Final Fantasy XVI is the latest mainline entry in the long-running Final Fantasy series. Its setting is a departure from previous titles, opting to invoke a more medieval feeling that’s reminiscent of “Game of Thrones” and “Lord of the Rings.”
The game has opted for a real-time combat system similar to that of its predecessor, 2016’s Final Fantasy XV. Additionally, FFXVI tells a much more coherent story this time around, with themes of redemption and sacrifice. The main protagonist, Clive Rosfield, learns that his powers come with a price and he must use them to right the wrongs of his sinful past.
FFXVI is reminiscent of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era, when many Japanese publishers attempted to create role-playing games that catered to Western audiences. Results back then were mixed, with some standout titles like Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma. However, FFXVI is an incredibly focused single-player and narrative-driven experience that feels almost like it was developed by a Sony first-party studio.
FFXVI launches on June 22 exclusively for PS5. We’ve spent three weeks with the game and saw the story to its conclusion. Here are our thoughts on one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2023 after playing for 55 hours.
With its fun combat, good cast of characters and gorgeous presentation, Final Fantasy XVI is one of the best role-playing games of 2023 so far. With the main story and side quests wrapped up, the game takes about 60 hours to complete, so you'll be getting your money's worth.
What we liked about it
Good story and thoughtful side quests
FFXVI takes place in the world of Valisthea, powered by enormous artifacts called Mothercrystals that supply energy for civilization. The story follows a young man named Clive Rosfield, and as the First Shield of Rosaria, he’s tasked with protecting his younger brother, Joshua. Joshua is known as the Dominant of the Eikon Phoenix, meaning that he can wield the god’s fiery powers.
After a tragic incident involving Joshua and a second Eikon of fire appears, named Ifrit, Clive goes on a revenge quest while also learning the truth behind the Mothercrystals.
The story is supplemented by thoughtful side quests that also add a lot of lore to Valisthea. While many of them have similar structures and objectives, such as retrieving certain items or defeating a group of enemies, they always have some sort of tale attached to them that provides backstories to the citizens of Valisthea. The late-game side quests, in particular, focus on the main cast and supporting cast.
For example, Gav, the group’s scout, has feelings of inadequacy since he doesn’t have Eikonic powers like Clive and some of the other main characters. However, Clive manages to cheer him up by recounting situations where Gav literally saved the group from early demise. These quests added lots of character development to the main characters and rounded out their stories very nicely before the final act of the game.
Explosive combat
FFXVI’s real-time battle system is definitely the biggest highlight of the game. Throughout his journey, Clive earns more Eikon powers to add to his arsenal. This adds a lot of variety to the battle system and keeps it from becoming stale. The electrifying Ramuh powers can hit numerous enemies at once, while the freezing Shiva abilities can stop them in their tracks, helpless to Clive’s onslaught.
The aerial combat is surprisingly smooth too. Clive has plenty of attacks that launch opponents in the air and then he can follow up with midair combos and finish them by striking at the ground. The combat is incredibly flashy like a Devil May Cry game; pulling off various stunts and combos feels satisfying.
When Clive assumes his Ifrit Eikon form, battles become even more explosive. Noted in our early demo impressions, Eikon fights are these huge showdowns between Dominants with dedicated mechanics. In one battle, you could be controlling Clive like a 2D fighting game and in another one, you could be playing an on-rails shooter.
The Eikon fights become even more intense later on in the game. Clive will be performing ridiculous feats like scaling mountains all the way to entering the stratosphere. Just when I thought the previous Eikon fight was wild, the next one manages to be even more so. Between the battle system and the Eikon fights, this is one of the most cinematic titles in the Final Fantasy series.
Solid performance and presentation
FFXVI boasts incredible particle effects whenever Clive busts out his Eikon powers, whether they’re the bright homing light beams from Bahamut or the slick dark slashes from Odin. The attacks look absolutely stunning on screen and add a lot of visual flair to the moment-to-moment gameplay.
The open-world environments are also accompanied by FFXVI’s beautiful soundtrack. The piano-backed tunes that play while traversing on foot throughout Valisthea add a serene feeling to the journey. The battle theme adds tension to the many intense fights you’ll encounter during the game, and series veterans will recognize a classic Final Fantasy arrangement that permeates throughout the boss theme.
The game also has solid performance on PlayStation 5. There weren’t many noticeable issues outside of a few slowdowns during Eikon fights. Even then, those big battles ran almost perfectly.
There are two graphics modes the game offers: Performance and Quality. The former prioritizes higher-fidelity graphics and aims for 4K resolution and 30 frames per second. The latter targets 1440p at 60 frames per second. Players can switch between these two graphics modes at any time during gameplay.
What we didn’t like about it
Redundant loot and weapon upgrades
The biggest issue with FFXVI is that the materials and weapon upgrades feel redundant for large portions of the game. While it’s important to upgrade Clive’s gear every once in a while so his attack and defense stats don’t fall too far behind, it wasn’t imperative to upgrade immediately when new items were made available.
By the end of the game, I had so much currency and so many weapon crafting materials hoarded that I really didn’t know what to do with all of it. I had already upgraded my gear as much as I possibly could. I wish we were able to purchase and upgrade gear for our party members, but you can only do so for Clive — that could’ve been another great use of currency and materials.
Not enough Eikon battles
The fun battle system is FFXVI’s selling point and the biggest story bosses end with titanic Eikon fights between Dominants. The pacing between these fights is excellent throughout, but during the last third of the story, there’s a bit of a lull without any Eikon battles until the very end.
It’s important to not trivialize how powerful and important Eikons are as a last-ditch effort against seemingly insurmountable enemies. However, I just simply wish there were more of them, as they were the most entertaining parts of the game. They could’ve possibly interwoven more of them into some side quests, which was a missed opportunity.
Bottom line
With its fun combat, good cast of characters and gorgeous presentation, Final Fantasy XVI is one of the best role-playing games of 2023 so far. With the main story and side quests wrapped up, the game takes about 60 hours to complete — it’s surprisingly long.
The game also has a New Game Plus option after completing it at least once. This unlocks harder difficulties where players can carry over Clive’s level, equipment and abilities to the next playthrough. Enemy encounters and placements are mixed up too, which provides even more of a challenge.
Even knowing what happens in the story, the options that New Game Plus provides is enough to make additional playthroughs fresh again. Square Enix said that it currently doesn’t have any story DLC plans for the game and are waiting to see audience reception. But the world of Valisthea is too rich not to expand on — and players will have a great time.
