Final Fantasy XVI (PC/PS5) - June 22, 2023

[NynJa]

Torgal…max level

Hol up wat????

[Lucavi]

Honestly your npc helpers remain pretty competent against trash throughout the game. I was consistently surprised that they actually pulled their weight and killed shit instead of just being windows dressing. They're useless on bosses but that's probably how it should be.

I hope they carry this over to FFVIIR:2 I know they have double techs from Chrono Trigger in it, but even when I'm not teaming up with a buddy, I'd still like the others to cast a spell or two and damage the foes. Props to XVI for pulling it off. It reminded me of the days of Tales of Destiny, only without all the anime screaming.

Good times.

[Prothescar]

Yeah it's definitely how I'd prefer to see action party members going forward. Even if they give us control again in XVII I'd hope that they retain the effectiveness that they've been given in XVI. (Short of a gambit system which for some reason we will never see again apparently)

[Anoat]

Hol up wat????

Torgal levels up the more you use him in battle (I think at least one part is story locked though), if you pull up Clive’s stat screen you can press the arrow button and it will show Torgal’s level and skills too

[Astylla]

I used the ring the vast majority of the game. I took it off once Torgal got to max level.

Same here. Used berserker ring ad one of my main other ones as I got it early as well.

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[Tymon]

Alright, I finished the game.

Spoiler: show

This will be a very divisive ending among the fans for sure. You have the MC, the deuteragonist, and one of the most important side characters all have completely ambiguous fates. All 3 of them also got anti-death flagged at the end before you go to Origin.

I choose to believe Clive and possibly Joshua both survived. There are way more insinuations to Clive being alive than either of the other two. But Vivian does say right at the ending that the truth is entirely up to your own interpretation. Pretty obvious that's a clear foreshadowing. I don't see much to justify Dion surviving. He's a very complex character that didn't really get the payoff his buildup deserved.

As far as the finale itself, Origin being a QTE cutscene and then a 30 second hallway before the final boss was really disappointing. Has there ever been a FF game before this that didn't have a proper final dungeon?

Clive going full Asura and punching ̶C̶h̶a̶k̶r̶a̶v̶a̶r̶t̶i̶n̶ Ultima in the face was super hype. Him putting a hole through his chest is pretty cool but it also makes me wonder if this got written first or if Endwalker did. Because a lot of the ending to Shadowbringers and Endwalker are EXTREMELY similar to this.

Overall I think I agree with most of the reviewers now; this is the best single player FF since 10, without question, but it is definitely not flawless. I don't think anyone could seriously say it fell short of expectations.

Gameplay: 9/10
Music: 10/10

Story:

Early: 9/10
Mid: 10/10
End: 7/10

Overall 9/10 game.

Currently my GOTY. Mid game around Bahamut I had this solidly planted as the best game I've played in like 15+ years but after finishing, nah.

As Tyrath said a few pages back though, the Bahamut fight is easily the greatest moment in the entire series to me and probably one of the top few gaming moments I have ever experienced. The peak of this game is definitely in GOAT status.

[Tymon]

Oh yeah

Spoiler: show

Also Clive almost straight up saying "No Ultima, this is OUR FINAL FANTASY!" was hilarious and cringe lol

[Lucavi]

Cloud: "Lets make Sephiroth's dreams of becoming a God his... Final Fantasy."

Everyone: "...BOOOOO!!!!"

[Koul]

Oh yeah

Spoiler: show

Also Clive almost straight up saying "No Ultima, this is OUR FINAL FANTASY!" was hilarious and cringe lol

Spoiler: show

omg when that part was coming up I was like "please don't. please clive don't. stop. stop ohh.. ehh... okay barely missed it". Also, Joshua lives cuz during the epilogue he literally wrote a book about everything that happens and it's called "Final Fantasy" lol

[Tymon]

Spoiler: show

omg when that part was coming up I was like "please don't. please clive don't. stop. stop ohh.. ehh... okay barely missed it". Also, Joshua lives cuz during the epilogue he literally wrote a book about everything that happens and it's called "Final Fantasy" lol

Spoiler: show

I choose to think either Clive lived or they both did. Clive got Harpocrates quill. Maybe he penned the book and ghost wrote it in Joshua's name. Or they both lived, of course. Entirely up to interpretation.

[Uzor]

Spoiler: show

omg when that part was coming up I was like "please don't. please clive don't. stop. stop ohh.. ehh... okay barely missed it". Also, Joshua lives cuz during the epilogue he literally wrote a book about everything that happens and it's called "Final Fantasy" lol

Spoiler: show

I interpreted it as Joshua dying and Clive choosing to use his brother’s name

[Bweigelt]

Spoiler: show

I interpreted it as Joshua dying and Clive choosing to use his brother’s name

Spoiler: show

This is also my interpretation, between the quill and him straight up telling hippocrates that he wants to write of his experiences and his history of taking other names.

[Tyrath]

Getting to the final part with all the sidequests unlocked now.

2 minor complaints

Spoiler: show

Game had a whole giant desert section and we got no Cactuar or Sandworm enemies?!?!

Also we didn't get the "if I take the field, our duel will shake the island to its foundations" line from the trailer anywhere that i saw

[Gokulo]

Aye, also missed cactuars and some other enemies.

As for that line, I feel like it was there, can't remember when though

[Tyrath]

Possible I may have missed it later on in the game. I had expected it near the conflict at the start haha

[Bweigelt]

Possible I may have missed it later on in the game. I had expected it near the conflict at the start haha

Spoiler: show

It happens when he's talking about trying to take twinside from the Empire, he's referring to a duel between him and Bahamut.

[Salodin]

Spoiler: show

I wanted a real final dungeon, and a little more than a qte cutscenes before we got there, but what would it even look like in this game? Circular shaped rooms where you fight enemy wave after wave like the fallen ruins around the game? It's just not interesting by the time you get there. They could have offered real pretty panoramics, but again with exploring not really being interesting and the only thing worth fighting is a unique boss, I can see why they cut out all the fluff and went straight to the final fight like they did.

It's been said a lot already, but the game starts strong on the back of great gameplay, but there isn't much else to the game and the end is borderline unsatisfactory.

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[Odesseiron]

I enjoyed most of the time I spent with the game. By the time I finished it, I was ready to be done. It just barely hits that point of not going on too long. Another 5-10 hours and I would have been tired of it. Some of the side quests I could have done without for the padding.

[Salodin]

Yeahhh I could have done without that last round of quests before the final confrontation. I was just not interested by the end, especially with the bland animations and cutscenes. The plotlines were well enough, but they could have made them shorter by an entire round between the cities; however then it's probably too short for a "final fantasy".

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[Tymon]

Spoiler: show

I interpreted it as Joshua dying and Clive choosing to use his brother’s name

This is what I think as well.