I had high expectations going into Final Fantasy XVI. The producer, composer, and (one of) the writers from Final Fantasy XIV, along with a combat director from Devil May Cry 5, as well as help from Platinum Games and the Kingdom Hearts combat team sounded like the recipe for an incredible experience. I am happy to say FFXVI delivers on all accounts.
Regarding the narrative, Clive Rosfield makes for an excellent protagonist. Throughout the course of the game we see him grow up and experience a lot of the harsh realities of his world. In a lot of ways, mainly due to his gravely voice and blunt personality, he reminds me of Geralt of Rivia. His wolf companion Torgal also has many opportunities to shine both in and out of combat, and you really get attached to him as the game goes on.
In general, I could actually go on about a lot of the supporting cast. Even minor characters get a ton of great development through the side quests, which are all fully voiced and either serve as meaningful world building, or just tell interesting stories. Admittedly, no small number of them are fetch quest-style, however the payoffs are usually worth it.
The overall plot is a wild ride from start to finish. Many heavy themes are tackled and are handled appropriately, and it's a really grim picture that gets painted. As you journey around Valisthea, the story spends a considerable amount of time building up to these big Eikon fights, multiple of which I consider to be among my favourite boss fights of all time. They are that good. The overall pacing is handled well, speeding up and building to these big battles and then giving the player time to breathe afterwards. It never really feels to fast or too slow. That being said, the game will typically throw side quests at you during the downtime, so obsessive players (like myself) who feel compelled to do them and will find the pacing slow down considerably as a result.
When it comes to the combat, it really is Devil May Cry 5 Lite. The Eikon forms you unlock over the course of the game serve as your styles that you can cycle through during combat (3 equipped at a time), and each has a certain gimmick they are centered around. I thought I would stick with the first 3 you get for most of the game, however my end game loadout was pretty different because they all do feel different and fun to use. Initially, I found the common fodder enemies to be too easy to blast through with your Eikon abilities, however mini-bosses and regular bosses are plentiful. Eventually I began to feel that it served as a good contrast to remind me how powerful Clive is. I think if they were too hardy, it would really make the game feel like a chore.
The open-world is also more of an open-world lite. You have a handful of FFXIV-sized zones dotted with fast travel points, and there isn't much in terms of exploration outside of looking for Hunts and fullfilling side quests. This isn't a bad thing, in fact it's a nice balance between being a linear game and still giving you open vistas to run around in without experiencing open world fatigue.
Overall, FFXVI really is one of the best. A powerful, well-written story with some heavy themes, a cast of characters that I got attached to (even the shopkeeper and the blacksmith!), a stellar soundtrack as always from Soken, and some really crazy combat. They really nailed the whole package, and once I have had a bit of a reprieve I will certainly go back and try all the cool things I unlocked for beating it.
Regarding the narrative, Clive Rosfield makes for an excellent protagonist. Throughout the course of the game we see him grow up and experience a lot of the harsh realities of his world. In a lot of ways, mainly due to his gravely voice and blunt personality, he reminds me of Geralt of Rivia. His wolf companion Torgal also has many opportunities to shine both in and out of combat, and you really get attached to him as the game goes on.
In general, I could actually go on about a lot of the supporting cast. Even minor characters get a ton of great development through the side quests, which are all fully voiced and either serve as meaningful world building, or just tell interesting stories. Admittedly, no small number of them are fetch quest-style, however the payoffs are usually worth it.
The overall plot is a wild ride from start to finish. Many heavy themes are tackled and are handled appropriately, and it's a really grim picture that gets painted. As you journey around Valisthea, the story spends a considerable amount of time building up to these big Eikon fights, multiple of which I consider to be among my favourite boss fights of all time. They are that good. The overall pacing is handled well, speeding up and building to these big battles and then giving the player time to breathe afterwards. It never really feels to fast or too slow. That being said, the game will typically throw side quests at you during the downtime, so obsessive players (like myself) who feel compelled to do them and will find the pacing slow down considerably as a result.
When it comes to the combat, it really is Devil May Cry 5 Lite. The Eikon forms you unlock over the course of the game serve as your styles that you can cycle through during combat (3 equipped at a time), and each has a certain gimmick they are centered around. I thought I would stick with the first 3 you get for most of the game, however my end game loadout was pretty different because they all do feel different and fun to use. Initially, I found the common fodder enemies to be too easy to blast through with your Eikon abilities, however mini-bosses and regular bosses are plentiful. Eventually I began to feel that it served as a good contrast to remind me how powerful Clive is. I think if they were too hardy, it would really make the game feel like a chore.
The open-world is also more of an open-world lite. You have a handful of FFXIV-sized zones dotted with fast travel points, and there isn't much in terms of exploration outside of looking for Hunts and fullfilling side quests. This isn't a bad thing, in fact it's a nice balance between being a linear game and still giving you open vistas to run around in without experiencing open world fatigue.
Overall, FFXVI really is one of the best. A powerful, well-written story with some heavy themes, a cast of characters that I got attached to (even the shopkeeper and the blacksmith!), a stellar soundtrack as always from Soken, and some really crazy combat. They really nailed the whole package, and once I have had a bit of a reprieve I will certainly go back and try all the cool things I unlocked for beating it.