Final Fantasy XVI Review: An evolutionary stride forward, with caveats

The most divisive aspect of FFXVI was always going to be whether it is still an RPG. (Screen grab from Final Fantasy XVI on PlayStation 5).

Over the course of my Final Fantasy XVI (FFXVI) playthrough, I was reminded on several occasions of that straight-A kid in class who rarely scored anything lower and more pertinently, for this story, nothing that was higher.

We’ll get to the ‘why’ in due course. For now, suffice it to say that the 16th mainline title (i.e. non-spinoffs and do-overs) in the Final Fantasy series released on June 22 — a few months shy of four years since its predecessor — is currently a PlayStation 5 exclusive.

First impressions

Much like putting together a film trailer, creating a demo for a game is an art. Knowing what features to play up, what secrets to divulge — and conversely, which ones to keep close to the chest, and which storylines to showcase takes a great deal of consideration.

Very often, a demo is simply the first couple of levels or hour-or-so of the game; 90 minutes if you’re lucky. Sometimes, it’s a specially carved-out section as see in last year’s Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin or this year’s Forspoken. For those that fall in the former category, the FFXVI demo (much like the one for Detroit: Become Human several years ago) is an excellent example of foresight and planning.

An opening that showcases most major game mechanics, introduces the art style, familiarises the player with the context within which the game is set and a few of the key characters and storylines, is the best advertisement for a game. The proof of this is the sort of widespread acclaim that the FFXVI demo drew. From the action (in large part, courtesy combat director Ryota Suzuki) and exploration to the writing and mature content players could expect, the demo spanning two-hour or thereabouts certainly piqued my curiosity. Everything about the game seemed, for want of a better word, very polished.

For some reason, the look of fluids (whether lava or water), rocks, fur, dust and certain less important NPCs is very inconsistently handled. (Screen grab from Final Fantasy XVI on PlayStation 5).

Presentation, audio and visuals

FFXVI drops you into the visually stunning land of Valisthea — home to medieval castles, marshlands, versions of Scottish moors and West Asian desert kingdoms, and Mothercrystals, the principal MacGuffin for the most part of the game. The little subcontinent that provides the canvas on which you paint your adventure, comprises six realms administered by a variety of kingdoms, republics, empires and grand duchys.

You play Clive Rosfield, the elder son of the archduke of the realm of Rosaria. His journey over the 33 hours of the main story (and a majority of sidequests) is one marked with political intrigue, betrayal, friendship, self-discovery, several high fantasy staples and lots of bloodshed. Indeed, it’s the latter that swiftly makes you realise that this is the first entry in the mainline series to be rated M. The flurry of F-bombs and flashes of sexual content (no full-frontal nudity obviously, because this is still a Final Fantasy game) that follow cements that realisation.

In the interest of minimising spoilers, here’s a very brief run through of the overall storyline: While in his teens, Clive and his family find themselves at the heart of a major act of treachery that results in the archduke’s death and our protagonist’s apparent exile. Thirteen years later, he reemerges as an apparent sellsword to reunite with a childhood acquaintance. What follows is Clive’s quest to understand his own place within the geopolitics, social inequality and conspiracies that swirl around.

When it comes to presentation, it’s hard not to appreciate such quality of life improvements over past series outings like the virtually non-existent load times, the intuitively-designed menus and the extremely useful Active Time Lore (a clear and concise guide to orient yourself within the current storyline). As for the game itself, once again for the most part, it looks very good. For some reason, the look of fluids (whether lava or water), rocks, fur, dust and certain less important Non Playable Characters (NPC) is very inconsistently handled.

The same goes for FFXVI’s audio. The background score (based on where you are, oscillating between medieval lute music or semi-Arabic strains, and synth-propelled or techno fight music) is effective and the voice-acting is of a high quality. Largely, that is. The score does dip into the realm of the repetitive on occasion and a sprinkling of the British accents can sound as though they’re straight out of Mary Poppins. To be clear, that’s not a good thing.

FFXVI streamlines the ‘RPG elements’ and focuses on the action and story. (Screen grab from Final Fantasy XVI on PlayStation 5).

Story and gameplay

The most divisive aspect of FFXVI was always going to be whether it is still an Role Playing Game (RPG). To attempt a synopsis of the debate in the interest of brevity, there are two sides: The first states that you are still playing the role of a character inside a world, are responsible for customising the loadout and build of said character, and to an extent culpable for the character’s choices in that world. Ergo, it is a roleplaying game.

The second argues that in order to be an RPG, you need to have certain ‘RPG elements’ — the agency to make choices, branching narratives, the ability to craft, the power to deeply customise your character and if you’ve got teammates, the option to tweak their skills and loadouts. In the absence of these, it’s just an action-adventure title with a linear story.

I’m disinclined to weigh in on the debate, but it ought to be noted that the series is known for its evolution. Very quickly then, Final Fantasy XI went the massively-multiplayer online way after 10 titles that focused on single-player gaming, FFXII did away with random encounters with enemies, FFXIII saw players relinquish control of party members and leave them to be managed by AI, and FFXV marked a move away from the series’ traditional turn-based combat.

In that vein, FFXVI streamlines the ‘RPG elements’ and focuses on the action and story. To my mind, the move pays off and it makes for a less bloated experience than the previous entry in the series. The action is easy-to-learn, agile, zippy, colorful and allows for some Shadow Of The Colossus or God of War-esque epic battles (the summoned creatures known as Eikons play a major part in this). However, it lacks a certain je ne sais quoi, crunchiness or oomph that would’ve made defeating enemies feel more rewarding and impactful. This isn’t helped by the fact that a lot of the battles against grunts begin to feel very tedious after a while.

It should also be pointed out that this is not an open-world game. There are open sections, sure. But you spend most of your time travelling up and down quite linear paths between these open sections. Exploration can often verge on the illusory in FFXVI.

And that brings us to the story. Shorn of ‘RPG elements’, it’s incumbent upon the narrative to really shine, particularly since it is now part of the gameplay. Why, for instance, would you do xyz unless you were given some compelling motivation to do so? It is therefore slightly disheartening that an otherwise solid story is waylaid by unfortunate pacing issues. The clumsy introduction of Mothercrystals, for instance, took me back over two decades to the time I first heard about midichlorians. Aside from some strange narrative detours in the second half, a handful of neverending, fatigue-inducing fight sequences robbed the story of the momentum it had built up until then.

For the most part though, the story is engrossing and packed with engaging characters. During the game’s developmental cycle, it was reported that Game of Thrones provided some of the inspiration, and this seems apparent in the demo. However, it’s as the main game unfolds that the influence of the HBO series seems more cosmetic and broader parallels to the likes of the Dragon Age and The Witcher games emerge.

Particularly noteworthy is the multi-layered manner in which FFXVI attempts to engage with the politics of slavery and the class system. Whether or not the overall handling of the matter offends you or appeals to you is purely subjective, of course. Sidequests are a mixed bag, with such missions as ‘Playthings’ and ‘All Bark’ doing a great job in building the world, but with others merely falling into the category of time-consuming fetch quests or plain filler. Fortunately, and aside from the ones marked with a plus sign, they’re not really essential to the overall experience. The less said about the fetch quest masquerading as a couple of main missions the better.

Final Fantasy XVI earns an A-grade for each aspect of the game: Story, gameplay loops, action, visuals and audio included. (Screen grab from Final Fantasy XVI on PlayStation 5).

Verdict

So where does this leave us? Much like that kid in school Final Fantasy XVI earns an A-grade for each aspect of the game: Story, gameplay loops, action, visuals and audio included. However and quite disappointingly, it fails to secure a single A-plus in any of these categories. The sidequests, however, are one of the only aspects of the title that land a very underwhelming C grade.

That said, it is a powerhouse of a game that is well worth your time, and marks a step forward for the ever-evolving series. Even if there are some strings attached.

Game reviewed on PlayStation 5 in Frame-rate (performance) Mode. Review based on retail digital version.