REVIEWS

FINAL FANTASY XVI

The wheels of destiny are turning

Final Fantasy XVI is finally coming to PC after a significant and partly unjustified delay, representing a shift in Square Enix's take on the style and atmosphere of the historical series. Obviously inspired by successful dark fantasy TV series and with the primary aim of attracting new audiences, the game presents a world very different from the ones we've been used to in previous titles, full of blood, violence, love affairs and political machinations, without abandoning the fantasy spectacle. The basic question then is as follows: Was the change in style successful and can it actually entice new audiences without alienating loyal Final Fantasy fans?

A boy looks to the stars.

Personally speaking, I don't count myself among the series' traditional fans because Square Enix's choices of sporadic or very late releases have been a deterrent to building a strong Final Fantasy fanbase among PC gamers. I am therefore in a good position to judge whether the new direction the developers have chosen is more appealing to the general public, and I can answer that yes, the more "adult" style of Final Fantasy XVI has helped quite a bit in increasing my interest. Not that I feel any kind of aversion to more traditional jRPGs, after all I have reviewed quite a few over the past few years for this site, but some of the clichés of the genre do end up feeling tiresome after a certain point. Final Fantasy XVI avoids some of these, it's a standalone title with no story connection to previous games in the series, and as a result it's a great choice for someone looking to get started with Final Fantasy.

Clive Rosfield, the protagonist of the game, son of the Duke of Rosaria and a key figure in events he is not aware of.

The game's story takes us to the fantasy continent of Valisthea and the Duchy of Rosaria where our protagonist, Clive Rosfield, son of the Duke, grows up with his brother Joshua in the family castle. Joshua is among the so-called dominants, people who embody and control powerful divine creatures called Eikons, while Clive has taken on the role of his brother's bodyguard. Things seem to be going smoothly for the Rosfield family until a major disaster leads to the collapse of the duchy, the death of Clive's father and brother, and his own enslavement. Many years later Clive manages to regain his freedom and begins a quest for vengeance against those who wiped out his family, not realizing that his own role in Valisthea's future is not just important but pivotal.

Eikons are powerful Godzilla-sized creatures whose presence on the battlefield has a decisive effect on the outcome. In Valisthea's politics they also occasionally play the role of nuclear deterrent, as the appearance of an Eikon is often accompanied by large-scale destruction.

The broader plot of Final Fantasy XVI describes an admittedly interesting world, full of mystery and contrasts. Central to the proceedings is the fate of the so-called bearers (to which Clive belongs), people born with the gift of being able to use magic who are practically slaves, condemned to use their "gift" as and when their owners want until it takes their lives. Also playing an important role are the Mothercrystals, giant crystalline forms that concentrate the life-giving power of the aether and are considered the gods' gift to humanity. I don't want to go into the plot any further because the mystery of it kept my interest until the end and it does a good job of framing the action, even if the various political developments and the different states slaughtering each other get a bit confusing. Beyond the main campaign there are various sidequests which I would generally describe as simplistic, as only a few of them involve an interesting story or meaningful reward. The good thing is that they don't have a long duration so you can usually get through most of them within fifteen minutes or so.

Final Fantasy XVI is not purely open world as you travel between different areas/maps via fast traveling. At the top and bottom of the world map you can see two of the mothercrystals, giant crystalline structures that are the object of worship and wars.

In its basic structure Final Fantasy XVI belongs to the genre of action RPGs or action jRPGs if you prefer, however it should be made clear that the balance is much more on the action side as all those features that are at the forefront of real RPGs have a complementary role here. The combat system draws inspiration from so-called spectacle fighters or character action games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, with the emphasis being on fast and continuous attacks and spectacle rather than on the depth of the mechanics. So don't expect the methodical and elegant combat of a soulslike, here it's all about button mashing and the chaos of special effects that flood the screen, especially in the epic (in terms of staging and spectacle) boss battles. The game has two difficulty levels, action and story, and while I was initially worried that the action mode would be overwhelming for a player like me with limited experience in action games of this type, it ultimately proved to be completely manageable.

Many of Clive's attacks produce impressive visuals.
Minibosses have a stamina bar that, if depleted, puts them in a staggered state. That is the ideal time for firing off your most potent special abilities.

I think that if someone approaches Final Fantasy XVI with the right expectations, namely as an action game with a sprinkling of RPG, then there is a good chance that they will enjoy it, as it happened in my case. It is true that neither the combat system nor the RPG elements have any meaningful depth, however I would describe the game as more than the sum of its parts. The interesting plot, the generally quick pace, the thoughtful direction, the abundant spectacle, the fun excesses of jRPGs, all of the above combine to create an engaging game that is a pretty good time. The sidequests as mentioned are mostly trivial, the map exploration is largely uninteresting, the dialogue doesn't include choices and consequences, the loot system is completely basic, the combat doesn't need much tactics... but my desire to keep playing was there until the ending and beyond. Final Fantasy XVI is like a tasty hamburger, it may be empty calories but every now and then you just get a craving for it.

There is no shortage of sexy ladies in Final Fantasy XVI.

If there was one thing that somewhat diminished the fun I had with Final Fantasy XVI, it was its hardware requirements. The game is heavy, no joke. I wouldn't say it's unduly heavy in general, the graphics and effects are at a high level, however the lack of truly scalable graphics options means that unless you're near or above the recommended requirements you don't have many options to tailor the game to your hardware. My PC failed to rise to the occasion mainly due to low VRAM (RTX 3060 with 6GB VRAM) as the minimum requirements call for graphics cards with at least 8GB and this requirement is absolutely accurate as I noticed many times the VRAM running out and the framerate dropping to unplayable levels until I restarted. For this unpleasant experience however I can't blame the game since my card is below the minimum requirements. Otherwise I didn't encounter any stability issues or major bugs, I just had to play at 30 fps and with upscaling to get playable framerates. The positive thing is that at least the game supports all the popular options for upscaling and frame generation. Make sure you have hardware at the recommended requirements level if you want to tackle Final Fantasy XVI.

The beauty of the graphics come at a heavy price in system requirements.

So let's move on to the overall assessment: I liked Final Fantasy XVI, to a degree that surprised me! While it ultimately retains a lot of the characteristics (and clichés) of jRPGs, the new style and the risks the developers took bring out a sense of freshness that I haven't felt in a game of this genre in a long time. However, wearing my games reviewer hat, the lack of depth in the combat system and especially in the RPG elements as well as the high system requirements with the insufficient scalability of the settings force me to deduct some points so that the final score reflects the objective quality of the game at this time. I will reiterate, however, that I had a good time playing and would easily recommend the game to those who want an enjoyable experience and those looking for a smooth introduction to Final Fantasy, as long as they have a good system that is up to the task of course. Fans of the series might be better off waiting for the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which I hear is closer to the classic style.

Go to discussion...

RATING - 82%

82%

A fun action RPG and a good introduction to Final Fantasy, just as long as you have a beefy system to run it.

Αλέξανδρος Γκέκας

A dedicated PC gamer, Alexandros plays everything depending on the mood of the moment, but shows a preference for turn-based strategy, RPGs and considers UFO: Enemy Unknown as the best game of all time. Otherwise, he tries to hide his turtle-like reflexes by avoiding competitive multiplayer because, as he says, "it doesn't suit him" and is looking for ways to get the "Church of Gaben" recognized as an official religion in his country.

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