Final Fantasy 16 is set in the world of Valisthea,a world divided between six nations who hold power through access to magical Crystals and Dominants, humans who act as hosts for each nation's Eikon. Tensions between nations escalate due as Blight consuming the land.
Final Fantasy 16 is produced by the Final Fantasy 14 team. This is their first mainline FF single player production. The setting is closer to Final Fantasy 12,14 and Final Fantasy Tactics some of the mainstream media will likely more see it as Game of Thrones. This is my impression after completing the game and taking my time through it as well as the side quests and the monster hunts. I played some of the Final Fantasy mode which has access of all the Eikons,abilities,items/weapons and an increased level cap.Which is a lot more fun.
Story
Previous entries like FF13 and FF15 struggled to interest me character wise as well as the not being drawn in by the world. I'm glad I can the opposite about Valisthea. There is a lot more focus on side characters and worldbuilding. There is the Active Time Lore feature which if you're in a cutscene and not sure about something like a world reference or a character you can pause the game then press the touch pad to activate Active Time Lore to learn about it. It's a great feature and a lot more accessible. It saves a lot of time looking through an Encyclopedia on the Main Menu to try and find out things such as characters and the world's lore. The story itself is great the side quests take time to get into they might be small at first but as the game progresses the payoff for the side quests is good.
Graphics and Voice Acting
The graphics in places are absolutely beautiful and the graphics look like an advanced version of Final Fantasy 14. Some of the scenery as you travel the world is really beautiful as you see crystal city in a distance. The English voice acting cast uses a British dub like Final Fantasy 14 which it does from Heavenward expansions onwards. There were so many performances that stood out and it felt really authentic. Clive his actor Ben Starr just delivered in every way the emotions and his character especially the series having a big impact on his life you can see it paying off. Cid voice was iconic and suited the character very well. I felt that the humor and the seriousness in the dialogue was well balanced throughout the journey. All voice acting from main characters to side characters was superb. I played both in English and Japanese voices for the game.
Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to Devil May Cry with the Ryota Suzuki helping with it as well as contractors from Platinum Games who worked on Nier Automata such as Takahisa Taura. It's a single character action RPG which some FF fans would be disappointed that you cannot control different party members, but they act as an AI companion in exception of Torgal(Clive's furry friend) which you can command him, or he can act automatically. If you find dodging difficult or action games hard you can go for Story difficulty if you want to enjoy the story as well as options for accessories if you're not good at dodging or commanding Torgal.
Equipment system is very easy to understand you can buy gear from shops such as Weapons and Accessories or you can get the Blacksmith from the hideout to make a weapon or an accessory for you. The blacksmith can also reinforce weapons/accessories you own as well.
There's Eikon abilities you can unlock as you progress through the game and some abilities you have to buy with ability points which you can get by defeating enemies.
There's also Eikon vs Eikon fights and the cinematics for them are breathtaking if I described them being like Cyberconnect2's Ultimate Ninja series it doesn't do it justice.
Music
The music for FFXVI is done by Masayoshi Soken who has worked on FFXIV tracks and his tracks are great like they are in FFXIV's expansions! The battle theme pays a lot of homage to Final Fantasy VIII. He keeps putting out bangers. I loved the Greatwood theme it felt relaxing as I was exploring the forest.
Performance
30fps Quality mode and Performance mode is 60fps
Side Content
Mostly quests and hunting monsters. There are challenges like the Chronolith Trials which you can only use one Eikon. Well as a score mode for some of the stages you can play in the game like Devil May Cry. Plus a Final Fantasy mode, I mentioned earlier and an extra difficulty level for stages if you want a challenge. I think you get similar hours of what you can get out of the FFVII Remake personally.
Overall, it's an 8.8/10 for me
Pros
- Great world and characters with a lot of effort put into that
- Finally, some good effort into worldbuilding for the series (Great having an Active Time Lore feature which needs to be a standard for lots of RPGs)
- The cinematics for the battles is breathtaking
- Great OST
- Fun gameplay
Cons
- Lack of RPG elements and customizing the party
- More variety in the side quests such as activities maybe a card game or fishing
- Old School fans will be disappointed in the gameplay
Any questions about the game I'll try and answer them in a way I can besides too big spoilers. I'm thinking of doing a video review, but it depends on time on my end.
Final Fantasy 16 is produced by the Final Fantasy 14 team. This is their first mainline FF single player production. The setting is closer to Final Fantasy 12,14 and Final Fantasy Tactics some of the mainstream media will likely more see it as Game of Thrones. This is my impression after completing the game and taking my time through it as well as the side quests and the monster hunts. I played some of the Final Fantasy mode which has access of all the Eikons,abilities,items/weapons and an increased level cap.Which is a lot more fun.
Story
Previous entries like FF13 and FF15 struggled to interest me character wise as well as the not being drawn in by the world. I'm glad I can the opposite about Valisthea. There is a lot more focus on side characters and worldbuilding. There is the Active Time Lore feature which if you're in a cutscene and not sure about something like a world reference or a character you can pause the game then press the touch pad to activate Active Time Lore to learn about it. It's a great feature and a lot more accessible. It saves a lot of time looking through an Encyclopedia on the Main Menu to try and find out things such as characters and the world's lore. The story itself is great the side quests take time to get into they might be small at first but as the game progresses the payoff for the side quests is good.
Graphics and Voice Acting
The graphics in places are absolutely beautiful and the graphics look like an advanced version of Final Fantasy 14. Some of the scenery as you travel the world is really beautiful as you see crystal city in a distance. The English voice acting cast uses a British dub like Final Fantasy 14 which it does from Heavenward expansions onwards. There were so many performances that stood out and it felt really authentic. Clive his actor Ben Starr just delivered in every way the emotions and his character especially the series having a big impact on his life you can see it paying off. Cid voice was iconic and suited the character very well. I felt that the humor and the seriousness in the dialogue was well balanced throughout the journey. All voice acting from main characters to side characters was superb. I played both in English and Japanese voices for the game.
Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to Devil May Cry with the Ryota Suzuki helping with it as well as contractors from Platinum Games who worked on Nier Automata such as Takahisa Taura. It's a single character action RPG which some FF fans would be disappointed that you cannot control different party members, but they act as an AI companion in exception of Torgal(Clive's furry friend) which you can command him, or he can act automatically. If you find dodging difficult or action games hard you can go for Story difficulty if you want to enjoy the story as well as options for accessories if you're not good at dodging or commanding Torgal.
Equipment system is very easy to understand you can buy gear from shops such as Weapons and Accessories or you can get the Blacksmith from the hideout to make a weapon or an accessory for you. The blacksmith can also reinforce weapons/accessories you own as well.
There's Eikon abilities you can unlock as you progress through the game and some abilities you have to buy with ability points which you can get by defeating enemies.
There's also Eikon vs Eikon fights and the cinematics for them are breathtaking if I described them being like Cyberconnect2's Ultimate Ninja series it doesn't do it justice.
Music
The music for FFXVI is done by Masayoshi Soken who has worked on FFXIV tracks and his tracks are great like they are in FFXIV's expansions! The battle theme pays a lot of homage to Final Fantasy VIII. He keeps putting out bangers. I loved the Greatwood theme it felt relaxing as I was exploring the forest.
Performance
30fps Quality mode and Performance mode is 60fps
Side Content
Mostly quests and hunting monsters. There are challenges like the Chronolith Trials which you can only use one Eikon. Well as a score mode for some of the stages you can play in the game like Devil May Cry. Plus a Final Fantasy mode, I mentioned earlier and an extra difficulty level for stages if you want a challenge. I think you get similar hours of what you can get out of the FFVII Remake personally.
Overall, it's an 8.8/10 for me
Pros
- Great world and characters with a lot of effort put into that
- Finally, some good effort into worldbuilding for the series (Great having an Active Time Lore feature which needs to be a standard for lots of RPGs)
- The cinematics for the battles is breathtaking
- Great OST
- Fun gameplay
Cons
- Lack of RPG elements and customizing the party
- More variety in the side quests such as activities maybe a card game or fishing
- Old School fans will be disappointed in the gameplay
Any questions about the game I'll try and answer them in a way I can besides too big spoilers. I'm thinking of doing a video review, but it depends on time on my end.
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