Final Fantasy XVI - General News Thread

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Guitar (pseudo)God

Blitzball Champion
Aug 14, 2016
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All over
Those interviews definitely intrigued me. Some thoughts:
  • I can't say I mind too much that Clive is the only playable character. I thought that FFXV, of all the games in the series, was the most FUN to play. And even when character switching was introduced, I still played as Noctis 90% of the time. Also great to hear that party banter will be in the game. That's what endeared me to the boys in the last entry; hopefully it'll do the same.
  • The battle system itself sounds good -- switching between Eikon forms could make for some interesting combat. Yoshida specifically called out KH3 -- I played through that, though, as a button masher on the normal difficulty levels. I've never been into the ridiculous spongy bosses that permeate the action genre in modern games -- like DMC. I suspect the team knows this and their audience, so I expect a thrilling and more tactical experience.
  • It's good to see that you can "start over" with Clive's skill tree. One of the biggest frustrations I have with Elden Ring (besides its absurd difficulty) is that you basically have to choose your play style before you even begin the game.
  • I've always wanted to play as a summoned monster, so I have high hopes for the Eikon battles.
  • Reading between the lines, it seems that Yoshida and the team understand that "Mature" != "Gratuitous." The only other M-rated game I've played in the series is FF Type-0, so this will be a nice change of pace.
  • I don't really care about open-world vs. zones, etc. If the area is big enough, it'll serve the same purpose. The fact that the game will be for the PS5 will help matters tremendously. Case in point -- during the pandemic I replayed FFXV on the PS5. It was like a completely different game.
  • It'll be almost 7 years between mainline FF games. Obviously the 2 years lost because of the pandemic factor in, but it's been a long time.
 

SonOfEtro

Warrior of Light
May 2, 2016
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1,192
One of the latest XVI screenshots shows a lot of Eikons. Below I spot Shiva, Garuda, Titan, Odin, Bahamut, Ramuh and Leviathan. (Note, each Eikon has a gold halo round their head.)
Final-Fantasy-XVI_2022_10-20-22_010.jpg

Also, it's shown in the trailer, but there's a huge thing that looks suspiciously like a fusion of Phoenix and Ifrit. Symbolism...
 

Nova

Warrior of Light
Jul 14, 2015
1,773
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Damn, post-release day and its quieeeeeet here lol.

But yeah FFXVI currently sitting at 88/89 for MC/OC scores, good stuff.
 

SonOfEtro

Warrior of Light
May 2, 2016
1,036
1,192
Damn, post-release day and its quieeeeeet here lol.

But yeah FFXVI currently sitting at 88/89 for MC/OC scores, good stuff.
I feel like a number of people are slightly in shock from what this game is, and what an emotional torture device the story can be. It seems to be selling well too, in Japan at least.

EDIT: The whole "emotional torture" bit wasn't meant as a criticism, more as a statement of the overall mood. Which was intended by the team, so...
 
Likes: Nova

Guitar (pseudo)God

Blitzball Champion
Aug 14, 2016
519
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All over
I finished this game over the 4th of July holiday. I ended up doing all the hunts and sidequests, no matter how tedious. Earlier on, I was set on this being an 8/10. I think my final verdict is more like a 7.5-8/10. It's a very good game, and I'm glad I experienced it, but I have no desire to replay it again.

  • I liked Clive, though I wouldn't necessarily put him in my top-tier of FF protagonists. Ben Starr acted the HELL out of his character. Much respect, Ben.
  • I think my largest gripe is with the GRRM-ification of the world -- so much so that the main villain also came from GoT. I get that CBU3 wanted to tell a grittier story, but some of the tropes didn't sit well with me.
  • The Hideaway crew and some of the main cast were some of the best characters the series has ever had. Conversely, the antagonists were among the weakest.
    Benedikta had the potential to be someone memorable, even if she was overly sexualized, but she wasn't in the game long enough to make that big of an impression. Hugo was full of sound and fury. Baranabas -- his motivations rang extremely hollow to me. And Annabelle, urgh.
  • On balance, I enjoyed the combat. For me though, I don't think there were enough RPG or character creation elements to support a 50-hour action game. I ended up with one loadout up until the 5th Eikon, then replaced two abilities, and that was it. Once I mastered the basic rhythm of combat, that carried me through the entire game. I only died once
    during the Bahamut fight, where there was so much going on I couldn't see where Joshua's barrier was.
  • What was the point of money and crafting materials? There was very little to build that made any difference in gameplay. And apart from a few potions, what was I supposed to buy? Cooldown accessories? Soundtracks?
  • I don't believe this is one of the series best soundtracks. I can't recall a memorable theme or motif in my 50+ hours through the game. I would go so far in saying the most memorable parts of the soundtrack were variations on themes previously written by Uematsu.
  • I ended up disliking Act 3. Ultima's motivations make absolutely no sense. You'd think a super-advanced species would have a better plan than "build a bunch of crystals, take a nap, and hope everything works." The ending itself seemed kind of abrupt.
  • I was really not a fan of the DQ11-style world map reuse. Thank God for the chocobo and the SSD-based fast travel. For me, the world -- despite some all-encompassing conflict involving a number of nations -- seemed TINY! I was expecting something like FFXII-style zones and SOME optional things to do. The map made FFXIII's first 12 chapters seem like BOTW by comparison.
  • I was hoping the whole Bearer dynamic would have a better resolution than some book in an abandoned village. The game's explanation of the Bearers plight never satisfied me as to why they COULD be subjugated in the first place. Oh well, it's a video game after all.
Despite my misgivings, my congratulations to the team, and I'll see you all for FFXVII.
 
I think we probably will see Leviathan because It became one of the classics summons that appears in every major game.
I think Ramuh could fit as well.

My bets:

- Ifrit (Fire)
- Phoenix (Fire)
- Shiva (Ice)
- Titan (Earth)
- Leviathan (Water)
- Garuda (Wind)
- Odin (Non-Elemental/Darkness)
- Bahamut (Non-Elemental/Light)
- Ramuh (Thunder)

Actually these are the same summons that appears in Final Fantasy XIV. :eek:
I came back after 3 years just to see that I NAILED this summon list haha

I just feel sad about the fact the summon elements are ignored during battle, this could been great to explore in combat.
 
Likes: Cloud_CR