REVIEW: Final Fantasy XVI is a return to glory for the franchise

For review purposes, we make the vaguest mention of the game's general plot, so if you want to play Final Fantasy XVI without worrying about spoilers, you can immerse yourself in our review.  

Without further ado, let's get down to business!

Different and at the same time familiar

Final Fantasy has never been as violent and full of profanity as its recently released sixteenth volume. Final Fantasy XVI, in addition to being a more intense and somewhat mature game, it features gameplay that deviates from the normal series, which may make some more conservative fans a little uncomfortable. But even so, different at first glance, it maintains what characterizes a game from this series so beloved by gamers.

The game's story revolves around Clive, a knight with a tragic past who now heads to Valisthea in search of revenge for the death of his brother, killed by a Dominant, another person who, like little Joshua, has the ability to evoke a of the Aicon, powerful elemental beings. Without a country to call his own, the protagonist ends up being recruited by the Empire of Sanbreque, which is constantly at war with the kingdom of Waloed.

Clive's life takes a turn during a battle between these two factions, where he meets Cid, a renegade idealist who dreams of a world where there are no borders between men, and where they can live in harmony. Unfortunately, for a place like Valisthea, where blood is routinely spilled in battles over the Mother Crystals, the energy source of this world's magic, which is becoming more and more scarce every day, is a seemingly impossible dream.

Say goodbye to turn-based combat

Final Fantasy XVI brings a number of changes to the already established formula of Final Fantasy games. Despite Final Fantasy XV have already been more action-oriented, as well as the remake de Final Fantasy VII, this new chapter of the saga brings combat even more focused on this aspect, reminiscent of the gameplay of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, developed by the same Team Ninja as the trilogy Ninja Gaiden, released recently. 

Now, in addition to attacks mapped to the control buttons, in the case of sword and magic attacks, there is also the possibility of using special skills, which are learned by spending points gained when leveling up. As Stranger of paradise, combat revolves around two bars of strength for larger enemies, such as bosses and mini-bosses: one is life force, while the other is armor. 

The second meter is divided into two segments, which as damage is received, is spent; when half depleted, the enemy begins to take more damage, as his armor has been broken, and when the bar is completely emptied, he enters a stunned state, in which it is suggested to put firewood on him, after all, he is completely defenseless for a few moments. The battles roll freely using this mechanic, combined with occasional quick commands such as dodging and repeated attack, such as a devil may cry of life.

In the role of Carrier, which within the plot of Final Fantasy XVI is a person with the ability to cast spells without the need for the coveted crystals, Clive is an exception to the rule, since a few hours into the game's history, the boy discovers that he is able to use the powers of more than one Eikon, being able to freely switch between them with a touch of the button by the player. Each of these legendary beings grants the hero a huge range of unique abilities, which clever use during combat will give Clive an advantage, especially when surrounded by enemies or face to face with a boss.

A Final Fantasy for any type of player

Clive is an expert warrior and thanks to his training, he is capable of incredible feats to dodge enemy attacks, so much so that when a dodge is made at the right time, almost in contact with the enemy punch with the character, there is a damage bonus and of points, which makes it very worthwhile to leave it to the last possible second to get rid of other people's attacks. And if you don't feel capable of performing such feats, that's where a very intuitive system comes in. Final Fantasy XVI to control its degree of difficulty.

At its core, it's pretty simple: as you play, you earn certain special items that you can equip the same way you would pendants or lockets; but, in the case of these gadgets, there are benefits linked to the gameplay, such as, for example, the automatic execution of dodges, or even the use of potions that restore life points.

But these aids do not stop there, there are some that hover between making the game easier or keeping it on normal difficulty, just giving you more chance to get around better if you are encountering problems with timing, as in the deflection of attacks. This aid, when enabled, causes a kind of slowdown at the exact time it should occur, increasing the chances of a perfect counterattack. 

An engaging but linear plot

Another part of the new game that might turn off older fans, at least initially, is the linearity of the game's environments. Final Fantasy XVI. There isn't an open world to explore, so to speak. Instead, you play stages in different locations on the world map that can be replayed as much as you like once you gain access to Cid's hideout, not to mention the many side quests that are unlocked as the game's story progresses. 

This means that yes, there is not much to tinker with in the game world as a whole, but for the benefit of Final Fantasy XVI, it can be said that the choice for linearity is for the pure benefit of the story. This is because there are many predetermined events during these phases, apart from that within these planned environments, there are many possibilities for the story to develop, which in fact happens. 

And in that, by the way, the Square Enix whimsical and more: Final Fantasy XVI features one of the most exciting stories since the franchise's twelfth title. Final Fantasy has been struggling for some time to balance the complexity and fun within its plots, and as we can see with Final Fantasy XIII e XV, the more elements the writers try to put into the story to make it engaging, the more they complicate it, achieving the opposite effect.

It's something that doesn't happen Final Fantasy XVI. Clive's cause is simple at first and gradually unfolds not only the events involving the protagonist's journey of revenge, but also the vast backdrop of the entire political conflict in the game world, where various groups struggle to gain control. of Tormenta, the area under the influence of the valuable crystals.

There is a clear influence of the works of George RR Martin on the way Final Fantasy XVI deals with more explicit scenes and plot moments, this being the Final Fantasy in which more blood is seen on screen and expletives are casually uttered by all the inhabitants of Valisthea. 

The similarities stop here

Despite this similarity in terms of the game's story with the fight for the throne of Westeros from the books and the HBO series, in an interview, the game's director, Naoki Yoshida, pointed out the main influence for the story of the new Final Fantasy: nothing more nothing less than another title Square Enix, the classic Dragon Quest V.

Like Clive's adventure, the fifth Dragon Quest also shows the complete life of its protagonist, from his childhood, through his adult and married years, as well as his children. We have the opportunity to see a young and fearless warrior in the beginning of the history of Final Fantasy XVI and thanks to that, we ended up witnessing his personality development firsthand, going from an aristocratic but brave boy to becoming what we see for the rest of the game. 

It would be too easy to categorize this new Final Fantasy merely as an experiment by Square Enix to bring the series into the current mold of action RPGs, but that would be a departure from what was delivered; among all the more serious, dark and intense clothes, there is the spirit of Final Fantasy that every fan simply goes crazy to see. Practically all character classes make a cameo in the game, for example, as seen in the opening moments, in which there is a fight with a dragon, or how the king of Waloed is a dark knight worthy of standing up to Kain, of Final Fantasy IV. 

Finally, the verdict

There's a taste of elements that characterize the franchise in every corner of the game, but don't be fooled: we're not saying that just because of the presence of chocobos ou moogles, or even the Aicon, the interpretation of Final Fantasy XVI for summons of previous titles. Everything that makes a Final Fantasy is there, from the impeccable art direction and weighty soundtrack to the characters complete with motivations and flaws, including Clive himself. It is worth mentioning that they all have lines read by actors, and the interpretations are excellent, with emphasis on Cid and his baritone and pronounced voice.

Final Fantasy XVI has localization for Brazilian Portuguese, but unfortunately it does not have dubbing in our language. On the other hand, the text is very well adapted to the language and manages to deal very well with the different terminologies used by the original script without resorting to fads or oversimplifying them, as many localizations to our language tend to do. The level of translations has been rising in quality for some time, and we were impressed with what we saw in this game, both in the subtitles and in the running text of the countless items and manuscripts scattered throughout the game.

In virtually every department, it was clear that Square Enix came back with everything and really put his best into the development of Final Fantasy XVI. The end result is a thrilling and immersive adventure worthy of being enjoyed not only by devoted fans of the series, but also those who have never even touched a Final Fantasy. Thanks to its subtle implementation of tools that give the player the means to control how easy or difficult their gaming experience will be, combined with the very high level of quality of the game itself, owners of PlayStation 5 anyone of any skill level will be able to enjoy this newest chapter in one of the longest-running and most popular video game franchises. 

It was worth the wait for him, without a doubt.  

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ALL about Final Fantasy XVI, Square Enix's long-awaited RPG

Source: IGN Nordic

Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (26/06/23)