Final Fantasy XVI Review - After 120 Hours, This is an Amazing JRPG

know your place Little Lamb fool is the shepherd who eats every bleed of the flock and I will suffer yours no longer the Final Fantasy franchise is in many ways inconsistent as seen from its attempts at different genres throughout the mainline entries to spin-offs and their wildly opposing receptions there's at least one entry that suits one's taste in the newest release Final Fantasy XV is no different being a fully fledged action jrpg with input from the combat director of Devil May Cry 5 this is a pretty fresh direction that has left fans equally excited and divided Final Fantasy 15 isn't really an authentic action experience men stranger of paradise is more akin to team Ninja's Neo Series so the prospect of a more inline action jrpg excited me to no end after spending over 120 hours in this world I find it to be one of the most polished games Square Enix has ever released before we get into the review we'd like to thank our patreon supporters for making this possible please take a second to check out patreon.com noisy pixel to support independent game journalism oh [Music] Final Fantasy 16 Stars protagonist Clive rossfield once the first shield of Rosaria a nation that has long since fallen in Providence due to the tragedy over a decade ago now Clive's essentially a slave to the Empire forced to carry out perilous missions that can simply be seen as velb attempts to have him and others like him killed in the line of duty however on one such Mission he's assigned to the task of killing of the dominant of Shiva a person who can transform into an icon which are more or less Final Fantasy summons he reunites with an old friend and finds himself involved with a hidden Society aiming to combat the world's corruption the game's opening hours feature a prologue comprising a younger Clive laying the foundation of how his life became the way it is and providing a good chunk of tutorials you're then thrust right into the action and tension which Final Fantasy 16 impressively manages to retain across this entire duration this world valestaya is one of the harshest settings in the franchise heavily reminding me of Final Fantasy 2 in particular due to the constant death and heartache everyone endures the Grim atmosphere is bolstered by the treatment of bears humans born with the ability to wield magic yet are enslaved once discovered if all that wasn't enough the mature rating will make itself readily apparent across several intensely emotional scenes still The Narrative is never grotesque or dreary for the sake of it each mature depiction fits in well with the game's world this ties into some of Final Fantasy xv's strongest facets its lore and World building every area in character is given substantial Focus across the active time lore menu that can be accessed at any time providing a list of context-sensitive terminology and names you should be aware of plus an NPC in the later stages houses a world map showcasing the ever-evolving geographical conundrums of valisthea as well as highly intricate relationship charts for those who take the time to Deep dive into valesthea they'll gradually learn about one of the most meticulously written settings in Final Fantasy and one they won't forget anytime soon on the other hand those who solely progress the main story without taking the time to smell the roses and read up on what's going on we'll certainly find valestaya lacking in crucial regards this also applies to the side content that I'd argue is collectively vital while the first few batches of side quests are expectedly low stakes and don't provide much in terms of Engagement they become increasingly thought provoking and are integral to feeling connected to Clive his companions and those caught up in the crossfire of their conflict honestly speaking the side quests in the second half are some of the best content I've seen in any Final Fantasy game as they accidentally utilize the cast in ways that strengthen their relationships and amplify the core of their characterizations even the seemingly forgettable shopkeepers in the main Hub and a few members of The Supporting Cast receive far more Focus than I ever thought they would get theme also probably has my favorite iteration of Sid yet these positives don't apply to the antagonist throughout Final Fantasy 16 the villains constantly stood out as the weakest part of the story their presence and motivations rally left an impact as they often felt more obligatory than anything else of course it's not like an antagonist needs a deeply philosophical motive to become captivating but the ones in 16 either don't get enough for interest to kick in or come off as husks of wasted potential this primarily applies to the overarching villain and the one preceding them resulting in a final showdown that could have been so much more than it ended up being although they each accomplished what they set out to do as threats their execution like significantly compared to the core cast and certain supporting characters and personally the ending sequence while fitting for what the narrative sets up feels like it does the bare minimum I obviously can't go into detail but I was left slightly disappointed after the credits rolled which is a shame given how terrific the majority of the plot was gameplay wise the Crux of Final Fantasy 16 combat is the icons Clive gained the abilities of each of these Godlike creatures learn turnable via a simple skill tree as you complete quests and defeat enemies you'll gain points used to learn and upgrade these abilities heavily varying when used in combat gruda's tools for instance are ideal for crowd control in aerial combos while tie-in Embraces defensive capabilities and counters above all outs Clive can equip up to three icon toolkits at a time with two abilities each featuring seamless switching on the field for their once abilities are fully mastered they can be assigned to any icon letting players experiment to their hearts content the major exception to Icon abilities that can be assigned anywhere is what defines them which is known as iconic Feats tied to the circle bun by default these pivotal skills embody the combat identities of each creature such as Phoenix having a dash to close distances and Shiva being able to freeze enemies mixing and matching your preferred style of build is Paramount to player individuality offering different avenues that will make everyone's experience unique Odin's abilities are likely my favorite consisting of an emphasized approach of high hit counts and wide range that can be devastating to foes if used adequately regarding equipment Final Fantasy 16 is jarringly simple aside from New Gear becoming available after select story developments there's a crafting system you don't have to think about the materials needed for the new weapons and accessories will practically always be naturally found if you just follow along with the main story and side quests with farming never really necessary it's truly a refreshing change of pace compared to other jrpgs and it also makes life easier for completionists and Casual players alike combat itself is delectively smooth and just really damn fun the primary aim across each encounter is to stagger enemies before laying into them with skills aimed at breaking down enemy defenses it's as simple to grasp yet constantly fulfilling cycle that never grows dull I must make it clear that Final Fantasy 16's enemy design is Stellar every Telegraph is well crafted meaning you can react to enemy moves with little issue as long as you pay attention to certain tells and if you are incompetent in your action skills there's a timely accessory ring that makes the game even more approachable alongside the story focused mode granted it is a bit strange that the Rings are available in both story focused and action-focused modes but you can just ignore them if you want but alas there is an oddity with the difficulty the new game plus mode dubbed Final Fantasy is not more difficult at all instead it carries over everything from your previous playthrough while scaling enemies to the level you're expected to be at during the end game you fight enemies as the same way you always have with no necessary strategic alterations or new movesets the only significant difference being an enhanced cap of level 100 and new equipment solely for stat increases this actually saddened me since there was ample opportunity here to challenge dedicated players seeking more still if you are seeking that challenge there are specific avenues that will really push your limits putting the game's demanding levels on Mastery of the same stages of Devil May Cry in Kingdom Hearts 3 remind the art stone is a handy Locale housing a training mode and more making it an incredibly convenient Landmark to always keep in mind the arcade mode is also accessed here which is where Dell May Cry inspiration readily presents itself you can replay story stages with a scoring system similar to Devil May Cry style meter essentially encouraging combo variety and avoiding repetition it adds quite a bit of replay value to the already robust Play Time moreover you can replace stages under the hardest difficulty Mode called ultramaniac demanding near Perfection as only a couple of hits will kill you this is the mode that truly compelled me and highlights The Genius of Final Fantasy 16's combat system learning how to manage every boss Telegraph and which icon skills to mix and match is such a cathartic and addictive practice that deserves all the praise it can get so if you found the story fights in Monster hunts too easy I highly advise giving the ultimaniac bouts a shot even the most hardcore players won't be disappointed I could promise you that as of now Kingdom Hearts 3 remind is still the cream of the crop for Square Enix boss battle designs though Final Fantasy 16 is high up there the last combat critique that I have that might be shared with most players is the magic system for an inexplicable reason despite every icon having their own Elemental shot tied to the triangle button they're all identical in approach to elaborate when shot even when charged each spell reaches enemies in the same manner without any creative variation this seems like a missed opportunity since spells could have been different depending on their type providing additional innate icon based strategy and uniqueness similar to how spells are seen through Kingdom Hearts this isn't a deal breaker yet it's a design choice I constantly found myself questioning still I can't deny that Final Fantasy 16 is a visual Marvel at times it's akin to a Hollywood Blockbuster or high budget anime thanks to the inclusion of Icon battles where Clive transforms into iforite and battles opposing icons each of these fights feels rather different from one another due to area and mechanic differences they're never difficult but don't need to be as they provide some of the most high inducing set pieces square has ever produced in fact one specific icon battle genuinely amazed me with its scope easily becoming one of the best battles in the franchise these bouts are bolstered by cinematic clashes seen as QuickTime events are reaction commands where you have to press a specific button during an automated segment these clashes also occur outside of Icon battles but I usually associate the mechanic with them due to their sheer spectacle square is always used for attacks and R1 is used for dodges throughout these sequences and that's important because in Final Fantasy mode the button UI vanishes it's a strange minor alteration though I suppose it's meant to make you pay more attention one relatively harmless critique that I have is how you can't skip any sequences throughout icon battles probably because of the Cinematic clashes it's just slightly irritating on replays Final Fantasy 16's progression is linear the main story objectives and several side quests all hold your hands in terms of where to go though that's not necessarily to its detriment the game is clearly focused on combat above all outs and there are still plenty of wide open areas to explore at your leisure with treasure chests and monster hunts these are unlocked in the later parts of the game and it's the only facet of the overall experience that doesn't show you exactly where to go on the map you instead have to judge your location based on Bounty descriptions which I appreciated since it demanded more thought another gameplay element you'll encounter on the map are the chronology trials these are timed battle challenges unique to each icon providing terrific Awards once accomplished you can consider these to be skill checks to an extent since you need to understand the basics of each icon's abilities to Prevail since your Loadout changes across every battle these were honestly some of my favorite combat segments since the restrictions paved the way for enacting thought-provoking strategies you wouldn't think of in ordinary battles even more demanding variations are then unlocked at the hub's art stones once they're cleared for the first time as well as in Final Fantasy mode if you do everything you can in Final Fantasy 16 during a single playthrough counting side quests hunts and exploration you'll likely spend around 70 hours assuming you don't skip any scenes if you do New Game Plus and art Stone activities you can easily go over 100 hours so you're definitely getting more than enough bang for your buck Final Fantasy 16 boasts an astounding English dub easily on the same level of enunciation and emotion as Final Fantasy 7 remake Clive's voice actor in particular excellently exhibits a range of emotions that make him naturally multifaceted it's a truly stand-up performance I also found the soundtrack great where masayoshi soken creates a standout composition that Rivals Final Fantasy 14 the title's Grim tone of desperation and oppression is strongly encapsulated in the songs but the few calming atmospherish tracks presented to balance it all out lastly the game's performance is pretty solid it doesn't retain 60 FPS at all times but it's usually consistent most of the drops I noticed were during select cut scenes which is obviously far preferable to gameplay no combat sequences were ever impeded by poor performance Final Fantasy 16 is an action jrpg polished to an iridescent Sheen its well-designed combat system and enemies outstanding character writing and World building and consistently Stellar side content make it a standout entry in this legendary franchise even when accounting for the weak villains and lukewarm conclusion this was a journey that truly gripped me from beginning to end this is a must play Game of the Year in a final fantasy Adventure you won't soon forget noisy pixel is giving Final Fantasy 16 a 9 out of 10. thanks for watching this video is brought to you by our supporters on patreon busy pixels run by group of Gamers providing independent gaming coverage through news reviews previews and more check out our patreon to help support our continued growth and subscribe to keep up for all our future content foreign [Music]

Channel: Noisy Pixel

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Keywords: pc, steam, review, preview, indie, Final Fantasy XVI review, Final Fantasy XVI ign review, Final Fantasy XVI before you buy, Final Fantasy XVI download, Final Fantasy XVI guide, Final Fantasy XVI walkthrough, Final Fantasy XVI boss guide, Final Fantasy XVI steam, Final Fantasy XVI ending, Final Fantasy XVI end, Final Fantasy XVI all cutscenes, Final Fantasy XVI sidequests, Final Fantasy XVI speedrun, Final Fantasy XVI explained, Final Fantasy XVI full game, Final Fantasy XVI

Id: fpkaEMouIIs

Length: 14min 28sec (868 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 21 2023