Final Fantasy XVI

Hey folks, I'd say I'm a pretty average Final Fantasy Fan. Haven't played all of them, but have beaten my fair share of FF titles that I feel confident enough to give a solid opinion on Square Enix's newest edition to the series.

It's been about two months since I beat this title and usually after I beat a game, I just go on to the next and enjoy it. FFXVI has managed to have a solid impact on my life, at the moment, and the characters feel very real/fleshed out for me. I haven't been so immersed in game side characters since Red Dead 2; not to compare the two, they're vastly different games. Everything about the cast, from Cid's voice performance to the designs of the bosses, is amazing and so unique. While I think I enjoyed VII remake and XV's soundtrack a bit more, this game was not short of some AMAZING pieces.

If you're on the fence about playing this game, just do yourself the favor and get it. If you're not sure, just wait for a sale and see what you think. In case anyone is wondering how long it is, I had about 76 hours by the time I uninstalled it from my PS5. Can't wait for the DLC!!!!

I will admit going into this that I may be fully biased. Final Fantasy is one of my favorite game series of all time with 10 being my favorite game. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed 16. The story, the combat, the music. All of it was a home run for me.

The combat director formerly worked on Devil May Cry 6 and it shows. It feels fluid and clean just like the former. It can feel simple yet as you progress and become more comfortable with it; you can pull of more complicated combos and weave together more powers. I found it a much more engaging solution to FF15's leave from the more original combat of Final Fantasy. Eikon battles are absolutely insane and truly take the game to a higher level. There are plenty of accessibility accessories you can equip that modify the combat to be easier. This is great for those either newly interested players or those that struggle with this gameplay.

The story is absolute dynamite. A fantastic cast comes together to bring this to life. Clive's actor definitely understood and added so much subtext to it all that came through. The relationships between all the characters as they progressed were wonderful to watch. Even comedic relief was incredibly well done and well timed. As always, the strongest suit of Final Fantasy is a story that engages you and makes you feel many emotions while playing. Simply a fantastic cast of characters.

Overall, some may be upset with the combat changes or diversion from the FF norm. Lots of reviews claiming that the game is too easy!! (While playing with every easy modifier). This is a Final Fantasy that anyone can truly get into and enjoy. As always, fantastic work to Square Enix, congratulations to the production and cast, and, finally, enjoy the journey.

I may have jumped to conclusions and reviewed the title too early. I will say however that it starts out eye gouging-like slow and generic. However, after more thorough and longer gameplay, it wasn't as bad as my last review had made it out to be.

Once you do open up the world a bit as you progress through the story, it does become rather enticing and "spacious." I am not used to the base infrastructure used in the FFXVI title, so it threw me off.

As I progressed the world opened up, and the story improved dramatically.

I am changing my rating from a six to an eight.

I do standby a lot of the negatives mentioned in my old review below.

Still not GOTY material.

8/10

------- OLD REVIEW BELOW -------

I am not impressed with the iconic titles being released lately. It all seems either like they're in experiment mode, or just becoming developmently lazy.

Seven hours in and the story is great so far, but it just doesn't seem like a main Final Fantasy entry.

1) No open World

This was mentioned in early development, but I didn't expect it to be this restricted. It seems like it's so linear that your items give you no joy when obtaining them. A lot of Final Fantasy games are based on discovery, with their witty activities and sidequests. Speaking of, the sidequests have absolutely no meaning or purposeful chain that affects anything in the story.

2) Leveling System

This leveling system is grossly generic. You have very little to actually level your character in, except one skill wheel with a handful of skills. Then, you have one for your nonhuman npcs and abilities, which is also generic.

I do not get the joy out of this Final Fantasy as I did previous ones. This game just comes off as flat out lazy to me.

If they would've combined somewhat of an openish world with this storyline, and implemented more Final Fantasy characteristics, this could've easily been GOTY material. I am disappointed.

Ff16 sets the bar high for rpgs and other games for its storytelling and gameplay.

It has learnt from the mistakes of ff15, and has majorly improved, the only slight issue the game has, it is that the frame rate drops in some sequences but overall top notch!

The creators have announced that the game will receive an update which will fix many of its issues especially motion blur and frame rate issues.

Old fans may or may not like the game's new mechanics because of no turn based one like the old games. But, for new comers, they will definitely enjoy.

I highly recommend this game! Perfection.

Okay, this game is amazing. My favorite Final Fantasy games are 7 and 14. This is much more darker and mature. It's very, very brutal. But i love it. Story is emotional rollercoaster, combat is so amazing, world is big, music is one of the best i have ever heard. Soken is on fire!! There also many amazing characters. Clive is a very strong character, but my favorite is Cid and Jill. And of course Torgal. Such a good boy. Graphics and visuals, top notch, and voice acting is so good too. Anyway, time will tell if this is a best Final Fantasy game. Right now, for me it is!! Thank you Business Unit III, Yoshi-P and Square Enix. Masterpiece 10/10.