The Final Fantasy series has a long, storied history replete with spin-offs, direct sequels, and remakes across a variety of media. The “mainline,” numbered entries have always been critically and financially successful, but with each new entry comes a fresh set of criticisms – seemingly more than the last – to accompany the new universe, battle system, story, characters, and musical score. However, so, too, can a new entry revivify the player’s connection to the video game medium and breathe new life in a franchise that is remade with each successive release. Thus, the franchise may be interpreted as the life and death of the phoenix: the new release is reborn from the ashes of the prior release.
The development team behind Final Fantasy XVI seems to have taken this interpretation to heart. The game features heavily not only the phoenix but a variety of mythical creatures familiar to the Final Fantasy universe, all of which are reimagined and completely unrelated to any previous representation. FFXVI follows two brothers, Clive Rosfield and Joshua Rosfield, soon-to-be inheritors of the region known as Rosaria, one of five “realms'' or nation-states of the land of Valisthea, which comprises two continents, Ash to the east and Storm to the west. The other realms of Valisthea are the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, whose heir has inherited the Dominant Bahamut; the Kingdom of Waloed, whose king, whose mastery of the blade and inheritance of the Dominant possessing the Eikon Odin, has reigned for centuries, and more recently alongside the Dominant possessing the Eikon Garuda; the Dhalmekian Republic, a region ruled by its de facto leader, an economic advisor and the Dominant possessing the Eikon Titan; the Iron Kingdom, a zealous state that, eventually, wages battles with its Dominant possessing the Eikon Shiva; and the Crystalline Dominion, a neutral state. Each realm, save for the Crystalline Dominion, houses a Mothercrystal, a source of aether from which all magick is derived, allow Bearers and Dominants to use their abilities at will. Bearers, however, are considered a subspecies and are enslaved across the continents by humans who must rely on crystals – shards of a Mothercrystal –or Bearers to conjure magick. The magick in this universe is that of fire (flame and healing), ice, earth, darkness, light, thunder, and wind. The Grand Duchy of Rosaria traditionally possesses a warden of fire, a Dominant with the Eikon Phoenix.
The story in FFXVI spans over a decade of the in-game world, having the player traverse each realm, and even occasionally penetrate realms beyond those of Valisthea, primarily as Clive Rosfield. Clive features an array of abilities that can be unlocked selectively with each level-up, with the gameplay focusing exclusively on action-combat mechanics through sword-swinging and magick-casting to execute combos. As the story progresses, Clive will be able to harness the “essences” of the aforementioned Eikons to unlock new abilities and unleash devastating attacks upon his enemies.
In true form, the battle system in FFXVI is different from previous entries in the franchise. Where FFXV focused more on holding a button and allowing the game to execute combos for the player, depending on which weapon they used and for what enemy, FFXVI expects the player to execute each attack, where timing is often key. The game features two difficulty levels by default, one focusing on the story (“easy mode”), and another focusing on the action (“normal mode”). Once the game’s credits roll, a New Game + is available along with the “Final Fantasy” difficulty (“hard mode”).
FFXVI isn’t a particularly difficult game, especially to those accustomed to action-heavy games such as God of War, Devil May Cry, or the action-RPG entries in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. The key to combat is all about timing: the appropriate time to execute special abilities, which have a cool-down phase until they can be used again, and when to dodge, parry, or counterattack. Potions and High Potions can be used for healing in combat, and other stat-boosting consumables, each with a limited number that the player can carry at a time. The game is generous with failure. If the player dies during a boss fight, they have the option to continue the fight at the most recent “phase” and are granted the maximum number of potions. There is also an accessory available at the beginning of the game for those that have trouble with combat, allowing the player to automatically dodge all dodgeable enemy attacks so that they can focus primarily on offensive maneuvers.
The world of Valisthea is presented to the player as open-region and not open-world, similar to Final Fantasy XII and the Witcher 2. Each region is explorable with a generally linear path between points of interest and towns, with invisible walls to prevent the player from unduly vertical scaling or traversing off course. Equipable items for offense (e.g., swords) and defense (e.g., belts) are found throughout the game world but primarily at shops across various towns or the local blacksmith. The blacksmith serves as the game’s crafting mechanic. When players collect various materials from chests, defeated enemies, or completed quests, they may visit the blacksmith to craft additional items. In general, players will not need to become overly familiar with the crafting system since primary materials are collected after completing major quests. A simple visit to the blacksmith after each major storyline quest will reveal the next item to be crafted and equipped. In general, there is very little incentive to explore the crafting system due to the game’s relatively relaxed difficulty and straightforward structure.
Clive meets a variety of different characters across his 40-hour adventure, many of them the center of side quests. Side quests serve as in-game character development world building. Many of the characters in FFXVI are uniquely memorable and also integral to the game’s events, providing meaning and impetus to the storyline unfolding, each expressing a range of emotions and committing a variety of actions. Unlike any prior entry in the franchise, FFXVI is an M-rated game that doesn’t shy from revealing, and at times reveling in, the prejudices and evil of men. Green markers on the overworld map indicate active side quests and available side quests, and red markers indicate the next objective in the primary quest. Each primary quest ends with a boss encounter, and some of these involve the player inhabiting an Eikon. These Eikon battles contrast regular battles where the player plays only as Clive by including more cinematic grandiosity and much larger scale. These battles are meant to “wow” the player and provide a different yet familiar feel to standard battles. That said, Eikon battles do feel a bit over-the-top at times and tend to wage on for a little too long. However, facing off as either Clive or an Eikon provides a good challenge to the player. They also, unfortunately, can test the player’s patience due to their length.
Graphically, FFXVI is a sight to behold, with spectacular attention to detail in the environment, including highly detailed textures, as well as phenomenal dynamic lighting. Like many games on PS5, the player can choose a visual mode to favor fidelity or frame rate. Character models look good, too, but during pre-rendered cinematics, characters look markedly less stiff, particularly in the facial animations, compared to real-time dialog exchanges between characters. Fortunately, this occasional stiffness is often overshadowed by the mostly spectacular English voice cast.
FFXVI’s storyline is epic and complex due to the geopolitical framework of the realms, which evolves over the course of events, as well as the diverse cast of characters. The plot explores elements of the human condition, emphasizing the importance of human connection, physical and psychological suffering, love, loss, and strength of human will and bondage. Each of these themes develops completely by the game’s riveting climax and conclusion. Indeed, the finale appropriately ties up any loose ends and interestingly concludes with a few nods and direct references to the phrase “Final Fantasy”.
As captivating as the story, characters, world, and combat are, the game is not without minor grievances: the lack of a minimap can inconvenience traversal by having to bring up the local map to check the desired destination; the camera can sometimes get caught between a wall or structure and enemies, especially when locked-on, causing a poor view of the action; and not being able to run on command outside of towns and not at all in towns can make traversal seem like a slog, especially during sidequests that take place in towns and require talking to multiple NPCs; and the frequent transitions between gameplay and cinematics, especially during the first half the game, can be off-putting when the player simply wants to play the game.
Some of the more major issues include the apparent redundancy of the crafting system – simultaneously rendering looting, item pickups in the field, or rewards for completing quests mostly redundant – the game’s overall lack of challenge by default, and occasional performance hiccups (such as slowdown and graphical errors) on the PS5. Other issues that may be voiced about the game boil down to personal preferences. The active combat system; linear narrative structure; predictable side quest layouts; patently over-the-top, adrenaline-fueled Eikon battles; no open world; very little enemy variety coupled with a lack enemy-induced status ailments, a staple of traditional RPGs; and connection to the characters, themes, and storyline will vary for each player. In general, however, it is clear the development team invested a great deal of time, care, and meticulousness to deliver the game in its intended form, and the result, when taken together, is nothing short of spectacular.
FFXVI is an action RPG on the grandest scale, with high production values and incredible attention to detail, down to the visual presentation, to the story beats, dialog, and lore of Valisthea. Perhaps one of the impressive feats by the developers is simultaneously realizing such a vast, rich fictional history, and integrating fast, frenetic gameplay, while also allowing the barrier to entry to be relatively low. The player has the choice to master combat on their own terms, using their own combination of Eikon abilities, gameplay strategies, and equipping certain items for additional assistance. In addition, there are a variety of in-game tools and features to assist with making sense of the seemingly complex plot into which the player is thrust.
Last, but certainly not least, is the musical score, which complements both the characters and events in just about manner. From optional hunts, to intimate and tender moments, to climactic confrontations, the score simply doesn’t disappoint. Naturally, there are pieces that will resonate more with players due to personal tastes, but on the whole, Masayoshi Soken’s score is an incredible, memorable accomplishment.
If personal grievances may be set aside and the game approached with an open mind, leaving behind any presuppositions or expectations based on previous entries in the franchise or other RPGs in general, then the player will find Final Fantasy XVI to offer a sweeping tale with bountiful rewards. Neither the major nor minor issues detract from the overall experience. While not revolutionary, it is at the top of its class, making for an easy recommendation. Even though the mileage may vary depending on the player, Final Fantasy XVI is a masterpiece worthy of its namesake.