With the recent release of “The Rising Tide” at the time of writing, I figured it would be a good moment to finally tackle both DLCs back to back, and naturally I went by order of launch.
Originally I wasn't expecting much from this particular dlc as the one I was looking forward the most was its follow up, however I still appreciate what this one did for giving the mysterious Fallen a bit more of context as to what happened to them. Along with the new and very busted accessories you can equip that have way more interesting effects to apply in combat.
However the true crowning glory of this DLC is the final boss which once again goes to show that arguably the best part of FFXVI is still its phenomenal bosses.
Also as someone who criticized this game before for its difficulty, I decided to try something out I saw in Twitter in order to spice things up a bit more, which was playing without defensive gear equipped. Which means I was essentially extremely squishy and I could actually be scared of getting hit. While I could consider it a bandaid fix for how the game does difficulty, it was also probably the most fun I’ve had playing it since my first playthrough, being able to lose can also be very good sometimes!
Originally I wasn't expecting much from this particular dlc as the one I was looking forward the most was its follow up, however I still appreciate what this one did for giving the mysterious Fallen a bit more of context as to what happened to them. Along with the new and very busted accessories you can equip that have way more interesting effects to apply in combat.
However the true crowning glory of this DLC is the final boss which once again goes to show that arguably the best part of FFXVI is still its phenomenal bosses.
Also as someone who criticized this game before for its difficulty, I decided to try something out I saw in Twitter in order to spice things up a bit more, which was playing without defensive gear equipped. Which means I was essentially extremely squishy and I could actually be scared of getting hit. While I could consider it a bandaid fix for how the game does difficulty, it was also probably the most fun I’ve had playing it since my first playthrough, being able to lose can also be very good sometimes!
It's pretty short, and almost not worth the $10. You get a decent amount of new accessories with unique effects, a few weapons, 3 new bosses (5 if being generous), some of these being very mmo-like bosses, some shitty Marvel dialogue, and a long dungeon becoming 16! legs in arcade mode. I appreciate it getting scaled in NG+ FF mode too. The next DLC seems like it will have more challenges and new abilities, with hopefully more to do.
This dlc has like the coolest dungeon in the game and a very simple, but decent enough substory. Neat pack of bosses and some banger tunes. A small package but very cool. worthy of the extra admission price.
Good DLC that was too short and the final boss fight felt too long. Definitely carried by its plot and lore.
Wife’s Reaction:
“Do you really need the volume this loud? Oh. Okay then. My bad.”
An Eikon by Any Other Name:
Five months have passed since I beat Final Fantasy XVI. I didn’t think my hype for it died down at all since, but playing this DLC was a perfect reminder of just how much the game resonated with me. Echoes of the Fallen is maybe a tad small for $10, but its final battle more than makes up for the other shortcomings.
“Do you really need the volume this loud? Oh. Okay then. My bad.”
An Eikon by Any Other Name:
Five months have passed since I beat Final Fantasy XVI. I didn’t think my hype for it died down at all since, but playing this DLC was a perfect reminder of just how much the game resonated with me. Echoes of the Fallen is maybe a tad small for $10, but its final battle more than makes up for the other shortcomings.
I wasn't bothered by FFXVI's side-quests in the way that some people were, and I could tell just from seeing that the concept was going into another Fallen ruin that this was basically just going to be a budget DLC. Something that they could put together quick enough to have it ready for the trailer, so people would buy the season pass with something new to play now, while mostly anticipating Leviathan. Despite going in with this expectation, I was still sort of shocked by how... nothing... this is?
The main appeal here is the new boss, with a few other new fights along the approach. The rest of the DLC is basically an hour of remixed assets from the base game, and an hour of literally just walking through the Rosaria overworld, with a fight in the deadlands (i.e. a battle where literally the only thing you can do is basic sword swings) between these two segments. If it weren't for the boss, this wouldn't just be a normal sidequest, it would be a low-tier sidequest. The base game already having this dungeon's entrance modeled and the towers in its skyboxes really just makes it feel like this was haphazardly cut to meet a deadline.
Playing this to get back into FFXVI after having finished it months ago wasn't bad, but I think someone buying this before finishing the game, finally unlocking this, and playing it as part of their normal playthrough is a sort of hilarious concept.
The main appeal here is the new boss, with a few other new fights along the approach. The rest of the DLC is basically an hour of remixed assets from the base game, and an hour of literally just walking through the Rosaria overworld, with a fight in the deadlands (i.e. a battle where literally the only thing you can do is basic sword swings) between these two segments. If it weren't for the boss, this wouldn't just be a normal sidequest, it would be a low-tier sidequest. The base game already having this dungeon's entrance modeled and the towers in its skyboxes really just makes it feel like this was haphazardly cut to meet a deadline.
Playing this to get back into FFXVI after having finished it months ago wasn't bad, but I think someone buying this before finishing the game, finally unlocking this, and playing it as part of their normal playthrough is a sort of hilarious concept.
a melhor dungeon do jogo, com uma otima contextualização dos caídos, lutas fodas e uma dos melhores chefes do jogo, nada essencial pra experiencia mas sempre vai ser incrivel experienciar esse universo.
muito bom voltar pra esse jogo pra +1 dungeon. gostaria que eles tivessem apresentados novos inimigos e não apenas re-skin.
de qualquer forma, sou a favor de qualquer desculpa para prolongar as horas desse jogo <3 é muito especial ter mais uma jornada com clive, joshua, jill e torgal. até a próxima (e que ela seja mais longa)
de qualquer forma, sou a favor de qualquer desculpa para prolongar as horas desse jogo <3 é muito especial ter mais uma jornada com clive, joshua, jill e torgal. até a próxima (e que ela seja mais longa)
I bought and started this DLC right when it dropped since I was so damn hungry for XVI content back then. Played it for about 2 hours, had a blast re-learning all the gameplay moves and stuff, and was generally very happy to be back with Clive and the gang, striking down fools with the power of friendship. I found out it was a pretty short DLC so I saved the last hour for whenever the next DLC drops. It's supposed to drop in the next 24 hours, so here I am.
Echoes is pretty much a meaty, sizeable dungeon run; the kind you would expect to be abundant in these sort of RPGs. And XVI certainly had a lot of them already, so Echoes doesn't necessarily break new ground on that department. In fact, it doesn't really break any ground. It pretty much keeps all the qualities of the main game: entertaining dialogue, fantastic looking environments, great soundtrack, fun minibosses, and an amazing final boss.
The plot of Echoes definitely feels like one of those filler anime episodes, except there's no drop in quality, it just feels filler because it doesn't directly relate to the main story. If you talk to Harpocrates and browse the Thousand Tomes, the game will mention that Clive's accounts of this DLC will not count towards his wisdom, and that's probably the most apt way to describe Echoes' event, haha. But we do get some more badass Clive lines, so it was certainly not for naught.
But Echoes truly excels in the enemies it introduces. Omicron is a speedy miniboss that feels particularly satisfying to perfect dodge against, and the Ancient Minotaur near the end absolutely wrecked me a couple times. The absolute peak is the final boss here; Omega in all their forms. Their attack patterns and moves are so fun to deal with, it's basically a good distillation of some of my favorite parts of XVI bosses: chaotic bullet hell and AoE attacks mixed with quick blows and lunges that you gotta dodge well. And of course Omega's soundtrack fucking owns.
Aside from that, I don't think Echoes will stick out to me whenever I think of FFXVI in the future. But as far as I'm concerned, it does its job of being this neat, little appetizer before The Rising Tide, and that's all I expected from this. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be crying to My Star on the Orchestrion.
P.S. it's insane that they let us transmog Clive's sword to the Buster Sword. I will NOT be switching back to any other sword model haha
Echoes is pretty much a meaty, sizeable dungeon run; the kind you would expect to be abundant in these sort of RPGs. And XVI certainly had a lot of them already, so Echoes doesn't necessarily break new ground on that department. In fact, it doesn't really break any ground. It pretty much keeps all the qualities of the main game: entertaining dialogue, fantastic looking environments, great soundtrack, fun minibosses, and an amazing final boss.
The plot of Echoes definitely feels like one of those filler anime episodes, except there's no drop in quality, it just feels filler because it doesn't directly relate to the main story. If you talk to Harpocrates and browse the Thousand Tomes, the game will mention that Clive's accounts of this DLC will not count towards his wisdom, and that's probably the most apt way to describe Echoes' event, haha. But we do get some more badass Clive lines, so it was certainly not for naught.
But Echoes truly excels in the enemies it introduces. Omicron is a speedy miniboss that feels particularly satisfying to perfect dodge against, and the Ancient Minotaur near the end absolutely wrecked me a couple times. The absolute peak is the final boss here; Omega in all their forms. Their attack patterns and moves are so fun to deal with, it's basically a good distillation of some of my favorite parts of XVI bosses: chaotic bullet hell and AoE attacks mixed with quick blows and lunges that you gotta dodge well. And of course Omega's soundtrack fucking owns.
Aside from that, I don't think Echoes will stick out to me whenever I think of FFXVI in the future. But as far as I'm concerned, it does its job of being this neat, little appetizer before The Rising Tide, and that's all I expected from this. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be crying to My Star on the Orchestrion.
P.S. it's insane that they let us transmog Clive's sword to the Buster Sword. I will NOT be switching back to any other sword model haha
just set up for the next dlc and has great music, some of the best fights in the game
Honestly had a great time with this as a small individual story! I loved the small sci-fi elements associated with the fallen in the main game, and this just turns that up to eleven. It rules a lot, especially in the final battle. There's not much here (around two hours of content), but what is here is really polished, a lot of fun & reminds me of the aspects I liked the most about the main game.
cool ass dungeon and boss fight
Solid story. Great cutscenes like usual. Gameplay is kind of tedious - just combat halls. It’s not bad, just repetitive. Still looking forward to more
Um bom conteúdo adicional, tem ótimas novas lutas, principalmente a final, e as novas musicas são excelentes. Mas não acho um conteúdo indispensável, no quesito história é fraca, e queria ver algumas adições no combate, queria ver mais variedade, mas ainda é uma expansão muito boa principalmente pra quem adora o combate do jogo.
Very focused expansion that actually showcases proper world building that fits in and wraps up. Also finally houses a level with amazing decay and variety for environmental story telling and actually great bosses + gameplay accessories.
Absolutely a DLC quest in every sense, but damn if this wasn't fun.
After almost half a year since beat the game on Final Fantasy Mode I re-adapted to the combat much quicker than expected. By locking the DLC quest behind 4 or 5 previously-optional ones, I got to get some practice in with measly level 85 enemies before heading into the new lvl 95+ dungeon.
Still almost 20 levels below most of them, it wasn't difficult per se but it did allow for much flashier encounters and more ults and so on -- Enemies all having a billion hp on FF mode got a bit tiresome because the game is so long that by the end it feels like it's just dragging it out, but honestly I think it kind of worked in this DLCs favour, as it prevented me feeling like I was breezing through and gave me more time to, well, play.
The DLC still only took 3-4 hours in which is a good length for what it is, I assume (/hope?) that the other quest releasing next year will be more narratively-driven vs this one being combat, but mostly just so we get some more 'meat' out of it.
In a way this DLC had me feeling a lil souls-y with its bosses, but that may just be my smoothbrain interpreting reading patterns and timing dodges as some unique concept lol. I'll wrap things up but if you're unsure about getting this and you like the combat in the main game, do it. The final boss was a ride, at first I sorta wished it was something more recognisable, but once it got going and the music kicked in and- 😩 So good man, I had a lot of fun with it.
Thanks for reading as always, didn't expect the finale of this to hype me up enough to review but here we are!
After almost half a year since beat the game on Final Fantasy Mode I re-adapted to the combat much quicker than expected. By locking the DLC quest behind 4 or 5 previously-optional ones, I got to get some practice in with measly level 85 enemies before heading into the new lvl 95+ dungeon.
Still almost 20 levels below most of them, it wasn't difficult per se but it did allow for much flashier encounters and more ults and so on -- Enemies all having a billion hp on FF mode got a bit tiresome because the game is so long that by the end it feels like it's just dragging it out, but honestly I think it kind of worked in this DLCs favour, as it prevented me feeling like I was breezing through and gave me more time to, well, play.
The DLC still only took 3-4 hours in which is a good length for what it is, I assume (/hope?) that the other quest releasing next year will be more narratively-driven vs this one being combat, but mostly just so we get some more 'meat' out of it.
In a way this DLC had me feeling a lil souls-y with its bosses, but that may just be my smoothbrain interpreting reading patterns and timing dodges as some unique concept lol. I'll wrap things up but if you're unsure about getting this and you like the combat in the main game, do it. The final boss was a ride, at first I sorta wished it was something more recognisable, but once it got going and the music kicked in and- 😩 So good man, I had a lot of fun with it.
Thanks for reading as always, didn't expect the finale of this to hype me up enough to review but here we are!
No geral, me passa muito a vibe de um patch de FFXIV, sendo que um pouco mais "filler". É simples e curto, mas traz alguns pontos interessantes aqui e alí para o arco principal do jogo e aproveita bem as mecânicas introduzidas anteriormente, com novos encontros e lutas contra chefes que são divertidos e oferecem um desafio a mais interessante. Gosto de como essa DLC explora mais a fundo toda a amplitude que o moveset do Clive tem na reta final, utilizando de um design de lutas que lembra o próprio Final Fantasy XIV (coisa que o jogo base já fazia mas que aqui fica ainda mais evidente), as lutas formam padrões de ataque que cobram posicionamento e timing em diversas camadas ao mesmo tempo, enquanto oferece brechas para que o jogador possa reverter a situação à seu favor através de um conhecimento maior sobre às capacidades do Clive. A última luta da DLC, é a que melhor demonstra isso, ela é longa, funciona de forma rotativa, e se utiliza de ataques em área e bullet hell em conjunto para criar padrões densos que cobram por diversas formas, ao mesmo tempo, de se posicionar e movimentar na luta, mas dependendo de como você usa o Clive, pode tentar usar projéteis ao seu favor pra dar mais dano, dar counter onde for possível, manipular iframes para ignorar o ataque, etc. Além disso, uma coisa que me surpreendeu um tanto, é o fato de que essa DLC expande um pouco a possibilidade de build, com acessórios novos que trazem mudanças bem mais substanciais que apenas porcentagem de dano ou redução de cooldown. No geral, é uma boa adição ao "pós-game" e oferece mais situações para aproveitar o combate, coisa que sentia um pouco de falta no jogo.
I jumped for joy at another chance to get back into my 2023 Game of the Year in Final Fantasy XVI with the surprise announcement of this DLC at The Game Awards. Imagining I was in for a brief experience, and with a three-four hour runtime I was, I'd hoped that Echoes of the Fallen with its bombastically vibrant trailer would capture the jaw-dropping magic that the main title was able to do. Generally it speaking it did, but there did exist flaws within this short DLC that I found unfortunately a little too much to ignore.
Visual Clarity is a big thing for me in games, I really like being able to see the ooh's and ahh's but not at the expense of mechanical understanding and movement within an encounter. FFXVI had a few moments in the eikon fights that I legitimately could not tell what was going on, it's something I struggle with in games and FFXVI was a prime example of where this happens. Echoes of the Fallen contains a few miniboss fights with a major boss at the end. The first miniboss was mostly alright but again just awkward enough in the amount of touhou level mechanics thrown at you that I got hit by moves I thought I normally wouldn't. Where it really got bad was in the last fight against the big bad, I almost threw my hands up in the air in a bout of intensified confusion because of all the visual clutter. I loved FFXVI, I love the scale of these fights, but there's only so much purples/reds/yellows that I can take coming at each and every angle all the time before my ability to follow what's going on is completely lost.
Outside of slight complaints, the location itself was really neat, the runtime probably perfect for a near to end-game DLC addition, but the visual overload and combo-locking bosses was unfortunately not my cup of tea. Once more, Masayoshi Soken delivers a fantastic (yet short) soundtracking experience, the ultimate boss theme being one of the cooler tracks in the entire game. I recommend this if you're playing through FFXVI, but maybe not a must-see for players thinking about getting back into it.
Visual Clarity is a big thing for me in games, I really like being able to see the ooh's and ahh's but not at the expense of mechanical understanding and movement within an encounter. FFXVI had a few moments in the eikon fights that I legitimately could not tell what was going on, it's something I struggle with in games and FFXVI was a prime example of where this happens. Echoes of the Fallen contains a few miniboss fights with a major boss at the end. The first miniboss was mostly alright but again just awkward enough in the amount of touhou level mechanics thrown at you that I got hit by moves I thought I normally wouldn't. Where it really got bad was in the last fight against the big bad, I almost threw my hands up in the air in a bout of intensified confusion because of all the visual clutter. I loved FFXVI, I love the scale of these fights, but there's only so much purples/reds/yellows that I can take coming at each and every angle all the time before my ability to follow what's going on is completely lost.
Outside of slight complaints, the location itself was really neat, the runtime probably perfect for a near to end-game DLC addition, but the visual overload and combo-locking bosses was unfortunately not my cup of tea. Once more, Masayoshi Soken delivers a fantastic (yet short) soundtracking experience, the ultimate boss theme being one of the cooler tracks in the entire game. I recommend this if you're playing through FFXVI, but maybe not a must-see for players thinking about getting back into it.
i rarely feel like this with DLC but honestly this one should have been the base game's post-game, since it had literally nothing.
the new bosses might be the best in the game and the dungeon is thematically cool, even if it's exactly like every other dungeon in the game. makes me think X and XIII had something really smart going for them because even if they have linear dungeons, they don't feel disjointed or like weird guided spectacles at all, they just feel like they fit nicely into to the game.
still fun though!
the new bosses might be the best in the game and the dungeon is thematically cool, even if it's exactly like every other dungeon in the game. makes me think X and XIII had something really smart going for them because even if they have linear dungeons, they don't feel disjointed or like weird guided spectacles at all, they just feel like they fit nicely into to the game.
still fun though!
Short but sweet. I want to know what Square smokes when they make the boss fights and themes for this game because HOLY FUCK
every time i discuss this game's quality i can't tell if i'm being too generous or too mean. maybe i'm being too generous right now. the point of this dlc is one boss fight and it's an awesome boss fight so i think this dlc succeeds at what it's here for. pretty fuckin excellent boss lol
Uma DLC fenomenal pelo quão bem aproveita sua duração, com uma das dungeons mais legais do jogo e um chefe mecanicamente maravilhoso. Só veio pra solidificar mais ainda FFXVI como uma das melhores coisas que existem nessa mídia.
Not usually one to call games or expansions "too short" but it's wild to me that this DLC's main purpose seems to be introducing a difficulty spike from the base game and a ton of new accessories to help offset the extra challenge, but barely any time to actually use them other than one boss that's only really difficult because it has like 3 attacks that will annihilate half of your health bar. Might lead to more interesting things in the next DLC, at least.
Enjoyable little story which had some interesting moments. Enemy variation was great and I liked the unique bosses. If anything, this was a perfect excuse to play around more with the combat.
maybe it's low expectations but the scraps of lore and writing in this is like a glimpse into a world where they remembered to make a final fantasy game instead of some derivative garbage spun from decade old trends. i liked the bosses too.
They're not beating the FF14 allegations with this DLC
I just want to say this is one of my favourite fights, easily top 3 next to Bahamut & Titan. From the music to the overall chaos of this fight im glad I played it on 'Final Fantasy' Difficulty.
For me being a raider on FF14, experiencing both the omega raid & the omega ultimate. This was the icing on the cake for omega overall and how CB3 handles this monster. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it to be a great DLC for just £8, some may say others but for the 3 hours playing through the door bosses coming up to Omega itself it was a wonderful amount of fun.
For those expecting any extra amounts of new story elements there is not much to see in this expansion. They advertised it to be the shorter half out of the two, 'Rising tide' will be the expected longer expansion, This very much is an expansion to bring you back to the game and remind you about the great people who were behind this game and how well they construct fights.
Soken thank you for your work on the music.
I just want to say this is one of my favourite fights, easily top 3 next to Bahamut & Titan. From the music to the overall chaos of this fight im glad I played it on 'Final Fantasy' Difficulty.
For me being a raider on FF14, experiencing both the omega raid & the omega ultimate. This was the icing on the cake for omega overall and how CB3 handles this monster. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it to be a great DLC for just £8, some may say others but for the 3 hours playing through the door bosses coming up to Omega itself it was a wonderful amount of fun.
For those expecting any extra amounts of new story elements there is not much to see in this expansion. They advertised it to be the shorter half out of the two, 'Rising tide' will be the expected longer expansion, This very much is an expansion to bring you back to the game and remind you about the great people who were behind this game and how well they construct fights.
Soken thank you for your work on the music.
We have a Pokémon Sword and Shield, Scarlet and Violet scenario where the first dlc is fine and it's the second one where shit hits the fan. The ost is great as expected from Final Fantasy, I died for the first time during the Omega boss which I found to be a nice shift in difficulty (it was still pretty easy but not a total cake walk). Wielding the Buster Sword is cool as are the new Fallen Bits accessories. What sucks is that you have to pay to play this. This all definitely should have been a free update! Guess Square Enix are trying to compensate for the underwhelming sales.
for what it adds to the game, absolutely not worth the money
2 hours of content with a couple challenging boss fights and 1 (very) cool one but theres no reason it couldn't've been a postgame quest to hype up a DLC with more substance. Really looking forward to the second one because I think it'll be doing just that but this one here is a robbery.
AT LEAST they couldve given more character moments for Jill and Joshua or even the main character himself except they treat it like a side-quest where they're just bystanders.
The reward for completing this is some stronger gear, not even a Fallen themed costume set like we got in that update a while back. Big letdown for the first of 2 DLCs we got hyped up for, could've been 2 really cool new stories except it's now gonna be just 1 (hopefully...)
2 hours of content with a couple challenging boss fights and 1 (very) cool one but theres no reason it couldn't've been a postgame quest to hype up a DLC with more substance. Really looking forward to the second one because I think it'll be doing just that but this one here is a robbery.
AT LEAST they couldve given more character moments for Jill and Joshua or even the main character himself except they treat it like a side-quest where they're just bystanders.
The reward for completing this is some stronger gear, not even a Fallen themed costume set like we got in that update a while back. Big letdown for the first of 2 DLCs we got hyped up for, could've been 2 really cool new stories except it's now gonna be just 1 (hopefully...)
Son boss ve müziği çok iyi. Kendimden geçtim yine bir boss'da. Keşke geri kalan kısımları da bu kadar iyi yapsa bu ekip.
Echoes of the Cut Content introduces a challenging tower climb, enriching the already detailed world of FF16 with intriguing new lore. However, for me, it largely felt like an extension of the familiar. While revisiting Valisthea was enjoyable, I'm looking forward to the next DLC offering something more unique.