Final Fantasy XVI- Somber and Meaningful story with epic scale held back by easy repetitive gameplay.

While I am perturbed by the ease of difficulty in Final Fantasy XVI there is no mistaking the quality in the presentation. The visuals are a herculean feat, and the story is a sublime concoction of surreal and melancholic themes. The music is an epic blaring fiesta to behold.

Final Fantasy XVI is a very easy game, a flaw that is further highlighted by the nature of being an action roleplaying game. You essentially have your hand held throughout the game. Potions heal a substantial amount of your health bar, and you are handed a deluge of healing and damage mitigating mechanisms. The game only gets easier as it goes on and you get two other party members to fight with and Eikon powers to shift and abuse. Maybe the game substantially increases in difficulty in the unlocked hard mode to provide a more challenging experience, but I am not going to replay the 40+hour epic yet.

In the future I might review the hard mode, but this is for the base experience and as such will exclude the DLC that is rather obtuse to reach. It is a daft idea to have the DLC only accessible near the end of the game… Not after the game or separate but in a rather peculiar spot where if you selected a new game plus and deleted your game you will have to slog through the same experience to reach it. You can also complete quests in the game that make it even easier by upgrading your potion storage (I didn’t even do that, but I had a jovial time mashing my way through enemies).

The good in the gameplay is how flashy and responsive combat is. There are quite a few flamboyant attacks that Clive can pull off in the game that quite frankly bedazzle me in retrospect. This isn’t even considering the massive eikon battles which while from a pure gameplay perspective are clunky and ripe with quick time events (which are also in some of the non-Eikon battles. Now for the rather abrupt and jarring transition I will make into the presentation. The visuals are quite simply stunning at times. The vistas, main characters, and Eikons are jaw droppingly gorgeous. There clearly is a lot of attention to detail in the particle effects for instance. The environmental art direction really impressed me, and the main character designs were well done in fitting the gritty tale while still being stylish.

The story is in my opinion the main draw of the game. The story is ripe with despair and impending doom. To me this Final Fantasy is what Majora’s Mask is to the Zelda games in terms of tone and urgency. The blight is consuming Valisthea and monsters are encroaching civilization. Meanwhile kingdoms are warring and there are quite a few unexpected twists and turns throughout the somber tale. There are various bits of lore scattered and directly told to the player. If you love the story this game tells you there is an abundance of lore and nuance for you to uncover.

I just plowed through the main story succinctly and was still impressed by the narrative prowess and voice acting talent. The story deals with impressive themes like sacrifice, mortality, etc. There is also quite a bit of existentialism in the story.

The soundtrack is an epic one like any final fantasy before it. Final Fantasty games have always had stellar soundtracks, and this one does not disappoint in that regard. The orchestra is powerful, and the sound design is in my opinion flawless with a plethora of sound effects to behold.

 

[Deleted member 612095]

I don't understand why many people don't like this Final Fantasy part because it's really okay it is not too difficult and you quickly understand everything it is about. Great article.

 

[Stookymalarkey]

I don't understand why many people don't like this Final Fantasy part because it's really okay it is not too difficult and you quickly understand everything it is about. Great article.

The reason why people weren't keen on it is because it was too far removed from what Final Fantasy was in the past.
There's no real strategy involved in battles (not even something simple like avoiding using elements that enemies have an affinity with), just use the same tactics on all of the bosses . Also, there's an awful lack in meaningful loot (majority of gear is crafted and you only unlock the new recipes after each chapter) which also devalues the importance of exploration. Plus the side quests were boring and major time wasters.

People weren't happy when FF15 was made to be an Action RPG, and FF16 only continues this worrying trend. We want it FF to be an RPG, not a Devil May Cry knockoff.

 

[Deleted member 612095]

The reason why people weren't keen on it is because it was too far removed from what Final Fantasy was in the past.
There's no real strategy involved in battles (not even something simple like avoiding using elements that enemies have an affinity with), just use the same tactics on all of the bosses . Also, there's an awful lack in meaningful loot (majority of gear is crafted and you only unlock the new recipes after each chapter) which also devalues the importance of exploration. Plus the side quests were boring and major time wasters.

People weren't happy when FF15 was made to be an Action RPG, and FF16 only continues this worrying trend. We want it FF to be an RPG, not a Devil May Cry knockoff.

Ok yes it was a bit too boring that's true but I was satisfied. No idea probably I'm just like that other people probably need something with more requirements and where you have to do more.

 

[Questless Knight]

I can only agree with you fully on this the story was the best one sense FFX and the game was fun,

But MAN was it way to easy I played it on the hardest diff and did not die a single time like Jesus wipe my ass while your at it.

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

The reason why people weren't keen on it is because it was too far removed from what Final Fantasy was in the past.
There's no real strategy involved in battles (not even something simple like avoiding using elements that enemies have an affinity with), just use the same tactics on all of the bosses . Also, there's an awful lack in meaningful loot (majority of gear is crafted and you only unlock the new recipes after each chapter) which also devalues the importance of exploration. Plus the side quests were boring and major time wasters.

People weren't happy when FF15 was made to be an Action RPG, and FF16 only continues this worrying trend. We want it FF to be an RPG, not a Devil May Cry knockoff.

This ^

Lame MMO quests + easy mode DMC gameplay is not what many want from Final Fantasy. This game shouldn't have been a mainline game as it is not representative of what the series was in its heyday. This and FFXV represent a radical departure in many ways that cannot be reconciled for many long time fans.

Ultimately, lame easy mode action games are a dime a dozen. We don't need more of them.

I can only agree with you fully on this the story was the best one sense FFX and the game was fun,

But MAN was it way to easy I played it on the hardest diff and did not die a single time like Jesus wipe my ass while your at it.

I agree the story was decent compared to the average Final Fantasy game, but it was disappointing in many ways. As a Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones fan, you could clearly see the derivative nature of the story, and they didn't fully nail the feel of adult western fantasy. The cursing seemed forced and unnatural in many of the scenes. And the slavery storyline was botched. Then at the end of the game, the story falls into typical JRPG tropes. It is a bit of an uneven mess, in my opinion.

 

[Questless Knight]

This ^

Lame MMO quests + easy mode DMC gameplay is not what many want from Final Fantasy. This game shouldn't have been a mainline game as it is not representative of what the series was in its heyday. This and FFXV represent a radical departure in many ways that cannot be reconciled for many long time fans.

Ultimately, lame easy mode action games are a dime a dozen. We don't need more of them.



I agree the story was decent compared to the average Final Fantasy game, but it was disappointing in many ways. As a Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones fan, you could clearly see the derivative nature of the story, and they didn't fully nail the feel of adult western fantasy. The cursing seemed forced and unnatural in many of the scenes. And the slavery storyline was botched. Then at the end of the game, the story falls into typical JRPG tropes. It is a bit of an uneven mess, in my opinion.

I can only agree with you but yeah compared to FF13 and FF13-2 and even 15 the story was what you called 5 star compared to past 1 star. Don´t get me wrong I like FF15 but the story was just bad and honestly im still not sure what it was about all I know is Noctis went on a boy only road trip

Spoiler: for does that yet played

while dad and gf died

then he suddenly old bearded man and had to fight some flamboyant duded that was sick of life I think.

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

I can only agree with you but yeah compared to FF13 and FF13-2 and even 15 the story was what you called 5 star compared to past 1 star. Don´t get me wrong I like FF15 but the story was just bad and honestly im still not sure what it was about all I know is Noctis went on a boy only road trip

Spoiler: for does that yet played

while dad and gf died

then he suddenly old bearded man and had to fight some flamboyant duded that was sick of life I think.

FFXV's story was a mess because half of it wasn't present in the game, if I recall correctly. Apparently they wanted the player to watch a separate movie to fully understand the story, which was an odd decision by Square Enix.

FFXV's development history is quite interesting. It had been under development for almost 10 years under the FFXIII versus title. It was repurposed into FFXV, which might explain why the story is such a mess.

 

[C.Endfield]

Nice review! I need to give this game another chance one day.

 

[Faust03]

This is another game I talk mad shit about but I did unironically get invested in the story... I will have to pick it back up someday.

 

[MemeAlert]

I don't get people who complained about the newer Final Fantasys being action rpgs and are like "go back being turn based" but don't suggest what can they do to improve the turn based formula. As this series set the standard of rpgs it needs to do more than going back to turn based.

 

[VillainViran]

I want Square to give Atlus the budget and charge to make an FF game while taking notes from how Baldur's Gate 3 was able to remain a crpg while appealing to a broader audience, art direction I would want handled NOT by Atlus but not western.

I have accepted I don't like FF anymore since 15, 14 is falling, and visually there's nothing to look forward to really

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

I just want a game that is turn based, hell ill take ATB from 12. When 13 came out the series just fell apart from difficulty. No challenge at all in these games. 13 had some slight challenge in the hunts but once you grind those damn adamantoise the whole game can be steamrolled. Shame this and 15 are sooooo easy.

Post automatically merged: Jun 20, 2025

FFXV's development history is quite interesting. It had been under development for almost 10 years under the FFXIII versus title. It was repurposed into FFXV, which might explain why the story is such a mess.

it was robbed from Nomura since that was his baby project. Now all I see in KH is Versus 13. Nomura can hold a grudge

 

[MemeAlert]

I just want a game that is turn based, hell ill take ATB from 12. When 13 came out the series just fell apart from difficulty. No challenge at all in these games. 13 had some slight challenge in the hunts but once you grind those damn adamantoise the whole game can be steamrolled. Shame this and 15 are sooooo easy.

I wouldn't say Final Fantasy XIII-2 is easy.

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

I wouldn't say Final Fantasy XIII-2 is easy.

i 100% that game, i only died vs the final boss cause i wanted to see what he did when the countdown ended. Game is ridiculously easy

 

[JUNKER Agent]

Final Fantasy 16 was a Action-RPG where they forgot to lean into the RPG part. The great DMC like combat (and the babby difficulty) made it buying new weapons/gear feel useless. Like, why would I need to put up my defense when I'm a god at perfect dodging?

 

[Mopeybloke]

The reason many people didn't like this game [and didn't bother buying it] is because there is nothing to be invested on in this series. The story was always different each time, and since they abandoned going for more than 2 games with the same battle system, there has been nothing to hold onto. Essentially, you should stop playing Final Fantasy.

 

[MemeAlert]

The reason many people didn't like this game [and didn't bother buying it] is because there is nothing to be invested on in this series. The story was always different each time, and since they abandoned going for more than 2 games with the same battle system, there has been nothing to hold onto. Essentially, you should stop playing Final Fantasy.

Weird for someone like Cloud Strife to say "stop playing Final Fantasy".

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

Weird for someone like Cloud Strife to say "stop playing Final Fantasy".

I will never say those words, but it is tough to see them fumble like this, making GTA and DMC clones with Final Fantasy skins.

 

[MemeAlert]

I will never say those words, but it is tough to see them fumble like this, making GTA and DMC clones with Final Fantasy skins.

GTA?

 

[Mopeybloke]

Weird for someone like Cloud Strife to say "stop playing Final Fantasy".

Just rephrasing, play the game if it looks interesting to you, but don't play it because it is a Final Fantasy game. There is nothing in the brand to be invested into.

 

[snes9x]

Don't worry, Square Enix will listen to the fans and make FFXVII a first-person extraction shooter with roguelite elements.

 

[underhandwriter]

I felt like everything outside of the main story was a bit of a disappointment with XVI. I couldn't believe how bland and uninteresting the side quests were. The combat was fun at first, but eventually it just felt like button mashing and then if you die you just start a little further along with full health and potions. Also, the environments felt empty compared to the older games. They looked good graphically, but with nothing to interact with and very few npcs with dialogue.

I think I would have preferred just watching the main story as a movie.

 

[Moth_Lobster]

The reason why people weren't keen on it is because it was too far removed from what Final Fantasy was in the past.
There's no real strategy involved in battles (not even something simple like avoiding using elements that enemies have an affinity with), just use the same tactics on all of the bosses . Also, there's an awful lack in meaningful loot (majority of gear is crafted and you only unlock the new recipes after each chapter) which also devalues the importance of exploration. Plus the side quests were boring and major time wasters.

People weren't happy when FF15 was made to be an Action RPG, and FF16 only continues this worrying trend. We want it FF to be an RPG, not a Devil May Cry knockoff.

Personally I would disgree with the "Devil May Cry" comparisons. The combat in FFXVI is flashy, but thats the closest it gets to feeling like DMC to me. The two games share very fundamentally different combat systems. Clive's moveset is just inherently different from Dante's in both purpose and execution, even if the game is fairly easy and never makes you fully utilize this.

Now, having said that, I agree that they should have leaned further in on the RPG side of things. FFXV managed to have real time combat but was still a full on RPG in the process (although similarly to XVI, difficulty was a huge problem here. You could similarly get extremely overpowered if you knew what to do, and even if you don't know what to do, the open world nature meant grinding for higher levels or 99 phoenix downs was far easier than it needed to be). FFVII Remake and Rebirth have real time combat while still incorporating a version of the ATB system that almost every mainline game since IV included in some manner until XV dropped it. While there is still traditional Final Fantasy DNA woven into FFXVI's gameplay, it is not nearly as prevalent or strong as in any of the previous games. You can see some inspiration from FFXIV in a lot of the bosses, which would make sense as its the same development studio. But for the other games it becomes a much more "there if you see it" sort of deal for mechanics or references within movesets. Be it Clive's or someone else's.

However I think FFXVI still feels like a Final Fantasy game in its world, narrative and characters. You can tell the people working on this game were long time fans of the series, and even the RPG genre as a whole at times, with how much they pay tribute to the older titles while reworking it to fit their dark fantasy tone and connecting it to their narrative. Final Fantasy has always reused concepts introduced in previous entries while somehow doing something completely different with them, and its no different in XVI. I could go on and on for days about how much I love FFXVI's take on traditional FF tropes and I really hope that this unique blend of sci-fi and fantasy never dies. It is what makes Final Fantasy one of the most beloved anthology games out there. No matter how different they may feel or look at first glance, they still have the same heart and soul underneath and I wouldn't have it any other way. (But please put more RPG mechanics in the gameplay next time your fanbase is going to cannibalize itself if you don't)

 

[Ilua AzureGlint]

FFXV's story was a mess because half of it wasn't present in the game, if I recall correctly. Apparently they wanted the player to watch a separate movie to fully understand the story, which was an odd decision by Square Enix.

FFXV's development history is quite interesting. It had been under development for almost 10 years under the FFXIII versus title. It was repurposed into FFXV, which might explain why the story is such a mess.

nah, even with all the extra story content XV found in other media, the story is a mess and barely explains anything at all, the only salvageable part of the game was the fishing minigame.
Just take a look at the development and suddenly the director wanted to make the game a musical mid development.
The shitty part is that even the gameplay sucked, being basically a button and a half action rpg, at that point might as well make it an autobattle.
Exploration wasn't fun either, with the shitty stamina bar, 90% of moving around was done BY CAR, dude, you're a final fantasy game, MAKE SOMETHING FANTASY'ESQUE TO MOVE AROUND, NOT A FUCKING CAR, WITH FUEL YOU HAD TO REFILL.
The only positive thing i have to say about XV is that it had a good atmosphere in dungeons, they felt truly opressive and dangerous...
Until you realized it's chapter 4 and you already have the end game weapon, you're lvl 40, and you can steamroll everything up to the final boss of the game....
The only word capable of describing XV is "disaster".
And since then i honestly don't care much about FF franchise.
Just gonna point out that as today, Stellar Blade has sold what? almost thrice the number of copies compared to XVI.