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Square Enix's Creative Business Unit III took a big risk with Final Fantasy 16. While there are plenty of recurring elements familiar to those who've grown up with the series, the M-rating garnered by its dark fantasy storyline meant the tone was always going to be markedly different from its predecessors. Couple that with combat that's more reminiscent of Final Fantasy 15 than the well-received Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and the team's vision for the franchise doesn't necessarily align with those of its most stalwart players.
If there's one takeaway that is more important than any other about Final Fantasy 16, though, it's that there's a deliberate intent behind each decision. Creative Business Unit III didn't just aim for a grittier storyline for the sake of it, just like the developer didn't haphazardly choose a style of combat merely for the aesthetic. While the initial hours can be jarring for those who have a preconceived notion of what Final Fantasy is meant to look like, what coalesces over the next 30 or 40 hours is not a portrait of the series' historical bests, but a vision of its promising future. Final Fantasy 16 isn't just the best recent mainline entry - it's among the best of all time.
A Beating Heart At The Center of Valisthea
Final Fantasy 16 follows Clive Rosfield, a first-born son to Rosarian royalty who fails to manifest into his bloodline's most sacred role - a vessel for the Phoenix, one of the game's many Eikons. Eikons are otherworldly beings with power far greater than most nations' entire militaries, and the world of Valisthea is built on an uneasy understanding that each nation needs to have a Dominant - those who are inhabited by Eikons - and that actually using a Dominant for war could ultimately spell the end of the entire world if implemented incorrectly.
The opening hours of Final Fantasy 16 establish it as a dark fantasy political drama and serve to illustrate Clive's wretched fate. As events unfold that separate him from his brother, Joshua, who has inherited Phoenix and thus the hopes of their nation, Clive ages into a young adult drifting through life with a singular goal: revenge. What follows is a multi-faceted tale about humanity's biggest flaws and its attempts to overcome them. Clive's journey is central to Final Fantasy 16 but it does not consume the stories of its cast of characters. Jill, Cid, the of a rebellious movement seeking to upset the balance of a world that revolves around the Mothercrystals, and a range of antagonists each with different motives all color the world of Valisthea and make it feel like it doesn't just revolve around our protagonist.
Despite a lofty scope that sees multiple countries' motives monitored and illustrated over the course of the journey, Final Fantasy 16 is very much about the difference that can be made by an individual. As such, each character's backstory and motivations are expanded on, with plenty of knife-twisting and subversions of expectation along the way. It's hard sometimes to care about multiple characters in a JRPG with a clear protagonist - so Final Fantasy 16 blurs that line at times, and the result is a narrative where it's difficult to avoid an emotional attachment to many bit players.
All of this is to say that - without spoilers - Final Fantasy 16's story stands out as a series best. Though the idea of humanity versus its creator is nothing new to the series, the maturity with which much of the tale is told and its unblinking determination to avoid simple answers make for a complex and enjoyable sojourn to Valisthea. And don't worry - there's plenty of charm and humor to go around, too, breaking up the darker themes with a familiar, world-weary gallows humor that slots perfectly into the geopolitical on-goings of its broader plot.
Brainy Combat Implemented With Beauty
Clive's journey largely sees him travel with his trusted hound, Torgal, and the occasional party member or two, though the latter is rarely around for more than a brief spell of time. Combat is almost entirely about controlling Clive, though there are basic commands for Torgal that can be inputted to make sure the pup is doing what players want from him. Battling takes place in real-time with a system that's heavily focused on button-input commands and dodges. It's most reminiscent of Final Fantasy 15's combat, which saw Noctis use verticality and quickness to gain an edge on the battlefield - the same is largely true of Clive, with some key differences.
The first is the smoothness of the system overall, which was easy to come to grips with but difficult to master. Stronger enemies have break bars that need to be managed to get an advantage, and certain abilities are better at breaking those, while others simply do more damage overall. Those are combined with Eikonic Feats - for example, Phoenix's charge or Garuda's claw, the latter of which can be used to pull smaller enemies towards Clive. The result is a battlefield that wants players to be cognizant of their positioning and their ability usage, managing cooldowns like an MMO and dodging like an action RPG.
Standard mobs offer little in the way of resistance, but groups of enemies still pose a threat even if they're weaker, so there are rarely any unexceptional fights. Even exploring the more "open" sections of the world can result in stumbling on a particularly annoying enemy with a set of skills that need to be observed. Final Fantasy 16's combat is a brainy inclusion for the series that combines the tactical thinking usually required in its turn-based days with some more reflex-based agility.
Those without an inclination toward the action side of the action-RPG genre can also equip items that make it easier - these range from a ring that gives a button prompt and a window of time for dodges, to one that manages Torgal on its own. Players will essentially be able to find something that works no matter what, and the range of how these accessories influence the combat means they can also customize it to avoid being completely automatic or too easy, even when they're looking for a little less of a challenge.
Clive's arsenal of abilities expands over time throughout Final Fantasy 16's story, and he's able to invest skill points into these abilities to either unlock complementary ones or upgrade others. Each ability is underneath an Eikon tree, but mastering many of them means being able to assign them to a different Eikon, which means customization gets even more complex later in the game. If a player adores Garuda's grappling hook style but doesn't enjoy its abilities, they can equip Garuda and then master two Phoenix skills to equip underneath that Eikon's tree. Clive can equip three Eikons at once and can seamlessly transition between them during combat, which helps manage cooldowns and keep things exciting and impactful with as little downtime as possible.
It's a system that works, and works well. Combat in Final Fantasy 16 is a genuine joy, and it's helped by how good it looks. Battle designer Ryota Suzuki - best known for his work on the Devil May Cry series - has crafted an exceptional experience from top to bottom, blending aesthetics that make Clive feel like an almighty warrior into combat that never makes things as simple as the stylish ability usage makes it look. Slow motion finishes, an eye for nods to past abilities in the series, and even the repeated combat dialogue all work, and it's a tantalizing avenue for the future of the series to travel down.
The Best Final Fantasy Boss Fights Ever Made
It's pretty impressive, then, that the usual Clive combat isn't even the best battling in its own game. That accolade is reserved for Final Fantasy 16's boss fights, which are a blend of eye-popping cinematics and scales so epic that every single one is memorable for different reasons. Boss fights usually stagger into two sections - human combat and Eikon combat. The former is basically a litmus test of a player's understanding of their current loadout, with cinematics interspersed between break bars being dwindled and damage being dealt. They feel appropriately difficult and compelling, although as the flow of the game gets established, they do take a bit of a back seat to what players expect to come after - Eikon battles.
The Eikon fights in Final Fantasy 16 are sublime. Closely reminiscent of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta boss battles, Final Fantasy 16's skirmishes with the divine border on the absurd in the best way. Each battle is unique in its mechanics or scope, and most of the assets simply aren't used ever again. It's a baffling approach to an already complicated design, but it works flawlessly. Each fight ramps up the stakes of its predecessor and establishes the sheer terror of the existence of Eikons, who are essentially walking global extinction events with the personalities and flaws of the person who wields them. Power is on full display, but in a way that somehow, in the midst of the laser show, makes a case for why it isn't as cool as the team has made it look on-screen.
Final Fantasy 16 boss fights need to be experienced without spoilers. Go into them with as little information as possible. Creative Business Unit III has knocked these out of the park - so much so that the bar is now so high it's a wonder if the next Final Fantasy, whenever that may release, will be able to top them.
Pacing & Side Quests Are An Uneasy Alliance
Much like the treaties that characterize Clive's initial understanding of Valisthea in the early hours of the game, Final Fantasy 16's pacing is one of the few elements of the game that doesn't stick the landing. Side quests begin as meandering journeys that feel completely outside of the plot and concerns of Clive, so much so that it almost feels silly. They're often sandwiched between time-sensitive and pressing revelations, so each time Clive addresses optional content, it comes across a little out-of-sync with what players are being told about Valisthea.
Ultimately, these side quests do form some of the best emotional moments in Final Fantasy 16, and the early adventures are used as a foundation to deliver some more poignant moments. It's a little disted, but the payoff is there for players willing to invest the early time into some of them. Even completing every side quest doesn't add that much extra time to the game, too, so it's definitely an encouraged additional element that comes at little cost to the player beyond that initial off-note in the narrative's rhythm.
If there is one major flaw with Final Fantasy 16, it is certainly within its pacing. Some parts of the story are given a few chapters or quests too many, while the close of the narrative feels rushed compared to the earlier hours. This isn't to say the game doesn't stick the landing - it absolutely does - but it's the rare case of a journey that felt like it actually could've benefited from five or ten more hours to really get across some of its more complex or interesting sub-plots. The good news is that the world of Valisthea is so interesting and compelling that there's plenty of reason to return to it, perhaps to explore character motives or some of the events that transpire between what's shown on screen, should Square Enix decide Clive's journey is one that needs more time in the spotlight.
Excellence in Environment
The world of Valisthea definitely isn't as varied as ones that previous installments in the series have explored. Biomes are more restrictive and less aesthetically different than one might expect of a world featuring different crystals attuned to elements, but it doesn't make for dull surroundings. Much of the world of Valisthea gets by on feeling appropriate to the setting. In a world that's at war with itself and its use of magic, it makes sense that much of it would feel tense and unspectacular. The focus is elsewhere - in the people, the creatures, and the dizzying crystals towering over them. Some more variety definitely would've been appreciated, but the architecture of the cities, the dense forests, the pervasive and threatening wildlife in the unexplored regions of the world, and more all combine to create something that makes an impression, even if it isn't with neon lights or bright colors.
Beyond the people and the places they inhabit, however, it's the atmosphere of the game that makes it so special. Final Fantasy 16's music is an incredible treat and is another aspect of this iteration that competes with some of the franchise's most storied entries. Each region and moment are scored immaculately, with multiple songs that will be in a player's head for days after hearing them. Masayoshi Soken, the composer of Final Fantasy 16, once again proves he is among the industry's best at what he does.
The music and the world it inhabits are both at their best in cinematics, which are directed with care. Plenty of scenes linger on faces or body language for just the right amount of time, adding a layer of subtext to the politics that dominate some of the story arcs in Final Fantasy 16. There are some story beats that swell into emotion with ease, and the slow-burning imagery associated with characters pays off in the back half of the game with some iconic, subtle moments.
Final Thoughts & Review Score
Final Fantasy 16 is Square Enix at its best, refining an already beloved formula into something that ambitiously strives to be something more than it was in its last iteration. Clive's journey, his friends, and the world of Valisthea are memorable and fundamentally human in their representation, making them resonant and relatable. It's a bitter tale full of sadness and hope, and it's one that won't be forgotten any time soon. It also stands as one of the most accessible Final Fantasy games ever made thanks to its smart inclusion of Timely Accessories, so there's little preventing those keen on giving it a try.
By no means perfect, it's as beguilingly flawed as its characters and world, and equally delightful as a result. With an incredible score, an enthralling story, and an eccentric and electric gameplay approach, Final Fantasy 16 is, quite simply, a modern masterpiece.
Source: FINAL FANTASY/YouTube
Final Fantasy 16 releases on June 22, 2023 for PlayStation 5 as a timed exclusive. Screen Rant was provided with a digital code for the purpose of this review.
