Number 16 in the long running Final Fantasy series makes an explosive entrance with its cinematic visuals, expansive world, dark story and exciting combat.
What’s first apparent when you start a new game is the spectacle. A slow fade presents a night sky with the moon hanging high. Embers start to trickle upwards as you’re greeted by the main title.
Suddenly, wreathed in fire, a massive phoenix and an enormous horned beast duel climactically, explosively. Their fight culminates in a fiery detonation, but eventually the fire gives way to a campfire reflected in an eye: our main character Clive Rosfield.
This is how the game approaches everything. Even combat with regular enemies feels quick and stylish though not very complicated in concept.
You have a melee attack and a ranged attack, along with spry agile movement. Different element themed abilities are unlocked as you slay massive elemental creatures known as Eikons. The ability you begin with is my favorite: a quick, fire wreathed teleport.
The world is very detailed. It draws tone from series like The Witcher and Game of Thrones. Portraying a dark world, steeped in violence, magic and mystery.
Though the game throws a lot at you, they draw it out enough so that it feels intriguing rather than overwhelming. Even so, the developers thoughtfully added a button to the pause menu that gives you small summaries about who a character is and what place they’ve mentioned.
Clive, our protagonist, is cut from the same cloth as many blade-wielding grim-faced heroes. But I found the excellent voice acting and compelling story soon made me quite fond of him.
The world is large, with many locations and characters to meet and interact with as you progress through the story. You’ll find yourself naturally drawn to exploring and getting to know it. Which feeds well into its upgrade focused gear system.
As you slay new enemies, collect new materials, and of course, gain ever larger amounts of money. You’ll be able to upgrade your weapons and gear at the central hub location you eventually grow quite fond of.
Clive’s sword will change in appearance many times as you rapidly craft better and better equipment.
Difficulty wise, the game is not very hard. Different abilities and combos are simple enough to pick up quickly, and an easier difficulty “story mode” is easily available to those who mostly prefer to just enjoy the narrative.
Since the effects of story mode are applied via equipable rings, one can experiment with difficulty as they like.
Overall, Final Fantasy 16 is great fun. Providing an excellent cinematic experience, memorable characters and a gripping narrative. My only complaint is that it’s too easy to lose track of time and find oneself lost within the strange land of Valisthea.