“FATE IS WRITTEN IN FIRE”
My hype for this game was already astronomical upon XVI’s initial reveal trailer, but it wasn’t until my hands-on experience with the demo when I knew this game was going to be special. Trying to leave my review of this game as spoiler free as possible will be tough, but here we go.
Simply for the fact that XVI has an M rating, the portrayal of realism and grounded tones leave a bitter and lasting impression throughout the story in ways that previous games in the Final Fantasy series struggled to tackle, let alone hint on. Slavery, torture, religion, politics, suicide, this game has it all! I personally found it really refreshing to play a game in the series that was so standalone in its attempt to make a dark, violent Final Fantasy game, and I felt XVI met the mark with flying colors.
The game’s wide cast of colorful heroes and villains paired gloriously with the narrative, adding a clash of elements (quite literally) that led to not only some of the most profound character writing I have witnessed in a work of fiction, but an attachment that I struggle to find anywhere else. I would argue that XVI has easily one of the best main protagonists and group of supporting roles in the series, but EASILY my favorite cast of antagonists. There are just way too many good characters to choose from, but I can easily say that each and every Dominant receives an impressively even amount of development and purpose throughout the entire narrative.
I personally am a turn based combat over action RPG guy, but the gameplay style that XVI went with takes Final Fantasy in a direction that didn’t bother me whatsoever. Swift, fast paced, and lots of player freedom and customization as far as your abilities go, but not so much on the equipment and especially status effects front. I definitely expected more role playing game staple elements to be prevalent in the gameplay, but there wasn’t much. Not a huge blunder on the experience, but other than limit breaking and being able to increase your attack and defense temporarily, XVI is pretty dry in terms of altering play styles and strategies in the wake of battle.
The music is in a realm of its own with this one. Spectacular through and through, not really any other way to put it. This title was my first experience with Soken’s work as a composer, and he carried the flame from Uematsu’s torch firm and proud. The range in his work is masterful and heartfelt, my favorite tracks by far being the various battle themes, particularly those when fighting the Dominants, and the entire final boss composition.
Zero competition, the BEST part of this entire game was its boss fights. Each and every one, specifically against the Dominants, is on a scale so grand they each could resemble that of a final boss battle. One after another, something even more badass is brought to the table in every phase of every fight. These moments in the game were always the ones I looked forward to the most, and they never failed to leave me in absolute awe with the visual and technical masterpiece of direction that was put into these world-shattering clashes. Culminating quick time events (that had massive windows for the sake of battle flow), the evolving music, banter between foes, and the ferocious animosity of Eikon against Eikon, Final Fantasy XVI breaks the fucking limit for what makes a boss fight in a video game carry so much weight.
From beginning to end, I was reeled into the mystery and intrigue of the world of Valisthea. Familiar settings, foes, and even some motifs in both dialogue and music strummed familiar cords seen in the earliest Final Fantasy games, while also breaking the chains that bound the series and went against everything we knew. I enjoyed the changes that were made to deviate XVI from the typical JRPG experience, but many of the things I enjoy in the genre such as fun side quests were either dumbed down to lots of hand holding, or lacking thereof. Regardless, the pros far outweigh the cons and I personally can say that XVI serves as the revival of the single player Final Fantasy experience.
“The only fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its final witness!”
My hype for this game was already astronomical upon XVI’s initial reveal trailer, but it wasn’t until my hands-on experience with the demo when I knew this game was going to be special. Trying to leave my review of this game as spoiler free as possible will be tough, but here we go.
Simply for the fact that XVI has an M rating, the portrayal of realism and grounded tones leave a bitter and lasting impression throughout the story in ways that previous games in the Final Fantasy series struggled to tackle, let alone hint on. Slavery, torture, religion, politics, suicide, this game has it all! I personally found it really refreshing to play a game in the series that was so standalone in its attempt to make a dark, violent Final Fantasy game, and I felt XVI met the mark with flying colors.
The game’s wide cast of colorful heroes and villains paired gloriously with the narrative, adding a clash of elements (quite literally) that led to not only some of the most profound character writing I have witnessed in a work of fiction, but an attachment that I struggle to find anywhere else. I would argue that XVI has easily one of the best main protagonists and group of supporting roles in the series, but EASILY my favorite cast of antagonists. There are just way too many good characters to choose from, but I can easily say that each and every Dominant receives an impressively even amount of development and purpose throughout the entire narrative.
I personally am a turn based combat over action RPG guy, but the gameplay style that XVI went with takes Final Fantasy in a direction that didn’t bother me whatsoever. Swift, fast paced, and lots of player freedom and customization as far as your abilities go, but not so much on the equipment and especially status effects front. I definitely expected more role playing game staple elements to be prevalent in the gameplay, but there wasn’t much. Not a huge blunder on the experience, but other than limit breaking and being able to increase your attack and defense temporarily, XVI is pretty dry in terms of altering play styles and strategies in the wake of battle.
The music is in a realm of its own with this one. Spectacular through and through, not really any other way to put it. This title was my first experience with Soken’s work as a composer, and he carried the flame from Uematsu’s torch firm and proud. The range in his work is masterful and heartfelt, my favorite tracks by far being the various battle themes, particularly those when fighting the Dominants, and the entire final boss composition.
Zero competition, the BEST part of this entire game was its boss fights. Each and every one, specifically against the Dominants, is on a scale so grand they each could resemble that of a final boss battle. One after another, something even more badass is brought to the table in every phase of every fight. These moments in the game were always the ones I looked forward to the most, and they never failed to leave me in absolute awe with the visual and technical masterpiece of direction that was put into these world-shattering clashes. Culminating quick time events (that had massive windows for the sake of battle flow), the evolving music, banter between foes, and the ferocious animosity of Eikon against Eikon, Final Fantasy XVI breaks the fucking limit for what makes a boss fight in a video game carry so much weight.
From beginning to end, I was reeled into the mystery and intrigue of the world of Valisthea. Familiar settings, foes, and even some motifs in both dialogue and music strummed familiar cords seen in the earliest Final Fantasy games, while also breaking the chains that bound the series and went against everything we knew. I enjoyed the changes that were made to deviate XVI from the typical JRPG experience, but many of the things I enjoy in the genre such as fun side quests were either dumbed down to lots of hand holding, or lacking thereof. Regardless, the pros far outweigh the cons and I personally can say that XVI serves as the revival of the single player Final Fantasy experience.
“The only fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its final witness!”
FKHR
6 months ago