Shane
A Final Fantasy like never before.
Now at it’s sixteenth edition this enduring and epic franchise has taken on full on action mixed with classic RPG, appealing to a wider gameplay graphic.
Final Fantasy XVI (FFXVI) puts you in to a cinematic story that can only exist in the Final Fantasy universe. In fact, the could be described a Final Fantasy CGI film with moments of action and RPG play to break up the on screen cinematics.
Your are Clive the eldest son of the King who is sworn to protect his youngest brother, Joshua, a boy who is frail but blessed with the power of the Phoenix. A flaming beast mightier than mighty. Able to heal as much as it is able to destroy.
While things seem tranquil in the Kingdom, there is a Blight upon the lands, wreaking havoc and death as it spreads.
When the King is attacked by a supposed ally, Joshua ascends in to the Phoenix and Clive (aka Wyvern) fails his duty to be the Shield of the Phoenix and protect his brother.
From present to past, through to present again, you’ll play as varying characters throughout the entire game.
Now it wouldn’t be a Final Fantasy without it’s magical RPG elements.
You’ll come across pick ups throughout each linear level. Generally after o boss fight you’ll level up and can of course change up your armour and tweak your magic abilities. Your current stats are found within a Gear & Eikon wrap up. You can cash in and spend up large via the Abilities menu.
You’ll also collect items, mostly potions that can give varying benefits or of course, health. To start off with the amount of items you are able to hoard is minimal.
Melee combat generally involves a combination of buttons as well as evade, Phoenix fire and sword mashing . And you can combo these up. There are a lot of QTE’s (Quick Time Events) in the more epic fights and it’s not uncommon for a cinematic to take over in the midst of melee.
Each different area in the game can be fast traveled via the World Map.
Final Fantasy XVI definitely has a story to tell.
There are NPCs that you can talk with. Some have very little to say, whereas others may give you a task to complete, which nets you rewards. From time to time you will also take on differing playable characters too.
It is a super lengthy play if you sit through all of the cinematics.
This is the Final Fantasy for all action and RPG gamers as well as keeping fans of the original games on the hook with it’s deep lore.
If you’re looking for a game that has a deep story, easy to pick up fast paced action, a plethora of monsters that are larger than the screen can take, Final Fantasy XVI is the one.
Released: June 2023
Rating: M15+
Platforms reviewed: PlayStation 5
Genre: RPG
Developer: Creative Business Unit III
Publisher: Square Enix