heavy games such as this one has hundreds of side characters that add to the narrative. In fact just walking through the towns and hearing the other characters and NPC’s having a chat, helps you get engrossed into the world.

I would liked the NPCs to react more, games like Grand Theft Auto do a great job of this. However, the NPCs in final fantasy XVI are certainly a step forward compared to others games in mainline final fantasy series.

So who exactly are the main characters in final fantasy 16?

Clive Rosfield

Clive Rosfield is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XVI. He is the older son to the Archduke of Rosaria and protector of his brother Joshua Rosfield.

The Rosfield’s are the dominant of fire and it was expected that Clive would inherit the power to call on the Eikon of fire. However it went to his younger brother.

Clive wanted to continue to help Rosaria and therefore trained to become a master of the blade and protect his brother.

To do this he competes and wins the ducal tournament to become a First Shield of Rosaria. By doing so he is charged with protecting Rosaria but also given the power of the Phoenix to call on its fire abilities in battle.

Clives abilities are put to the test when imperial forces attack whilst Clive and Joshua are visiting Phoenix Gate.

During the attack Joshua calls on the Phoenix Eikon but is soon attacked by Ifrit.

10 years after the attack, Clive has been forced into the front lines. He soon ventures onto a path that will help him seek revenge on Ifrit, travelling the land of Valisthea. During his journeys he’ll meet new characters, and even tougher foes. Coming face to face with powerful Eikons.

Will he get revenge?

The voice acting for Clive Rosfield is done by Ben Starr. He’s worked on a few games such as Arknights, Quantum Break and Company of Heros 2. His voice suits Clive perfectly and really brings the character life.

Jill Warrick

Jill Warrick is a childhood friend of Clive Rosfield and is one of the main characters of Final Fantasy XVI. Jill was from the Northern Territories, where she was a princess.

She was raised in Rosalith castle when she became a ward of Rosaria. Leaving her homeland after the Archduke stopped the raids.

Since she was such a young age, she was treated as a member of the Rosfield family. Both Clive and Joshua saw her as their sister.

Little did they know that she would become the Dominant of Shiva, although this didnt happen until she got split up from them during the battle at Phoenix Gate.

10 years after that event, she uses the power of Shiva to defend the Iron Kingdom.

Although this is not out of any allegiance to the Iron Kingdom.

The voice acting for Jill is done by Susannah Fielding. She is incredibly talented and has voiced some excellent characters such as Amy in Forza Horizon, Madame Olvie in Sea of Thieves and Shani in The Wither 3.

Cid

Cid is a must have in the Final Fantasy franchise, in fact is it even a final fantasy game if there is no Cid?

Cid is short for Cidolfus Telamon, which is a pretty long medieval style name next to characters such as Clive, Jill or Joshua. So it makes sense to just refer to him as Cid.

Cid in Final fantasy 16 is pretty badass. He’s an outlaw who also happens to be the dominant of Ramuh, granting him with some powerful lightning abilities.

This makes him a very powerful ally.

Not much is known about Cid’s life prior to being an outlaw. He was once high up in the Royal Waloeder army.

Now he wants to protect those that have been forsaken by the realm and protect dominants by providing them with a place to live known as the Hideaway.

If your into your games, you may have heard the voice acting of Cid in other recent games. He is voiced by Ralph Ineson, who also voiced Lorath in Diablo IV. Well-known on TV, he has also voiced other games such as Harry Potter and Assassin’s Creed IV.

Torgal

As soon as I saw Torgal, I wanted a pet wolf and im determined to get one!

He is such an incredible supporting character and really adds a new dynamic to the final fantasy series.

Torgal was taken in by the Rosfield family when he was abandoned as a pup in the Northern Territories.

During the events of Phoenix Gate, Clive and Torgal are separated. Although they are soon reunited when Clive joins with Cid.

Now Clive has his trusty and faithful hound to help him in battle.

Torgal is not just a non supporting character, he helps in action combat. You can either select commands manually or use an accessory to have him automatically do it.

He can attach, heal or ravage. You can even use Torgal to find where you need to go.

Where are Biggs and Wedge?

The one thing I’ve been wondering is where is Biggs and Wedge? They a fan favourite duo from Final Fantasy 7 and even Final Fantasy XIV.

Not spotted them yet in Final Fantasy 16, although I did think Sir Tyler and Sir Wade would end up being them but alas I don’t think so.

We’ll have to wait and see if they turn up.

Story

If you’ve played any Final Fantasy games then you’ll know just how impressive the storylines are. Final Fantasy 16 is no different.

I wont be going into details on the storyline as I don’t want to spoil anything, one thing I do want to make clear its has an excellent story.

There are so many story scenes that make it feel like a little mini movie. The world is massive and Square Enix have done a great job to not overcomplicate it.

There are so many elements that could make it overwhelming for people, however they use a system called Active Time Lore.

During any story scenes or conversations, you can activate this and learn more about elements of the game. Whether thats terms such as Eikons, Dominants or learn about the different governments, rulers, characters.

This feature can help to expand further on the main plot, without having it all thrown at you and causing you some confusion.

Side Quests

As well as the main plot, there are some excellent side quests.

You can leave the side quests and focus on the main storyline, however you could be missing out on some key features.

To get better weapons or even your trusty chocobo mount, you need to get the side quests done.

Personally I like to do these as and when they appear.

Many of the side quests add some additional context and story to the main plot. Although some of them are more filler quests and do not add anything to the story line.

Arcade Mode

Arcade mode is a new mode thats added to Final Fantasy 16, which helps to offer some additional replay-ability.

It allows you to play different stages of the main game to get rated and scored on how well you complete the stage.

There’s a online leaderboard, so you can compare how you did against other players from around the world.

Combat System

The battle system in Final Fantasy 16 has had mixed views. Its more like action games and moved away from the turn based combat. This has put many die hard fans that preferred the older system off.

The battle system is very much like Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy 7 Remake, with a couple of differences.

It still has the RPG elements, however the combat is more single character focused. Instead of controlling an entire party, you fight with just Clive and the other characters fight with AI.

Personally I love the action heavy combat style, its fast paced and there are some great special attacks. Some may not like the fact that it feels like you just smashing the attack button.

As you get further into the gameplay, you’ll unlock new abilities that make the combat a little more varied.

I will say that I never found the enemies too hard, although once you finish the game and unlock hard difficulty then I expect the new game to be much harder.

Theres a good amount of enemy variety, each with different skills and abilities to make them a little more unique.

Overall, I liked the combat. I was able to create mass destruction with my magical power and it not only looked good but felt even better!

Unlike other Final Fantasy games where you could summon beasts to come and help. Clive uses Eikon power to cast certain abilities and this adds a whole new dynamic to the battle system.

Boss Battles

Lets face it when we think Final Fantasy, we think of some epic boss battles. Rufus in FF7 Remake, Anima in FFX and even Kefka back in FFVI.

One of the best things about Final Fantasy 16 is the boss fights. I can only say one word about them and that is….EPIC.

As already mentioned the combat system has changed a lot compared to the entire series of Final Fantasy, boss battles takes them to a whole new level.

You have your standard boss fight where you have to get them staggered and then do as much damage as possible, but then you have the Eikon boss battles.

Imagine Eikon battle against Eikon…A lot of fun and epic.

I recently fought against the Titan Eikon and oh my god, it was amazing! One of the best fights I’ve ever done.

Graphics

Final Fantasy 16 is a next gen game on a next gen console, but are the graphics really that good? Yes, I think they’re amazing.

Now before I get started, some of stated that in performance mode they’ve seen a low frame rate. Personally mine has always been good and whether i’m enjoying the gameplay or a cutscene, its always remained at a high frame rate.

I’ve also read comments from people that the graphics are not that good. I honestly dont know what game they’ve been playing.

The graphics for me are out of this world and incredible. In fact there was quite a few times i’d find myself on the top of a cliff just looking out at the game world and thought wow!.

The graphics for me were top notch, whether its the environment, the characters or the special effects during fights.

There were actually times that I couldn’t tell the difference between cutscene and gameplay.

So if graphics are important to you, you wont be disappointed.

Music

One of the things Final Fantasy games are known for is the music and Final Fantasy 16 is no different. I would say its one of the best due to the voice acting.

Every character is voice acted, whether one of the main characters or a lonely NPC that only has the one line.

Not only that but the voice acting is excellent. The accents fit perfectly with the feel of the game and the voices just seem to match with the personality of the characters.

The music was created to help with atmosphere and I think done in a way to make sure it was not to distract you from the combat. It does this very well.

You have the familiar victory sound that has a slight twist. The Eikon battle music is minimal but really gets you focused on the fight.

At the same time there are some tunes that really get you excited. The fight with Titan had an incredible sound track.

Even the sound when you ride your chocobo is great. Although for some reason I always hum the Mario Karts sound track!?!

Final Thoughts

Having spent 25 hours on this extraordinary journey through the realm of Valisthea, the experience with Final Fantasy XVI, thus far, has been one of intense excitement and wonder.

This instalment provides an engaging and immersive experience in game, that will satisfy both new and veteran players.

Square Enix’s new direction, filled with mature content and a raw sense of realism, sets this game apart from its predecessors in the Final Fantasy series.

It may not be perfect, and the deviation from traditional elements could be off-putting for some, but it offers a unique perspective that stimulates players in unprecedented ways.

The inclusion of profanity, while it may not appeal to everyone, provides an added layer of authenticity and depth to the characters and their individual journeys.

The characters themselves are wonderfully fleshed out, from the conflicted Clive Rosfield to the stoic and powerful Cid.

Every character, major or minor, is given a voice and a narrative, adding to the overall richness of the story.

The game might not offer the NPC interactions seen in some other titles, but it does manage to improve on this aspect compared to previous Final Fantasy entries.

The storyline, without diving too deep into spoiler territory, is a stellar experience in and of itself.

From the moment you step into Clive’s shoes, you’re engrossed in a world brimming with intrigue, conflict, and mystery.

The narrative is further enriched by the Active Time Lore feature, providing players with additional context when required.

It may not be the perfect game, but it’s a title that’s worth exploring for any Final Fantasy enthusiast or anyone looking for a well-crafted, engaging RPG experience.

FAQ