Final Fantasy XVI’s Greatness Is Limited by Its Historic Heritage

Hey, it’s another episode of “Square Enix baited me into buying the latest Final Fantasy even though I rarely vibe with the mainline series,” only this time it actually paid off. Maybe it’s because I can follow what goes on in Final Fantasy XVI without getting a severe headache, or maybe it’s because this installment doesn’t become a rushed mess halfway through. Either way, I’m happy with my uncertain purchase and the nearly 40 hours I spent destroying Mothercrystals in Valisthea and accepting fetch quests.

Final Fantasy XVI is also the weirdest AAA game I’ve played recently. Much has been written about whether it’s a true Final Fantasy or not, whatever that means in a series whose only recurring elements appear to be chocobos, magic crystals, and unresolved plot threads. I’m firmly planted in Team “this would be better off as a linear adventure,” but the modern definition of RPG is so fickle nowadays that I’d rather dip my toes in lava than get into that conversation for longer than a few tweets. Final Fantasy XVI is kind of a lite RPG… sometimes.

Screenshot by The Escapist

The game largely feels way more focused than its predecessor, which never settled on a cohesive structure until the team clearly ran out of money and time and cobbled together a jarring final stretch that dumps almost everything that made the bromance journey up to that point mostly enjoyable. Final Fantasy XV almost had me and then completely lost me. On the other hand, Final Fantasy XVI often bored me, but it quickly more than made up for those duller bits.

Admittedly, the post-prologue early hours can get rough and too mundane. If you can’t brave all the expository dialogues this franchise loves so much, you might as well leave now. The spirit of Final Fantasy XVI is faithful to the series it belongs to, for better and worse. I’ve traditionally been one of those players who can’t stomach JRPGs stopping dead in their tracks every five minutes or so. Thankfully, this entry’s most engrossing sections go on for a while and move at a rapid pace. It’s a striking contrast to walking back and forth between static NPCs at Cid’s Hideaway and other locales.

Screenshot by The Escapist

Mind you, most of the rebels who tasked me with mind-numbing tasks are well written enough to make me care about them. Maybe that’s why I ended up following most green icons. The near-instant fast travel on PlayStation 5 also helps, I guess. But at the same time, I’d have liked Final Fantasy XVI to drop all the “classical Final Fantasy” pretense altogether. The most rabid fans will always find something to get mad about anyway, so you might as well maximize the recruitment of newcomers such as me.

I’ve only finished a couple of Final Fantasy games in my lifetime, but not for lack of trying. My allergic reaction to their plodding pace and often scattershot storytelling is very much related to most endless animes boring me to tears. I’m a bit picky when it comes to Japanese stories even though I dig their artists’ sensibilities most of the time. In the case of Final Fantasy XVI, I don’t see a huge departure from what made the saga famous, but rather another take on the concept that isn’t that different from the distancing that most post-X releases have tried to get off the ground.

It seems like everyone is okay with Final Fantasy constantly changing its identity until the newest game comes out. Then it’s either the worst or best thing ever. As someone who’s always kept an eye on the series from afar and only decides to jump in from time to time (with mostly negative results), I’ve seen this happen before many times. But please allow me to have a spicy take on FF16 as a reward for finishing it.

Screenshot by The Escapist

There’s a great game at the center of Final Fantasy XVI. Beyond the obvious Attack on Titan and Game of Thrones influences, there are many chunks from beloved works like Neon Genesis Evangelion and even mostly forgotten games such as Asura’s Wrath. The core experience is really attractive, not because it’s “Final Fantasy but characters can use the F-word,” but because there’s more going on with its visual language and mature tone. Final Fantasy XVI allows itself to have plenty of cheese and to kick ass and chew bubble gum, but it also lets earnest emotions flourish at the right times. The whole thing essentially becomes “it’s okay for dudes to cry and love each other” past a certain point, something that isn’t new to the series, but it definitely sticks out more positively when almost every major character is acting tough and gloomy.

In contrast, there are huge valleys in-between the game’s actual story where you’re tasked with buying garlic right after saving the world because no one at the Hideaway seems to like traveling. Also, the geography and distances between major locations appear to be fucked up to say the least. I hope the fast-travel obelisks are actually used by Clive and the gang in-universe. Otherwise, their feet should be utterly destroyed by the time the credits roll. Anyway, spending huge chunks of the playtime in-between the coolest shit you’ve ever played and doing chores from an early 2000s MMO that might have some kind of meaningful narrative reward feels off when, at its best, Final Fantasy XVI behaves like a true, critically acclaimed Sony exclusive.

Screenshot by The Escapist

Should the developers have gone full Devil May Cry to avoid such pitfalls? Not really, but Final Fantasy XVI seems to be so obsessed with honoring the past that it can’t fully commit to its refreshing new take on a formula that isn’t that well defined anyway. I’m a sucker for commitment as in “deliver on your central promise above everything,” and this game definitely excels at telling a hopeful but raw story about two brothers, warring nations, and a dying world. The main attraction is great enough to carry the entire thing to the end if you enjoy its early beats. Does it do anything meaningful with its discourse on slavery and the most prominent female characters? I’d say not despite some inspired bits, but that’s an entirely different conversation about many JRPG titles.

These nostalgic limitations affect the gameplay and how it’s all structured more deeply. Hunts are rather cool and respect your time, and some sidequests are surprisingly solid and emotional. But it’s so hard to discern the good side content from the padded-out bits that you’re likely to end up dropping everything not marked with a red icon as the plot ramps up. Even the presentation of anything outside the main quests comes across as outdated, with characters awkwardly standing around and cycling through animations. Likewise, the limited orders you can give goodest boy Torgal during battles feel tacked on and don’t gel together with the fast-paced actions you’re performing in full real time. It’s as if the team felt bad for making a character action game and had to remind us there used to be parties in these games.

Like it or hate it, Final Fantasy XVI appears to be doing well overall. It’s just frustrating to see something with the creative potential and needed resources to be masterful trying to sabotage itself around almost every corner. Much like many recent Marvel films and shows, it seems to be limited by the box that contains it. What’s more annoying is that you can feel all the creative freedom was clearly there, but Yoshi-P and his team chose not to summon the wrath of even more veteran fans. Looking at the venomous reaction to any spark of true criticism thrown at this game, I honestly can’t blame them.