Final Fantasy is one of the most traditional oriental RPG franchises, and one of the few that is very successful among the general public globally, marked by the presence of characteristic elements that have become a trademark of the franchise.
We recently had the first part of the remake of Final Fantasy VII, one of the most beloved games in the franchise, which arrived exclusively on PlayStation 4, and its second part will arrive next year, again, exclusively on PlayStation 5.
But although the franchise is very active, with rumors of new remakes, it's been seven years since the last numbered game in the franchise. Back in 2016, Final Fantasy XV was an immediate success, selling 5 million copies in its first week on all the platforms available at the time.
And despite its success, many of the more purist fans complained about the changes the game brought, as well as other controversies such as the fact that the game came out incomplete. But this complaint about changes is something that recurs in the franchise and has happened with every game released, including the remake of Final Fantasy VII. And Final Fantasy XVI is no different.
This time, the franchise has declared itself to be an action RPG, drawing a lot of influence from franchises such as Devil May Cry, Dragon's Dogma and Tales of. And indeed, at first glance, there is a clear difference compared to previous games, and in my opinion, this change is more than welcome.
Smashing buttons with style
I bet you've heard that the game is all about pressing the square endlessly, and it is if you leave all the accessibility options on. However, if you play in action mode, the game changes in an absurd way. There are several commands you can give, such as short and long-distance attacks, jumping, dodging and a special action like dash, for example.
So far, nothing that another game with combat hasn't done, right? But as I said above, the game takes a lot of inspiration from Devil May Cry, and with that comes an absurd range of combos that create many different types of attacks. The combos range from simple actions like pressing two buttons together, to more complex combos. And in these combos, we literally use all the buttons available in the standard dualsense.
This use of combos makes for a very varied combat experience, but it doesn't stop there. As you progress through the game, you'll acquire the abilities of different Eikons (the franchise's famous summons). Each Eikon has its own unique element, and with each element, we have access to new moves and abilities, as well as combos that adapt to these elements.
The combat is very varied and extremely customizable, especially since it's not possible to have all the elements available at all times. So it's up to the player to choose which element best suits them and thus evolve.
Many combat possibilities
Each of these elements has a unique skill tree, with very characteristic skills, as well as a larger tree for the character's main Eikon. Skills can be acquired through Skill Points, known as AP to long-time fans. These points can be acquired by finishing battles.
However, as I said, the game is influenced by Dragon's Dogma, which is very different from Devil May Cry. This influence is mainly due to the use of visually incredible spells in combat, both by the protagonist and by the party's allies.
In fact, the party is present in the game as it is in all the games in the franchise, with various characters that can be viewed in the menu, where you can see the characters included in the party at the time of the game. But back to the combat...
The entire screen is covered in particles and colors, giving a visual spectacle to the combat, and as the skills evolve, they become even more visually impressive. The skills, when used, require some time to recharge and thus become available for use again.
The influences of Dragon's Dogma and Devil May Cry are very obvious, and that's no problem since both games share the same combat designer as Final Fantasy XVI. It's some of the most fun, enjoyable and addictive combat I've ever had the privilege of playing. But there's another game that has a big influence on the game...
A fight of epic proportions
A Western game that marked an era and still has a lot of influence in the world of games is God of War, which also has an influence on Final Fantasy. And this influence can be seen in a few ways. The first and most obvious is that, at a certain point in the game, you unleash a "fury mode", very similar to the Spartan Fury present in Sony's games.
Another obvious feature is the presence of combos, which can also be seen in Devil May Cry. The game is also much more violent than the series used to be, but there is one thing that the God of War franchise did very well and that Final Fantasy XVI does just as well, perhaps even better: combat of gigantic proportions.
Facing giant enemies is nothing new in the franchise, proof of which is the battle against the Adamantuga in Final Fantasy XV, where you literally hit the enemy in the fingernail. At many times, the same happened in God of War, but we had some combat scenes of such proportions that were incredible. GOW 2018 and Ragnarok have continued this legacy by also bringing absurd battles.
But in my opinion, Final Fantasy XVI goes further and features battles I've never seen before in the gaming world. Few games are capable of delivering moments that really impress. I remember a few moments in Uncharted with those impressive action scenes, or the final battle in Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores, or even the instant dimension-switching in Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart and the high-speed combat in Star Wars Jedi Survivor.
However, in these games, it's about specific scenes/moments in the games, but in FFXVI, we have an incredibly epic and gigantic battle. Then there's another, even more epic and even bigger, and then another, and so on. The battles, especially those of the Eikons, are battles that need to be studied because they are so impressive.
Battles where we have real control
And although the trailers gave the impression that they would be slow, QTE-filled fights, in practice they are just as dynamic as "normal" battles, but even more gigantic and visually stunning. I really want other games to take inspiration from these fights and evolve them even further, just as I think this fight is strongly inspired by the Bijuu fights in Naruto.
The combat isn't even close to simply smashing the square, there's a wide range of variations and styles, not to mention the enemies... Speaking of enemies, just like in the previous games in the franchise, we have a multitude of different types of enemy.
Just as Clive, the protagonist, has a wide range of attacks and abilities, the same can be said of the enemies in the game. There are countless types of enemies, of different sizes, styles and variations. Each one has some very unique attacks and requires different combat strategies.
A challenge for those who seek it
What do these different strategies generate? Exactly what the game has most of, variety. In addition to the combats we have in the course of the story, through the hunts, we can encounter some unique enemies with far greater power than those encountered in more ordinary ways. These enemies generate a much higher level of challenge.
Still not enough of a challenge? Then you can still replay the game on "Final Fantasy" difficulty, which not only makes the enemies more powerful, with more abilities, but also includes new enemies and new variations. In addition, the main character's maximum level is doubled and you can unlock the legendary Ultima Blade.
Final Fantasy XVI is not a short game, it will last at least 35 hours if you focus only on the story, but the combat is so fun (even addictive) that at no point does the game become tiresome. But it is structured in other ways besides its wonderful combat, one of which is the one that most attracts fans to the franchise...
[Possible game spoilers, but nothing beyond what has already been shown in the game trailers]
A story worthy of a Final Fantasy
From the best to the worst games in the franchise, one thing is certain about the game: it's a well-written story full of layers. The story may not appeal to all audiences, but it always has an enviable attention span that makes it possible to deliver many beautiful, happy, sad, touching moments.
Each numbered Final Fantasy has a completely unique story and universe, which means that, for example, you can start playing the sixteenth game without any problems. Despite being a single universe, certain themes and elements are always present, such as crystals, iconic characters, memorable enemies and a story of fighting against fate.
Once again, we have a remarkable story for an already remarkable franchise. This time we follow Clive Rosfield, one of the princes of the kingdom of Rosaria, and heir to the throne, his brother Joshua Rosfield. Once again, after a long time, Final Fantasy returns to a more medieval and fantastical setting.
The game is set in Valisthea, a continent where magic is present in everyone's life. People have access to magic through the famous crystals, one of the franchise's trademarks, and these crystals are fed by the magic of the mater crystals, crystals the size of mountains that feed all the magic on the continent.
A new world of magic
However, these large concentrations of magic are targets of greed, and because of this, the mater crystals are located close to other kingdoms. While the combat is clearly inspired by some other games, the story again has some very noticeable inspirations. One of these inspirations is Game of Thrones.
Just like in the hit HBO series, we have several kingdoms here, each of them very distinctive, whether in appearance or culture, and all of them seeking only the best for themselves. Each kingdom has its own king, and each kingdom is in a constant battle to gain more power and expand its territory.
Once again, as in GOT, the story introduces us to each of the kingdoms in great depth, as well as the figures who make them up. In addition, as in GOT, we see the cruelties that people are capable of in their quest for power and dominance. We see intrigue, betrayal, war and everything that a good medieval story can bring.
But it's not just GOT that Final Fantasy XVI draws inspiration from, we also have some oriental entertainment products that exert a lot of influence on FFXVI's story. As I played, I clearly saw some (very welcome) similarities with franchises such as Attack on Titan, Naruto and even Godzilla.
Power without limits
In this universe dominated by kings, there are some weapons whose power knows no bounds: the Eikons. It is in the form of Eikons that the famous Final Fantasy summons are introduced, but in this game, the characters don't just summon these beings, they transform.
The people capable of transforming into the Eikons are called rulers, and each of them is (ironically) in possession of each of the kingdoms. It's like the trump card of each of the kingdoms. And because they are at war, this makes it possible for us to see (thank God) the intense and great clashes between the Eikons.
So we'll see Shiva, Phoenix, Ifrit, Odin, Ramuh, Titan, Garuda and Bahamut through these rulers. I just missed Leviathan, who is mentioned in the game but doesn't make an appearance, unfortunately. Perhaps in a DLC? Clive, the protagonist, is the dominant of Ifrit, the hitherto unknown second Eikon of fire.
But as can be expected in the franchise, the main character has to have some kind of trauma. As mentioned earlier, Clive is his younger brother Joshua's "shield". But, in theory, the first-born should be the heir to the throne, right? However, at birth, Clive did not inherit the powers of Phoenix, the Eikon of the kingdom of Rosaria, which he reveals only to members of the royal family.
Joshua was the one chosen by the Phoenix as dominant, and is therefore the heir to the throne. Clive has always treated his brother very kindly, but his mother has never appreciated him for not being able (or chosen) as the dominant of the Fire Eikon.
However, at a certain point, things get complicated, Joshua assumes his Phoenix form and a second fire Eikon appears on the scene. There is an initial shock because, as you can see in the trailers, the Phonix is defeated and killed in a brutal way, which is not very common in the franchise. This game is in the 18 age bracket, which I believe is a first for the franchise.
A turning point...
After this event, Clive is deserted and becomes a marked, which is a kind of slave in that universe. He is assigned to a tag team that carries out risky missions and in one of them, he finds himself in the middle of a battle between Shiva and Titan. His mission was to find and eliminate Shiva.
However, on finding Shiva's dominant, Clive discovers that Jill, his former future partner, is the bearer of the ice Eikon. He decides to rebel against the remaining team of markers and decides to save Jill, and in this act, we are introduced to Cid, Ramuh's Eikon. And from there, the story unfolds.
It's safe to say that if you think the game's story can be summed up by what you've seen in the trailers, you're completely wrong. 80% of all the content shown in the trailers is only part of the opening hours of the game. The story takes unexpected turns and is much bigger than the trailers show.
In the combat section, I mentioned that the game has some of the best battles I've ever seen in my life as a video game player, and it's this story that makes these epic moments possible. It also makes for some remarkable and exciting moments, in the way that only a Final Fantasy knows how.
But what would a good story be without good characters?
I've already mentioned a few characters like Clive, Joshua, Jill and Cid, but there are many more, all of them very good and well written. Each character has their own story and it's very interesting to see how they evolve over the course of the story.
The story doesn't take place at a specific time. We see years of history, and with that, we clearly see the evolution of the characters. And it's all very well done, for example, at the start of the game, we meet a character who at the time seemed very secondary. However, as the story progresses, he gains a weight and importance that he would never have imagined at the beginning.
And this doesn't just happen once, but several times. The most minor of NPCs, such as a saleswoman or a blacksmith, can gain a lot of depth as the story progresses. And if the secondary characters have a lot of depth, the main ones have even more.
It's very gratifying to see the evolution of the character, both in his personality and his appearance. And that also goes for the other more central characters. What's more, it's gratifying to see how the relationships they have with each other evolve and the weight these relationships gain. The game does very well in this respect.
I've seen people complain that the game has too much dialog and cinematics, but that's what Final Fantasy is and always has been. All this time spent on dialog is responsible for giving relationships and characters all that power, and this reflects directly on us, the players. Through it, we can laugh, cry, get emotional, and that's what makes a story as remarkable as Final Fantasy XVI is.
The epic transmitted by audiovisuals
The story and gameplay are undoubtedly the high points of Final Fantasy XVI, but it all works together in a very satisfying way because we have an equally epic look and sound, which makes all the good things stand out even more in terms of quality. First, let's talk about its visuals.
Through the various trailers and content made available by Square Enix over time, we had the impression that the game would have average graphics, below Final Fantasy VII Remake or even Final Fantasy XV. But having finally had access to the game, I can say with peace of mind that it does very well in this respect.
The game isn't perfect in this sense, and if there's one thing I feel could be improved in this regard, it's the facial expressions or small animations that could make the character's movements more natural, as was the case in Final Fantasy XV. However, this is the only negative point I can see.
A few slips in performance...
Of course, I can't help but mention some of the performance problems with the game, such as the low frame rate in performance mode. I also suffered a few overheating problems that gave me a fright, but that didn't affect my overall experience one bit. As I usually do, I chose to play in quality mode, which is very stable and I recommend it.
One part that was surprisingly good was the game's scenery. There are many different settings, with a varied ambience, and they are eye-catching. One scene in particular is like a dense forest, and the amount of detail in this scene is absurd, the way the light passes through the leaves and the textures are excellent.
Speaking of textures, there are a number of scenes with high-resolution textures that are once again eye-catching. And not only are the textures of the settings impressive, but also the textures on the characters' clothes. Each part has a texture that simulates fabric, leather, metal and other materials in a very realistic way. And the way the textures react to the lighting is pretty cool too.
But since the clothing models have been mentioned, the character models are just as good. It's clear that the main characters have been given extra care when it comes to modeling, which makes total sense, but the secondary characters are no exception. Each character has a characteristic that makes them unique.
As I said earlier, we follow the characters over a reasonably long period of years, so we see how the characters actually grow over the course of the story. The changes in the characters' features are noticeable, but these changes are very smooth, which doesn't bother us at any point and makes it very believable.
A multitude of enemies
And we can't forget to mention the enemies and monsters we encounter along the way. Each type of enemy is visually unique, some having a few variations, but enough changes to be unique. And the enemies are as varied in quality as they are in quantity. There are tiny enemies, but also enemies that take up the entire screen.
To repeat myself (once again), the game's combat is a real highlight, and the visuals in combat are simply incredible. There are many animations of the characters in the game, both the movement animations of the characters themselves and the animations of the spells they can use.
The spells of both the main characters and the enemies have a large amount of particles and information, colors and sparkles, which makes everything very impressive. And incredible as it may seem, in performance mode, the game manages to maintain 60fps in fights, but sacrifices a little resolution.
As already mentioned, you can unlock new skills in the course of the game, skills that add incredible visuals. However, as you evolve these skills, what was incredible gets even better in proportion. Not to mention the Eikon battles, which, as I've already said, are some of the most impressive battles I've seen in my years as a video game player.
When the epic takes the form of music
These incredible visuals are accompanied by a breathtaking soundtrack composed by Masayoshi Soken, a renowned Japanese composer. It's common knowledge that the Final Fantasy soundtrack is epic, and the sixteenth game in the franchise couldn't be any different.
I confess that my biggest hype for the game was its soundtrack, as I'm a big fan of classical music, especially epic instrumental songs, with choirs and everything. I came away extremely satisfied with the game's music and impressed by how varied it is.
And both the soundtrack and the visuals are used in a very interesting scene composition. The game doesn't have inventive camera angles, nor does it simulate cinematography as many games do, but the direction knows how to give scenes the breathing space they need to have more impact.
It may seem boring, after a battle of epic proportions, to have a moment of calm, but it's important to take a moment to breathe, so that the next epic moment can have the impact it needs. Some films, for example, don't do this, such as Transformers, where there are several very good action scenes, but they lose their impact because they happen one after the other, without giving you time to breathe.
The composition of the scenes is also very good, as it makes good use of colors, both in the characters, through lighting, and in the scenery. The scenery even undergoes very noticeable changes during the course of the game's story, which in itself is a very cool thing to see.
All these elements working in harmony mean that the scenes have the power to convey exactly the emotion that the game wants to convey. And of course, much of this also comes from the great performances of the acting team behind the characters. The feelings of the scene, as well as being conveyed by the soundtrack, have a great partnership with the nuanced performances that shine through in Final Fantasy XVI.
Is it a GOTY contender?
I have to admit that I'm a bit of a suspect in this respect, because I knew even before the game came out that I was going to like it a lot. However, when I actually played it, the experience I had went far beyond what I could have imagined. I don't know if the game can win the GOTY, or even if it will compete, but I do know that, in my opinion, it's one of the best games I've ever played.
It was worth every penny. As much as I don't like big games, this is a game that, despite its size, I never felt tired playing. And for those looking for big games that are worth the investment, it's easy to get at least 70-80 hours of gameplay with new content, as well as the game mode that is released after completion, which increases the challenge of the game even more.
The game has a very large story, in the sense of proportion, which explores the world, the characters and the relationships they have with each other, as well as showing how these relationships evolve over the years. And, of course, we see moments of battle that can simply be described as epic.
And the game's combat... It's pure fun, very dynamic and quick to learn, and that includes learning new combos. Everything is very fast and responsive, as well as beautiful, and presents a decent challenge, which also brings excitement to the battles. The combat design has been very well developed and could be the path the franchise takes in the coming years.
And it all comes to a head when you factor in the game's visuals and soundtrack. It was an epic and memorable journey that will live long in my memory. I understand that, for some, the experience may not be the same - after all, taste is something you can't argue with. However, for me, this is one of those rare moments when a 10 is not enough to express how much I enjoyed something.
See also:
The PS5 Slim may be closer than we thought
Starfield - Find out how much the game will weigh on your storage
English 
Portuguese