Intro:
Drawing life into a new era of gaming, Final Fantasy as a whole always strived to do the impossible, grow with an ever-changing audience. SquareEnix doesn’t hold the players hand when it comes to the story. The Final Fantasy series grew, matured, and developed as did its audience.
Rise of The Phoenix:
In this action-adventure RPG, Final Fantasy 16 took a turn that no one expected, in that there is a more mature shadow casted over the entirety of the game, from side boobs to an almost fully naked Clive, to understanding one's purpose in the grander scheme of things. This mature overcast is also embedded in the themes, motifs, word usage, and overall story where freedom from God and reliance oneself created free will. This installment of Final Fantasy creates a consistent evolution with its audience in a way that shocks but is still true to what the series represents. Through each character and each bit of interacting with the world, I saw a shift in the way the game presented itself through the process of playing it. This game is a serious piece, a philosophical and psychological one to be taken seriously with the topics in which it discusses things that would potentially send you into an existential crisis.
A Beautiful Flow:
The mechanics of Final Fantasy 16 are easily the best of any Final Fantasy game I’ve seen. They are unique in how they are presented and with no typical party system like how you would have in, let’s say Crisis Core. The mechanics put all of the focus on the protagonist with the ability to channel the Eikons of various characters. For the first time in a Final Fantasy game, the intensity of how the mechanics were designed matched the intensity of the boss battles and beauty of the game. Normally the mechanics feel like a separate entity in some games, but the mechanics in Final Fantasy 16 felt like a cohesive unit with everything else in the game. From channeling Bahamut, to Titan, to the Shiva each power had a unique prowess to it, making it different from the rest of the powers you wielded during battle. You could even customize your Eikons powers so that you have multiples of different Eikons in one attack. There are so many creative ways to go about fighting an enemy.
The Choice to Be Free:
One thing (amongst the many) that this game does really well is deliver a powerful storyline that is complex is an easy to digest manner for players. The concept of freedom of oneself from the very thing that created you is something that has been philosophized about for eons. The argument of the choice to create yourself away from the existence of God, what does there being a god actually mean for your free will and what is free will. These are all these questions being asked (in their own way) in the game. From the start of the game to the very end I was experiencing this slow burn that took me through a story that evolved with every interaction, every choice that the character makes, and every line spoken. It's clear that the story was one of the most thoroughly worked on pieces of this game.
Some Critiques: During my experience with Final Fantasy 16 there were moments that I had more questions lingering over my head than I would have liked. but two things really stood out to me that I felt needed a discussion. Firstly, the side quests within the main quest of the game, there are positives and negatives to this. While I think this is a wonderful thing to do and it keeps the world and experience balanced, there were moments I felt that the story suffered a bit and dragged on as a result of these mini quests within the main story. It’s a double-edged sword of having a little too much happening all at once and explaining a story while doing so. I will say, the great thing about these quests within the main storyline is that it gets the player acquainted with the vastness that is this game. Each area is VERY unique from one to the next. A lot of the monsters aren’t even the same in each area which is new for final fantasy. Each of the side quests embedded into the story offer further context for the next part and context for other characters. Secondly, throughout the game the handling of topic of slavery of the Barrers didn't go as deep as I had hoped for. I didn't get into the side quests yet, so if it is more mentioned there, I will happily go back and make an addendum to the review afterwards. From just mainlining the story, I feel the theme of slavery was underutilized throughout the game. While getting rid of all the crystals to end what was a toxic, tyrannical system ruled with an iron fist was an incredible thing, the slavery of the Barrers is the side of the story that I wish were explored more. I would have happily preffered that over the side quests within the mainstory quest. In The End: With having finished this game at 45 hours, I can say that for starters Final Fantasy 16 has massive replay-ability, it allows you to be creative and take your time in a beautiful world that has the players time in mind. You can take your time with this game; Final Fantasy 16 is an installment that is made for both the hardcore and casual gamer. I so immensely enjoyed my time with this game, from the characters to the story to the tears shed. Final Fantasy 16 greets us with magic, chocobos and a humble sincerity that warms the soul and feeds the mind. A review copy of Final Fantasy 16 was provided.