Final Fantasy XVI Review - After 3 Months: Has My Opinion Changed?
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
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The stakes are high, with the latest numbered titles (sans FF7 remake) not reaching the dizzying heights that many of their predecessors did once upon a time. The franchise is in need of a hit, something special to re-ignite the flame and usher in a new, better era for Final Fantasy. Could FFXVI be that game? Let's find out. Early signs are strong but it'll be a long road...
Our story begins with Clive, a soldier who is part of a squad tasked with capturing the person who wields the power of Shiva. In Valisthea, the entities we know as Summons are now called Eikons, each with their own "Dominant"; someone who has the ability to unleash the full form and power of these incredibly powerful beings. Clive has some special abilities of his own, oweing to his lineage and his sacred role of protecting his younger brother Joshua, the Dominant for the Eikon Phoenix.
We will see Clive's current story and then play an extensive flashback chapter in which we come to understand Clive's narrative better and the shocking events that lead him to where he is today. The world is of course on the brink of disaster, with a deadly blight spreading across the lands and warring nations keen to seize power with the might of their Eikons. The Mothercrystals, much like the crystals of the old Final Fantasies hold the power needed for these kingdoms to survive and prosper. So we will be going on a journey of personal redemption and revenge against this backdrop of a warring world on the brink. We will be meeting many other dominants and eikons along the way, some friend, some foe.
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Just from someone who only watched the game and didn’t play it, some things I did not like were…
1. Battle system was just very boring to watch. Very little strategy being deployed, no status effects (minus one or two extremely minor ones), just basically hack and slash + some flashy magical things. The only thing that set enemies apart was how tanky they were. Enemies lacked any sort of uniqueness.
2. Story didn’t really evolve and there were a number of loose ends. Maybe it’s just me but I never got an explanation of how Joshua sealed away Ultima or what that meant.
3. Side missions were just sooooo dull. Even as they reached their climax, they never amounted to more than “go and kill some guys and then we’ll work it out back here”. Writing was really poor.
4. There are tons of-let’s call them-theological problems that are never solved. How does Ultima fit into the realm’s religion and why is there no reckoning about this with Tomes or between the characters? You literally have the creator of the species before you and they keep referring to Greagor and the Founder. I for one would have liked to have seen some sort of discussion about it because it seems to be a rather significant metaphysical revelation that they just happen to gloss over.
5. All the big Eikon battles were just Michael Bay sequences. Especially the Ultima fight. It was a joke. You literally can’t see what’s going on!!!! Frame rate struggling and the entire screen is filled with purple explosions. Just maximalist nonsense.
6. Everything with Barnabas was really poor. Writing and voice acting was peak edgelord stuff.
7. Money was worthless and supply management was a non-issue. The only thing that seemed to really matter was just getting a better sword, and even then that didn’t seem to be too critical since most of the battles relied on eikonic abilities instead.
And let me add one thing that kept pissing me off over and over again near the end of the game. Why did they make so much hay about Clive needing the help of his friends? They shoehorn this in soooooo many times and bash us over the head with this line, but it’s not something that Clive ever struggles with!!!! He never expresses that he doesn’t need Joshua or Jill or anything, and yet they all scream the values of working together until they are blue in the face! Not to mention that the gameplay completely belies this idea because the party system is so deeply underserved. In the academic world, we call this “digging a hole yourself and then building a bridge over it” - i.e., inventing a problem and then breaking your back to solve it.
I add, some little things that piss me off, like open doors, the need of confirmation to finish every single quest. Why do this, you don't get itens, all quest itens are unique, why every time you need to confirm sonething? It's like they just made this to increasse the game time
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I want a dlc about what Joshua was up to during the story. And I also was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to know Jote more. It was said in the game that she was a great fighter and it was hinted that she was romatically interested in Joshua or at least cared very deeply for him, but we didn’t see any scenes of her in battle or any scenes with her and Joshua having any personal conversations. Poor Jote didn’t even get a hug from him before the battle with Ultima. I just wished she got a little more screen time since she played an important role in Joshua’s story. And I also agree with you about Jill. I know that she was supposed to be sick in this game, but I really wanted to see more battle scenes with her as Shiva.
I also thought they got rid of Benedikta way too early. Outside of Odin I felt she had the scope to be one of the mor interesting antagonists and her backstory with CID was one that they should definitely have fleshed out more. I’m hoping her story might continue in DLC 🤞
I think it makes sense since the story is kind of broken up into story arcs based on what Eikon you're fighting at the moment. Garuda, Titan, Odin, Bahamut, etc.
@@whawhawhawhaaaa The problem with her is that she never develops any kind of connection with Clive, who's the player character. All the most prominent interactions of her character are done with Cid but when he's out of the picture she's no one to Clive, just a random Royalist that might have a lead on the second Dominant of fire.
She only serves to develop Clive's and Hugo's rivalry later in the game and even then Clive has nothing to comment on her other than he was the one to kill her.
You handle this game with a grace not many do, myself included. I left this game too frustrated with its missed potential to truly look back on it very fondly. For me it’s a 7/10 experience, but had it not abandoned the nuances of RPG mechanics, had it not abandoned party mechanics, had it not turned every item pickup into a useless craftable, had it not given so many of the major players disappointing endings (Hugo, Barnabas, Jill, Benedikta, etc), then it could have easily been a 9/10.
7/10 is still commendable but I hope Square takes these criticisms to heart. I still much prefer FF7 Remake (even though I have no nostalgia from the original game) and look forward to Part 2, where I’m sure I’ll enjoy having more RPG mechanics and controllable party members.
I do agree that the gameplay was too shallow. I also love when I can plan out fights, it’s why I love 12 so much; despite a lackluster story, the gambit system was the most fun I’ve had with a combat system. 16, I enjoyed the story while I played it, but I don’t crave coming back to it like with 10, and the gameplay didn’t grip me like 12’s. I feel done with it, which makes me kinda sad
And as far as party interaction, they should have taken a page from 15’s book. Despite its flaws, party camaraderie wasn’t one of them
Soken is a fine composer, but he can't stand up to the other composers at Square Enix. His melodies are too simple and his harmonies too thin. His music isn't engaging beyond comfortable background noise. I don't want him to be the main composer on any more FF games.
His battle music is very flattering to American sensibilities, which is big bombastic choral + brass. Soken will be sticking around but I think Enix will be rotating composers instead of having one person on every game. That way they can maximize the series music's appeal worldwide.
@@catkaboodle
I disagree with the very concept of "American sensibilities" when it comes to music. Music is a universal, worldwide language. And I don't agree that Soken writes good battle music. Yoko Shimomura and Masashi Hamauzu write WAY better battle music.
@@ballroomscott Ironically, this is a very American take.
There is a large variety of musical styles in the Kingdom Hearts series. Why? Because Shimomura and her co-composers understand that different cultures have different musical sensibilities. Compare Agrabah to The Land of Dragons to Atlantica to Beast's Castle and you'll see what I mean. Sadly, I've seen a few dudes in the States slag Shimomura and never want her on another FF because her battle themes are "too anime"-- or rather, too much like contemporary Japanese music.
Meanwhile Soken is basically remixing Howard Shore and gaining quite a following over here doing so. There are people who believe he is the true heir to Uematsu. To be fair to Soken, he dabbles in a lot of different musical genres on the FF14 soundtrack, and I ran into one guy who likes the Titan Lost song and hates everything else in the FF16 soundtrack lol. But a lot of his American fans will say that their favorite song of his is one of the battle themes from FF14 that sound very similar to the Dominant battle theme in this game.
I agree with everything you said. Overall, I would give it a 75-80 rather than an 84-85 as you would. I think the biggest differences in our experiences are:
- If you do skip the side-quest dialogue (as I started to do fairly early on), you realise how little of it matters. You never need to know what's going on; the map markers tell you exactly where to go every step of the way. And at that point it just becomes mindless filler. I really actively disliked the side-quests, but I did them hoping for some good reward that never came.
- The writing for the side-quests just lacked any subtlety. They harp on at you constantly about how badly bearers are treated, and then you have that scene at Martha's Rest where a woman was pregnant but the child was a bearer, and it's just so in-your-face. I think the woman's other child says something like "he wasn't my brother, was he? because he was a bearer". They just really spell everything out so explicitly, it's just not good writing.
- The end of Lubor's side-quest deserves -10 just on its own. He starts off extremely popular, prime candidate for Mayor. After the game constantly goes on about how bearers are literally worked to death, fed to wolves and behemoths for sport, and completely ostracised from society, it turns out that he's a secret bearer (of course, discovered while doing something unquestionably noble - saving some kids from a monster, I think). The town instantly turns on him and demands his exile. Then when they come under attack, there's a short speech about how they're really all the same and they kiss and make up like nothing ever happened. It's like... yay! we just talked about our feelings and solved racism! or something like that.
Especially after seeing Benedikta and Hugo, and Annabella, and the way Ifrit graphically and brutally murders the Eikons, I was hoping for this game to be grittier, maybe even morally ambiguous at times. Maybe some bearers do commit crimes or even murders (it'd be understandable), but they all just stoically accept every injustice. Maybe some people can't just overcome centuries of prejudice and subjugation at the snap of your fingers. But no - everything is so black and white, all the time. The main story was generally very good, but the side content was just not.
It did have lots of qualities. I think the acting performances and Eikon battles are what people will remember this game for. But it did get tiring in places, and I zoned out for a lot of it. Put it this way - if you ask me to play FF7/8/9/X again, I'd do it gladly. If you ask me to play FF16 again, I'd be very reluctant.
I actually think a better upgrade system will elevate the gameplay overall. Weapons can have a bit more uniqueness in terms of stats and passive and you can pick and choose to passive you like and keep upgrading that weapon, and I think that would make the rewards you get from quests and exploring more rewarding. Plus it would add more rpg element without disturbing the core action gameplay as much.
The lack of status ailments & elemental affinities really stuck with me throughout the game and is my largest complaint. I didn’t let this *totally* ruin the vibe but I was definitely missing it.
Having watched most of your FF playthroughs and reviews and therefore and having a pretty good idea which games you have appreciated more and why, I was a little surprised to see that your original review right after finishing the game was so positive. Not that I think you shouldn't like the game, but at the time, you didn't really mention any of the negative aspects of the game, so I appreciate this more nuanced review. While I agree with pretty much everything you said in this review regarding what the game's strengths and weaknesses are, I wasn't as wowed as you were by the positive aspects of this game, and the negative aspects bothered me more than they bothered you, so I didn't have a great time with this game unfortunately. I didn't hate it or even dislike it, but I also didn't really connect to it. You mentioned the long term legacy of the game early on in the video, I think it will just become something I just don't really care for, I just have no strong feelings either positive or negative.
Well said. Disappointment is probably the strongest negative feeling I have towards XVI. It's an okay game but it's really lacking for a FF game IMO.
I agree. I enjoyed it a lot but as time passes I really have no strong feelings. I feel more attached to , believe it or not, 13 than this. This one is arguably a better game but 13 has more charm.
@@juanvsreviews Charm is underappreciated IMO and not talked about nearly enough even in critiquing. I think charm is a big part of what influences nostalgia and keeps a lot of us going back to older gen games, even ones we have no prior experience with. I think popular SNES and N64-era games in particular owe a lot of their popularity and feelings of nostalgia simply to their unique charms.
Charm is probably also one of the most organically developed aspects of a video game. I'm sure there's more to be said on that but I'm beginning to ramble.
For most of the sidequests, I completely skipped the dialogue scenes. The mundane tasks they got you to do were not worth 4 minutes of talking.
I am new to this channel! I found your channel while looking for ff7 OG golden chocobo quest. Thank you so much. I really like how you approach the final fantasy games, I have watched the OG ff7 and some of ff16 so far, I am making my way through your videos.
I really loved FF16. I cried at the ending. I am not a reviewer or anything. I judge a game by: Did I have fun? And I did. I had so many feelings throughout the game and at the ending. I got a gaming hangover at the end and it was really hard for me to start another game, since this game was so epic, everything I picked up afterwards didn’t really compare. I think your feedback on the game is so valid and I also want Jill DLC. Great review
I've been casually playing through XVI since it released and just finally beat it last week or so. I did every side quest, every hunt, every chronolith og challenge. I didn't do any hard modes, hard trials, high score stuff, etc.
I feel very neutral about that game. In one way it felt nice to buy a game and it be done. I wasn't waiting for DLC, I wasn't having to keep up on daily, weekly, update content. It didn't need a massive multi GB update before I could even play. And it felt nice that when it was done, it was just done. No ridiculous levels of post game content. I was happy I had a fine experience and that it had a conclusion.
That being said while I was overall fine with the experience I wasn't super blown away by it. The story was good most of the time. I enjoyed all the character but wished Jill had more presence. I too wish Cid hadn't died off so early. I really disliked Barnabas as a villain and Kupka staretd out interesting only to end kind of bleh for me.
I loved the combat. I really enjoyed the customizability to player preference. And I enjoy that people have the option to use the timely accessories for help, or ease of combat. I always used Torgals up until the final battle. I also mostly enjoyed the eikonic battles. I really enjoyed how no one are identical and that each one stands unique in how you go about it and how the plot makes it happen. Odin was probably the most simple and "disappointing" in terms of excitement. The entire Barnabas arch didn't feel threatening to me. It just felt really strong in "Yes I get it, plot armour, hurry up and let me kill this guy already. He's really annoying." His minor thing was more interesting for me.
Aside from that I have 3 real negatives about the game.
1. I really wish we had spent more time in Clive's teen years. Even if it was just mini chapters where we flashed back to it. I would've loved to see more of that time with Joshua as they were kids, or younger kids. I really wanted to see what life became for him as he was branded and put on the front lines. I think seeing things more first hand for Clive, especially as a child, would've pushed the "branded treatment" better and more powerfully than they round about side quests / missable plot.
2. I always suffer from extreme JRPG Burnout and this game was no different. But, to make matters worse, XVI suffers from an optional content pacing problem. The entire game you are given 1-3 side quests, at most, to do per chapter. Then right before you're supposed to go to the final battle you are given a massive 13 side quests and a handful of hunts. And as you complete those more side quests pop up as do hunts. And many of these could have been weaved into the plot to appear sooner. Long before I was burnt out of playing. Especially hunts.
3. This is more of a unique player issue than game issue. I personally struggle so much with white text on a black background. And when its just a couple sentences here or there, it's no big deal. But mid to late game they expect you to read a lot of tomes or letters or stamps, and after a paragraph my eyes are screaming. So it would've been nice to either flip this, or give us a text option to make the text bigger. Even on my 60" tv at 8-10 feet away, with my reading glasses on for farsightedness it made my eyes scream trying to read.
All in all I really enjoyed what was in the package. I was happy the experience was complete. The good music was good. The voice cast was fantastic. Most of the writing was wonderful. Combat was so much fun and I loved how the maps slowly opened into these huge areas. And revisiting locations didn't feel like a pain because it was woven into the plot well and you always arrived to exploring new areas sooner than later.
Will it be the most compelling story that leaves lasting impressions on me? No. But I'm a 35 year old now and have experience many wonderful stories. It gets more difficult for someone to craft a compelling and lasting story that will leave an impression. The last game to do that was Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and REMAKE.
The more time passes the more it feels like FFXV. Very good when I played it, but very forgettable in the long run. It was a fun game but far from great. The demo gave me hopes that this was going to be a new beginning for the franchise.
I was left feeling more unsettled the longer I stopped playing after completion. I thing the demo was excellent. Up until a third of the way in it was great as an action story game. Personally, the side quests were terrible for me. I wish the game had cut 10 hours or more and had committed to the heavily set pieced action format of the first third of the game.
I feel like i'm the only one who genuinely loves this game, in spite of a couple of significant shortcomings. It's just really weird how despite being universally praised at launch it's now being collectively shrugged aside by the same people. Fanbases do have a sort of hivemind, afterall.
I think the story is one of the very best in the series. Up there with X and VII. Yes, some of the characters could have seen a bit more development but to be honest not every story needs to be done by the book. Not every story needs to tick all the boxes of the scriptwriter's checklist. It's a story that surprised at every turn and delivered a payoff. The music was a standout for me, too. Again, nothing compared to XIII, or X, or the classic PS1 games but a marked improvement over XV and especially every other AAA game in recent years. The OST being so long was probably unnecessary but the music, while not mindblowing, managed to be more than just background noise. I think a lot of folks judge OSTs by how memorable they are and that's a mistake, imo. Not every piece of music is trying to be a earworm, nor does it have to be.
All in all, i think FFXVI is a great story-driven action gam, more than an RPG.
Personally, on top of Jill, I found Dion could have used more development too.
On the combat, it was fun, yes, but apart from the Eikon abilities, it was barebones and honestly got boring. And by that I mean the swordplay. They needed to differentiate the eikon's more and have it bleed into the play style. For example, using Ramuh should give you more of a mage playstyle, Garuda more of an agile, Bahamut less sword and more magic based, etc etc.
This also leads into another criticism being the customization of the weapons and armour. There should be differences other than "higher attack". Let me have a magic stat and MP, so I can use magic more effectively. Have armour able do things like increase the window for precision dodging or something to that effect.
And these leads into something else too: why are there no elemental strengths and weaknesses? The most basic of final fantasy elements.
And this leads into something else: PARTY. Let me control Jill, Joshua, Dion, etc. And let them join the party sooner and more often so I can use them. That will also help with Dion's development, and also Jill.
Pacing was the other major issue. Spread the important ones out throughout the story instead of backloading it, and cut back on some of the fetch quests and the like.
Oh - back to the combat. I hated the random encounter fights. They should not take that many hits to beat. Either make them less tanky, or let my abilities auto cooldown after a fight so I can use that big phoenix skill to wipe out trashmobs quicker.
Right after playing it, I'd have given the game an 8/10, but after sitting on it it's closer to a 7 IMO.
As someone who became a composer because of ffx I completely agree with you on the score. It's perfectly fine and there are definitely some gems. Specifically for me, the bahamut fight and the interdimensional rift. Your analysis is spot on. The music fits but that's all it does. There are very few ear worms. I noticed that most of the songs that got stuck in my head were just repetitive area themes and they were only there from exposure. Whereas like you said, ff13s score is almost perfect despite being a meh game. Much like Star wars, the music in ff games is almost an additional character.
I think its the best Devil May Cry clone set in the Game of Thrones universe that I've ever played.
@@desi_jeremy3967 I've played all of them. Which is why the comparison sprung to my mind.
I'll say dmc has the better combat tbh
I agree with mostly everything you've said. The music for me was lacking for a Final Fantasy game although it does have 1 or 2 I think that meet the mark. Side quests I agree with you 100% could have had more of that darker tone to them etc
I also agree that Cid could have stayed a while longer... in doing so, his death would have hit even harder.
I disagree on the difficulty, I watched your Playthrough and you chose to use will of wisp knowing it makes you immune to a certain amount of all attacks. There were so many times where you would have got a game over. You went through potions whilst using will of wisp, that says to me it would have been to difficult for you. Im judging on your skills and how many potions you went through whilst using the will of wisp in your Playthrough.
Great review! I was really curious on your thoughts as I was late to complete this game and have just now started watching reviews and playthroughs. I feel like you echo all my thoughts with this game and I fell right where you did in terms of where I ranked it. I absolutely enjoyed my playthrough and although it's not one of my favorite soundtracks, it did grow on me a lot in retrospect. If I ever play this game again, I do not think I will replay 90% of the sidequests whereas games like FF8 or 10 I usually still really like doing a lot of the side content. I am excited to watch ypur playthrough!
If it werent for the world and the cast, I wouldnt have finished it...I hoped the gameplay would grow on me throughout the game, but it didnt...
There is no replay value for me, so I will only ever revisit it on the stream on this channel
Another thing that I feel they dropped the ball on a little: an iconic location and a proper explorable interior. You think VII you think Cosmo Canyon or Midgar, you think VIII you think of Balamb Garden (my school actually flies!) or Esthar, you think FF IX you think of the city of Alexandria with it's Royal palace, X the far plane or the ruins of Zanarkand; XII, XIII and even XV have at least one location where you "wow! that was cool". XVI by contrast is a bit drab with its locations. The most beautiful area in XVI was probably the rift with Ultima with the amazing music but it was pretty brief.
EDIT- I wrote the above before Berk mentioned it in the video. He pretty much summed up what i felt about the game.
I feel Sanbreque and The Crystal Dominion is pretty memorable.
The sight of Oriflamme with the giant mother crystal behind it far surpassed any areas in XIII, IX, XIII or XV for me personally.
But I get what you mean. With so much focus on the Fallen it would have been easy to make a few large explorable dungeons in their ruins similar to Omega Ruins that Clive could only enter after obtaining all 8 Eikons and thus being “accepted” by some door mechanisms that would recognise it as Ultima’s power.
Also thought the look of the Fang with the mothercrystal inside it was memorable, especially when it was made into an epic arena in the fight against Titan.
@@Rithysak101 You don't really explore any interior of Sanbreque, certainly nothing on the level of Alexandria in IX. The lack of an interior setting that feels lived in and explorable is what i mean. Sanbreque looks pretty but what really do we see of it?
Wasn't the farplane basically just a room in FFX?
@@collins9765 I was thinking of Guadosalem as an extension of it (as that's where it's located) but yes you're right. The point I was trying to make is that every other FF i've played had a better sense of an interior environment or an iconic location to really explore. XIII is an obvious exception but even that game's colour scheme and general vibe was visually more striking than XVI imo.
I'll be honest this game was a solid 7/10 for me. I felt like this was essentially ff13 lighting returns thematically (there are too many parallels between Ultima and bunevelze to be ignored) and even the combat felt similar.
While that bothered me, it's not my main complaint against the game. It just feels like everything you do is meaningless so there is no real need to put any effort into anything. It's not until you reach Odin that the game presents any real challenge and even then if you can avoid being hit it's face rollingly easy. By the end I was just do fed up with the game that I just put on the auto evade ring so i could get through it as fast as I could.
Certainly the game feels very epic, but it feels to me as if the developers thought epic-ness would be enough to carry the game. It doesn't.
It is possible that had this not been a Final Fantasy game my expectations would not be as high as they were and I might have given this game a better score but as it is, yeah, a solid 7/10, fun but lacking (especially in the side quest/activity front)
The best counter example i can think of at where XVI and XII in particular could have done better in party banter is the original Dragon Age Origins. Play that game and you can't help but laugh at the way the different personalities clash. GOW is another good example. It's a fine line balancing talking too much and too little but those games really do well. XVI (and XII) did suffer a bit with a cast that felt stiff outside of the main story sections.
My thoughts are i enjoyed XVI. The combat was great but i don't want this to be the future of the series. It needs to go back to turn based and party. Play Yakuza like a dragon and you can feel the difference between the action based Kiryu games and this new one. It's no longer just a one person truck. You get to know these other characters and you get to play with them and interact with each other. Party turn based is simply the superior way to do RPG's, Sorry to the action game only andy's that don't like turn based. It is simply a fact. Get used to it or move on to another genre.
thank you so much for this playthrough, final fantasy is my baby but i've been unable to play ffxvi myself. you're the only content creator i can watch playing anything, something about your energy and knowledge is just perfect entertainment to me, keep up the good work berk! xx
FF16 is the FF game that desperately doesn't want to be an FF game. They should've just made it into a new IP instead of removing everything that made the old games classics. 7 Rebirth is doing it right, I just wish 16 was made with the same mindset
That's just absolutely wrong
@@SnuSnu91 so 7 rebirth is not a final fantasy?
@@alanlee67 I didn't say that. Of course FF7R is a Final Fantasy and so are all the others. The purists just can't accept the change. Every FF game is unique and that's why I like Final Fantasy.
i def enjoyed going through the game but when i look back most of what i remember was the cool story and fantastic visuals/cutscenes. alot of stuff in between is foggy/hazy which means it didnt leave a long lasting impression
Perfect music for the review
Liked the story and the voice cast. I just did not like the fight part of the game.
Even on Final Fantasy Mode none of the fight were truly hard. Yes I died during fights but after two or three restarts I was able kill everything.
I was really bored by the story during FFM so for me, it went into a speed run. I have the platinum but I do not think I will play it again.
Currently I am playing FF9. I had it on the PS1 but playing it again is really enjoyable.
Are we going to get a full tier list after you finish the first game?
Have to disagree with Berk thinking if they had more time/budget certain elements (RPG parts, side quests/hunts) would have been stronger. The game was in development for 5-7 years and cost an obscene amount of money, how much more do they need? Also, how can Squaresoft make like like 7 games in 10 years in the 90's and SE make to 2 games (FF15/16) in 17 years 😂
Because thats game development now. Back then you could have like 50 people and it would be this huge blockbuster game. Just not the reality anymore. The 90's were 30 years ago. If only you knew what it actually takes to create all these assets and systems. The game was in active development for like 3-4 years. The rest is pre production (aka planning).
@@Croyles Doesn't have to me though...there are quality games being publish by indie companies. Bigger doesn't always equal better, reminds me of the movie industry.
@@9realcatsYeah, the movie industry seems to be destroying itself by prioritizing visual spectacle over everything else, and video games seem to be going the same route.
Berk, talking about having to think in FF games straight 🔥...this is not a thinking game...sorry to say. Which for me, along with other fundamentals makes this hard to say it's FF. It's perfect for the short attention spans way too many people have nowadays.
Good stuff, Berk. Looking forward to your next FF playthrough!
I agree with basically all the positive and negative points you mentioned. I just don't see how you could rate it anywhere above a 7.5.
I hated the boring, repetitive, meaningless fetch quest. Everything that was not main story related felt like a chore to do.
Cut-scenes with middle and high poly versions of the characters were well animated, but everything else had the animation quality of a bad PS2 game. There was one specific battle near the end (don't quite remember which one) that literally had Clive's model change from high to low poly on-screen, before the camera cut away. I generally found the transitions between the middle/high poly cut-scenes directly into a fight very jarring. But all of this is exactly the level of quality and inconsistency I expect from Square Enix. I commend the fact that sometimes I wasn't sure if I was watching a high poly cut-scene or a pre-rendered FMV. but if you look closer, you can of course actually tell.
They put way too much emphasis on making the world look good. It did absolutely look amazing - mostly great quality textures, lots of foliage and rocks and everything. However, there were areas where you could very well see some patterns repeat in the textures (I think most notably in the rift and in the mountains next to the fishing village, where the brother of that trafficking woman (see? I don't even remember their names...) turns akashic and kills himself).
Also, nothinnnng meaningful to do in the world. Being able to visit empty places only to be forced to return later to complete a quest was infuriating.
I wish they had spent less time and budget on making the world look as detailed as it does and more on making the low/middle poly versions of the characters actually feel like living, breathing human beings. The dialogs were a pain to watch. Not worthy of a 2023/PS5 game.
And Jill means nothing. She was an afterthought. Leaving her out of the game would change absolutely nothing.
Amazing video! very respectful about your opinions on what you liked and didnt. I could add on to what you said in this video but It would go on and on lol. To put it shortly I loved this game despite its low points, mainly in its pacing. Other than that I found this story to be incredible along with its combat and cast and I hope more than anything CBUIII improves on what they have here for whatever the dlc will be; expansion or short dlc package, im excited.
I agree with alot of this. I'd have preferred being able to play as the other Eikons more (even as their dominants). I think they should have had status effects and element weakness for the gameplay. I don't mind the gameplay but I'd have preferred more like 12s or 7R gameplay. I'd have liked more of a post ending credit of what happened to the characters we bonded with after Clive's fight. More enemy variety. I do love this game however. Its probably my 3rd fave FF. The story and characters are mostly due to that
It was a great one play through Final Fantasy for me, one of the few FFs I wouldn't feel the need to play again
The game kinda just came and went for me. I was already forgetting character and plot elements days after finishing it
I got bored and couldn't finish the game... oddly enough if the game had a more engaging / fun fighting system or was a few hours shorter... I would've given it a 9 / 10. Every side quest feeling meaningless didn't help.
For me it is very comfortably in my personal top 5. My current feeling is that it is top 3 together with X and VII for me personally.
Sure, there are some major flaws. But it’s easy to forget that there are more than plenty of that in the older games as well, and while they may shine in areas where 16 does not, 16 has also surpassed them in many areas (soundtrack especially where it is easily number 1).
Disagree with soundtrack but in terms of spectacle i agree that XVI is easily the strongest since X in that regard. The sheer scale of its cutscenes were breathtaking. People like to downplay this as 'style over substance' but FF has always had incredible production values. Think back to the opening cutscenes of VI and VIII or some of FF X's big moments; they were all marvels for their respective console generations. XVI continues the tradition and it blew me away on cutscenes, at least a lot more than XII, XIII and XV did.
The soundtrack is far superior to any other game in the franchise and it is not even close. I went back to play IX after completing 16, and it just hit me how you basically have 1 battle theme for normal fights, 1 for bosses and then 1 for the final bosses. Same throughout the whole game.
Compare that to 16 where you have 4 “regular” battle themes for encounters and mini bosses, blended together with many encounters where the battle music are well made remixes of the environmental music that fits the area, and then top that off with all major bosses having not only unique sound tracks for each, but also multiple for the different phases. 16 also goes way beyond when it comes to blending the music in with the gameplay and the cutscenes. Which might be why it is often times not so memorable as it is crafted more to support the overall experience of the moment than to stand out on its own.
Seriously, I would happily argue that 16 has more high quality sound tracks within the first 25% of the gameplay than any FF games prior to the PS2 has throughout their whole games.
@@fredrikaarrestad1571 i agree with berk that it's hard to really enjoy the music mid-spectacle, but also that they do fit the scenes to a T, for the most part. but also i agree with you that many tracks are really brilliant, when you get a chance to listen to them later, especially with lyrics. thinking especially of the ifrit vs. phoenix music, which is monumental, the second phase of typhon, and many others
Maybe this is a strange take: my issue with this game is that I find it hard to believe anyone can (eventually) come to a conclusion about it that isn't the same as the one you are outlining here. The game is just very straightforward. It barely takes any chances or lets the player do anything unique. What you're left with is the story and characters with all the problems you went over, the action combat that lacks the depth of its competiton, and some really cool standout segments like the Eikon battles. Even though, say, FF15 is my least favorite in the series, I can see why so many players did love it because it has so many aspects that are potentially polarizing. I liked 16 just fine, but I don't think my appreciation for it has any room to grow, whereas with basically all the other games there were aspects that I was able to ruminate on over the years. Part of this is that it's almost a pure action game, I suppose, but I'm still finding new things I appreciate in the Souls series and various other action titles, so I suspect what's really going on is FF16 is overtuned. The player's experience with it is so carefully manufactured that it doesn't demand the player use any imagination. I would love to be wrong about this, lol.
The Eikon builds are where the actual customization is. I've seen a lot of people use generic builds because "that's the way games are supposed to be played" and pass over cool abilities. The good news is that I've also seen people go off the beaten path and use the underrated and/or less-known moves in very effective ways. Unsurprisingly, the combat in the latter videos is way more interesting.
However, I think the criticism that there should be relevant choices in other areas (ex: armor/weapons) is valid. Hopefully they will implement that if they make another game in this style.
This is a great comment. Interesting way to see it and the more reviews I hear, the more I see the truth in what you’ve said about the danger in excessively tailoring an experience to the point it loses subtlety or variance in player experience
I liked the story but wow... this game is kind of bad. Its combat is exactly like hogwars legacy accept worse. Its not an rpg which is messed up because they lied and said it was plus its the most recent game in the earths most famous rpg series. And most of my 50hrs was spent walking back and forth between very basic quests. Maybe the most dissapointed I've ever been in an FF. And FF15 was already dissapointing mess that wasnt even finished but it was at least an open world rpg with some heart
They didn't lie. The definition of RPG has been blurred ever since American devs realized they could trick action game fans into buying an RPG by saying it wasn't. If your character levels up with stat increases, it is an RPG-- every AAA action game that has that is an action RPG whether they admit it or not.
@@catkaboodle Jesus christ don't even with that argument... saying that everything is an rpg so 16 is too isn't going to work. It's not an rpg it's an action game. If you like it that's good but don't either lie to me or be ignorant about the fact that its not an rpg. I liked it okay its just not what I personally was looking for
By that metric call of duty is an rpg, metal gear is an rpg, spiderman is an rpg, ratchet and clank, resident evil4-6, dmc, dead space, batman, the force unleashed, fifa, 2k, madden, yakuza and almost every other game ever is an rpg
@@aroccoification If Call of Duty has Soap leveling up after each mission then I'm going to laugh my ass off. It shows how much Activision has diluted all their brands over time-- if Bobby Kotick could have made a "World of Warcraft-like" CoD MMO profitable, then the son of a bitch would have done it lol.
To be frank, gaming genres have been being diluted to various extents for the past 20 years. This is because companies are trying to reach the broadest audience possible. FF16 is the worst offender I've seen in RPG history but it is, **by pre-2000 standards**, an RPG. However, it is barely an RPG, and I think all the complaints about it being barebones outside of Eikon builds (which is where the only significant customization is) are totally valid.
@@aroccoification Also, for clarification, when I say leveling up in the RPG sense I mean going from Lv. 5 to Lv. 6 and getting stat increases in attack, defense, etc. as a direct result of going from Lv. 5 to Lv. 6.
@@catkaboodle that's a poor metric. There are pleanty of non rpgs that level up 1,2,3 with stat increases that aren't rpgs like turtles and spiderman. And there are pleanty of games that are actual rpgs that have no leveling system where stats increase according to an entirely different system like FFII, FFX, FFx-2, FFXII, chrono cross, resonance of fate, etc.
I just can’t with this game. Was hyped by the return of the crystals and the demo but maaaan this has to be the dumbest “RPG” gameplay Ive ever experienced….such a shame when you see what Square pulled off with 7 remake or Reunion. Why reinvent the wheel when it’s already been figured out!!! I just don’t get it. Makes me hopeless in regards of the series main titles. They just keep on getting more and more shallow
The main thing I loved were the characters and the voice acting. I liked the depth they gave Clive and many of the NPCs. What I didn't like was the crafting system and its lack of depth. The weapons didn’t carry special properties like strength+20%, magic+10%, etc. Upgrading weapons just increases attack power and armor adds defense. There also wasn't much to craft. You end up with a ton of useless crafting materials. Enemies don't have elemental attributes nor are debuffs a thing so there's no need to craft weapons that cause status effects or armor that defends against them. No need to create weapons or armor with elemental properties. The lack of those also made battles have very little depth to them. Each battle is just a race to blitz out the enemies with your strongest attacks. I did love the epic Eikon battles...even if they drag on a bit. I'd give FF16 a 6.5/10.
Surprisingly, it's one of my fav FFs, up there with VII, VIIR and IX.
It's probably not one of the "best", it's very experimental and also safe at the same time. Experimental as in how different it feels than most of the other mainline FF games, but safe as in how it doesn't do anything unique compared to other videogames in general; it's just an average Action RPG that does everything it needs to do well.
85 score is very fair I think, I'd say 90 for me personally but 85 seems right if you mind the shallow RPG elements, which weren't a big deal for me.
@dansg08: Please make all cutscenes for FFXVI. Like you do on FFXV. I really like your edited videos. Especially on FFXV. 👍
At first, I really loved the game! But after thinking about it, I felt the side content felt shallow. The stories for the final sidequests were great, but the gameplay was lacking. The first playthrough was great, but subsequent playthroughs are not that great. I hope we have challenging superbosses like Gilgamesh, Omega, etc. level 120 bosses. I wanted content that really enhanced the combat, but I felt let down as ff mode didn’t feel too great imo. It was slightly more challenging, but nothing amazing.
Finally got to play it on PC (Don't own a PS5) - and boy if this is the route Final Fantasy is going to take from now on it is the last Final Fantasy I will buy.
Combat initially makes you think it will be good, but it never really evolves - Enemies are just fodder or slightly less fodder with a ability or 2 - Hunts are just the same fodder but a extra ability and a bigger health bar - Combat itself is push to stagger, build multiplier, unload abilities - repeat. No strategy, no party cohesion, no real decision making.
Story really isn't anywhere near as good, we get this revenge arc that is actually interesting but it gets shoved under the bus so quickly for the generic "Thou must save the world chosen one" story - plus it drags on way too long due to pacing issues throughout the game, the highs are admittedly pretty nice but the lows are so dreadfully boring I had to stop myself from just skipping every cutscene that wasn't main scenario - and near the end I just wanted it all to stop, especially with their decision to slap nearly all sidequests and both DLC's right at the end just before the ultimate conclusion fight tacking on a good 12 hours while in the story the world is about to end ohnoes.
RPG... elements? There really aren't any. Level doesn't matter outside of a slightly bigger health buffer, Weapons and armor don't matter due to the difference being so inconceivably small you might as well not bother. Accesories are completely uninspired untill the DLC where they finally throw a set of somewhat interesting ones at you (the bits), EXP and AP gain throughout the game is completely arbitrary - this set of 20 enemies? Yea here 40 ap and 600 xp I guess, but this set of 5 hyenas? 400 AP and 1200 exp.
Exploration is really just.. not worth the time - explore every nook and cranny for 20 gil and a set of 5 super common crafting materials, or maaaybe the before mentioned uninspired accessory that you wont look at since there is 0 strategy in your setup.
Bosses are a spectacle and that's nice, but marred by the combat system being as one dimensional as it is. After the first few bosses I stopped feeling the excitement going into them - since ultimately they were just the same enemies I had been fighting with flashier attacks that were just as simple to avoid as the fodder.
I did enjoy the game, early on. I just feel like it could have done way better if they just leaned harder into the action of it and didn't bother trying to shoe-horn Final Fantasy in along with it. It's a decent action/spectacle romp but that's about all it is.
Its the only game in the series I don't like at all, I don't consider it a real FF but I certainly am loving FFXIII and XV.
I tried to replay this again and couldn’t. I was bored. I already play XIV I don’t need more MMO style content. I did enjoy it the first time but remember the side quests just being fetch quests all the time and the hunts were uninspired from what I’ve seen done by the same team with more restrictions than they had doing this game.
I agree with a lot of what you said, especially about Cid. From a story standpoint, they easily could have killed him off after the second or third mothercrystal being destroyed, because he was easily the best character of the game. Also super agree with the music, the lack of chocobo theme is ridiculous. I felt strongly about having no airship either because: we gather equipment for Mid, she needs designs, and that is her goal. Then her sidequest is choosing NOT to do it. AND THEN Clive is like "hey we have no way to reach Origin." The game literally gives you a reason to have an airship, but nope they chose not to do it for...some reason?
After completing the game on FF mode, I think an 8/10 as a game is fair. The combat being easy is fine, but for FF mode being just as easy is not a positive. As a FF game, it's a 7 or 7.5/10 for having so many missing features, a dull world, average/subpar characters, fun but flawed combat system, and average story. Especially as time goes on and I see what Rebirth is doing, that makes FF16 look like child's play.
One scene demonstrates how 16 makes me feel. It is the scene right before Clive and Joshua get transported into Ultima's Rift (where he explains what is actually going on). Everyone is there: Jill, Dion, Gav, even Goetz who you can shop from. I thought: "This is it, we're about to all fight together as a party." I was actually excited, and then boom--Clive and Joshua are gone, and that excitement was gone. The whole game left me wanting more, and thinking what could have been. This is a good FF, better than 15, 13, and 12 for me. But would I put it above 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10? No. It definitely ranks around 7th or 8th to me.
One thing I find baffling about feedback regarding FF16 (not just yours)
So in your video you lay out that they could have maybe used another year or two to flesh out the open world, the rpg systems, and character quest etc… that all sounds good and well…but are we forgetting that’s like easy another 20-50 million dollars of investment into the game? Like one can’t just snap their fingers and improve exploration or gearing. This game is reportedly underperforming and we want them to double down and put even more budget into the next game??? Like how does any of this make sense? To me the budget is being spent on the cinematics and that’s just it there is no “more or extra” that they can pull from.
A game with crazy exploration and gearing + icon fights is shaping up to be like a 300-500 million dollar game with little guarantee of success.
The Eikon and essence thing felt odd to me too. It felt like he took away their "Blessings" away i.e. the ability to call ice, or wind, or the literal skill abilities that they could use when not primed / semi primed. But it's hard for to say yay or nay on that because we don't ever really see Jill or Dion using their eikon abilities again unless priming. I think the loss of emotions/will is present for things like Benedicta and Kupka. Whereas Jill and Dion can just control it normally. And there's phoenix who can gift/bless individuals with the power of the phoenix. To what end this goes I have no idea since we only ever see Clive obtain this. But some Eikons like Odin can just make "familiars" and send them off to fight or make copies like with that one dude. There's definitely a lack of explanation that likely requires us to revisit Tomes. That's how I learned what Bearers / branded are.
And good news they did announce DLC recently!
Been waiting for this one
Some moments in the story are so cheap, like Clive over reaction when Cid died, I mean they just met!
Even many parts of the story in general are like if they are acting, it didn't touch me... Maybe the scenario could be better.
I didn't like the hideaway for the fact that I had to jump every time for weapons, items, side missions or hunt.
Weapons and accessories are not that powerful or helpful, it is useless and the fact that only one person makes them is negative.
Same as 15, magic is not part of the game and I hate this fact.
The game was easy in general, I wasn't even forced to use new abilities gained.
Eikon abilities should be two type, one is attack which used in fights, and additional automated abilites that you can equip, like auto protect, anti poison or fire element that you can add to your sword...etc
Main characters are excellent but need more polishing, sometimes they feel flat, similar to supportive characters.
Ultima is the worst boss presentation, he is alone as the main enemy with no helpers, he keeps appearing every time, then he is the world creator, and at last he is killed!
Other main enemies deserved more attention in storytelling.
The game lacks a variety of monsters.
Sound tracks in general are excellent, and the best thing in FFXVI.
The new direction of action gameplay is acceptable for me, but it needs to be improved a lot, supportive characters should be playable or at least you can assign abilities for them to be used based on the battle situation.
Platinumed the game but all the problems of this game basically are showed in just a 3 minute trailer of rebirth 😂
Rebirth pre ordered and ready to platinum 100%
FF16 has a great core but is missing a lot of features we expect from FF. If it had better equipment/armor more items and spell types it could have been something great. But to be fair YoshiP and his team were working on an MMO at the same time. If they had a dedicated team working on the game it would've been way better I feel. But Square have a lot of games in development when this was being made FF7R, FF14, KH4, FF7CCR, FF7EC and a few others. Square are working on too many things and seem to be spreading themselves a little thin. Maybe once all the new FF7 stuff is done in 6 years time they will chill with having 6+ projects being in development at once.
Best FF after X?
I wanted to love it but I don't.
Man the second half was a slog...
Ive been a fan of FF since FFIX. Since then i played almost every mainline FF and a couple of spin-offs. And i loved most of em. Couple were disaponting, especially VII, XIII and XV. I just didn't like the characters. But still had some memorable and great aspects to them. And as i craved a good FF game i gave XIV a try. I ended up playing it for over 3000 hours. Absolutely fell in love, top 5 FFs for me. And when Square announced that Yoshi-P will helm the project i was beyond stoked. I immediately preordered the collectors edition. First preorder in my life. After playing the game, i wanted a refund. Such a bland and generic game. Nothing in that game stands out. Except the Titan fight. My only hopes for the future of FF is the VIIR trilogy.
I feel it's a solid 8/10 game overall but the game is let down by it's questing structure and a rushed final act.
Best FF since FF10
......not even close to 12 what
"Why wouldn't you put the chocobo theme in the game!?"
Okay, to pull a devil's advocate on this one. Both Yoshi-P and Soken came from FFXIV. Do you know what one of the most requested, and utilized, features was when A Realm Reborn launched was? The ability to turn off mount music. And for many people that means the traditional Chocobo Theme. Maybe that impacted this decision. Though, I personally really stand for -give players the choice- to enable and disable settings and think that should've been here. But, at least it sort of plays the beginning as a chime when mounting vs nothing.
I didn't buy it. Never looked like an FF game to me!
for me the downside of this game is the gameplay and its way too easy and its not replayable
They should have made this game exactly the way it is right now, but with thirteen battle system
One of the shallowest games in the franchise. Goes for gameplay and story
i don't know how you could possibly say that about the story.
@@srhg6300IMO the story was one of the weakest points of an already mediocre game.
Couldn't agree more, first FF game I finished and felt like I don't want to keep anything I just experienced.
I liked everything up until the second timeskip. I didn’t think Ultima was a compelling villain, and kinda hoped they kept the story grounded. Well, as grounded as they can with gigantic kaiju battles 😂
🤡
Was.a.horrible game, hated every member of the cast except cid and cid was iffy at best.
i was bored by the "is it a final fantasy?" discussion at the beginning, and at the end i'm exasperated by it. every essential drop of the world and the story is classic final fantasy. i genuinely do not understand playing or watching this game in full and mistaking it for any other franchise. i'd agree with the criticisms around things like equipment and status effects, but that doesn't begin to make it "not a final fantasy." the pure action-based gameplay isn't my favorite, but that also is a different approach to a core element, at most, not a betrayal of the spirit of final fantasy, or whatever the claim even is.
For soundtrack, I’m on the opposite, I think FF16 soundtrack is the best in the series so far, 13’s soundtrack was great too, I love FF soundtracks, and bought physical copies of them all, IMO 16 surpassed the previous ones.
I can’t believe how Soken can arrange Joshua’s theme (Away) into 15 versions, for Jill’s theme(my star) -11 versions, for Clive’s themes (find the flame) has 13 versions, it’s one of the best ways to compose soundtrack by focusing on each characters, and expending their main melodies into different forms, this technique is too great, really blows my mind.
I think 16’s Sountrack is the weakest Soken has made yet. It’s not bad, but it pales in comparison to ShB and Endwalker.
@@juanvsreviews I don’t think so, better to put on earphones when playing 16, you’ll find yourself missing too many details in 16’s soundtrack, Soken’s 16 soundtrack is a masterpiece
It boggles my mind how negative some people are towards this game. In the end it's all personal preference but some comments here are just... I don't know man. You guys are way too demanding and you will always find something to nag about.
Some of the criticism is absolutely fair though.
wouldn't be an ff without it
Dion and Joshua are the best final fantasy characters ever.
Battle System was perfect, but we need like an extreme difficulty DLC. I also dont love tyat we cant switch characters because it makes it feel like we dont have party members, and the fact that they dont die make it feel like a solo mission with Clive. Even Torgals healing or assists feel useless. Strangers of Paradise felt more like an actual party system.
I think thats the major flaw if any with battle system
Clive is the best uber eats
Cid = Kamina 😎
A review is supposed to be your own personal opinion on a game after playing it. Your not supposed to wait 3 months and let other people influence your opinion due to pressure. Used to have respect for this channel but that's long gone now. No wonder you barely get any views on your new videos these days
He did have an initial review, people can change their mind upon further reflection and discussion with others. Time will tell about the legacy of this game and how well it holds up, personally I doubt it will hold up very well since so many games are clones of each other with a different title.
Just because he talked to other people, doesn't mean these thoughts are not his own.
RIP Leviathan :(
Turned off after he said Final Fantasy 12 is up there in his top 3 of favourite Final Fantasy's...
He didn't say that though. He's said consistently that 6 to 10 are his favorite FF games. It sounds like 12 is in the middle for him personally
Yeah, he definitely never said that.
He never said that either in this video or anywhere else though.
Even if he did say that, what exactly is the problem? XII is my second favorite game in the series, and I practically grew up playing Final Fantasy.
Cope, seethe, mald.
It's the Phantom Menace of Final Fantasy's
🫖🥮
I'll say what I felt about the last of us: this would make a better movie than a game.