No matter how bitter the truth that awaits me, I will press on. Come, Ifrit! Show me who you truly are!
Beaten: Once, in 2023. Got 50% through on a second playthrough in 2024.
Version played: Playstation 5
I honestly wasn't going to get FFXVI when it came out.
This is crazy when you know that Final Fantasy is my biggest and most enduring fandom. But I had hated FFXV for being incomplete, and I was not eager to trust again.
So why did I end up playing FFXVI when it came out? Honestly, it was pre-release interviews that offered assurances that this was a start-to-finish tale that sold me. I was still wary, but I decided to bite the bullet and give it a shot.
And I had a much better time than I expected. While the gameplay is not really what I go for in games, I really enjoyed the rest of it — story, characters, setting, etc. I immediately found myself attached to Clive and his story. I played through the entire game in a week, including all of the side content, and overall had a great time.
That's not to say I don't have qualms with it. I find the villain uninteresting and unappealing, some of the writing in general irritated me, and on the whole I think the first half of the game is much better than the latter. But that's okay. I didn't play FFXVI expecting to find my new favorite in the series. I just wanted to not dislike it as much as FFXV. It was a low bar to clear, so I'm not surprised it passed it.
I surprised myself in 2024 by picking the game back up and starting from the beginning. I liked it on the first playthrough, but how would I feel about it on a second? Pretty favorably, it turns out! On my second playthrough I ignored almost all sidequests, which made for a much more streamlined approach and let me focus on the story, which is simply a lot of fun to follow along with. The entire premise of "the classic FF summons are actually people" remains fascinating and compelling, and the worldbuilding is great.
Is it a classic FF game? Nope. Does that bother me? Nah. Like every FF game that came before it, FFXVI is new and different, trying its own thing and going from there. It doesn't succeed in everything it tries, but it makes the attempt, and it's more than enough to make it worthwhile, in my mind.
Clive wins this easily. I found him to be a very likable, interesting protagonist from the very beginning. The first ten hours of the game are all about Clive's struggles, and he wastes no time in carving a niche for himself. It doesn't really hurt that I am a huge sucker for brother relationships in media, so I was guaranteed to be hooked right away.
Honestly, FFXVI has a great cast. Cid is an obvious standout, but so is pretty much everyone else. Even the villains (with the exception of the final antagonist) have compelling, interesting stories.
As a longtime fan of Masayoshi Soken's work for FFXIV, you can bet I was looking forward to this OST, and it's incredible. From the atmospheric melodies of "Lovely, Dark, and Deep - The Greatwood" to the orchestral highs of "Find The Flame" and "Away," it's hard not to get hooked on this soundtrack. This is an easy soundtrack to listen to at any time; it's very solid work.
Some other favorites (be mindful of spoilers in the videos):
I think I have go to with the Hideaway! The Fallen locations are always gorgeous, and the Hideaway manages to take that backdrop and become something more cozy and lived-in.
FFXVI also has a lot of set pieces beyond its major open-world areas, and I loved every single time I got to explore a city as Clive raced towards the Mothercrystal. Every environment was more gorgeous than the last.
This is perhaps the section most lacking: I played the game on the easiest difficulty, because I really don't care for this style of gameplay. I turned it to normal mode on my second playthrough, but because it was New Game+ and I already had everything maxed out, every single combat encounter was also very easy.
It's fun, though! Even though this style isn't for me, it's obviously well designed and very flexible. Using the Eikons as a basis for an entire gameplay system is incredibly satisfying — I never thought I would get to cast Megaflare myself, much less Odin's Zantetsuken. I really wouldn't have played a game like this if it wasn't a Final Fantasy game, so I'm glad I got the opportunity to try it out. I don't think it'll ever be my favorite to play, but it's nice to try new things sometimes. I may try it on the harder difficulties when I go back to it, but we'll see.