One of many first information tales I ever lined as a gaming journalist was Sq. Enix’s September 2020 announcement of Closing Fantasy XVI. I nonetheless bear in mind typing so rapidly that I had to return and edit each different sentence. This was it – Closing Fantasy XVI. It was the primary mainline single-player entry not tied to E3 2006’s Fabula Nova Crystallis unveiling since PS2 swansong FFXII. Naoki Yoshida was producing, alongside a gifted staff at Artistic Enterprise Unit III, the identical studio who had introduced FFXIV to life, and saved making it higher by the yr. Pinch me, you realize? I have to be dreaming.
With every passing trailer, the dream continued. It wasn’t till the press previews started to roll in early this yr that the world of Valisthea started to really feel actual to me. A flurry of late-stage advertising and marketing, together with a improbable demo, solidified that realness. I used to be able to play this landmark entry in what is much and away my favourite franchise.
Virtually from the beginning, it was apparent to me how a lot effort has been poured into this recreation. The creators had a imaginative and prescient for Closing Fantasy XVI, and so they caught to it. They needed the story front-and-center. They needed the script polished to a mirror sheen. They needed the extraordinary action-centric fight to come back alive. They needed thousands and thousands of jaws to drop on the spectacle of the Eikon battles. Large props – they crossed off that guidelines with aplomb.
Clive Rosfield isn’t simply the protagonist of Closing Fantasy XVI; his characterization is the story’s most pivotal pillar. With out the suitable voice actor, he wouldn’t have labored. With out nuanced sufficient writing, he wouldn’t have labored. With no loyal wolf companion, he wouldn’t have labored. (That one’s non-negotiable.) I’ll keep away from utilizing the phrase once more on this assessment, however Ben Starr’s efficiency as Clive is properly and actually good. He brings each phrase to life. It’s a cherry on prime that Starr is each bit the RPG diehard so many people are; simply the opposite day, he advised individuals to play Octopath Traveler II. Hear, hear, man.
How a lot you’ll get out of the Clive-centric journey received’t rely completely on how properly you jive with Clive, thoughts you. There’s a veritable smorgasbord of ace supporting characters in FFXVI. There’s Jill Warrick, the heroine whose transformations into Shiva cowl the ice to Clive’s fire-wielding prowess. She’s steadfast and resolute, and an early spotlight entails her well-deserved retribution over somebody whose wickedness had wronged her for much too lengthy.
There’s Cidolfus Telamon, who is sort of frankly the perfect Cid in Closing Fantasy historical past. A buddy complimented his ‘cynical optimism’, and I haven’t been capable of separate the person from the phrase ever since. There’s Dion Lesage, Dominant of Bahamut; from the earliest trailer, I gravitated towards Dion’s wonderful artwork design, and I feared he’d get the brief finish of the narrative stick. Surprisingly sufficient, Dion most likely has probably the most totally fleshed-out arc this facet of Clive himself.
And, yep, there’s Torgal; Clive’s canine companion is right here to win hearts, and win them he has. It’s all barks and howls for Torgal, however I daresay he’s someway higher written than loads of his Closing Fantasy friends.
Sadly, that assertion would possibly lengthen to most of Closing Fantasy XVI’s antagonists. I don’t suppose they’re dire. A couple of are fairly good! I simply hoped for extra from the entire bundle. One explicit villain might have used just a few extra defining traits – the sport hypes them up for a substantial period of time, and so they certainly have their moments, however they’re finally just a little flatter than I’d have favored.
In fact, FFXVI isn’t only a character research. Valisthea is likely one of the most intricate settings within the sequence. Sustain with me right here – there’s the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, the Kingdom of Waloed, the Dhalmekian Republic, the Iron Kingdom, and the Crystalline Dominion. Closing Fantasy VI has the Gestahlian Empire. Closing Fantasy VII’s received Shinra and Wutai. Closing Fantasy X is all-in on Yevon. Essentially the most comparable installment outdoors the MMOs is Closing Fantasy XII’s Ivalice, which nonetheless will get the qualitative edge, however it’s additionally had a number of video games to work with. What XVI does with simply the one is greater than spectacular.
After we discuss fictional settings, visible design tends to spring to thoughts, and that’s a giant a part of what makes Valisthea tick. Nevertheless it’s not simply the set dressing; it’s what’s carried out with all of it. Closing Fantasy XVI‘s twin-continental landmass is populated by Bearers, magically-capable individuals whose presents don’t award them elite lives. Fairly the opposite, Bearers are servants, or extra bluntly, the slaves. Their powers are required for the upkeep of those societies so totally constructed round magic that each capital is located beside an enormous Mothercrystal that’s, in essence, mined for all its magical price. It’s the Bearers whose subservience ensures the broader world can proceed to perform.
The sport does a reasonably good job at promoting this. A few of the greatest worldbuilding moments contain NPC Bearers working their magic in ways in which Valistheans view as important for his or her survival – chilling fish for freshness, or offering wind the place wanted, and even one thing so simple as lighting candles. The dueling mentalities of sneering scorn and parasitic overreliance seen amongst most of the social prime brass furthers our sympathy towards the enslaved, and a really early second helps endear us to Clive as a result of he’s received the nice graces not to deal with Bearers like scum.
Valisthea’s warring realms all have their time to shine in FFXVI’s prolonged predominant quest, although you’ll get twice as a lot out of Rosaria, Sanbreque, and the Republic for those who decide to their facet quests. You don’t go to the varied capitals in an exploratory method, however you do get the possibility to hold round loads of villages and the like. You even have a everlasting hub with the Hideaway. Don’t low cost this place off the bat – it’s not a lot initially, however it’ll be house to some wonderful of us in due time. Wait till you meet Byron, for instance. Simply you strive to not fall in love with him.
The individuals who populate these locations are plausible people, and whereas a lot has been mentioned in regards to the rote nature of most of the recreation’s non-compulsory mini-adventures – it’s true, by the best way, particularly within the first half – the writing itself typically makes up for it. In truth, honest warning for first-timers: don’t skip the facet quests towards the tail finish of the story. They should have been made necessary with how vital they really feel.
On the flip facet, among the truly necessary spots are lower than inspiringly designed. For each improbable mission, there’s downtime; that’s no drawback, as a result of breakneck pacing would get previous quick, however the vary of targets gamers should comply with throughout these lower-octane parts varies from participating to irritating. I’d have been fairly joyful for the builders to have made a superb few of them non-compulsory, and crammed their menial place with these late-game facet quests.
Even with all these shockingly obligatory pre-finale quests, not everybody will get as a lot decision as I’d have favored. With out spoiling something, the ending doesn’t fairly experience denouement like a number of prior Closing Fantasy chapters have, opting as an alternative for a comparatively swift epilogue that does quite a bit with just a little, however received’t land for everybody. I’m truly holding out hope that extra shall be patched in earlier than the sport’s post-release part is completed, but when not, oh properly.
The conflicts between nations present the premise for a lot of of FFXVI’s most glamorous cutscene sequences, together with the sport’s opening moments. Armies conflict, individuals die, chocobos are slain (!); the celebrities, after all, are the massively highly effective (and sometimes downright large) Eikons who tower over the troopers and wage kaiju-like struggle towards one another. It’s quite a bit, and Artistic Enterprise Unit III properly acknowledged we’d be envious if all we might do was watch these unbelievable battles play out. It’s no exaggeration to say that almost all of Closing Fantasy XVI’s greatest fights are one-on-one Eikon duels – Clive, as Ifrit, towards his nemeses and even an ally or two. There’s nothing within the business fairly like this.
I discussed earlier that Valisthea is a well-developed setting. Its nations come alive.
However these are the climactic cap-offs to this recreation’s quite a few narrative arcs. What in regards to the mainstay battle system? A lot has been made by way of the years over Sq. Enix’s choice to go from turn-based programs to largely real-time, and now with XVI to straight-up, single-character, no-holds-barred motion. Yoshida and his staff introduced aboard Ryota Suzuki of Satan Might Cry 5 fame for a motive – their imaginative and prescient was one among unquestionably fast-paced, combo-driven, no-holds-barred fight.
I prefer it. I’ll let you know proper now, I wouldn’t need it to change into the only method to combating from the sequence going ahead. Fortunately, Sq.’s love for switching up practically each main side with every new Closing Fantasy virtually rivals former president Yosuka Matsuda’s love for mentioning NFTs in New 12 months’s Day letters, so I doubt I’ve something to fret about, particularly because the upcoming Closing Fantasy VII Rebirth will proceed to refine the considerably extra traditional spin on fashionable battles, full with the power management a number of social gathering members.
However once more, I do prefer it. I got here into FFXVI at considerably of an obstacle; Satan Might Cry, Bayonetta, and so forth aren’t actually my factor. XVI does an amazing job on-boarding individuals like me with loads of complete tutorials and an appreciably forgiving issue curve. Heck, one of many weaker issues about this recreation is that it forces gamers to play by way of it in full earlier than its (excellently titled) Closing Fantasy Mode unlocks, which ups the problem ante significantly. I’ve had good enjoyable studying monsters’ transfer units and figuring out when to dodge or to double down on Clive’s ‘Eikonic’ assault.
Fairly truthfully, I’m unhealthy sufficient at this motion factor that I struggled right here and there, however there’s an inelegance to all of it with regards to the sport’s makes an attempt to mitigate that. Gamers who’re attuned to this subgenre have usually discovered FFXVI completely too straightforward, and would have been far happier enjoying Closing Fantasy Mode from the get-go. I’m not one among them, however I made the requisite effort to get higher, and infrequently noticed a recreation over since. In the meantime, the ‘Well timed Equipment’ you’ll be able to have Clive equip for those who actually need or want an edge are appreciated as an idea, however having them take up gear slots means dropping the possibility to interact in one of many recreation’s comparatively few ‘RPG parts’.
And that brings us to the shoopuf within the room, proper? The RPG argument. I’m staying out of this, largely. I feel Closing Fantasy may be regardless of the heck Sq. Enix desires it to be. It’s confirmed malleable sufficient through spin-offs and series-shaking new staple concepts – from Energetic Time Battle and Closing Fantasy Techniques to the stagger mechanic and Theatrhythm Closing Fantasy – that I don’t suppose there’s a lot constructive discourse in debating some nebulous ‘reality’ about what FF ‘is’ and ‘isn’t’. It’s no matter Sq. desires it to be at a given level, even when some concepts are certain to show extra profitable, and enduring, than others.
So, it’s OK that Closing Fantasy XVI has trimmed again plenty of my favourite recurring elements on this sequence. I like chocobo racing, blitzball, and Triple Triad. I like studying new expertise from weapons, I like purchasable magic, and sure, I like the Gambit System and hope to excessive heaven it will definitely returns. (It received’t.) I like mix-and-matching Materia, I like delivering letters to impatient moogles. You get the concept.
Closing Fantasy XVI lacks all that, however I don’t contemplate it any worse for it. The work that may have gone towards the snowboarding and submarine hunt in Closing Fantasy VII is refocused in favor of an arcade mode, a number of extra-challenging trials, issues of that nature. In different phrases, FFXVI goes onerous on its fight focus, and I won’t jive with it fairly as properly, however I’m sure some will fall head over heels with it.
Moreover, these different video games are nonetheless there. I’ve full confidence that future installments will convey again varied bits and items I’d have favored to have seen this time. Personally, each mainline FF has at the least one thing the remainder don’t, whether or not that be Closing Fantasy II’s novel ‘key phrase’ system, Closing Fantasy V’s spirit of boundless journey, so on, so forth.
Closing Fantasy XVI has its Eikon battles, plus its cool lore-gathering content material – Energetic Time Lore allows you to pause cutscenes for codex-like entries on individuals, locations, and ideas, and there’s not one however two pleasant characters on the Hideaway who chronicle the complicated narrative’s twists and turns to wonderful impact. Will this shiny new stuff click on for you in addition to it has for me? I don’t know. Will you lament the shortage of management over stat development, the simplicity of the power bushes, and the removing of elemental strengths and weaknesses? Presumably, positive, and I type of miss it, too. Nevertheless it’s simply not a part of XVI’s id, simply as no different entry goes as deep into summoned monster customization as Closing Fantasy VIII; I revisit these video games on a regular basis, and XVI shall be no completely different going ahead.
File these previous few paragraphs with the next succinct abstract: I like what Closing Fantasy XVI is sufficient to recover from what it isn’t. But there’s one thing that each entry has, bar none, and if this recreation flipped the desk on this one, I’d flip tables, too. That one thing is rattling good music. As a giant Closing Fantasy XIV fan, I knew the phenomenally gifted Masayoshi Soken wouldn’t disappoint. Spoiler, he doesn’t disappoint. From bombastic orchestral scores to peaceable background discipline music, Soken continues to show he’s a worthy successor to the one and solely Nobuo Uematsu.
Clearly, Closing Fantasy XVI received’t be for everybody. However how lengthy has it been, if ever, since one among this stuff was? If the elements Sq. Enix elected to downsize on this installment rank among the many most vital to you, this may be a cross. However don’t low cost the uncooked grandeur of the comparably outsized cutscene splendor, nor the largely terrific forged of characters. I feel, greater than something, that’s what I like about Closing Fantasy, is the emotion it will possibly convey when the writing’s good and the heroes are straightforward to root for. It was in anticipation of that have that I received so stirred-up once I wrote ecstatically about Closing Fantasy XVI’s announcement trailer practically three years in the past, and it’s what I’ll bear in mind most about Valisthea within the a few years to come back.
Notice: Evaluation code for Closing Fantasy XVI was offered to Nova Crystallis by the writer Sq. Enix at launch.