Final Fantasy XVI impressions: we tested Square Enix’s long-awaited JRPG

But something happened. With Gandalf the White coming to the rescue at the end of the Two Towers, it was titles like Final Fantasy XV, FFVII Remake and the beloved return of Final Fantasy XIV (with its accompanying expansions) that reinvigorated the franchise. . But what is the importance of all this in relation to the sixteenth installment? Well, a key part of this franchise resurgence has been Naoki Yoshidathe same man who now helms Final Fantasy XVI alongside The Last Remnant director Hiroki Takai.

From then on, the room was seized with emotion when we arrived in London to finally try the long-awaited new title in the saga. Without further ado, let’s get started.

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According to Yoshida himself, Final Fantasy XVI is a story of politics and war set in the fictional fantasy world of Valis’thea. These are five nations on the brink of war located on the continents of Ashe and Storm. All nations depend on mother crystals which harm their wealth, power and survival. The power of the crystals began to wane, fanning the flames of war. Each nation has powerful magical beings, known as Eikons, which are found in a few individuals and are similar to nuclear weapons, causing a Cold War stalemate across the world. In the midst of intense conflict, we continue to Clive Rosfield, of the Grand Duchy of Rosaria. Clive is the loyal protector of his brother Joshua, the Eikon Phoenix of Rosaria. After the tragedy at the start of the game, the player controls Clive from his late teens to his thirties on a decade-long journey of revenge.

With the new world of Valis’thea, Yoshida and Takai move away from the fantasies that have marked their series for the past 20 years. Instead, the setting of geopolitical conflicts and wars makes XVI reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics, The Last Remnant, and XII, and introduces important characters from those titles. Thus, Valis’thea bears similarities to the world of Ivalice and the Lion Wars of Tactics, as well as the Kingdom of Dalmasca versus the Empire of Arcadia.

Directed, developed and directed by a Final Fantasy team with more experience than the team of Yoshinori Kitase, Tetsuya Nomura and Motomu Toriyama, XVI is a game-changer for the main single-player series, which has long been rooted in its vision of Final Fantasy. Thus, the scenarios of XVI are new and are part of the continuity of the previous ones.

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However, what has completely changed from previous versions is the combat. Directed by Capcom veteran Ryota Suzuki (Dragon’s Dogma, Devil May Cry V), Episode XVI abandons turn-based combat in favor of intense action sequences. As a result, it offers us a surprisingly tight system that mixes elements of Final Fantasy and the best of Devil May Cry. We were lucky enough to control Clive, who was in his thirties, with a vast arsenal of abilities already unlocked. Each ability was tied to the magical eikons Phoenix, Garuda, and Titan, which in turn were associated with a magical element. Titan’s abilities were Force-enhanced attacks, while Phoenix had Clive teleport through terrain using fire. Garuda allowed you to unlock successive quick attacks and use a granch to ward off enemies.

To emerge victorious in the heat of battle, the player must press L2 to quickly switch Eikons, while using simple sword attacks to chain together powerful combos. By pressing the triangle, Clive can use magic non-stop and without MP, as well as charge it to power him up. Dodging is also a key point in combat. Hitting R1 at the right time will slow down time and allow you to counter with more force. Much like in NieR: Automata, dodging is easy to execute while juggling Eikons. Additionally, the amazing counter from FFVII Remake will return. After a chain of well-targeted attacks, Clive will break through his opponent’s defense, making each attack even more damaging.

It can be a bit tricky at first, but after understanding the combat system and experimenting with the abilities, you’ll be able to approach each encounter differently and have a great time dominating your opponents on the battlefield.

To test our skills, the demo included a series of challenging battles against the Eikon Garuda. Our first encounter was against her human form atop a castle tower, with a magical crystal mountain in the background. The fight had several phases that made it increasingly difficult. Each phase started with a fast-paced animation that increased the drama in battle. During combat, XVI forces the player to use every skill at their disposal to win, greatly enhancing the depth of the combat system. Finally, achieving victory is very satisfying, despite the fact that during the fight some swear words come out unnecessarily.

Our second fight with Garuda was on another level. This time Clive faced a multi-story giant on top of a mountain, something similar to the fights we find in Shadow of the Colossus. To defeat the opponent, in the first phase we had to resort to the abilities of the Eikon Phoenix, with which Clive acquires the ability to strike from a distance to hit his weak points. However, in the second phase, we invoke the Eikon Ifrit, after which a wrestling match in the style of King Kong vs. Godzilla destroying the scene in its path. While it looked epic and impressive, much of the combat was simply based on a QTE system. It’s a shame, because just controlling a gigantic Ifrit was exciting enough.

When the dust cleared, much of the landmass had been completely eradicated. This proved that the Eikons have a devastating impact on the world. Speaking of large-scale summoning battles, Yoshida added that no matchup is the same. Anyone could turn the game into a third-person shooter, but we also saw additional footage of what an endless runner looks like and more. Considering that, we can only say that we have a huge desire to see more great fights.

However, when it comes to display, Final Fantasy XVI is an incredibly beautiful game. The first trailers we saw when it was announced didn’t do it justice at all. We were able to see three different areas of Valis’thea. The first was a garden from Clive’s homeland, which served as a tutorial. The second was a castle outside the Imperial Capital, and the third was a rainforest. The favorites were the first and the third, as they seemed to be two different environments, very bright and bursting with life. From the dazzling glare of the sun to the gentle movement of the leaves in the wind, it was very apparent that they had tried to make it a living world. So it was a shame that the level we played the longest was inside a castle, where basically everything was in different shades of gray. Apart from the beautiful chapel with very clear Christian references, the castle was quite boring to explore. Fortunately, talking with Naoki Yoshida before the presentation, we were able to see many other interesting areas and cities. I wish I could have seen more.

After playing the game ourselves, we remembered something the creator of Final Fantasy said, Hironobu Sakaguchi. He once said that a Final Fantasy game has it all. When asked what he meant, he said it was hard to explain, but he was able to tell us that now this game has it all. Having played a small role in the XVI, we don’t know if Sakaguchi would say the same now. However, we can say with certainty that Final Fantasy XVI pushes the franchise in an interesting, albeit still familiar, direction that continues to innovate and expand its horizons, just like in the golden age of the 90s. an amazing experience.