Amazing game. Yes, they say "fuck" a goofy amount of times. And half, maybe more of the sidequests could probably be removed to the game's benefit. But this is an outstanding opus of a game, with sweet sentimentality and unmistakable JRPG idealism separating it from the typical modern western dark fantasy. If the Eikon battles don't get your blood pumping, or Clive's burning spirit never endears you, or Edita's enthusiasm for writing doesn't warm your heart, you just might not have a soul.
The backlash to this game's tone is like an absurd inversion of Wind Waker's 2001 reveal, when many gamers were outraged at the baby ass new cartoony Zelda game. 22 years later, many gamers were simply too enlightened to accept that Final Fantasy is showing almost-nudity and chocobo beheadings. For me, the fact that this game is anathema to loathsome hipsters who write 5-star reviews about how Final Fantasy 2 is bad in like, in a really beautiful romantic way only they could understand, is icing on the cake. The distaste for how far this strays from the series' gameplay roots is a lot more understandable, but Final Fantasy has gradually been drifting towards action as early as FF4--the whole point of ATB was that it was a compromise between classic turn-based and action. I love action games, and as a fan of DMC and Bayonetta, I thought this one was quite a fun time.
Producer Yoshi-P said that trying to please everyone would "run the risk of creating a half-baked compromise of a game." Indeed, Final Fantasy XVI is unapologetically exactly what it sets out to be--action-packed and epic, but very invested in its characters' struggles. And works of art like this--which are willing to show unabashed bleakness one minute and warm your heart to the core another, willing to show you into the most bombastic massive battle of your life and immerse you in the regular people's plight--always resonated with me. Also, the game is gorgeous about 99% of the time, the music is excellent, the action combat gets more and more fun as you unlock more abilities, and the spectacle and dramatic scope is exactly what you'd want out of Final Fantasy. The highs are so high, even the undeniable boredom of its dozens of fetch quests can't stop me from loving it.
Still should've had a full Chocobo remix.
The backlash to this game's tone is like an absurd inversion of Wind Waker's 2001 reveal, when many gamers were outraged at the baby ass new cartoony Zelda game. 22 years later, many gamers were simply too enlightened to accept that Final Fantasy is showing almost-nudity and chocobo beheadings. For me, the fact that this game is anathema to loathsome hipsters who write 5-star reviews about how Final Fantasy 2 is bad in like, in a really beautiful romantic way only they could understand, is icing on the cake. The distaste for how far this strays from the series' gameplay roots is a lot more understandable, but Final Fantasy has gradually been drifting towards action as early as FF4--the whole point of ATB was that it was a compromise between classic turn-based and action. I love action games, and as a fan of DMC and Bayonetta, I thought this one was quite a fun time.
Producer Yoshi-P said that trying to please everyone would "run the risk of creating a half-baked compromise of a game." Indeed, Final Fantasy XVI is unapologetically exactly what it sets out to be--action-packed and epic, but very invested in its characters' struggles. And works of art like this--which are willing to show unabashed bleakness one minute and warm your heart to the core another, willing to show you into the most bombastic massive battle of your life and immerse you in the regular people's plight--always resonated with me. Also, the game is gorgeous about 99% of the time, the music is excellent, the action combat gets more and more fun as you unlock more abilities, and the spectacle and dramatic scope is exactly what you'd want out of Final Fantasy. The highs are so high, even the undeniable boredom of its dozens of fetch quests can't stop me from loving it.
Still should've had a full Chocobo remix.
dumbbaby
3 months ago