Final Fantasy XVI

Play it on: PS5
Current goal: Figure out what that spooky guy is really up to

Final Fantasy XVI did not leave me with a good first impression. The garbage Game of Thrones influences were (and still are) painfully uninspired. On top of that, early levels felt Final Fantasy XIII-levels linear. The first couple of hours were: Run down corridor, kill things, watch GoT. And don’t even get me started on how poorly underserved the women in this game are. I didn’t think one could make a more dude-fest FF than FFXV, but here we are with FFXVI

But I continued to give it a chance…and well, wow. Despite the ongoing issues I have, it’s giving me a kind of Final Fantasy experience I don’t think I’ve genuinely had since maybe FFIX (note: FFXII is the only main game in between now and the late ’90s that I haven’t had a substantial chance to play).

I find Clive to be a great FF protagonist, easily understood in his motivations and desires, sympathetic, demonstrating genuine growth and change over the course of the first 30 to 40 hours (roughly how much time I’ve spent thus far). I want to see his story to completion. The same is true of the cosmic, magical plot that lurks in the background, appearing mysteriously, unexpectedly, and giving me questions about the nature of the world and characters in a way that fascinated me in the days of FFVII and FFVIII in particular.

And the level layouts did a 360 on me. There’s no open world, but god, the intersecting branches of dedicated zones make for visual splendor and exploration that doesn’t feel too restricted had it been more linear or too bland had it been an open world like FFXV

FFXVI really surprised me and I’m excited to finish it, even if it tires me out or pisses me off on occasion. — Claire Jackson