Final Fantasy 16 is a new take on Final Fantasy. It deviates from traditional FF gameplay into a more mature tone. It shifts from regular RPG battles to action-focused combat that gets better as players progress. The game improves upon the ideas of Final Fantasy 15 and adds more by taking it in a different direction. For good reason since there is a strong team behind it. The designers of Final Fantasy 15 and Devil May Cry are behind it and one can see the influence of these games.
FF 16 is a modern Final Fantasy game and there is great stuff here even though there are some flaws. The bad parts of the game are more evident due to the better parts of the game. There is a lot to like depending on your preference. Final Fantasy 16 feels like the fulfillment of the FF dream. There is blistering combat with some epic moments and multistage boss battles. The combat becomes better the more you play it. All this makes you wonder Is Final Fantasy 16 worth it? Let’s find out.
Story and Setting (Spoiler Free)
Final Fantasy 16 is a Dark Medieval Fantasy adventure that follows the main character called Clive Rosfield. He is the son of a King from a long-fallen Kingdom. He is a warrior and one of the selected few that can wield a powerful magic type. The mission that he is on has a deep and personal relation to him. Clive is a solid protagonist. He prefers to be solo which is the main reason Clive has a small circle of friends. Clive will have allies from time to time but there is no party system.
The story has a grand scale with lots of good dialogue and drawn-out story moments. It truly shines when different characters are voicing their option. The voice acting of different characters is solid. There are politics in the plot and betrayal from other characters. Final Fantasy 16 is purely focused on Clive and side characters are just there to support his story. The plot also discusses and shows the cost of magic. The plot is one of the main reasons that Final Fantasy 16 is so good.
Combat
Final Fantasy 16 ditches the turn base RPG combat for Devil May Cry type combat. Such a difference in combat is a big jump from the style of the series. Combat is solid and satisfying with different types of attacks.
Clive has main slashing attacks, and ranged magic blasts. Different attacks can be combined for midair combo or you can hold a button to do a charges attack. There is the option to dodge and a perfect dodge can open up the enemy for counter. You can jump and hit the character downward with full thrust.
There is the option of a quick and powerful ability that one can activate with the right trigger and use through face buttons. These attacks are on cooldown and these abilities will let you smash the enemy in midair, and do massive smashes or let you do large area of effect damage for crowd control. The combat becomes more complex as the game goes on because you get more abilities.
Some enemies are spongy and Final Fantasy 16 is challenging but has good moments. When taking down an enemy you have to use different resources at your disposal. You will wait for the allies to attack along with your attack and drink a potion while doing so.
If you are not using different attacks then it might feel like you are doing the same attack over and over. There is the option of locking on to an enemy. It’s not really clear when you are getting attacked off-camera. There are indicators but the camera can still screw you over.
Evolving Combat
You start with fire magic then wind, lighting, and others. You can swap between different magic types to build power. All abilities have uses and you can swap them on the fly. Use one ability to throw an enemy in the air and then switch to another to slam them to the ground with a combo.
Swapping abilities mid-combat feels like swapping stances. Some magic types are good for defenses while others are good for offenses and some are good for evasion. So it is important to know when to use which magic type. Enemies have a second bar as well that will open them up for more damage once that second bar ends. Stacking damage will reduce the health of the second bar and stuns the enemy which enables you to follow up with powerful attacks. The loop of Final Fantasy 16’s combat revolves around attacks and evasion.
Combat gets deeper the further you go in the story. At the start, you will have fire magic and then others will unlock as explained earlier. Your abilities and attacks will improve as you progress. Combat will become more intense as you progress. You will be fighting big monsters and an army of enemies as your combat improves. Combat will become grander along with improvement in your abilities.
The Grand Battles
Certain story moments will give you control of a big monster to fight enemies. Such sequences make Final Fantasy 16 even better because the game centers around these large mythical creatures. It is good to see these grand creatures being part of the story. These big battles make up for interesting moments. The attacks of monsters can be simple but fighting as big monsters feels good. A major part of the game revolves around these mythical creatures.
Boss battles are wild and there are some big moments. Anything that is not part of the boss battle will still have a sense of grandness to it. There are some big siege areas with story-heavy moments. Even if some parts of Final Fantasy 16 are not good, the story will still feel exciting. Fighting enemies that are not part of the story feels less fulfilling. Part of the reason is the fact that the game is so grand that the quitter parts feel less fulfilling.
The RPG Elements
There is a lack of proper RPG elements. Instead of ditching RPG elements Final Fantasy 16 keep them but these elements are barebone. Getting new items is not exciting and the loop of progression is not good. Most of the time changing an item only has cosmetic effects. The game does not excite you to get good loot or find a treasure that makes exploration rewarding.
There are lots of numbers and menus but it does not mean much. It is just about taking the items with a higher power level. The skill tree is decent and one can learn new moves for each magic ability. Spending more points on ability will master them. The skill tree is good and simple. It is not complicated and delivers a good experience without complicating it too much.
General Gameplay
The main story and combat are good that deserve praise. The side content, however, goes in the opposite direction. It mostly feels like an afterthought that just gives the player something to do. It serves no other purpose. There are bounties to be taken from the ladder board that are pretty generic. The moment to moment gameplay is not as exciting as the rest of the game.
Final Fantasy 16 is mostly linear with exploreable areas here and there. The hub area and town look good but like most side characters these areas don’t stand out. Other than shops and blacksmiths, nothing feels important in these areas. Side quests mostly feel like an afterthought.
Verdict
Battles are huge and explosive with lots of tense moments. Music makes all of it better as Final Fantasy 16 has amazing music. The presentation of different events is good. However, when it dips down it goes low really quickly. The better parts of the game are so good that getting something a little lower feels really bad. High parts of the game which are the main story and combat are so good that overshadow the side content and make them feel worse.
Final Fantasy 16 focuses on the pain and struggle of the main character in a brutal world. The charm of the main story goes up and down as you progress but it mostly stays up. It is a good Final Fantasy game with plenty of good qualities that can vary depending on your play style and the type of player you are. Final Fantasy 16 offers a good time once you get to the better parts of it.
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