Final Fantasy 16 Review

After the turn Final Fantasy took with Final Fantasy XV (a good, if undercooked turn at that), many wondered what was next for the best-known RPG franchise in existence. Another reinvention? A return to the basics? Final Fantasy XVI answers that by saying ‘why not both?’

How? Well, it’s because it constantly flips in your head from being ‘This is so Final Fantasy!’ to ‘What even is this game?’ regularly. The latter statement has its own variety pack of flavors that range from disgust to puzzlement and giddy joy. It has the story formula and theatrical mastery of the series down to a fine point. But on the other hand, it feels narrower than any Final Fantasy for the past 25 years or so. That’s not always a bad thing either. I suppose the best way to sum up the experience of Final Fantasy XVI is ‘conflicted’.

The story sees the young son of an Archduke Clive Rosefield as a sworn protector of his younger brother. His brother, Joshua, is a Dominant, and as such, has the power to control an elemental beast known as an Eikon. Eikons in this world are the summons of previous Final Fantasy titles, and Joshua controls the Phoenix. When tragedy and deception strike the Rosefield’s home, Clive is captured and conscripted into a slave group of soldiers, where he serves for several years before we are reunited with him.

Clive and Torgal are usually united in combat

In the present day, Clive manages to escape his servitude thanks to the latest version of Cid, and before long becomes embroiled in a search for vengeance, and answers. Clive ends up charged with steering the fate of the world itself as it is ravaged by a blight that leaves once lush green lands dark and dusty. Multiple stories naturally collide in a typically theatrical fashion.

After the incoherent sprawling open wonders of Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy XVI primarily draws things back, but keeps the scale in place for appropriate moments. The world is beautiful but tends to feel a touch empty, even with the story-given reason that a blight has corrupted much of the land.

Structurally, the game is quite close to a Platinum Games title, and given some of the development team has a history in action titles like those, it’s a little unsurprising. Lots of pretty corridors and grand boss arenas, a sense of stupendous scale to boss fights, and even in the dry snarky humor and bloodshed there’s something distinctly different at play here.

It’s most evident in the combat. It clearly takes cues from the Final Fantasy VII Remake and indeed Final Fantasy XV. But Final Fantasy XVI is a far more sophisticated setup, integrating elements of Final Fantasy XIV’s combat with a Devil May Cry/Bayonetta switchable style system. As Clive begins to collect abilities from different Eikons, his roster of moves grows, so one minute he can send foes flying with a fiery uppercut, and the next he’s launching spectral talons across the battlefield to grab enemies. The special elemental powers tend to feature a cooldown period, but the basic moves hold awesome of each element in them. Clive can attack with his sword and fireballs of whatever element he’s got equipped currently, and even on this basic stage, there’s room for some switch-ups.

The game is quick to give you a taste of its intimidating Eikons

It’s actually quite refreshing to have such interesting combat in a Final Fantasy game. It certainly papers over the cracks of an entry that’s constantly pushing you forward instead of letting you soak up the world of Valisthea. The ingenious idea to have all lore related to a scene available readily on the pause screen does go some way to keeping you invested and informed of the many machinations of the world, but it does feel like it’s a bit of a cop-out for building an undernourished world in terms of wider visual storytelling.

Cutscenes and action set pieces do a lot of the heavy lifting, and it’s a fairly agreeable trade for the most part. Ralph Ineson’s Cid is a joy to tag along with. A suave and gravel-voiced freedom fighter with a line in banter that makes him one of the more memorable characters of the modern Final Fantasy era. Ben Starr’s Clive Rosefield is no slouch either. He takes the deliciously corny ‘woe is me’ revenge arc and adds humanity and empathy to it with a fine performance. This duo in particular makes pushing on with the story a more than pleasurable experience. And the supporting cast of characters generally does a good job of supporting that.

The set piece moments though. Those are of the highest tier. From Eikon fights that dazzled my Kaiju fight-loving senses to bloody melodrama played out on an epic scale. After the languid, piecemeal nature of Final Fantasy XV’s story (which still managed to have some spectacular moments big and small), there’s something gripping about the shift in tone and style for Final Fantasy XVI. At times it feels a lot closer to the best stories from online entry Final Fantasy XIV, with the extra advantage of a bigger production budget and voiced characters.

It does help that Final Fantasy XVI can look absolutely stunning in these moments. Yes certain playable scenes boil down to tapping a button in throwback QTE style, but it damn well works when said button smashing sees one Eikon knock fiery bloody lumps off the chin of another as the sumptuous orchestral score screeches in ecstasy alongside it. Or when Clive crosses swords with some nefarious foe and you can see the determination, desperation, and ruthless aggression of the moment all in close up as sparks fly from their entangled blades. Final Fantasy XVI really is a ‘moments’ game, and it rarely disappoints in these grander examples.

Boss encounters are truly epic moments

But as I’ve often alluded to, Final Fantasy XVI is a tad more erratic in its smaller moments. Yes, Clive is a great conduit for viewing the wrongs of this world, but so many attempts to show the creeping death of Valisthea fall short of their intended impact. Side missions are available, and some definitely help flesh out the world and its people, but the game is so, so eager to keep you on a particular path thanks to its compelling main story, that you can quite easily miss a lot of this. If the best of Final Fantasy XIV can be seen in what Final Fantasy XVI does right, then the worst of XIV is very much present in what Final Fantasy XVI does wrong. Too many simple fetch quests, too much back-and-forth travel, and a sense of worthlessness to some side quests. That doesn’t apply to everything of course, but there are parts of this digital tapestry that remain frayed or unfinished.

Final Fantasy XVI ends up being a memorable experience in so many ways while you’re in the moment. It’s just lacking something that would elevate it to be among the best in the series. I think the direction the game takes is admirable, and really should be part of the blueprint for the future of Final Fantasy, but currently, it’s still in need of a few tweaks and additions to take it to the next level.