Review

Final Fantasy XVI review

That's not an RPG. It can't be even called a game! It's an interactive anime.

I’m not a Final Fantasy fan. I’ve only played VII Remake (and even that I dropped somewhere towards the end), so I can’t judge whether XVI deserves to be called Final Fantasy. Nor do I particularly want to🙂

What I can (and want to!) do is give you some advice on how to play it — open a bottle of wine (or grab a beer, whatever works for you), lean back in your chair, relax, and get ready to watch a TV show. A long one. About 25–30 hours. But an interesting one. Don’t expect to choose what to do or where to go. They’re showing you a movie, you’re watching, and you even get to participate (you have to click all the baddies to death yourself — no cheating there!). That’s it!

If you’re expecting opportunities to roleplay — sorry. If you want to explore a big world — sorry. If you enjoy watching the world change as a result of your actions — sorry. It does change, of course, but as the story progresses, not because of your decisions.

Is it interesting? I enjoyed it! A bit drawn out, especially towards the end, but I still enjoyed it!

The good

Music

No comment needed. Simply magnificent! Perfectly chosen musical themes throughout the entire game. Pure joy!

Epicness

They went all out. You’ve got heroic heroes, villainous villains, self-sacrifice, last-second rescues, love, grand speeches, and philosophy.

Action

Loads of it! Launch an enemy into the air, jump after them, swing your sword around, slam back down in a massive explosion, blast lightning in every direction, dash off again — hell yeah! And the battles between those gigantic Eikon forms? Hats off! They look seriously impressive!

Graphics

The graphics are nice. Good animations, and I don’t remember any FPS drops. Beautiful scenery and locations. A bit samey, but still beautiful. If there’s anyone I can’t fault, it’s the artists!

Story

Surprisingly, I was pretty interested in figuring out what was happening in the world and following the main characters. It’s hard to call the story great. But I can’t call it awful either. My only gripe is that it drags things out in a very anime sort of way.

Story presentation

Having a dedicated character who walks you through past events, their consequences, and the world’s political and geopolitical situation is a really nice touch. It was interesting to dig into, and the presentation is great.

Supporting characters

They’re great! They have their own personalities and character. They’re fun to talk to, fun to watch, and fun to travel with. The only slight letdowns are the depth of their characterisation and how clichéd some of them are. That big guy over there is the designated cutie — a bit dim, but big and kind. This lady is the love of your life. That bloke is the wise sensei/mentor.

By the way, Cid (the wise sensei) is the best character in the game. Really memorable and really well done!

The bad

Everything else, unfortunately.

Gameplay mechanics

All the gameplay mechanics are rudimentary and shoehorned in. With a very large shoehorn. And a whole lot of force.

Progression

Barely there. All you really get to upgrade are active abilities, which unlock as you progress through the story. Upgrading them is slow and tedious. Why bother? Not entirely clear. Usually, they just get more damage. A little bit. The problem is, damage isn’t an issue to begin with.

Weapons and gear

Weapons and gear for the protagonist magically appear at the shop or the blacksmith at just the right moment. They cost roughly two rotten tomatoes and a pebble from a roadside ditch. I don’t feel like grinding materials for +10 defence when I already have 400. Changing your gear doesn’t change your character’s appearance, by the way. Weapons follow the same routine. Buy one, immediately upgrade it to +1 and +2. Why is this even here? No idea.

Economy

Waving a little handkerchief and shedding a tear. Tons of different resources, piles of money, but what do you spend them on? I never found out. Maybe it’s because I didn’t buy the music tracks, or maybe I just didn’t look hard enough. But I don’t think that’s the problem. I finished with 250k+ in my pocket, with healing potions costing 200 coins each.

Combat

Real-time action. No turn-based battles. Looks great. But at some point, it gets boring. You just click away at damage-sponge mobs that shuffle around you, waiting for you to beat them up. I didn’t die once during the entire playthrough. My HP never even got close to zero. There are combat moves/combos, and they’re fairly fun to use, but there are so many filler fights that it gets old.

World

Big corridors and smaller corridors, with mobs living in them. That’s it. The corridors might pretend to be open areas, but don’t fall for it! No complaints about the visuals, though — almost every location is beautiful, the music is excellent everywhere, and just when it feels like that atmosphere is starting to come together, the area ends. The game also gives you no meaningful rewards for exploring. The only reasons to return to places you’ve already visited are side quests and hunts, but more on those below.

Side quests

Two types. Type one: fast-travel to that region over there, collect 3 pebbles, come back. Type two: fast-travel to that region over there, kill some baddies/rescue someone (by killing some baddies, obviously), come back. Somewhere along the way, you might learn a little about the world or some minor characters. I stopped doing side quests in the final third of the game. Got fed up. The tedium really got to me — painfully boring, with no clear reason to bother. Rumour has it that’s exactly when the side quests start “coming into their own,” but I couldn’t hold out that long, sorry.

Hunts

The hunt board — what’s it for? Getting ingredients for gear you don’t care about? No thanks. Learning more about the world and its history, getting immersed in it? Nope. You just show up somewhere and kill a mini-boss. A challenge? Didn’t notice any.

Verdict

This isn’t a bad game. But it’s no masterpiece either. It’s a good, if drawn-out, epic adventure that makes you feel plenty of things. Not all of them positive, but I can’t call it an outright failure.

Buy it strictly on sale! Play it strictly in chill mode! Don’t expect too much — treat it like a TV show!

Hugs to you all! <3

Action RPGRPG