For three long years now Final Fantasy XVI has been my most anticipated game. The medieval fantasy setting, political storyline and fast brutal action, immediately sent up a flare that this wasn’t going to be like other Final Fantasy games. And I was all for it.
Now, having played and finished the game myself, that definitely still rings true.
If you’re coming into this with a pre-conceived notion of what a Final Fantasy game HAS to be, you might be left disappointed, XVI leans away from full RPG into the Action-RPG realm.
Gone are the mini-games, so too the rotating roster of characters. But what we get in return is a mature, beautifully written story with engaging NPCs and top-notch voice acting. Not to mention the fast and thrilling combat system.
Marketing and previews for the game have really given the impression that this will be a much darker, more adult Final Fantasy, and from the get-go, that point is made brutally apparent.
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We see blades cutting into flesh sending blood flying, people impaled upon spears, throats mercilessly slit.
The graphic violence is mostly kept to cutscenes however, gameplay itself has more particle effects than gory splatter.
There is nudity in the game, plenty of swearing too, which could’ve easily been mishandled and felt edgy for the sake of it.
The sex scenes are handled tastefully, with all the ‘naughty’ bits covered with arms, legs, or inventive camera angles.
And the strong language is all very believable; if I was about to get crushed by falling debris I’d probably let out a string of F-bombs as well!
There’s also a very British approach to swearing, I had a good chuckle when one character called another a ‘cock’.
Voice Acting and Dialogue
The overall dialogue is excellent, brought to life by fantastic voice acting. The performances are top-notch across the board, from the main characters you check-in with between missions to the random NPCs you meet just the once.
The voice behind the game’s protagonist has done an outstanding job. Ben Starr, traditionally a TV actor, plays our beloved hero Clive.
Gone are the days of the quiet brooding protagonist… Well, Clive CAN be that at times, but he’s also a well-rounded character with complex emotions. He can be seething and vengeful, broken and exposed, tender and loyal, he’s well-spoken and comes across as a real person.
Clive’s coarse voice often reminded me of Henry Cavill’s ‘Geralt of Rivea’, from The Witcher TV series, a voice I could listen to endlessly.
When encountering enemies there are plenty of quippy one-liners between Clive and his companions. Some of them can be a bit cheesy but they always landed on the amusing side of things rather than feeling cringey.
On the downside, the lip sync can be a bit rubbery, it appears that performance capture wasn’t used to encapsulate the lips and subtle facial movements. There are a LOT of cutscenes and different characters in the game so I can understand why they opted out of the expensive method.
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World and Story
Final Fantasy XVI is a very linear game. There are side quests you can take the time out to do of course but for the most part you’re on a set trajectory. Thankfully the story is excellent and engaging so buckle in and enjoy the ride!
So much of the magic of the game comes from its characters and story, that it’s hard to talk about without going into spoiler territory. But the tale is one of revenge, redemption, hope and duty. Some pretty heavy themes are woven in, like slavery, genocide and suicide… This isn’t a children’s bedtime story.
It’s a very emotionally charged game, Clive and his companions experience a lot of hardship throughout, but it’s not without its heart warming moments.
I was brought to tears a half dozen times during my playthrough; happy tears, sad tears, some were even tears of pure hype and disbelief at what I was actually seeing.
High fantasy has always worked so well within medieval settings, and combined with the Final Fantasy secret sauce, it creates a winning combination.
There are a host of different locations and biomes, the forests and marshland of Rosaria, the scorching deserts of Dhalmekia and the blackened wastes of the Deadlands, to name but a few. All filled with ancient ruins, towns, dungeons… There’s plenty to explore.
Most striking are the colossus mother crystals that stud the continent of Valisthea, unmissable on the horizon. Humanity has built great cities and fortresses around these monoliths to covetously hoard the crystals for their own use.
Magick isn’t just for the battlefield, it’s used through all walks of life, from filling a cup with water, trimming hedges with wind or keeping a blacksmith’s forge red hot with fire.
Seeing people around the world using magic for everyday mundane tasks gives the world a bit of a Harry Potter-style sense of wonder.
Seeing someone light their pipe with a click of their fingers will always be cool.
There are two ways of performing magick in Valisthea; the use of crystals, that channel aether, or being born a ‘bearer’. You’d think being born with the ability to cast magick would give you an advantage in life; instead bearers are shunned and downtrodden, they’re seen as inhuman and owned as slaves. Because the majority of society has to rely on the use of crystals to perform what comes naturally to bearers, it has created a deep jealousy and hatred toward them.
Often, children are cast off or sold into servitude if they display bearer abilities. Most don’t want to even be associated with them for fear of being shunned as a ‘bearer-lover’. But the vilest of all is that bearers are made to be easily identified with facial tattoos and consequently take on the name ‘branded’.
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Our main character Clive is a bearer, betrayed by those who should’ve protected him, branded, and sent to fight on the front line of someone else’s war.
The way most people speak to him after seeing his tattoo is so foul and nasty, refusing to sell him goods or asking who he belongs to like some stray animal, it really makes your blood boil.
It’s a very smart way of quickly building a bond between the player and Clive, and subsequently all other bearers under the yolk of oppression. You empathise with their plight and want nothing more than to knock the teeth out of every NPC that treats bearers like filth.
Friends and Enemies
One mainstay of Final Fantasy games is the massive bestiary; XVI carries on the tradition in that regard. There’s a huge variety of enemies and bosses, some brand new, others revamped favourites, but all have fantastic designs. I particularly enjoyed the imposing look of the larger enemies like coeurls and minotaurs, which I approached with caution not knowing what to expect.
Eikon and boss designs are equally as impressive, from the glinting armour and wicked spear of a Dragoon Knight, a Marbols mass of writhing tentacles, or the deadly tempests surrounding the winged Eikon Garuda. So much love and detail is packed into every enemy you encounter.
Not just foes, but friends too. Costume designs incorporating a mix of history and fantasy, resulting in some awesome eye candy. An early stand-out was Clive’s father, the Archduke of Rosaria. His battle-ready finery of leather and chainmail covered with a royal red overcoat, really caught my eye… Even his Chocobo had polished battle gear emblazoned with the house Rosaria emblem.
The outfit that Clive eventually dons is now one of my favourite get-ups in all of Final Fantasy. His long, black leather cape, vibrant red tunic and menacing obsidian armour pieces remind me of a mix between Gabriel Belmont from Castlevania and Guts from Berserk. I’m going to have to find a statue of him for my shelf!
I also love how each new sword Clive obtains has its own unique design, prominently displayed on his back so you get plenty of time to admire them as you run around the world. Unfortunately, this doesn’t extend to belt or vambrace accessories.
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Sometimes it was fun to drop into the character a bit more and roleplay. For example, some soldiers picked a fight with me in the middle of a pub… A very wooden pub. So I decided I shouldn’t use any of my magic or flaming sword abilities to reduce the amount of damage I did to the place.
I sparred with the four attackers, dodging and deflecting, juggling who I was attacking to keep them off balance. It took a while longer than if I’d just used my Eikonic abilities and I’m certain defeating the soldiers in this way changed nothing within the game, but it was a fun little restriction I imposed on myself.
[SIDENOTE: While we do get the classic ‘Cid’ character in the game, unfortunately, I didn’t spy my boys Biggs and Wedge anywhere during my playthrough, though I still have some side quests left to finish, so fingers crossed!]
Combat
Combat is going to be the most divisive thing about this game.
More traditional fans are going to be loath to let go of the classic turn-based combat, while the new action-combat direction will draw in a swathe of fans entering the series for the first time.
I for one am fully on board, the new combat style is so fast and frenetic, providing an energy that Final Fantasy has never really had before.
The animation is top notch with hundreds of unique movements for the wide array of attacks, spells, dodges and parries.
At first, it can come across a little button-mashy, but earning ability points and advancing the story will unlock more abilities and special moves to use in battle. Soon enough you’ll be able to unleash a smorgasbord of eye-catching Eikonic attacks, which are particularly flashy.
I would highly recommend reallocating skill points, as soon as you have enough, to obtain the more expensive Eikon abilities. They’re not only really damn cool to look at but they pack a wallop too. Flames of Rebirth creates a swirling pillar of fire around you, roasting enemies while healing Clive at the same time.
There’s also an insane amount of particle effects popping off on screen, which look amazing, though I will admit there were a few times I lost track of Clive in all the flashiness.
Garuda’s Aerial Blast ability was the worst offender as it summons a whole tornado and dominates the battlefield!
There are more subtle effects too, like the little elemental flourish around Clive, when switching between Eikons.
In Final Fantasy XVI you only control Clive Rosfield, your human companions are all AI controlled and will tackle the battle as they see fit. However Torgal, Clive’s trusty hound, can be given specific commands such as attacking the same enemy as you or even healing your wounds.
Puppy Torgal is adorable, but the fully grown wolf is an absolute badass.
Fighting alongside you in battle, showing the way forward if you get lost and just being an all round good boy… And let’s just say there is more than meets the eye to the loyal companion.
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Eikon battles are ridiculously epic, the scale so immense, my eyes were like saucers trying to absorb everything that was happening on screen at once.
No two Eikons fights felt the same. Ifrit vs Phoenix for example, played like an on-rails shooter for the most part, while taking on Garuda was more of a straight-up Street Fighter type brawl. The fights really do feel like two towering Kaiju going head to head.
Battling Titan might be one of the most epic fights I’ve ever had in video games.
The orchestral battle music switches to a rock track and you know shit is about to get real.
The clash has multiple stages that keep ramping up in intensity, one moment you’re punching on with the big stone brute, the next you’re parkouring up giant appendages, smashing through crystals and avoiding flying boulders… And just when you think it’s over… Hoo boy, it ain’t over!
There were plenty of other ‘Eikonic’ moments that I won’t spoil, though there was one in particular that brought tears of pure amazement to my eyes, causing me to shout out loud and punch the air in excitement.
[SIDENOTE: I tried to run away everytime a wild chocobo wanted to take a swipe at me, I didn’t want to hurt my choco-bros]
Music
The music is so grand and majestic, the full orchestral soundtrack with chilling choir vocals sent shivers down my spine.
I mean just listen to this fucking track, man! It doesn’t get better than this. It doesn’t get more hype than this!
Along with the fantastic new pieces there are plenty of classic Final Fantasy themes that get new arrangements, such as the iconic prelude theme, that feel simultaneously nostalgic yet fresh.
The music during the Eikon battles is particularly special, driving the tension and excitement of battle to new heights.
In one of the mother crystal dungeons, the church organ inspired theme was so epic and grandiose, it really gave the location its own unique, dark gothic tone.
Gameplay
The game is polished to a mirror, I don’t think I’ve even noticed one glitch or bug, nothing memorable anyway. I’ve been blown away with how well the game runs right out of the box.
There was however, a hilarious moment where Clive is challenged and goes to draw his sword, but his weapon isn’t there and he is just holding empty air; I thought, “Oh no! The sword has glitched and is invisible!” But it turned out Clive was just miming the action and had no intention to fight!
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As far as side-quests go they start out slow, delivering food for the publican, fetching wooden planks for the builders; though soon enough you’re off helping smuggle ‘branded’ to safety, breaking up a ring of thieves and helping your blacksmith get his mojo back!
One side-quest had a noble asking me to save his son who was being attacked by a wolf, I rushed to the boys aid and slew the beast, only to find out the wolf was actually their pet. The noble and son had been luring in branded and watching them get torn apart by the wolf! Karma came around on those two don’t worry.
Hunts have long been my favourite past time in Final Fantasy games, they offer challenging battles against enemies with designs more unique than the regular beasties you come across. Nektar, the friendly moogle, will help you navigate the hunt board and select which foe you want to vanquish next.
The Active Time Lore system is excellent and needs to become an industry standard going forward. Working much like Amazon Prime’s X-Ray feature, the ATL will give you situational information depending on your location, situation and surrounding characters.
From concise character profiles to geographical and political information, it helps you to easily understand your current situation.
It’s the perfect tool to remind you where you’re up to in the game if you’ve taken a lengthy break between sessions.
In addition to the ATL, Lady Ninetails will drip feed you the history of the continent as it applies to your current mission. An excellent way of making the information digestible, rather than telling it all at once in a ‘lore-dump’, or having it told passively through manuscripts and books.
There are a number of accessories to help ease your journey should you need it. The ‘Ring of Timely Evasion’ for example, will allow Clive to auto-evade most attacks, so if the combat is feeling too tough and you’re getting knocked around too much, this ring will make the game feel much more manageable.
There are various rings with different effects in the game that can be used in combination to find a play-style that works best for you, and of course, you don’t have to use the rings at all if you want the full challenge.
It’s a much more inventive and nuanced approach to difficulty than the traditional ‘Easy’ mode.
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Aside from the lip sync and over zealous particle effect, the only other negative I can think of is that you can’t sprint in towns, making getting around feel a little sluggish. And then, while traveling, sprinting takes about 5 seconds of holding forward on the analogue stick to activate, which can feel stop-starty and frustrating. Though once you obtain your own chocobo, sprinting isn’t such a big issue.
Conclusion and Score
This latest entry has taken the Final Fantasy franchise in a bold new direction which is inevitably going to be divisive. I’m all for this new action-heavy approach as long as they keep up the fantastic storytelling that the series is known for.
That’s what Final Fantasy is to me, fantastic characters and story, and boy has FFXVI delivered on both in spades. I’ve laughed, cried, shouted at my screen in shock, let out a “LETS FUCKING GO!!!” during one of the most hype video game moments in recent memory.
FFXVI has taken me on an emotional journey that I won’t soon forget.
This is why I play video games.
Quest Daily Scores Final Fantasy XVI:
10/10
Quest Daily was supplied a copy of Final Fantasy XVI by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
