Final fantasy XVI (Official Thread) ensure spoilers are wrapped in spoiler tag.

[Khalil's_Black_Excellence]

Clive VA on Playstation Access podcast. Seems like he quite the real one as far as FF series go.

 

[Software]

Once you get late game and unlock a bunch more abilities the ps5 cannot even handle the sheer amount of particle effects in combat
I notice framerate drops once I set up a bunch of active skills lol
We need the ps5 pro badly now this game shows it

 

[Deafheaven]

Once you get late game and unlock a bunch more abilities the ps5 cannot even handle the sheer amount of particle effects in combat
I notice framerate drops once I set up a bunch of active skills lol
We need the ps5 pro badly now this game shows it

This game gonna look nuts on PC

 

[Software]

This game has so many side quests and most of them aren't interesting and very dialoguw heavy especially since the side characters they revolve around tend to look like generic npcs.
How is the main story soo good but the side quests so trash?
Did they have two different writing teams or what?
They lucky the combat is so good that it still makes you wanna do the side quests to see what you'll fight and what rewards you'll get

 

[Black Mamba]

This game has so many side quests and most of them aren't interesting and very dialoguw heavy especially since the side characters they revolve around tend to look like generic npcs.
How is the main story soo good but the side quests so trash?
Did they have two different writing trams or what?

Side quests were good imo especially the ones in the later part Those were

 

[Software]

Side quests were good imo especially the ones in the later part Those were

I skimmed the dialogue for them. I'll admit the later ones were better than the earlier ones
Game still a 9/10 for me.

 

[Instant Classic]

Finally completed the game. I didn't enjoy the game at first and felt the first 5-10 hours were a slog. However, once the combat opens up the game becomes very good. I feel what kept me going through the game was Clive being a great MC, the story, and the world building was great.I feel Clive is the best FF MC from the games I've played (3, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15).

My outlook on the game changed once I realized it wasn't an RPG and more of an action-adventure. I think once you accept that the game becomes better. I feel if they're going to go down this path again then they really need to add stuff like better weapons and armor because I didn't feel anything when I gained new armor and weapons since it just felt like I am only getting a buff. I think they need to improve how gear and swords are displayed because I don't think many of it wowed me. I don't mind that party doesn't get involved much because they don't really get in the way. I think it would be cool to experiment with this combat system and add some party elements to the combat that is similar to Scarlet Nexus or even Tales Arise.

Production wise this is probably top of the class because I don't think many games can create a high quality spectacle like FF16. I feel this game felt more like a god of war game than the recent God of War games. Not to discredit God of War, but I feel this game nailed the epic scale of battles better, and each boss fight meant something imo, which is a nice touch. The soundtrack in this game was amazing and it really adds to the moments. The voice acting was solid and I was a bit worried heading into the game because people were saying voice acting was awful in the demo.

I am mixed about the combat because there is some parts that I liked, but I still feel it was missing quite a few things. I would be less harsh on the combat if this game wasn't an action game. I think they need to improve what you do between the cooldowns because cooldown management gets old and annoying at times. I think if they added better combos to the combat system it would've been so much better. I do like how there are different playstyles because you can make a nice build with titan ability because it's counterattack does change the game and how you want to play. However, I felt half of the EIkon abilities didn't move and weren't fun to use.

The big negative for me in this game is the flow and pacing. I know the side quests are optional, but I feel you needed to do them to get the full experience of the game because the side quest is what helps build this world. I think the side quests for the most part felt too much like an MMO and many of them were skipable and didn't add much. However, the side quests involving the important side characters were solid for the most part, but the structure for most of these quests stunk imo. I think what hurts the side quests it's too much rinse and repeat because there isn't much variety in the enemies you encounter, which hurts the game imo.

Lastly,, this game puts the franchise in an interesting predicament because I think they should go on action and build on it. Plus, I feel they should market this game as an action adventure rather than a RPG. However, you'll have people that want franchise to go back to RPG heavy. I just think there's too much built up here where you may want to take risks and make franchise more action focused.

TLDR
Positives; Main character is fantastic, the soundtrack is amazing, high level production, excellent world-building, epic spectacle, solid side characters, and great plot
Negative; the combat needs more time in the oven, side quests feel too much like a mmo, take quite long to get into game, and the flow going mission to mission needs improvement.

overall: 8.5/10 for me. It had many chances to get higher, but I can overlook the negatives that were lingering throughout the journey . However, I recommend this game

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

JOSHWA

Finally completed the game. I didn't enjoy the game at first and felt the first 5-10 hours were a slog. However, once the combat opens up the game becomes very good. I feel what kept me going through the game was Clive being a great MC, the story, and the world building was great.I feel Clive is the best FF MC from the games I've played (3, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15).

My outlook on the game changed once I realized it wasn't an RPG and more of an action-adventure. I think once you accept that the game becomes better. I feel if they're going to go down this path again then they really need to add stuff like better weapons and armor because I didn't feel anything when I gained new armor and weapons since it just felt like I am only getting a buff. I think they need to improve how gear and swords are displayed because I don't think many of it wowed me. I don't mind that party doesn't get involved much because they don't really get in the way. I think it would be cool to experiment with this combat system and add some party elements to the combat that is similar to Scarlet Nexus or even Tales Arise.

Production wise this is probably top of the class because I don't think many games can create a high quality spectacle like FF16. I feel this game felt more like a god of war game than the recent God of War games. Not to discredit God of War, but I feel this game nailed the epic scale of battles better, and each boss fight meant something imo, which is a nice touch. The soundtrack in this game was amazing and it really adds to the moments. The voice acting was solid and I was a bit worried heading into the game because people were saying voice acting was awful in the demo.

I am mixed about the combat because there is some parts that I liked, but I still feel it was missing quite a few things. I would be less harsh on the combat if this game wasn't an action game. I think they need to improve what you do between the cooldowns because cooldown management gets old and annoying at times. I think if they added better combos to the combat system it would've been so much better. I do like how there are different playstyles because you can make a nice build with titan ability because it's counterattack does change the game and how you want to play. However, I felt half of the EIkon abilities didn't move and weren't fun to use.

The big negative for me in this game is the flow and pacing. I know the side quests are optional, but I feel you needed to do them to get the full experience of the game because the side quest is what helps build this world. I think the side quests for the most part felt too much like an MMO and many of them were skipable and didn't add much. However, the side quests involving the important side characters were solid for the most part, but the structure for most of these quests stunk imo. I think what hurts the side quests it's too much rinse and repeat because there isn't much variety in the enemies you encounter, which hurts the game imo.

Lastly,, this game puts the franchise in an interesting predicament because I think they should go on action and build on it. Plus, I feel they should market this game as an action adventure rather than a RPG. However, you'll have people that want franchise to go back to RPG heavy. I just think there's too much built up here where you may want to take risks and make franchise more action focused.

TLDR
Positives; Main character is fantastic, the soundtrack is amazing, high level production, excellent world-building, epic spectacle, solid side characters, and great plot
Negative; the combat needs more time in the oven, side quests feel too much like a mmo, take quite long to get into game, and the flow going mission to mission needs improvement.

overall: 8.5/10 for me. It had many chances to get higher, but I can overlook the negatives that were lingering throughout the journey . However, I recommend this game

They just need to split up the games like Capcom does with Resident Evil, you have your first person, multiplayer, your 3rd person, your mainline, your remakes, etc.

Square enix need to absolutely start iterating on games at this point, as much as i love brand new fresh experiences i love refined experiences also. God of War Ragnarok, Horizon FW, TLOU2, Miles Morales, Souls, etc. are all vastly better sequels mechanically because they built on their old systems. Especially now since games are getting so expensive to make it makes no sense to have these well thought out and competent combat systems and narratives get thrown out to start over again.

like I said, CBU3 need to keep doing the mainline FF’s and try and diversify the combat and add some extra flair/platforming/features to the outside combat gameplay like they have with FFXIV. They could easily go back and add controllable party members but I’d honestly just like more autonomy with the main character. I like just concerntrating on Clive, but they should have made it like Witcher where you get new armor, swords, and other cosmetics and give you some choice for how you deal with sidequests. The sidequest with the wolves was a perfect witcher type sidequest but you only got one of the endings you would normally get in a witcher game. Stuff like that should be left up to our discretion.

CBU1 needs to keep doing FF7, and once they’re done with that possibly move onto X or another mainline series. they also do the Kingdom Hearts games so that also.

Asano could possibly start doing more SNES HD remix games, maybe 6 gets a full 2d HD remake

And if people want anything more traditional and newer theres Dragon Quest.

I think this is the right team to lead Final Fantasy, people will get their more anime inspired Nomura stuff from Kingdom Hearts and FF7 games and spinoffs, let the mainline games go back to 1-6 style maturity with adult characters and relationships.

I’d be lying if i said I was looking forward to going back to 7 with how they talk in that game

 

[Instant Classic]

JOSHWA


They just need to split up the games like Capcom does with Resident Evil, you have your first person, multiplayer, your 3rd person, your mainline, your remakes, etc.

Square enix need to absolutely start iterating on games at this point, as much as i love brand new fresh experiences i love refined experiences also. God of War Ragnarok, Horizon FW, TLOU2, Miles Morales, Souls, etc. are all vastly better sequels mechanically because they built on their old systems. Especially now since games are getting so expensive to make it makes no sense to have these well thought out and competent combat systems and narratives get thrown out to start over again.

like I said, CBU3 need to keep doing the mainline FF’s and try and diversify the combat and add some extra flair/platforming/features to the outside combat gameplay like they have with FFXIV. They could easily go back and add controllable party members but I’d honestly just like more autonomy with the main character. I like just concerntrating on Clive, but they should have made it like Witcher where you get new armor, swords, and other cosmetics and give you some choice for how you deal with sidequests. The sidequest with the wolves was a perfect witcher type sidequest but you only got one of the endings you would normally get in a witcher game. Stuff like that should be left up to our discretion.

CBU1 needs to keep doing FF7, and once they’re done with that possibly move onto X or another mainline series. they also do the Kingdom Hearts games so that also.

Asano could possibly start doing more SNES HD remix games, maybe 6 gets a full 2d HD remake Nomura’ s team.

And if people want anything more traditional and newer theres Dragon Quest.

I think this is the right team to lead Final Fantasy, people will get their more anime inspired Nomura stuff from Kingdom Hearts and FF7 games and spinoffs, let the mainline games go back to 1-6 style maturity with adult characters and relationships.

I’d be lying if i said I was looking forward to going back to 7 with how they talk in that game

Yeah, it's a very interesting spot to be in. I don't think they should make this a one-off because there is a lot to build off of. I think they just need to tighten things up like reduce the amount of side quests, and add some nice touches like better gear and a variety of combos. I feel FF traditionalists wouldn't want to hear it, but I think the series may be better going more action focused. I feel there are enough games to satisfy the need of a group RPG, but not much variety in action-focused games. I feel this could be an interesting route to evolve the franchise.

Playing through the game it made me wonder if they did a game disservice of not marketing as an action game inspired by game of thrones. I felt Elden Ring really nailed that marketing pitch down because I had friends who never played a souls game buy that game because they wanted that itch.

Anyways, I guess you could argue that this could've been a new IP, but I feel the name Final Fantasy sells. Plus, it may be risky to not have this as a main line game because people end up not caring as much for spinoffs

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Yeah, it's a very interesting spot to be in. I don't think they should make this a one-off because there is a lot to build off of. I think they just need to tighten things up like reduce the amount of side quests, and add some nice touches like better gear and a variety of combos. I feel FF traditionalists wouldn't want to hear it, but I think the series may be better going more action focused. I feel there are enough games to satisfy the need of a group RPG, but not much variety in action-focused games. I feel this could be an interesting route to evolve the franchise.

Playing through the game it made me wonder if they did a game disservice of not marketing as an action game inspired by game of thrones. I felt Elden Ring really nailed that marketing pitch down because I had friends who never played a souls game buy that game because they wanted that itch.

Anyways, I guess you could argue that this could've been a new IP, but I feel the name Final Fantasy sells. Plus, it may be risky to not have this as a main line game because people end up not caring as much for spinoffs

The only reason this game can get the kind of budget it did is because its a final fantasy game.

Forspoken was their other new AAA IP and you could tell they aren’t even in the same realm budget wise. Like it or not a lot of gamers just aren’t as open to new IP as they are from established franchises unless there is a big name behind it.

 

[Brolic]

Just got through the Titan boss fight

 

[Software]

JOSHWA


They just need to split up the games like Capcom does with Resident Evil, you have your first person, multiplayer, your 3rd person, your mainline, your remakes, etc.

Square enix need to absolutely start iterating on games at this point, as much as i love brand new fresh experiences i love refined experiences also. God of War Ragnarok, Horizon FW, TLOU2, Miles Morales, Souls, etc. are all vastly better sequels mechanically because they built on their old systems. Especially now since games are getting so expensive to make it makes no sense to have these well thought out and competent combat systems and narratives get thrown out to start over again.

like I said, CBU3 need to keep doing the mainline FF’s and try and diversify the combat and add some extra flair/platforming/features to the outside combat gameplay like they have with FFXIV. They could easily go back and add controllable party members but I’d honestly just like more autonomy with the main character. I like just concerntrating on Clive, but they should have made it like Witcher where you get new armor, swords, and other cosmetics and give you some choice for how you deal with sidequests. The sidequest with the wolves was a perfect witcher type sidequest but you only got one of the endings you would normally get in a witcher game. Stuff like that should be left up to our discretion.

CBU1 needs to keep doing FF7, and once they’re done with that possibly move onto X or another mainline series. they also do the Kingdom Hearts games so that also.

Asano could possibly start doing more SNES HD remix games, maybe 6 gets a full 2d HD remake

And if people want anything more traditional and newer theres Dragon Quest.

I think this is the right team to lead Final Fantasy, people will get their more anime inspired Nomura stuff from Kingdom Hearts and FF7 games and spinoffs, let the mainline games go back to 1-6 style maturity with adult characters and relationships.

I’d be lying if i said I was looking forward to going back to 7 with how they talk in that game

Agreed. It's telling that after playing this game it just made me want to go play the Witcher 3 again. The similarities are immense. I think that's what made the side quests so dull and to thr point where I'm not paying deep attention is because I have no factor of choice in the matter. Too many cutscenes are just me watching a movie rather than playing a game. We as the player really need to feel like we ARE Clive. It did the action so well but the rpg mechanics fell a little short.
I also wish the crafting system was more expanded upon and like you said the player be able to change Clive's appearance.
This game would be perfect for a more refined upon sequel like FF XIII got with XIII-2.
Still the best final fantasy game we've gotten since IX in my opinion tho. A big step up from the mediocre XV and XIII

 

[winb83]

This game has so many side quests and most of them aren't interesting and very dialoguw heavy especially since the side characters they revolve around tend to look like generic npcs.
How is the main story soo good but the side quests so trash?
Did they have two different writing teams or what?
They lucky the combat is so good that it still makes you wanna do the side quests to see what you'll fight and what rewards you'll get

Eventually the world building and regular story is offloaded to the side quests as the main enemy is presented and the main story is dominated by that. By the end of the game the side quests ongoing storyline are better than the main storyline.

 

[Software]

Eventually the world building and regular story is offloaded to the side quests as the main enemy is presented and the main story is dominated by that. By the end of the game the side quests ongoing storyline are better than the main storyline.

I understand that I'm at the end of the game. I much preferred the main story quests though.

 

[winb83]

To Sail Forbidden Seas is probably my #2 favorite boss music in the series. Saber's Edge from Final Fantasy XIII will always be #1.