Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PS5, PC
Tested on: PC
Final Fantasy XVI (PC) – Review
Back in June of 2023, a highly anticipated new entry to the Final Fantasy series hit the shelves worldwide. Final Fantasy XVI might have made fans excited, but many were still disappointed that at the time of release, the game was a PlayStation exclusive. Thankfully, it didn’t stay that way forever. Last month, PC gamers could finally enjoy an adventure through the magical world of Valisthea. And thus we also had to take another look at it, to see how well the game holds up. This second review will, of course, mainly focus on the quality and relevancy of the PC port.
Story
For those unaware, Final Fantasy XVI is a completely standalone title. You don’t need to play any of the previous games or have much knowledge of the franchise to dive right into this action RPG, though for fans there are certainly connections. Many creatures from the series make a return and we’re no strangers to the monster types. Summons also make a return, though in this game they are called Eikons. Overall, the plot is pretty standard fantasy stuff, nothing groundbreaking but interesting enough to keep us engaged.
FFXVI takes place in Valisthea, which is a twin continent divided into six nations that have constant tension between them and are close to war. Magic is important in this world, as huge Mothercrystals and their shards provide magic power called aether which is mined to be used by the people. Moreover, some people have the power of Eikons inside them and can wield that magic. Those people are called Dominants. Our main protagonist is Clive Rosfield, the firstborn son of the Grand Duchy of Rosaria. Though it’s actually his brother Joshua who will inherit the title, seeing as he is a Dominant of the fire Eikon Phoenix. Clive, who is himself able to wield magic without the use of crystals, serves as a sort of bodyguard for his younger brother.
Everything changes when the family sets out on a journey, only to be ambushed by the Sanbreque army. Clive sees his father and brother murdered in cold blood, only for his mother to betray him to the Sanbreque nation, where Clive is enslaved as a Branded. He is forced to toil in war for thirteen years and assassinate the Dominants of other nations, but secretly has a plot of vengeance that finally unfolds when one of the people he’s supposed to assassinate turns out to be his childhood friend. The pair escapes and plans to take down the oppressive tyrants in charge.
Graphics
As usual Final Fantasy looks great, the style strikes a perfect balance between realism and the anime aesthetic we’ve come to love. This entry in the franchise does seem to take a more dark fantasy approach, which translates to the design and environments. Everything is a bit more dark and broody, but the monsters and fights still have ample colorful special effects to draw the eye in. The game received a graphical update for the PC release, which means it runs smoother than ever and you have different settings to play with so you can adjust the graphics to your specific setup. The cutscenes look especially cinematic this way.
Sound
As we’re used to from Final Fantasy, we got a lovely soundtrack in this game. They keep bringing the same composers back and that is noticeable, but then again some people say to never change a winning formula. The game has an impressive cast of experienced voice actors both in English and Japanese. Personally, we found the Japanese performances to carry over a tiny bit better, though we wouldn’t say the English voice acting is bad by any means. This might just be a personal preference thing.
Gameplay
Final Fantasy XVI is an action RPG with segmented open areas for you to explore. This means that it’s not quite open-world. Rather, Clive’s base is a sort of hub from where you can visit various places like towns, dungeons, and fields that you can explore freely. The game is more combat-focused than some previous entries in the franchise, as you use a combination of weapons and magic to slay your enemies. This magic is especially fun, as you have different types you can combine for cool combos. Similarly, the main aspect of the game is fighting against Eikons and claiming their powers. You can switch between them mid-combat, which is tricky at first but it allows you to do pretty cool chain attacks. Your companions are controlled by AI and thus you only play Clive, though you can give simple commands to your dog to aid in battle.
In your hub, you can upgrade your weapons and armor, and unlock various shops. These are manned by NPCs with whom you can talk and develop a shallow sort of relationship. Aside from the main story, there are a whole lot of side quests, but we found this side stuff to be a bit rudimentary as the game just sends you out to collect stuff and fight enemies again. The combat is fun, if easy. We can’t say we were bored, but depending on the difficulty it wasn’t a challenge either. We mainly found ourselves continuing to get to the next boss or story segment. Still, we had fun zooming around open areas with our Chocobo.
Once you’ve completed the game, you can opt to play in New Game+ or even opt for “Final Fantasy” mode which makes the combat significantly harder. Other small challenges are available too, such as beating enemies with only one Eikon power rather than switching in the middle. The DLC content can be purchased separately for PC too, for those wanting to have the full experience.
Conclusion
Much like our conclusion before, Final Fantasy XVI definitely works as a stand-alone Final Fantasy title and we had a decent amount of fun. But for a game focused on combat, we found the mechanics to be a little too easy to draw us in. While this game’s stunning visuals and simple gameplay make it perfect for newcomers to the franchise, this will probably not be a fan favorite.
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