ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- It has officially been 1 year since Final Fantasy 16 released. In this video I will take a look back at FF16, what I've taken from it, and what it means to me.
#finalfantasy16 #finalfantasy16review #ff16 #ffxvi #rpg #jrpg
Twitter - x.com/MoreLimitless_
0:00 Intro
1:02 Development
3:11 Free will (themes)
4:47 The story & plot
7:08 Main characters
11:34 Other Dominants
14:49 Villain (spoilers)
20:48 Combat system
25:32 Soundtrack
30:24 Eikon fights
31:37 Game design
33:04 DLC
34:50 Ambiguous ending (Spoilers)
37:54 Conclusion - เกม
![อาจารย์ยอด : พระเตะผี [ผี]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zusDOIFasaE/mqdefault.jpg)
On a technical level, Clive is the most polished character I’ve ever controlled in an action game. Animation flow, style, hit boxes, collision, the physics, variety, EVERYTHING works (like unique Garuda pull on bosses, parrying fancy boss moves), animation cancels, sound design, endless combos, graphical prowess while still being grounded, it was just insane.
when people compare it to rebirth having multiple playable characters, I just realize how much this effort went over most players’ heads. I imagine in the future that they will not consider so much polish/effort on one character to be worth it… but that’s a shame.
@@BrittanyFox That’s actually a very good point and one that I wholeheartedly agree with. No HD FF game has the level of polish when it comes to hit boxes and animations. The one thing I always hated in the remake games, for example, was how annoying the “action” side of things can be at times. Dodging, hit boxes, and animations can be pretty annoying depending on the character you’re playing. The actual real-time action is much better in 16 than any game in the series, and I appreciate that they go all in on making it a true action game here.
I think they will, which is why they recruited Ryota Suzuki. If he wasn't there, most ( if not the entirety) of Clive Tech wouldn't exist. I think Yoshida said that if he wasn't there, they'd take a long time to figure it out, and it wouldn't be any better than what they did with Ryota Suzuki.
Idk it didn't really feel any better than every single other AAA action game
@metacube9913 yeah these people are lost. This game is VERY watered down kingdom hearts gameplay.
It went over people's heads because the "character action" combat system in 16 is rather shallow compared to character action games made by experienced developers from that genre. I don't blame just the system itself but the overall balancing in the game, especially enemies. While the system was designed by Ryota Suzuki, he clearly wasn't "the entire" DMC5 system by himself. Those games seem simplistic but there's a lot of thought and balancing that goes on making a game like Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Rising or Bayonetta.
My only true problem with Final Fantasy XVI was that it felt like it could have been something bigger and better. For instance, the world is pretty well built with kingdoms, armies, and political conflicts throughout Valisthea, BUT we are not part of it at all. What we are is just a group of people branded as "bandits/heretics" basically, and we spend most of the time either running away from these people or trying to go ninja on them by killing their leader.
In that way, I feel we are missing great opportunities for story-building. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Remember the dude who forced Jill to commit off-screen atrocities? Yeah, when I encountered that person in that Volcano island, I didn't even know who he was and Jill was going ape shit about how she wanted to kill him, and I was "Oh, okay, cool". There is no feeling, no build-up for that. You need to read records or reports to know what's going on, and there are SO many examples of this throughout the game that feel like massive missing opportunities.
Another problem I forgot to mention, is that they could've added more towns, it feels like the game is just like 3 minor towns, and the Holy Empire and the other very big cities are just places designed for a one-time-only quest. Other than that, the game looks good, music is fantastic as expected, and the main cast is developed really well alongside secondary characters such as Gav who are stellar.
It’s been an entire year since we got the best version of Cid in the entire franchise
Literally the goat
I feel like I am the only one who wasn't bothered by him lol. I never liked him that much in this one. Can't quite put my finger on why.
Spoilers ahead:
That character death was one of the most well done and emotionally impactful character deaths I’ve ever experienced in a video game. The treatment Joel should have got
And the best Waifu (Gav)
More gay comments incoming...
I still mourn Final Fantasy versus 13
Still hurts to this day!
KH 4 will be our time of happiness if done correctly.
@@SomnusShinra it won’t be the same and you know that
@@SomnusShinraMy time of happiness would be me playing Final Fantasy Versus XIII
😢
Flawed as it is, there is still a lot to love and celebrate about FF16. I would like to see where they can take this style of Final Fantasy game because Creative Studio 3 are passionate about what they do. XVI and Rebirth really restored my faith in Square Enix as developers.
I loved the exploration in that Final Fantasy. A lot of emptiness and nothing. It was brilliant.
Imho every FF is flawed in one way or another but to me personally speaking.
Compared to other FF games past 12, 16s flaws are extremely minor by comparison.
Hell I'll even say at worst it's sidequests for example are average for the individual quests but it's quest chains are really good imho.
I don't personally think that 16s flaws are as big as people make them out to be.
a year later its still my favourite modern final fantasy game.
That's one of the most reliable videos I've ever seen on Final Fantasy XVI. In 40 minutes you were able to fully summarise and explain what this game truly is. I've already shared your video and given a big like.
Like you said, a Final Fantasy isn't tied only to the gameplay. But also to the story, the themes, the characters, the soundtrack and, of course, the CIDs. Thank you again for your video, and happy 1st anniversary to Final Fantasy XVI, my 2023 GOTY ❤
No problem, my friend! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and thank you for sharing it, that means more than you know. Happy 1st anniversary!
What a great video! Thank you. You captured my feelings on the game almost entirely.
I didn't mind the weaker pacing and side quests as I was appreciating how strong the game was when it was telling it's main story. I loved the more mature themes when compared to more campy Final Fantasy characters and stories from other games.
The music is probably the thing that elevated this game to my favourite Final Fantasy and one of my favourite games ever. All the best games have incredible music, for me it's a defining feature to draw me into the emotion of the story. The score on show is absolutely beautiful. I don't think there is a weak piece of music in the lot. Greatest music of any video game.
I've also often found the turn based combat of older Final Fantasys the weakest part for me. It's the part that makes it difficult for me to go back to anything before XII. Probably why XII was my favourite Final Fantasy when it came out for it's more action focused battle system.
I just love this game and hope more and more people can come to appreciate how great of a game it is.
i think about this game almost everyday since i blindly played the demo. I’ve never had a game or any other type of entertainment leave such an impact on me
So glad to see such a nuanced take on the game. People seem to feel the need to jump to extremes when it's alright to like a game despite it's flaws or dislike a game while acknowledging what others might like about it. Personally, I absolutely adore Final fantasy 16.
Clive is an incredible protagonist. The world of ff16 tests him at every step of the way. He experiences so much tragedy and see's humanity at it's absolute worst. He breaks down, he cries, he feels unsure of himself. He is all of the things that make us human wrapped up in one package, our weakness and our strength.
The characters all reflect that too. I know the quests can be tedious but honestly? The reward was worth it imo. You learn so much about these characters and it fleshes them out a lot. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have grown to really appreciate and love characters like Goetz and Charon. Final fantasy 16 is just one of those games you gotta experience at least once.
@@mysticalakatsuki4818 Yeah, it’s as you say most people lean so far on one side that they refuse to acknowledge how others feel. I love the game, but I can definitely understand why it is not for everyone. Yet despite its problems m, it still perfectly embodies what I look for in a Final Fantasy, in its story, themes, characters, and bringing a fresh take to the series once more. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but that can be said with literally any game in the series.
Thank you for replaying this masterpiece.
I doubt any game for awhile can recapture the experience and magic I had with FFXVI. Epic, Emotional, Adrenaline Fueling, Melodramatic, Beautiful, Sense of Adventure and most of all powerful. It’s not even the most complex and varied game in terms of Design and Mechanics except for the combat but it such a memorable game that’s carried by Masterful performances, Music Composers and Storytellers that’s basically soap opera the video game. Great video! Like to see you do more of these for other games as I always loved critiques especially you’re energy for the games we all love.
@@Jylstin I’m definitely interested in making more videos like this, but it won’t be frequent as these are longer videos that take a long time to make lol. But I’m very glad you enjoyed it because this game does mean lots to me as well!
The best Final Fantasy since the PS1 era. No Multiverses, no split timelines, no annoying shonen tropes, just a straight up medieval fantasy game
It's my favorite single player FF since FFX
Rebirth isnt any of those things either, imo. I think 7r is more like zanarkand in 10, a dream world.
The game is full of Shonen Tropes actually, I mean the main reason the hero beat the bad guys is basically because of the power of friendship... now I'm not saying this makes it bad not at all, but these tropes are still there, they do however avoid the bad ones (like the hot sources scene for instance), but to be fair while they follow typical Shonen narrative I can't recall of any FF old or new that use these kind of tropes like the Persona or Tales games does for instance.
Yes, the straight up medieval fantasy with an alien God. Lol
@@ashleycornwell67 You didn't even play the game. Ultima wasn't an Alien. He was apart a an ancient race of magical beings which 100% fits the medieval fantasy trope. LOTR, GoT, hell even previous final fantasy games had that
This video you made truly was beautiful. I can see why it took longer to make than expected, it's very well crafted, with lots of your great points, arguments and personal feelings being put out in it, as well as having great edits, in a very inspirational way (approve of your soundtrack samples). Like you, I share the same sentinments of FF16, while far from perfect, and good god, is any game truly perfect (maybe some that are near to perfection or some that the highest highs outweigh any potential lowest lows), it's still a game I would confidently have in my top 3 or top 4 favourite FF games, alongside FFX, FFVI and FFIX. It's an experience I'll never forget.
@@madkaiser4887 Thank you, that means a lot! And yeah, it’s far from perfect, but of course, no game is truly, undeniably perfect. Regardless, this a game that has become very special to me. I understand it isn’t a game for everyone, but that’s also a given with an anthology series such as Final Fantasy. At the end of the day I have my experiences, and I will always cherish them.
I never expected anything from a final fantasy because I'm not interested in a turn based, when I decided to try this game is not only the game that I love the most to this day, Clive really is now my favorite fictional character.
Since I finished it, I have never felt the same experience and level of emotion again.
It is very nice to think how something that you didn't expect can make you very happy.
Nice video ❤
"I never expected anything from a final fantasy because I'm not interested in a turn based"
I need you to know that fans of this franchise are not happy with the company catering to you.
I think you misinterpreted my message, said I wasn' t
interested in any final fantasy because turn based isn't my favorite type of game, with that I didn't mean the other games were bad, in fact I decided to try ffix and ffx and I loved both.
Personally, I can understand why there are people who don't like this game or rebirth due to are very different from the old ones and its other gameplay, but it also ends up being a way to find people like me who might be interested in the franchise and give a chance to the other games
@@MisterAlerion Lmao, bullshit. "Fans" of this franchise love the action direction that is being taken. FF7 Remake series and XVI are fantastic.
@@ZephyrFatetotally agree, have been a huge fan of final fantasy for 30+ years and FFXVI is my favourite, and FF7R hard mode has been incredible to play, tried a turn based game recently and it’s just boring now, I hope we have seen the back of it. Long may this new style continue
@@ZephyrFate i hate ff16 direction which i hope they dont continue prefer ff7 remake better
I still believe Leviathan should’ve been in the base game. And that leaving it out because it would cuz it would diminish Leviathan in XV was an absolutely atrocious thing to do
From what I know they ran low on budget to fit Levi into the game so they wrote the story of the base game in a way that didn't have need for him.
@@MoreLimitless_ does it need him? You can't constantly talk about the eight elements and then exclude one of those elements the entire game
@MoreLimitless_ Leviathan is traditionally female (I think 🤔)
@@rd6416 No, Leviathan is traditionally male. FFXV was either only the first or second time in the entire franchise it was shown to be a female.
This is one of my favorite games ever.
Put over 500 hours into it
Hell yeah, man. This entry is top 3 for me.
Best game I've ever played no matter what people say
Recently on a mainline final fantasy marathon and bought this one yesterday. I'm currently finishing FFX so still a few more games to go, but as a guy who only played (and loved) ffvii and nothing else back in the day, god damn what a fun ride has been.
I'm looking forward to XVI in the near future.
That's awesome! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it!
My main gripe with the game design wise is the lack of meaningful side content, which is weird coming from me as I normally b-line things as im a story enjoyer before anything else. But with the extended downtime between major arcs in the game feeling like the bad kind of side content, the lack of any dungeons, puzzles, or meaningful extensions of combat really make b-lining 16 the only enjoyable way to play. I get the the side quests mainly aim to give more lore and perspective but given that I played every side quest but found only like 5 out of the 76 be enjoyable, it kinda makes the other 71 pointless. Not to mention that non-super abilities don’t scale well into higher difficulties. I hated how easy the game was so when I went into Final Fantasy mode, it was disappointing that the combo abilities didnt feel good at all and the only setup that stays viable is lightning rod, will o wykes, and filling the rest of your slots with supers (which i find boring and i think we should have been limited to 1 super at any given time). Story wise my enjoyment took a dip after the second time skip, everything felt too on the nose and it lost a lot of its urgency along with expecting us as the audience to care for all of the filler side characters while sidelining the main cast. I like Jill anytime she’s actually on screen, but since thats like 15% of the game she just feels like an after thought. I don’t mind that she can’t fight all the time because she’s ill, but not that that means she doesn’t get anything to do at all. Which is my last major thing, as much as im all for each numbered entry being its own thing and not being pigeon-hold to specific mechanics, there being no real party gameplay wise destroys the final fantasy of it all. Even in vanilla 15 you still interacted with the rest of the boys and actively fought with you but you can barely even see your teammates in 16 much less feel any impact from them at all. As much as i disagreed with the, “this isnt final fantasy” discourse, there being a lack of a party really made it feel generic and, “not final fantasy” for me. That being said, I remember enjoying 16 from minute 1 to 2nd time skip like it was the greatest thing ever and I still love the game to bits for it. But the last half is where my patience wore thin both gameplay and story wise.
i wanted to spend so much time in its world but there was damn near nothing else to do outside combat. Even the usual lame minigames like darts would have done it for me. How about some basebuilding mechanics for the hideout. What a missed opp. So pissed because this could have been the most iconic ff game since X
I'm still not a big fan of the ending, the main villain, how some characters were handled, the lack of rewarding exploration and rpg mechanics, the MMO style fetch quests that added very little beside stopping the pacing to a halt, Clive's standard sword moveset being so limited, Ifrits moveset being *even* more limited, and the use of a mechanic as unengaging as cooldowns in a fast paced hack n slash game.
Most people say i dislike the combat because it is an action game, but rather its the opposite, i dislike it because it's not action *enough* . No amounts of skilled play will get the cooldowns back any faster, getting rewarded for waiting just isn't very exciting, the moveset being limited to only 6 abilities at a time doesn't help either. But i agree with you that that combo potential is still very large, i myself did have the most fun styling on enemies and swapping between builds despite my gripes with the limitations.
And i can admit it is a well made game that succeeded at a lot of things it tried to do, even if i wasn't particularly a fan of them. I liked most of the characters and the boss fights were some of the most hype thing ever, some real Asura's Wrath energy there. I’d say better than XIII and XV as in its a complete game , but the complete game itself it’s aggressively middle of the road both as an action game and an rpg. Making you pay $25 DLC for a $70 game also rubbed me off the wrong way, just because it is normalized in modern gaming didn't make it any better, especially since it added such little content compared to some of the other games from Square Enix themselves, i expected them to be better than this. My first two playtrough were the most fun, unlocking more abilities and experimenting with all kinds of different combos, its only on the third playtrough i started noticing all the flaws. Despite all that i do believe this is a very high quality game that a lot of people would enjoy.
The writing, dialogue, and character performances are just next-level not for the franchise, but videogames in general. It can't be understated how this felt like the first true next-gen PS5 game (in that, it had no base PS4 development, it had no back ports, it wasn't constrained by it at all).
I wish they would add a new mode to this game that increases the difficulty and allows us to have 4 Eikon slots. This is the best game I have played since Shadow of the Colossus. I really wish for more content in the future.
That was an amazing video. Thank you for reminding me of how truly wonderful this game is!
I enjoyed FFXVI enough to get the Platinum Trophy + all trophies from both DLCs as well. Truly a masterpiece.
Absolutely adored 16. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I beat it tbh 😂 great vid man 🙌
This is a really great video man! I think you really captured a lot of what I think is both loved and criticized about this game in a really good way that allows for discussion and open ended thoughts. Superb work.
Thank you so much, my friend!
This is probably my favorite ff in terms of gameplay i liked the combat better than 7/rebirths. I love that you can freely choose and put together combos rather than waiting for ATB charges
The Funny part is that FF 16 really is the most LOYAL one to the really classic era of final fantasy, if you could make final fantasy 1 and 2 in current realistic graphics those games would totally look like FF16, and i´m talking about everything, the protagonists, the villains, the towns, the world, the weapons, etc., the "medieval" look of FF started with FF 1 and 2, also they gave a big important to swords in those first 2 games, the excalibur and the blood sword, they kept the importance of the sword in "Seiken Densetsu" their first final fantasy action rpg for the gameboy., final fantasy 4, tactics, 11 and 14 kept the serious medieval look, 9 was more in line with 3 and 5, with that cartooney medieval look, i still miss the turn based because i like to think in strategies, and i´m not a fan of action rpgs but FF16 was really a very throw back to the roots of the franchise for sure,
Agreed. I feel like most don't actually realize how much 16 pay homage to classic FF in some of it's narrative. Perhaps the most classic feeling game we've had for years, and you can tell a lot of the blood from the first 5 FF entries, and even Tactics are woven into the feel of the world, how the story presents itself at times.
Awesome video, my man! I have similar feelings to the XVI as you do. Well done! Still can't believe it been a year!
@@afrocloud3238 Thank you, my friend! It definitely is unbelievable how fast the year went by, I still remember being beyond hyped when, especially after the demo. Its one of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had.
@@MoreLimitless_ Yeah. Me too, man. It seem like yesterday when I first put this game into my PS5. And I never took it out until I finished my first playthorugh. This game delivered on our hype and exceeds expectations. FFXVI is truly one of the best gaming experiences of my life!
One of the best games ever made. And it’s not even close.
''Mythos and Ultima translates to Final Fantasy'' Holy shit... you just blew my fucking mind with that one.
Final Fantasy 16 was my first true Final Fantasy experience apart from 14. I didn't know anything about it at all and I went into the demo completely blind. This game has one of the best and most effective demos I have EVER seen in a video game. From the first second I was instantly hooked. The story, cinematic cutscenes, the epic scale boss fights and the music make this game truly unforgettable. Bahamut and Titan are definitely my favorite fights. I also really love Clive as character and I loved seeing how much he progressed as the game went on.
That being said, this game does have its flaws as you pointed out. My biggest disappointment was the fact that you never actually get to explore any of the main cities despite them being the most prominent points of interest on the map apart from the mothercrystals. Some characters like Jill, Benedikta, Hugo and Barnabas also felt a little underutilized and they definitely could have done more with them.
But apart from that, it's definitely up there with one of my favorite games of all time! ❤
I wish FF mode was the normal mode and there was another difficulty between Ultimaniac mode, I feel like I have to play way more safe than I should with the mode especially with no saves
I think a mode between FF mode and Ultimaniac would be great for the base game and even if not that, FF mode on the first playthrough would be Ideal. It's one of the reasons Im looking forward to play the PC version since mods will fix a lot of those issues of the game.
Keep up the good work man! I love RPG's and FF so you've got my sub. Good luck!
That means a lot, thank you!
Man, I still want more - great game! 😊
Huge text incoming. I don't expect anyone to read, but hey.. I had the time and I like to wrinte, so here it goes:
I have a lot of problems with XVI when it comes to gameplay and level/world design.
The game has a good story and while the true villain and "big mystery" is cool and works, it's also somewhat of a trope in stories where fantasy/scifi mix. The characters are great, the cutscenes and boss fights are superb.
I'll start with the combat. You're right that the combat system itself is mostly fine, what brings everything down is the systems around it. Not only generic enemies are too weak to incentivize skillfull play and combos, the ability system heavily inventivizes the incessant spam to destroy encounters in seconds. Then, when "elite enemies" and bosses show up they committ a huge sin in the "character action" genre, which is to create artificial difficulty by removing mechanics from the combat system. For example, most of the Elite enemies and bosses can't be juggled and have super armor, powering through your moves and punishing you for trying combos (which also incentivizes just using your openings to use Abilities instead of moves), that alone instantly kills 70% of the depth of the system. Hence why ability spam and parrying are the best strategies against bosses... because they're also pretty much the only strategy.
The combat system itself is okay but even though it was made by Ryota Suzuki, it became pretty clear that just one man doesn't make and entire game. While the game has all the core systems (cancelable animations, i-frames, parries, juggles, etc), it lacks deeply in character moveset. Clive having just one melee weapon moveset and one ranged weapon moveset really throws a wrench on the system. One might argue that the Eikons are the "weapons", but they trully aren't, they're "unlockable abilities".
Now the worst part of the game, the level and world design. I won't hold back the words here, it's just miserable. XVI feels like a PS3 game, and no I'm not talking about graphics, of course. I'm talking about the fact that the absurd amount of invisible walls in the open world areas and lack of exploration is very baffling. It sounds cruel to say this about a Final Fantasy game but this is the "most open, linear game" in the market. Clive can't jump over anything, even the smallest ledges, the itemization of the game is so bad that the rewards of exploring 99% of the time isn't worth it. And what is heartbreaking is that the biggest argument against XVI, is 7 Rebirth, which is the precise opposite of this. You can jump almost everything, there are usually means of traversal that makes you cross bodies of water or climb hills. That makes me feel, not angry at XVI, but almost sad about it. Almost as if it was set up to fail with all of it's budget allocated to 7 Rebirth.
Which leads me to the dungeon level design, this one is inexcusable. Square Enix is a good 14 years behind when it comes to dungeon level design. I'm not kidding nor exaggerating, it's comparable to PS2/PS3 games. Every dungeon is made up of corridors that lead to elevators that leads to another corridor that leads to simple 2 way path, with one usually leading to a dead end making you go back and just take the other path. It's terrible, it's Tartatarus (Persona 3) levels of simplistic, it just looks a billion times better. Note that this isn't just an issue with XVI, pretty much every FF game is still stuck in the FFX/FFXII level design. They are completely out of touch in this aspect.
Conclusion: I would say that XVI is a game that tries to appeal to everybody and ends being for no one. I'm not saying "No one likes XVI", but I am saying that when you think about playing XVI again, there are usually much better games depending on which specific aspect you want to experience. If you want the combat, you can play Devil May Cry, if you want the exploration you can play Rebirth. The only "unique" aspects of the game is the story (you simply can't replace story.. you either like it or you don't) and the boss fights. The game has little to no RPG elements, it's combat system although good, can't compete with action games made by Capcom, Platinum or Team Ninja, the world is not that fun to explore and most side quests aren't interesting. The result is a game that would've been a lot better if it had 50% or even 60% of it completely cut from the final product. I say this because this is a 50 hour long "Devil May Cry" game, except there's a reason games like Devil May Cry are usually short (like 10 hours long) and very replayable. To me personally, XVI would be better if it was structured like a DMC game, meaning "cutscene at the start of a mission, walking around a bit killing enemies, boss fight, cutscene, end of mission". Straight to the point. Which is interesting because that's EXACTLY what the demo was, like... that castle/tower section that leads to the Garuda fight was (by coincidence or not) a perfect slice of what a "Final Fantasy May Cry" could've been. Instead those sections are like 20% of the game with most of the game being just fetch quests, and filler content between major story moments (you know what I'm talking about) that you desperately wanted to skip to get to the next big set piece moment.
I would say 40% of XVI is a 8.5/10 character action game but the other 60% is the most bland and boring 5/10 action RPG I've played. There is a great game underneath all the rubble and as funny as it may sound, a Director's CUT with most of the game completely removed would end up being a better product. Actually, the "time attack" mode that unlocks after you beat the game is pretty fun for this exact reason.
You can tell that FF16 was rushed and that the developers were lazy with the game. They only focused on Clive, somewhat the cutscenes, and the boss fights. Everything else was boring. It's fine for a game to have flaws but FF16 has way too many flaws that are unjustified imo. Here's some of the issues that I have with the game (most of this is a copy/paste but is very long too lmao):
The pacing of the game was so off. The 13 year time skip is completely understandable but to this day I still don't understand the 5 year time skip. I also thought it was ridiculous that none of the characters personalities or even appearances except for Clive's even changed after the 5 year time skip. There's also no explanation as to why Joshua stays away from Clive for those additional 5 years.
Literally none of the other characters again except for Clive even get to shine on their own and we don't learn much about their stories or why they are the way they are. It's like they all only exist for Clive's development and I find that so insulting to the characters and a complete waste of them. Out of all of them though, I'd say Jill was without a doubt the character that was done the dirtiest and I'm sure everyone knows why.
Unfortunately, the only character that we see all of the other characters bond with is Clive and they get no other meaningful connections with anyone else
The side quests except for the endgame quests were repetitive, boring, and unrewarding. All of them were either just fetch/kill quests. Even main story stuff is repetitive. You go destroy a crystal/stop an antagonist, come back to base, do crappy side quests and repeat that throughout the whole game.
The loot you find in the game is not that great
The gameplay was way too easy (I didn't die a single time in my playthrough) and the design of it is lazy because it didn't have much enemy variety, no enemy weaknesses/strengths. The other characters in your party are completely useless and hardly do any damage in battle and what's even more ridiculous about the gameplay and is probably the stupidest thing that I've ever seen in an FF game is that the characters in your party are immortal and can never be incapacitated in battle. What the actual fuck is that? It makes no logical sense for any party member whether they're playable in the game or not to have eternal fucking health. Whoever designed the gameplay for FF16, you deserve to be fired for that reason alone, I don't care.
The game has an unnecessary ambiguous ending, but the game still gives off an obvious hint that Clive dies from the curse. I don't really see a point in ambiguous endings unless the story is going to have more somehow, and if Clive is dead then I think that throws part of his character development out of the window. Part of Clive's character arc is about him living and there's even multiple characters in the game especially Joshua, Jill and even Cid scolding him to save himself. What was the point in all of that only to have him die in the end?
The developers could've done a lot better than this. Such a wasted potential, and I think it's hilarious that the developers pretend that they don't know why the game didn't sell to their expectations. You know, I think if they had just given what the fans wanted for the DLCs, it's possible that that alone could've saved the game. They admitted that they knew what the fans wanted before the DLC even came to be but they didn't care what people wanted, and look what happened lmao. Hardly anyone even played it, and I'm glad because that's also what they get for lying about what the DLCs were going to be about.
@@phoenixblossom2167 Yea.. honestly, it’s baffling that Square Enix is making meetings to figure out why FF hasn’t been selling well lately. And it never crosses their mind the fact that they’ve been going against fan feedback for more than a decade. Nobody liked 13, they went and made 2 sequels. Not only people didn’t like the direction 15 went, the game itself was incomplete at release. And now this is the FF16 we got.
Remake and Rebirth are good games but the FF brand is in shambles at this point. Nobody has any faith in it.
@@Ocean5ix The fans are what make them, so it's not wise imo if they don't take valid criticism from the fans into consideration. They obviously look at feedback including the negative and we know they see it because they admitted to it, but again they don't care. And like you said, it's not even crossing their mind that the problem is that they don't care.
They don't have anyone to blame but themselves...
@@Ocean5ixBeing compared to a ps2/3 game is great in my book. I prefer the linearity of the world and simple dungeon design since I just want to fight enemies. It's much better than the open world slop we have today. And I do agree it'd be much better if it was structured like a DMC game cause the fetch quests are boring. I have to disagree with you regarding what you said about just playing DMC if you want the combat, though. I tend to view 16 as a much more chill version of DMC. It may not have as much depth compared to it but there's still some pretty cool spectacles you can pull off without having to do crazy inputs whereas if I want something more technical with more skill involved I'll just play DMC. It just depends on my mood.
Man, what an excellent video! 👏🏽
Beautifully crafted but I had to skip the DLC chapter for the vid tho.
You inspired me to finally go and finish it.
I did the Echos DLC but not the Tide yet.
1 year Anniversary,.. what better time than now.
Absolutely! The Rising Tide is a fun little piece of content, and if you enjoyed the base game, you'll love this DLC.
I really loved FFXVI. I didn’t mind the fully action-based battle system. I don’t get the “isn’t an rpg” thing, but I guess that means something different to each person. My favorite thing about FF is the difference between the titles-what makes each game unique.
My biggest issues with the game were the lack of enemy variety and the poor loot/treasure systems. I feel that improving these two aspects would have nullified a lot of other complaints in the game.
I played the DLC and loved it. Makes further playthroughs that much more worthwhile. Can’t wait to replay on PC and hopefully XBOX.
My favorite track in the game is Control btw.
I agree for sure. It is still an RPG, however, it lacks depth in those systems that people are used to in other JRPGs. Exploration, looting, and enemy variety in mechanics were all dumbed down so that people could focus on the story, and that, imo, was a bit overdone. Still though I loved the game despite it's problems and no game is really perfect at the end of the day.
this is a great detailed video on everything to love about ff16, thank you!! simply rekindles the love I had for this game, so keen to play it again on PC when it eventually comes out 😁
you - good sir - made me play the game again!! thank you for that
Truly excellent story / character summary. Thank you for making this video. It’s exactly what I needed so I can start playing the game even though I pre-ordered it! 🤗❤️. You made me interested in the game. 🤗
Awesome review! As a big fan of FF since SNES, I couldn’t agree more with you! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Amazing video, i'd love for you to do this with all the other FF's
@@neoandroid8586 I would love to! The only problem is how long these type of videos take, and I’d probably like to replay them again so it’s fresh in my mind. Otherwise, it’s definitely a type of video I would love to do again.
Final Fantasy XVI is my favorite game of 2023 and I'm confident it's in my top 5 FF games, weaknesses aside. Great video, man!
Thank you! And it's definitely one of my favorite gaming experiences ever.
Amazing review. It's rare to find others who truly understand the combat system, both the good and the bad.
I wanted to love this game so much! This game is full of highs and lows. Sadly for me. The bad out weighed the good. 95% side quest are awful. Gameplay while fun, becomes very tedious. In fact. Playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth made me dislike playing FF16. I like the characters. I like the music. I like the writing. I didn't like exploring. Every time there's a high in the story and gameplay. The game stops and goes to a crawl. I nearly quite because I got bored going through the slower parts in the game.
Its been a year and I haven't thought about this game other then when I was playing FF7R and how much more I loved the combat in FF7R. The story and game just didn't stick with me. I do plan to replay the game again one day to see if my opinion changes.
This is an excellent video about the flawed masterpiece that is FFXVI!
This game is in my Top 5 Final Fantasy games and I can’t wait to see what CS3 is cooking next!
@@darthacez Hell yeah, I appreciate it! Even with its flaws it’s easily in my top 5 FF games as well. And I’ve always been a fan of CS3's style of game so I’ll definitely be on the look out for their next title, for sure!
Thank you.
Great writing, editing, delivery. Fair and measured criticism and praise, get this man more subs!
I appreciate that sm!
i had to get used to the Duty Pop sound effect lmao. i'm not even playing ff14 but i react to that sound
To Sail Forbidden Sea uses the same melody as the boss FATE music in FF14.
Ff12 and ff16 are the best ones I've played so far🤷
The only thing i would have loved to see in ff16 would be been a more flushed out magic/effects system. Like the basic spells in other ff games couldve been added as weapon effects
I appreciate your take on all this. Well played. Great game. Hands down.
Imma be real, I feel like Jill was the most compelling and well written character next to Clive. Imo she has more development than people give her credit for, and she still has direction and an arc that goes somewhere following through right to the end of the game, it's just relatively subtle and told through little moments/dialogues rather than another big setpiece like the Iron Kingdom. I keyed into so much more during my second playthrough, her writing is actually really good and she's much more of a three dimensional character than even Joshua.
Unfortunately she suffers the most from the writing issues in the third act, and there are some big issues with her execution ofc. I think if she had just that little bit more she would have landed better overall. Show her curse, emphasize it and her need to start taking care of herself by having her fight Titan with Clive instead of what happened at Rosalith, dig a little deeper into her relationship with Shiva, etc.
@@foob420 That is exactly how I feel about her character. She’s a good and well written character that intertwines with Clive nicely, however, she lacks direction going into the latter half of the game. Instead they choose to focus more on only Clive and Joshua and Jill was just not given enough material, but she still has her moments as well.
I still remember how unsettled I was when Ultima first appeared on screen. Dude made my skin crawl at first. Lol
Worried about Joshua spoilers but splicing in cutscenes from the ending 😂 Despite this strangeness, I really appreciated and enjoyed this video!
Most people new probably wont even notice that small clip even if they do make it all the way through this 40 minute vid lol, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
FF16 shares the same criticism with DMC where the gameplay loop is like cutscene => fight in a room full of enemies => cutscene => rinse&repeat
That loop made the game feel a bit monotonous, especiall when non boss enemies offer very little challenge.
And the customization also kinda feels unnecessary. In many rpg, swapping builds are important for different kinds of encounter. In FF16, every build works, so the customization here feels like it's a limitation rather than a strategic element. Imo, the game feels better if they allow the players to have access to all the movesets at the same time.
Nevertheless, i enjoyed my time with FF16. It was a really epic adventure.
Will have to come back to this again game once I finish ff7 rebirth, miss it
FFXVI is one of my all time favorite Final Fantasy. It’s incredible ❤
I’m someone who’s only played a few FF games here and there. Last year I decided I’d buy a few games that I knew nothing about and got FF16! Man what a freaking experience, one of my favorite moments was when Clive was running after Gav was cornered on the cliff, Clive remembers how he failed Joshua but steels himself and catches Gav, bruh I was moved:) amazing game one of the few I actually finished last year
Definitely one of my favorites in both the series and of last year, for sure!
I loved this game. I still do. And I love the fact that they added two DLC‘s still haven’t finished them yet❤❤ but I love the additions
I forgot about the best soundtrack in video game history. hope they add more difficult options in pc version
Despite XVI not being a perfect game, I can confidently say that Clive is my favorite FF protag of all time (followed closely with the 7R version of Cloud), he really is the highlight of the game for me along with the Summons
Love this game to bits, only wish it had a main mini game like Queens Blood or Blitz Ball
Im playing it for the first time now and having a blast, even though i will probably prefer rebirth since i love vii and remake, xvi is for sure a hell of a game, and one of the best action games ever
This was a brilliant video, it was like you’re in my head as I agree with everything you’ve said. Great to see someone who is aware of its flaws but still absolutely loves it for all its strengths (which far outweigh the down sides) I’m still playing it and listening to the soundtrack regularly. Even rebirth didn’t reach the same highs, objectively sure it’s a better game, but FFXVI is a game I’m way more passionate about, it’s definitely my favourite game of the series
I absolutely agree. I loved Rebirth and I do think overall it's a better rounded game then XVI, but the highs, the story and characters in XVI just did it for me more.
@@MoreLimitless_ 100% agree
I keep replaying till this day, FF mode with all the eikons changes from the last update makes it even better.
@@Kooptj FF mode is a fun playthough, for sure. It’s unfortunate that it’s locked behind a first playthrough like remake; I don’t think that trend is great at all.
Geoff really robbed this game of a goty contention spot over MARIO AND A 2004 REMAKE…
Great breakdown!
So I’ve just picked up a copy of this game for real cheap in the bargain bin at my local game store
Aside from playing a little bit of the original original ff 7 This will be my first Final Fantasy game
I’ve heard that this game is a bit different from the previous previous games is there anything else I should know ?
It's different from a lot of the games but so are a lot of other FF games, don't let that deter you from enjoying it though. It is a fully fledged combo action game with some inspiration from DMC combat. The games setting is inspired by things like game of thrones and Final Fantasy Tactics so if you enjoy more traditional western style fantasy this may be a good one for you. Other than that definitely give it a go because for me, it definitely sits in my top 3 FF games oat.
How much did you get it for?
I always got the feeling that the development of this game was min maxed. Side missions and rpg elements almost feel like afterthoughts compared to all the clear effort that was put into graphics, story and combat.
Its more of the fact that other areas of the game just took up THAT much budget that they had to compromise. As a result, other areas in the game suffered more than others. This isn't a studio that does things by half, so it's in all likelihood that they ran low on budget because of how expensive 16 already was to create.
Convinced me to go back and givd it another try. Cheers
I played a year later, too. I feel like the game was better playing thru again. Ending was still meh but I had a LOT more fun experimenting with Eikon combinations n stuff
it's been a year?!
I'm just glad this game stuck with its core mechanic. FE7 Rebirth had way too many minigames that I became burned out from it after I had beaten it.
I played it a few months ago and I liked it, the only mistake I made was to play it after finishing FF7 Rebirth because the gameplay it's much more simple...
39:33 this is exactly why I love final fantasy, i can have different experiences each time i play, i never understood why ff fans are so pressed when a new main line title is different from the last. I thought that was the whole point
@@AdrianG23228 It’s been evidently clear for 20+ years. There are just a very loud minority that say FF isn’t FF because it changes combat systems and that to me is just plain wrong not only for what the series represents, but when there are so many other game franchises that do the same thing and have no problem with their fanbase. The FF fanbase is the equivalent to Star wars in video games.
On June 22nd, I celebrated the game's 1st year anniversary with Soken and Koji Fox at Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY.
That's awesome!
What the price the game>?
No game is perfect. But xvi for me is the game of the year.❤❤❤
Eah it is true that the game design and subquest gets the cut due to the high budget of the Eikon fight 😅.
And for sure they blow the budget with Bahamit. Because the fights after that feels very grounded. 😅
I still think about this game 1 year later.
I really just want the OST on Streaming already
I completely agree with you on Ultima. He's a very misunderstood and thus disliked character. But he's a pretty cool villain. And along everything you said about him, let me add that he's a vehicle for Clive to be a total badass. The entire final boss is amazing.
He is definitely an amazing foil to Clive
taking into account its a newly formed team from CBU 3 (background being FF12,14, the last remnant, vagrant story) and its their first foray in an action hack and slash rpg, its actually a success and a good starting template for future entries for them to iterate from. The jarring nature of the quests I keep seeing people criticizing about is a side effect of the action hack and slash aspects mixing with the traditional JRPG formula. Really, all the quests here are your standard JRPG quests with talking to people and doing fetch/kill quests. Its weird people are blaming it being MMO quest design just because they worked on 14. People are just so used to Witcher 3 or Western Action/Adventure style RPG quests that they forgot that JRPG quest design has always been like that. Another series that has thrived with this formula has been the Trails JRPG saga and Xenoblade series, but I do understand as a more mainstream franchise they have to appeal to a more wider audience in terms of quest design so they need to step up and be more up to western standards.
Well tbf it is pretty MMO quest structure as I play 14 a lot, and I can agree that a lot of the design philosophy in 14 carries over. That's not necessarily a bad thing because in many ways it works here. However, the problem is that in 16, a lot of the quests are indistinguishable from one another making every single quest feel draining and uninspired. It's not the writing within the quest because they can definitely be interesting but the design itself isn't great when each one fundamentally feel the same in it's gameplay loop.
@@MoreLimitless_ i do agree the omission of puzzles, gimmicks and mini games hurt the variety of the quests. Basically they had more story/lore than gameplay variety to pair it with which ff7r had an overabundance of. From one of the interviews I read they said it was in favor of “immersion” since the game’s tone would clash with a random puzzle/minigame. I personally think they just didnt have the resources.
I'm honestly playing this game right now, and it's good it got buried under so many good releases such as Baldur's Gate 3, it just doesn't make it a bad game. Even though it is more an action game than an RPG, it's a very very epic action game.
I completely agree. It has flaws of its own, and the lack RPG elements is very noticeable, but I don’t believe that diminishes all the positives of the game imo.
I liked it too, but the mandatory fetch quest after fighting Titan just made me fall asleep while I was playing it. I don't even remember whay I was doing.
That’s understandable. That is one of the main criticisms I had of the game myself.
Pacing issues aside i really enjoyed the game and found the gameplay fun.
So much of the theming in this game feels like “I’m 13 and this is deep”. Maybe it’s the old timey dialect that it’s presented in, I don’t know. I really liked the story setup in the demo/intro. Just feels like it drops a lot of that setup by the halfway point and shifts focus to “everything will get better if we kill god”. Combat was simple but felt great. Boss battles are definitely the highlight for me.
@@lazersword66 it’s way more nuanced than just “kill god everything better.” As I explained in in the video all of the antagonists in the game represent the themes of the game including Ultima. He isn’t forced in because he’s always been there from the jump, and it’s just classic FF. Ultima is essentially the representation of the oppression Clive and gang go through, throughout the entire game just through the lens of a classic FF god-like villain. I think Ultima works very well within the world of Valisthea and acts as a great foil to Clive as a character. Sure, his execution could have been better, but I do not believe he’s a bad villain in my experience.
@@MoreLimitless_ I get what you’re saying. It’s the direction they went with and it works. I think I was just really disappointed when Dion gets manipulated into killing his father and eleminates the empire as an antagonist. There was so much setup. Dion’s secret lover, the new young prince, the power struggle between the dragoons and emperor. I was on the edge of my seat with all that setup. But the young prince turned out to be not real(?) and Dion destroys the capital in the middle of his coup d'état. I get that it’s all in line with the theme of free will but it still fell flat for me.
@@lazersword66the prince wasn’t “not real,” he was corrupted by Ultima because he desired a similar level of control to him.
I will be honest, I enjoyed the game in its whole (main story and side content) more than FF7: Rebirth.
It's been a year already!? I wanted to play it. But, with work, school, and family, I didn't get around to it. I had to prioritize my time towards FF7 Rebirth.
@@tmwk__Yeah, I can hardly believe it. When you do get the chance, definitely try out the demo first to see how you like it as it is a very different experience from something like the remake trilogy or past FF games, but I highly recommend it!
It's been a year and I'm still waiting for the PC port to come out so I can play it 🙃
Supposedly soon this year, but hopefully we can get a release date soon
I will never stop glazing final fantasy 16
My primary reason for playing video games my whole life has always been to experience their stories so I really thought I would be in for a treat with this final fantasy entry. Unfortunately, despite loving many an action rpg I have never been able to enjoy a game focused on combos. I can’t remember them or get my fingers to push the right buttons under the pressure. It was such a disappointment that there were no other sub systems to fall back on in FF16 to enjoy when combat took their joy out of the game for me. This game is story and combat and nothing else. No real loot, upgrades, status effects, or anything. I had to stop playing and watch it instead.
So far my favorite FF game. Id say FF7 but they put too many damn side quest bloat that it ruins the story experience.
I really enjoy it
Best game I've ever played no matter what people say
Well, it's finally coming to PC. I can't wait!.....I really hate how Sony is hogging games that otherwise should be multiplatform
I'm watching this while playing XIV and the que pop sounds keep making switch tabs
@@recondinent2 Lmao I’m so sorry 😅 ig I didn’t take into account that there would be people queuing XIV dungeons while watching this lol.
I think the flaws in Final Fantasy XVI also have to do with the flaws of this generation as a whole. The fact the game was developed in direct opposition to what Final Fantasy XV was in terms of lore and gameplay, having a huge world but with barely anything to do other than hunts and side quests in it. The graphics also took center in development over the gameplay as it felt like there was too little to experiment with. Although it was fun to play, it’s story was amazing, the themes of Final Fantasy are all there, as an action RPG it felt like more than a few things were missing. Be it minigames, extended abilities, or replay value, it also felt like it needed more content. I hope the next game is turn based, maybe not completely pixelated graphically but a return to X’s turn based system with more than 3 characters usable at a time would be nice.
I love this game so fucking much
I agree that RPG elements were almost non-existent, and the loot collection was just straight garbage…but! I loved loved loved my time with this game! I think about it everyday with the strongest nostalgia, nostalgia that makes me seek out videos like these. Once the dust settles, I think I will consider this game in the top 3 of ff. 10, 12, and 16. Those are the best.
I want to add that 8 is my favorite, but I recognize that favorite and best are different things.
With every new FF comes its fair share of hate, but as the years go by it finally gets judged for what it does good rather than what it isn't. Ofc their are genuinely great criticisms like pacing, quest design etc. however, if any game deserves a fair shake I really think it is this game. You can tell how much work was put into this game to make sure it was a complete package at launch. Not every person is going to love it, and that's fine, but I really just think FF16 is a solid game right out the gate.
@@MoreLimitless_ I like what what you said about judging a game for what it is rather than what it isn’t. What this game is is an incredible story. Let’s assume the people who come to this video have completed the game, so we can talk spoilers.
When Clive cuts Hugo’s hands off!? Stabs Odin? Punches ultima in the fucking face!?? Those are possibly thee most adrenaline-pumping, badass moments in gaming history! And that’s what makes this game truly great from the very first sequence: it is clear you, as a player, are experiencing new heights in gaming as a whole. I believe this game will be fondly remembered as setting new benchmarks in what cinematic gameplay can and should do.