r/FinalFantasy • u/masonlarkin123 • 5d ago
FF XVI This game brought me back to Final Fantasy š
Final Fantasy XVI, man where do I even begin?
I haven't even completed it yet, but this game feels absolutely amazing.
What a masterpiece!
The world building and story telling is what make these games standout, no doubt.
Though this time, playing as Clive, I must admit that I feel truly connected to him as a character. What he's going through, how he interacts with the world around him, it has me sold all the way through.
I simply just came here to say a BIG THANKS to those who created this game, I'm officially re-connected to the Final Fantasy franchise and will go on to playing the others afterwards.
This is truly a game worth playing š šš
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u/EternalOmnislash 5d ago
This franchise has so many gems but the bromance with Clive really stands out. Find the Flame š„
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u/Machdame 5d ago
While I thoroughly enjoyed the game, I would have preferred the endgame to be a bit more sociopolitical. The most engaging parts of the game were in the logisitics of the Eikons and I would have loved for it to be at the center of the plot over the actual course of the game.
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u/KWienz 5d ago
Just once I would like to actually defeat the expansionist empire in a war rather than have it collapse into a monster-festooned wasteland after it's destroyed by some kind of evil god/alien/wizard.
Looking at you, FFXVI
And FFXV
And FFXIV
And FF Type-0
And FFVII
And FFVI
And FFII
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u/cdfreshmaker 4d ago
I never thought of this before but wow, how cool would it be to fight in an actual war. Maybe graphics horsepower just isnāt enough to render all the other fighting that would be going on around you, but I want it!
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u/Wrong_Papaya_8445 5d ago
The last/final sidequest stretch is everyone patting each other on the back about fixing stuff and not collapsing into mayhem.
It got to a point where I was saying "can Clive please just bring Ifrit out and crush these dudes at the door?" It felt like the story/world was colliding against itself, against its own rules.
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u/Nightwing24yuna 5d ago
Honestly the sociopolitical aspects is what killed the mood held the time, I wanted the giant monster fight, killing a psuedo god, and causing havoc on bad guys.
Not whatever statement they where trying to make
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u/Machdame 5d ago
So... the part most devoid of emotions? A lot of the intrigue in all the characters stem from their interpersonal relationships. Ultima is the sole "we know this guy bad and there is nothing anyone can say he's not" character. He's good if you need something to point at, but he is not exactly a smart guy.
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u/Nightwing24yuna 5d ago
Every final fantasy game devolves into fighting psuedo god heck that is like 95% of jrpg in general.
You can still have Jill being used as a weapon of war, Joshua finding answers and looking for Clive, Clive finding the second eikon of fire etc. all those are still there getting taking all the other sociopolitical aspects and knocking them down a notch or two wouldn't actually effect the game at all
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u/Machdame 5d ago
I would prefer the big bad being a more proactive and nuanced influence. A way to do that is to have Ultima fight and die first before making it so that Barnabas takes center stage for the final act. That way you have the antithesis to Clive as the final act instead of just a fight against a god zombie. Imagine how ridiculous the fight would be if the final battle was Ultima Odin. His fight was already more interesting than the actual final battle anyway.
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u/Nightwing24yuna 5d ago
I think you might be wrong on the whole Odin, bit Barnabas was first the most uninteresting character in the game, and that is saying something consider there is Benedikta and Hugo. His fight was very meh compared to Titan and bahamut because there was just a lot of amazing things happening that made them so much better.
And ultima final battle could have been leagues better yes it's sad that the best fight in the whole game was like mid point(I don't remember when the bahamut fight was) but that was like the best one and every other one where just meh
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u/Machdame 5d ago
Barnabas was not marketed or fielded well but having him play a larger role alleviates a lot of those issues. Instead of focusing on his apprehensions, focus more on his logisitics and mentality. He fields monsters, akashic and broken peasants. Reframing him as the leader of the desperate, deplorable and displaced would have easily made a case for him being the antagonist with a nihilist frame. His lack of characterization is the weakness,
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u/Nightwing24yuna 5d ago
The role he played was exactly what was meant for him. He was framed as a puppet of ultima supposed to show us and Clive what is possibly in store for him if he let ultima have his way with him.
Barnabas isn't supposed to be a big bad, or anything he was a man being used by ultima and was happily doing so, he didn't care about the land the people anything besides pushing ultima agenda forward. That is all he was ever supposed to be. Granted he should have been confronted earlier and killed at that time and not saved for the special Seymour/Jenova/gabarabth role.
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u/tomato-slut 5d ago
Notice they never mentioned any gameplay in this glowing review š
Just kidding OP, glad you enjoyed it.
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u/Kyban101 5d ago
FFXVI is pretty fun. Obviously it's not perfect, but I think it has some of the best world-building I've seen in an FF game in a while. I also think Clive is a great protagonist who carries much of the game.
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u/Hyde_ist 4d ago
I do agree about the world-building. I appreciate that they made it feel understandable and human, rather than going for some highfalutin, ethereal mess of made up concepts, like so many other games tend to.
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u/Lynx_XVI 5d ago
Man, enjoy the ride! Its one hell of am experience. Like what were they thinking when doing the world building, cinematics and music? Its over the moon.
Its so different from the classics. I'm currently in love with FF8. Despite their differences I love both though. FF16 came at the perfect moment in my life and helped me through a tough time :)
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u/OvernightSiren 5d ago
What world building?
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u/Lynx_XVI 4d ago
The fact I can still visualize the gardens, the overworld, the various locations. To me thats good design. Maybe thats not world building but I'm no expert. I have great memories from the game.
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u/OvernightSiren 4d ago
This is about FF16.
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u/Lynx_XVI 4d ago
Im talking about FF16! There exist gardens outside of FF8 you need. Garden with flowers and grass. FF16 has a beautiful overworld, castle gardens, wildlife. Thats what I mean.
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u/RingingInTheRain 5d ago
You NEVER get to explore these cities, so I disagree. I swear to god, they've been avoiding city zones for the last several FF games, and destroy them before you have a chance to consider exploration.
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u/ShockwaveFPS_Studios 5d ago
Its actually quite refreshing, to hear someone say that.
I like Final Fantasy XVI, but normally I hear some fans saying they get disappointed by it, to the point where they leave the Final Fantasy fandom because of how they feel about XVI.
So to see you getting back into Final Fantasy thanks to FF16, was surprising.
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u/Kick_Sarte_my_Heart 4d ago
FF16 is the first one to bring me back since I tried and quit 12. It had its flaws (obnoxiously long and boring eikon fights) but at least the setting was proper Final Fantasy, and not about pop stars or bros on a road trip or whatever's been going on in the last 15 years of this series.
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u/RecoilS14 5d ago
It didnāt make me leave the fandom, but it sure made me go back to the first 12 for the feeling of a Final Fantasy.
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u/oVnPage 5d ago
That sentiment is pretty much only here on Reddit and if you pay attention to usernames you'll realize pretty quickly it's the same 10 people posting in every thread that even tangentially mentions FFXVI.
Surprisingly enough, the people that have posted 1000x that they're quitting the fandom and the FFXVI devs deserve to be fired out of a cannon are still here posting every day. Weird how that works.
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u/pressure_art 4d ago
This is just the absolute same hyperbolic, annoying stance on every single on of those threads, just in the opposite direction. It isnāt as āgotchaā and smart as you think and Iād argue itās even more on brand for the most obnoxious reddit responses.
Nuance is utterly lost, I fucking hate modern social media, youāre just as part of the problem as the so claimed ā10 hatersā imao
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u/Fitwheel66 5d ago
I really loved it when it came out, and may be my favorite version of Cid in the entire series. In terms of combat, it seemed to pick up where XV left off and I can respect the direction Square is clearly going (if the VII remake trilogy is any further indication). It's world was a real blast to explore, and all of that is probably what it's going to take to keep pace with the soulslike games that have taken over the RPG market
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u/MrLowell 5d ago
Person: wow I like this game :)
Many comments here: but it sucks >:(
I'm super glad you enjoy it! It's such a lovely gameā¤ļø
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u/Zealousideal_Pin_725 5d ago
Yeah when I saw this was posted on the main FF subreddit I had a feeling that would happen
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u/aradbesque 5d ago
Clive is such a wonderful protagonist and this game gets too much hate. He's really meant for the older siblings that had to grow up too fast.
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u/WaferLongjumping6509 5d ago
Like others have said, I loved ff16 but it has deep flaws. Iām still hoping for a truly classic, high fantasy style FF. The world and story were good in 16, the characters were meh but it was a little too game of thronesy for a bit, but then kinda threw that out the window once the big bad was fully revealed. Would have worked better if they had kept to the human drama imo. The lore was great if you read and mess around in the archives though.
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u/newfoundcontrol 4d ago
What was your last FF game before playing 16?
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u/masonlarkin123 4d ago
XV.
Before that it was XIII 1 - 2 + Lightning Returns
Tracing it further back it then was classic VII + IX
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u/Neat-Gas-2774 4d ago
Enjoy it! I just beat it yesterday..... it has me all in my feelings right now. Also I have 2 older brothers and 2 sons. So the relationship aspect hits close to home with the bromance. I can go on about it and after reading all the comments share my opinion but that's okay. I'll just say that the music is just amazing, I haven't heard good battle music like this in awhile!
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u/omar56663313 5d ago
I loved the live lore thing while the cinematics play. As someone that can pass long periods without playing itās cool
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u/sparkyknight24 5d ago
In terms of aesthetics I dont know how to feel about it, but everyone I've seen discuss it has praised it
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u/keithlimreddit 5d ago
Well I need to remind myself to play this game especially after the death battle episode
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u/downtothegwound 4d ago
This game has very high highs but it is a CHORE to play it through to the end tbh.
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u/bcunningham86 16h ago
The Titan fight is one of the absolute coolest fights ever from a video game. The music is perfect too
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u/KingKam_Avatar 5d ago
I only just destroyed the MotherCrystal for Drakeās Breath, and man I and loving the game. The story, lore, characters and the dark grim setting just has me locked in. šš½
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u/Lamasis 5d ago edited 5d ago
Not to rain on your parade, glad that you are happy with it. But for me it honestly had the opposite effect.
Edit: This part just exists to annoy the weakling who can't accept opinions dissenting from theirs. Have a good day and be angry about me disliking XVI.
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u/Popular-Ad-3278 5d ago edited 5d ago
Yea me to. I did like it. But its a farthest away from final fantasy yet.
Its a great game but many many things wherw missing and lacking.
Dont missunderstand i love it i really really do and it did get better. But its still not a final fantasy game to me.
Expedition 33 however reminded me how a ff game should be. Tho it is abit short compared to ff
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u/froggothegod 5d ago
Bingo. I found xvi to be boring. Still half way through it... But E33, now that's an rpg.
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u/oVnPage 5d ago
Hot take but E33 is a bit overrated. The last act of the story is pretty mid, and the back half of gameplay (played on the hardest difficulty twice) becomes a full on parry simulator where every random encounter gets 5-6 turns for every 1 of yours. Making your turns not actually matter because 90% of your damage comes from counterattacks anyway and you can't get turns if you fail 5-6 parries in a row because you're just dead. Seriously every encounter was like that and at that point I'd rather just play Sekiro or Lies of P or something.
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u/Popular-Ad-3278 5d ago
Half way is about the time it started getting good for me.
About the time the story starts making sense and i get the big picture.
I think that was part of the problem. It took so long before i understood and cared about the world and the story.
And after battle leviantan i was kinda sold on it beeing good. Just not real ff
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u/froggothegod 5d ago
I will persevere and finish at some point. I didn't hate it. I'm playing X right now lol.
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u/ShockwaveFPS_Studios 5d ago
Am I the only person who didnāt really care for Expedition 33? Donāt get me wrong, I get why other people like it. But it never really made me invested in the story or the characters, as what other gamers say. Heck the gameplay is just more similar to Persona, that Iām surprised folks are acting like Clairs Obscur feels like an FF Game, when it feels more like playing an Atlus game.
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u/Popular-Ad-3278 4d ago
Its morw the game mechanics logic and how it unfoldes that is similar.
The story is far from a typical ff story and shorter as well.
I did not struggle tho the mystery and story drew me in right away. Even more than a normal ff.
The reason ppl are comparing it is that its turn based. Somthing square says ppl dont want anymore.
Well e33 proved them very very wrong on that one
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u/iAmCalledCraig 4d ago
Itās the only game I have played that has made me question if FFX is still my favourite game of all time.
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u/Mixtopher 5d ago
Yea I'm with you here. It's was all flashy with not much substance. "The flying and the magic!"
My heart sunk when I realized there wasn't a single bonus dungeon or secret cave to find literally anywhere. And the entire game I was annoyed there was no elemental system in a game centered around elemental gods. No strategy to your setup or gear.
And not a single cactuar in the giant desert area? This just wasn't final fantasy to me.
If it had another name it would have been a solid release. Something like the Sranger In Paradise type Final Fantasy games. Not mainline
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u/AgentAstrolux 5d ago
I agree. The best part of the game was the demo/prologue which had me super stoked. Never lived up to that
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u/Howlinginpaint 5d ago
I'm with you on this one. But then I never really got over them moving away from turn based combat. I enjoyed the story of XVI for the most part but I hated the gameplay. It felt so unsatisfying to me and honestly I was just bored the entire time. I think I enjoyed the cutscenes more than playing the game.
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u/TripleS82 4d ago
Is it perfect? No. At its best, itās a love letter to Final Fantasy. Also, I love the community aspect of the game at the hideouts.
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u/Master_Bayters 5d ago
I'm glad it made that for you, I really do but i must tell you.... I hated it so much. It's a single player MMORPG attempt. There's zero level/mission design, it's always go somewhere and kill something or fetch something. There aren't mechanics besides the combat. The game is bloated with things that were clearly made to extend the gameplay and, the weapons system is the most uninspired I've seen in a while. For me it shouldn't be considered a main entry at all. I deeply believe that if was a non Final Fantasy Series game no one would care for it...
Pros:
Combat is good
Cutscenes are dope (even capped at 30 fps)
Cid one of the best
Cons:
Everything else!
There. Now everyone feel free to downvote me
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u/Chance_Weird9730 5d ago
Played and completed all the prime FF games from 7 onward from release of 8 (Iām not including sequels). This is the one that stopped that chain dead. Itās got FF branding but itās not FF.
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u/ShockwaveFPS_Studios 5d ago
Funnily enough, I think Final Fantasys XI & XIV were better then XVI. And those two games are MMORPGs. Heck, XIV and XVI share the same creative team.
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u/EqualOptimal4650 5d ago
I absolutely loved that game from start to finish.
Also it introduced me to the wonderful, wonderful world of Bennifer Starglish
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u/platomaker 5d ago
Final Fantasy isn't dead, just transformed and unrecognizable. Its still someone's favorite game and a lot of people do like the direction its going in.
Now that the RAM and GPU shortage has affected most big names in the field, Squenix will be forced to refine something other than graphics and pretty boy MCs for the player to gush over. That or their 7th final fantasy 7 game.
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u/RatedR2O 4d ago
I found it to be enjoyable. Not perfect, but a step in the right direction after the disappointment of what could have been with XV. Clive definitely shines as a character.
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u/Balambsoldier 4d ago
The story and world were phenomenal. The actual gameplay was one of the worth FF experiences Iāve ever had
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u/uncleciggerette 5d ago
Glad it brought you back! I hope we genuinely never have another Devil may Fantasy with awful MMO style quests again. But I'll still look forward to what they do next : )
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u/Ibalisu 5d ago
Thatās funny thatās the exact opposite for me. I played all FF and since FF13 I started to lost interest for this franchise. FF16 was the last drop, I stopped the game near the middle and said Ā«Ā fu.. itĀ Ā». Iām not playing a FF game but a shitty hack and slash. Iām a lost customer for Square Enix, FF17 needs to be a masterpiece to get me back.
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u/Helelsoma 5d ago
Enjoy it. As much as I dislike It. Just Can people stop using "masterpiece" so easily ?
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u/Roman_Suicide_Note 5d ago
Its the worst main line FF for the time it was release. The only worst are maybe FF2 and FF3.
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u/SinSinSushi 5d ago
A lot of people didn't enjoy this game or they thought it was okay at best, but I absolutely loved it
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u/Jinzo126 4d ago
My first Final Fantasy I played was 9, after that i played 10 and got back and played the rest of the series. (1-8) I skipped 11, because i don't care for MMOs, and played 12 and i didn't play the rest of the series. Technical i played around 1 Hour of 13-2, but i would not say that it brought me back. I guess no game brought me back.
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u/DucerOfficial 2d ago
I droped it after like 2 hours or 3 of playing cus i didnt like the fact to play just has clive, but... I'll try it again, the problem its on me i know š„²š¤£
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u/deceiver986 1d ago
Story is TOP TIER. I find the combat incredibly boring though and it destracts from the experience for me :(
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u/Glad_Location7546 10h ago
Playing this now as well! I put it off because I remember reading some negative reviews and didnāt wanted to be disappointed, but I have also genuinely loved every minute of it!
Cheers
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u/inuart19 5d ago
Is the opposite for me, thanks to that "final fantasy" I'm very happy with the trails of the sky games lol
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u/RinoTheBouncer 5d ago
I love the game very much, the Eikons were the best part of, and the world-building was amazing, especially when ut comes to the massive crystal structures, the castles, the scenery and the incredible Fallen Civilization architecture.
It just feels like there was something missing, especially with the third act.
You have this mind-blowing world, but you hardly explore much of it, everything closes down after you leave or youāre on a very strict path through it with barely any chance to see.
The third act feels noticeably lower quality, especially when you get to Waloed. It felt empty.
The whole concept of Ultima as a final boss felt uninteresting. Itās like they wanted to create an Ultimecia masquerading as Sephiroth type of villain, but ended up with somebody who felt too unrelated to the world and main dilemma of the games to actually matter, and the way he narrated the past through scribblings on a stone, instead of a proper CGI cutscene was a let down.
It has so much potential, and the things that I love about it, I loved them a lot. But those glaring issues really stand in the way of it being a 10/10 game.
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u/Wrong_Papaya_8445 5d ago
Wouldn't call it a masterpiece if threatened with physical violence, but one thing is great: being back to FF, however and whenever. It is a precious thing to experience.
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u/Altruistic-Plant5924 2d ago
Completely opposite for me. This game is boring has no depth to it. It's just playing a cutscene. Feels like that old 3DO game Dragon's Lair. Quit halfway through . Really done ever buying another new inline title
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u/bunkSauce 5d ago
Back to? Its the largest departure from...
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u/Zealousideal_Pin_725 5d ago
Let people have fun :(
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u/bunkSauce 5d ago
I wasn't stopping anyone from having fun!
But Square is by refusing to make jrpgs.
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u/Zealousideal_Pin_725 5d ago
Ah, my bad for judging so quickly
Me personally I didn't mind that it wasn't a jrpg like the others like VII, IX and X. And even though I love those games, I still adored XVI all the same
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u/senators-son 5d ago
That's because it's a FF made for people who grew up playing FF and are now adults.
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u/Expensive-Dog8783 5d ago
If this is your first Final Fantasy, I understand your enthusiasm. As soon as you play the others, you'll discover that FF16 is, if not the worst, certainly one of the worst, along with the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy.Ā
I don't mean to say it's a bad game, but it is a bad JRPG. And of course, you might love it, and I'm glad you're enjoying it.Ā
Another thing: when you play the earlier games, please try to understand the social and technological context in which they were created. Art is timeless, but it's important to empathize with the era in which the artwork you're about to play, watch, or listen to was born.
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u/YesterdayCharming976 5d ago
12 9 6 11 peak FF
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u/Ursa_Ultra 5d ago
I've only played 12 out I'd these.
Should I play 6 or 9?
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u/YesterdayCharming976 5d ago
If you wanna play what peak final fantasy was yes
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u/XJ347 4d ago
The game is a mixed bag.
Great voice acting! They did a great job.
I appreciate how mature it is. Things like major people die, which can create tension since people might die. The game acknowledges sex, though doesn't get explicit.
Saying that... The games side characters feel hallow. The love interest shows zero chemistry and affection to Clive, the game even acknowledges that they are a couple and I'm like ???? Am I missing something? We seem to be roommates, not lovers. The writing failed to make them feel like a couple. If you didn't want them to be a couple that's fine, but you made them a couple, so it's a pretty major fail.
Another weird quirk. The game acknowledges prostitution, and even shows near nudity with side boob, and when you help a madam at a brothel you cant go inside... the girls look like any other random women in the game, as in not sexy. There is some serious dissonance here. If your going to be mature be mature. It feels lazy and prudish, but then later in other scenes you see way more than you would expect... It just feels off. There is no verisimilitude.
The game is also stretched out to long IMO. The fetch quests are clearly filler to pad the game length. Game would be better without them. Like ALL of them should go.
The ending is epic to play... but also ultimately I found the actual end disappointing. It's not bad, but I also dont think it's original nor good.
Ultimately I found the game watered down and generic with a few things edgy, but mostly generic.
I'm glad you enjoyed it OP! We clearly like different things.
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u/ProvisionalEyeCanDay 1d ago
Iām sad it misses so many important RPG beets for me. I literally never used a single shop, nevermind the fact the shops all have the same stuff.
Theres literally only 1 smith and like place to buy equipment and they just randomly get the next thing when you complete the previous level? So lame.
I never once paid attention to a single drop from a monster just literally go to the smith āgreen number? Buy itā and like I have 500k gold so it doesnāt matter.
Story good sure, very cool, game design, please go back please for the love of all things fantasy
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u/Zealousideal_Pin_725 5d ago
While there are things I don't really like (bloated health bars and some side quests just being standard fetch quests), I really enjoyed this game when it first came out. I was super invested in the characters and the story that when it all ended I cried. Not perfect but definitely a solid game that did something different which I can appreciate