A Critical Analysis of Final Fantasy XVI

[@Toksyuryel]

I must be no one then because this "game for no one" is absolutely for me

[@IzunaSlap]

Its like Square read my mind and created exactly the game I personally wanted.

[@ItalianAvalanche]

I thought it was great. They missed the mark in a few places but overall I thought it was terrific. It bothered me that you only got to see cities while they were being sieged and most of the visitable areas were little outposts. XV has the same problem but worse because almost every visitable location was a gas station. I also didn’t ever really feel like my team was in any danger as the game basically immediately puts half the worlds Eikons on the players team.

[@parzival123]

its for people who want a story not a game

[@soracool1234]

​@@parzival123Not a game? The gameplay is still great, if you like hack & slash style games. There's plenty of combo capability, plenty of combat variation with the eikon abilities and system and plenty of fights that test your ability to interact with those mechanics. I can understand people having an issue with FF15s combat system being a bit too simple but 16s I can't agree with at all. I find it very similar to the people that said GoW 2018 and Ragnaroks combat was button mashy and had little depth. Which far from the truth, as It's only like that if YOU decide to play it like that.

[@jorgechi4627]

A game for DMC fans btw

[@OmarO_721]

Honestly regarding Active Time Lore. Whenever the Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy Remaster comes out, these games could seriously use Active Time Lore, that way the datalog entries you need to know can be accessed immediately

[@CelestialLimbo]

I like the Active Time Lore feature conceptually, but I don't like how it was used in FFXVI. A story should fundamentally be able to stand on its own. You don't need a supplemental dictionary next to you. I have the impression that the ATL feature was born after feedback that the story was too complex to follow. So while I like the idea of the ATL, I feel in this case it was used as a crutch for the story.

[@poisonvolkswagon9431]

@@CelestialLimbo I disagree. The main problem I have with JRPGs is over exposition. in FF16 I wanted to actually learn about the lore myself and it is more interesting as a player

[@CelestialLimbo]

@@poisonvolkswagon9431 There's a distinction between supplemental lore (FFXIII Datalogs, FFXII Bestiary, etc) and using a lore-function as a crutch because your story isn't delivered optimally. I don't think this is a big minus for XVI but I do believe the ATL feature got introduced because the script is admittedly verbose. The English script even more so, since they have two terms for each faction (JP script doesn't have that I believe).

[@poisonvolkswagon9431]

@@CelestialLimbo Oh yes I see now. Defo there's an element of that. Since I've grown tired of over exposition, I was happy to spend my time filling the gaps. It reminded a bit of Dark Souls. In terms of been verbose, nothing compares to Trails series so as long as it isn't like that is fine for me. Game has flaws but in general I was surprised they went for a grittier and more mature tone which is reflected in the script

[@aperture_v2]

I'm sorry, I immediately disagree. I loved ff16.

[@xiiir838]

How does it feel being in the minority?

[@Dermetsu]

@@xiiir838 It was well received by both fans and critics alike, how does it feel to be blinded by nostalgia? Metacritc, Open Critic and Steam Reviewers are all positive.

[@xiiir838]

@@Dermetsu 😂 aha, that's why there's almost no videos over 80k (sometimes even less) talking about the game, that's why the vast majority of the content of this game is negative or indifferent instead of overwhelmingly positive. I'm 25 years old. I played my first final fantasy ever in 2021 and I haven't stopped trying to play them all ever since. If your only argument against me is straight up making up BS without evidence that speaks volumes, not only about you, but about the entirety of the FFXVI fan base that uses the same petty tactics to deflect criticism or attack the critics.

[@Dermetsu]

@@xiiir838 Made things up? You came here with the source, "trust me bro" while citing it not having enough retrospectives as if that means ANYTHING? Metacritic PS5/PC: 87 Critic Score/8.2 User Score Opencritic PS5/PC: 88 Critic Score/80 Player Score Steam Reviews: Mostly Positive with 77% of 7,600 reviews being positive Every viewable metric that we the player can see show the game was generally well liked, your feelings don't change the general reception at all.

[@MobikSaysStuff]

@@xiiir838 It's one of the most profitable Final Fantasy's ever made. This is the direction they will move now. Cope with the fact that no one wants to play your old ass turn based trash, keep screaming at the clouds, old man.

[@fl8518]

SE keep chasing the "COD market" that doesn't exist for a final fantasy game, it blows my mind that after all these years they don't understand this, FF16 started for me as 9/10 and end up as 6/10 BTW How the effing f.... you don't have an FF game without proper companions?? that's just pure blasphemy decision, can you imagine FF9 or 10 companion like 16? Bruh! this is a big L to Yoshi-P

[@gnuwaves743]

Totally agree. Party members are a defining part of JRPGs. Even if they aren’t playable. They could have made this a DMC spin off if they cut the side quests. I think it honestly would have sold better.

[@asdfghjkllkjhgfdsa8725]

Meanwhile metaphor is proving actual jrpgs still crush. Imagine if square released a true final fantasy.

[@cantbehelped]

I liked the game, but I like DMC type games as well as action RPGs and turn based RPGs. I really felt a lot of the game was watered down with linear stats/equip/level progression but I enjoyed the characters, the voice acting and the setting. However, I dont really see myself going back to replay it in Final Fantasy Mode, hell I didnt even finish the DLC yet. I've accepted that a new numbered turn-based FF game isnt ever happening again. I got bored of FF14 because MMOs arent my jam but I'll accept that the devs are more in their element in that space. So many people have tried to sell me on 14 being the best FF ever but I dont see it, Im too attached to singleplayer experiences- feels more personal and meaningful to me. Still I'm at a point in my life where I have stopped caring about what makes something a "true entry" in whatever series and just go on a "did I enjoy it/parts of it" or "did it make me not want to continue playing" and through that lens Ive been a lot more content with the state of everything I fell in love with as a young player changing over time in this industry

[@CrayonCruncher]

FF14 is a single-player game with MMO elements. And you don't even have to play the MSQ multiplayer anymore at all. You just have to have the patience to read and get through the "world building" part of the very long story being told and remember that each expansion is a single, full-length video game, not a new "part" of a netflix show or "DLC". Sure, not every cutscene is voiced and full of spectacle, but I think it really is just a game for people who liked to read and understand the flow of good storytelling. Overall, it really is the best storytelling the devs at Square have to offer, so I'd recommend you try again with these things in mind... if you do try again sometime.

[@Nastara]

My issue with FF14 is that the same watered-down stat/equip/level progression plagues that game. And the good story is far away. Played for hours through braindead gameplay and never reached the good story.

[@budigunawan1677]

This is more like PS3 era God of War with Game of Thrones vibe

[@gnuwaves743]

I’d like a “spiritual successor” to ff9 or ff10. Doesn’t need to be made by square enix or have AAA graphics. Just a game that carries the spirit of those entries. With qol updates and a fun cast. There’s enough room in the industry for those games to exist. But those games are probably very hard to replicate.

[@budigunawan1677]

@gnuwaves743 yeah probably indie devs are the best bet although it should be cheap enough to produce for Squeenix too since they're going back to pixel-based with Octopath Travelers. Thanks for not hating on FF 16 like those haters that act like the game ran over their dogs even after more than a year...

[@irvyne6111]

I feel like I should just take a deep breath and admit that the series I fell in love with is dead, and it's not coming back. I am not a fan of the direction FF15 and FF16 have gone in. But something in me feels like there might still be a glimmer of hope that the series could find its way again... Maybe...

[@R83145]

The "mature" story that seems to consist mainly of cheap shock effects and overused plot devices.

[@gnuwaves743]

Gotta be Game of Thrones.

I love FFXVI and acknowledge all its flaws. The combat is very fun. The side quests are insufferable. Someone said they got better in the second half of the game but no. They're always the same fetch tasks with boring dialogue and insignificant rewards. The story is pretty cool, and the worldbuilding very interesting. Too bad the explorable world itself feels empty. Vast, beautiful and empty.

[@Dzzy123]

The story got worse as it went on after Benedikta died. Once she died, the other Dominants felt like they were villains of the week. The Hugo arc was silly and I felt his character never made sense. Dion's arc was great. Barnabas was a huge disappointment once we learn that he's just a servant for Ultima. Every sword feels the same as the last. Why didn't they take a page out of IX and have each weapon come with a new ability attached? It might have made the swords feel more unique. Also, why can't Clive wield great swords? That could have affected the way the player has to time button presses to achieve combos.

[@peterricka32]

I really liked FF16 ... in my POV getting home from work and wanting to play something chill and story heavy... it was perfect for that ❤ and the story was enjoyable

[@Mr.Gator15]

Hating on FF16 in 2024 is absolutely fucking wild Edit: After finally finishing this video (sorry it took so long) I wanna actually talk about it. Firstly the first half of this video felt like a genuine and fair critique (I also want to mention this is my first ff so I will definitely be biased) though some things felt so unbelievably unfair for example your complaint about the fighting feeling repetitive is something you actively disproved with your background footage as it has different moves but they aren't explained well like stomp or downthrust they have multiple variations too or your complaint about the fluff or the boring quests they are supposed to be world building quest every single quest big or not is meant to connect you to the world. Another point i didn't like was your "where's blitzball" complaint as though it doesn't have that the game itself gives you shit to do so I felt that second half felt so mean spirited and felt so unfair to the game. Again this is my first ff so I'm biased and even then certain complaints I see are some i can agree with like the lack of a party or the simple mini games I've seen what other ffs can be like for example 10 is the one my brother plays and he fell in love and i can see why but if you view this game from a perspective of just a game not a final fantasy you can easily see that a lot of criticism is just nostalgia but some points you made were more than valid so yeah i can see where this review is coming from all in all you gained the sub also my favourite eikon fight was either vs titan lost or vs bahamut✊

[@gnuwaves743]

Too late or too soon?

[@IzunaSlap]

Considering there are far worse, horribly worse games coming out, wasting time hating on FFXVI is laughable.

[@Mr.Gator15]

@@gnuwaves743 as in it came out a year ago and no matter how you slice it it's a great game unless you simply don't like the genre itself and yet somehow not realising this in 2024 is insane let's just hate on all action based story games like fuck all of god of war or fuck asuras wrath

[@Xoulrath_]

​@@Mr.Gator15you said it in your own comment and don't get why people hate on it. Pathetic.

[@bucket9486]

@@IzunaSlap yes because everyone on the internet has to be talking about the same games all at the same time without exceptions (backlogs and personal interests do not exist)

[@archdetective]

First half was great. The later half was filled with expectations that were never met. It's an ok game. But as a long time fan, I don't expect FF to be just ok.

[@MNTAlter]

I'm OK with Square stop doing RPGs, I'm already having Sega, Nintendo, Nihon Falcom, Bandai Namco (sometimes), and even frigging Koei Tecmo. Rest in peace Final Fantasy, your legacy will continue along with other franchises

[@gnuwaves743]

They should bring up the quality of their spin offs. Maybe they could repeat what Atlus did with Persona with something a more light hearted tone.

[@jiggerypokery2962]

Final Fantasy XVI is for me. I have 152 hours in it. Beat it 3x and did the DLC. The game is just pure fun. Gamers just don't want new and unique stuff, the want the same old comfort food.

[@budigunawan1677]

The SJWs are still hating on it because it has no black characters

[@carbxncle]

BUT WHY CAN'T WE HAVE YET ANOTHER FF7 RELAUNCH AND GET TO PLAY AS A 16 YEAR OLD CHILD OR A FEMBOY??? 😂😂😂

[@ellie-vii]

@@budigunawan1677 oh what do you know, another "anti-woke" gamer who actually thinks hes smart. comment section comedy. 😍

[@budigunawan1677]

@ellie-vii oh look another judgmental Karen on the internet.

[@ellie-vii]

@@budigunawan1677 cute

[@cirmothe9]

Y'know what's freaking weird? I'm starting to miss Final Fantasy XIII.

[@xiiir838]

There's a XIII-2 demo if you still have a PS3 or can get one. I played that and XIII-3 demos and they make me buy the whole trilogy an playe it. Narratively weak games, but XIII-2 combat and time travel mechanics are great, and Lighting Returns combat/job system is one of the best I've played in the series. I encourage you to play them

[@Unordinary-lg4yt]

All of the sudden the older entries start looking good. Same old story with you people. Two entries later this game will start “looking good.” Ingrates, I tell you.

[@IzunaSlap]

Lets not get carried away now

[@IzunaSlap]

@@Unordinary-lg4yt Its called the Zelda Effect

[@TrvisXXIII]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

[@Sweetwaterdream]

Final Fantasy 16s story felt like promise unfulfilled. It kind of fell apart after the first half and became much less interesting and certain characters i thought would become very interesting just didnt in the end. It also seems like Yoshi-P cant really design interesting side quests 😅. The combat was actually quite fun at the start but then slowly became bland and the abilities were very overpowered. It was also sad your “party members” werent customisable and were just window dressing. It didnt feel like a team based game which is something i always enjoyed in Final Fantasy.

[@paledrake]

You summed up all my thoughts.

[@ItalianAvalanche]

Yeah it seems like they put all their development into Eikon fights and neglected a lot of world-building and explorable cities. It really others me that you can only visit cities while they’re under siege. You can’t EVER visit the port city despite Clive’s uncle running it. That was very disappointing to me.

[@cjlake1233]

Negatives: 1. You can’t explore the nation’s capital cities. 2. You can’t walk through the world equivalent to FF7 Rebirth. If you could visit the major cities in the game equivalent to what Assassins Creed let’s you. I’d love it as much as Rebirth.

[@jsrobert20]

Loved the combat system and the story hooked me early. By the halfway point I was rushing just to finish it - way too few enemy types, boring envs, and a straightforward story. QTEs in '24? Stopped saying the old "would have been great if not named FF" years ago, the classic FF has been gone for nearly 20 years. Would have been better as a 10 hour game.

[@alanlee67]

Yea it grabbed me for a bit in the beginning. Boss battles were fun but trash mobs were completely pointless. I gave up after I got garuda.

[@jacquelinewarner-smith1770]

Final Fantasy XVI makes me terrified for the future of Dragon Quest (which is my favourite game series). Apparently, Dragon Quest XII is going to be geared towards a more mature audience. I don't want them to do to Dragon Quest what they did to this game. That would break my heart.

[@gnuwaves743]

I keep forgetting that game is still under development. It’s crazy we still haven’t seen anything yet. I’m really curious how they will approach the art style with games going foward. I’m sure art team for the next game will try to emulate Toriyamas work as best they can. But Toriyama was constantly evolving his style. Will they too evolve or keep it the same as DQ11 for the next several games? I’m positive they’d never make any drastic changes, Like FF.

[@xleaselife]

I've written novellas about why I disliked this game. The more time that passed after finishing it, the more my opinion soured. Everything about this game felt surface level, from the themes, to the characters, to the combat.

[@NAzo.]

Dude I am the same way. Reading people saying this is up there with the other FF on their tier list feels me with revulsion and disgust and makes me question if they know what good story telling is and what makes FF FF? This crap up and down pretends to be an RPG after showering people with a strong opening but once that make up wears off you see it for what it is. It didn't help me that I detested the combat system from the start. I tried giving it a chance like with FF13 but nope.

[@artjom94]

@@NAzo. Look at him knowing what FF is more than the people who made most of them and said that FF is whatever the team decides it is for every given installment. It must suck to be stuck in a pretentious "real FF" bubble and be dunked on even by the series creator himself.

[@NAzo.]

@@artjom94 It must suck that you're so mentally weak incapable of producing an original thought to defend your turd of a game called FF16 that you needed security by citing the FF creator as if that was going to invalidate hardcore fans like me from shitting on FF16 not including it as part of the mainline and calling it not a real FF with numerous reasons on why that exactly is the case which most likely means you could care less about the criticism and want folks to be as r3tarded and stoopid as you in blindly loving the game and accepting it Yeah, let's ignore legitimate criticism and keep wondering why their sales number have been dwindling believing that they can have numbers like those of FF15 not realizing the only reason was because of the drought of a new FF title being absent for years, a large marketing push, and an install base on the PS4 3 years into it's life made it successful. It's not because they've been trying to cater to an ADHD crowd who never gave a crap about them while giving the middle finger to their real fanbase leaving the thrown room empty for the taking. Meanwhile other corpo's have taken upon themselves to feed this starving fanbase and actually succeeding. Shouldn't you be enjoying yourself on some ADHD action games? Then listening to the rant of a hardcore FF fan?

[@X-Cactus]

​​​@@artjom94Whats that supposed to mean? None of that doesn't mean anything if the game is shit. To me, FFXVI is a movie game with nothing much going for it. Final Fantasy is more shallow and mainstream than it's ever been. Like I could give a fuck what the dev team considers a Final Fantasy. I don't consider it one and I'll never support it. And i dont give a fuck what Sakaguchi has to say if he's defending this trash heap and Square's stupid decisions.

[@miahthepisces3813]

I played through 16 for the first time last year and upon finishing it I felt empty. The ending made me cry because while I didn’t really love the story that much I did grow attached to Clive but I remember not really liking the overall experience my first time. after playing through it a second time the cracks really started to show for me. The monotonous gameplay, lack of party members, boring side quest, just really made me not love the game which made me really sad because I love final fantasy and really wanted to love this one considering we’re probably not getting another one anytime soon but I just couldn’t enjoy it. I know square really wanted to make a ff that would bring in new fans while also doing something new but it just left a really bad taste in my mouth. I feel like there’s still so much potential to make a great final fantasy with a fun versatile cast of characters, a fun fresh battle system that can incorporate elements of turn based, or active time battle type combat, a immersive world with lots of exploration and GOOD side quest, and decent story that’s easy to follow yet super intriguing but square just wants to keep trying to please everyone while also trying to appeal to new players.

[@hatertime]

FF16 was fine.

[@gnuwaves743]

I’ll give it a shot. Just waiting on that discount. But Japanese publishers can be stingy about that.

[@AzureRoxe]

Very weak fine.

[@hatertime]

@AzureRoxe I actually think is was really good. It's one of my favorite Character Action games since Nier Automata, but for the sake of diplomacy I said "fine."

[@NAzo.]

@@gnuwaves743 It will drop but it will take awhile. FF7 remake came down eventually so I'm sure that too. I just hope you don't fall for the deceit of FF16 and that it's a FF game. If you don't treat it as a FF game maybe will b ok if you can manage getting by with the other stuff. Don't compare Nier to this crap.

[@SacrificAbominat]

I don't doubt that what fans of 14 have been saying about how good that game is, but I definitely think they dropped the ball gameplay wise with 16. If you want a better take on the Kaiju Battles check out CyberConnect2's Asura's Wrath, heck their Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series probably does them better too. It's only 8 or so hours long so it doesn't overstay it's welcome either. Even though it's a 7th gen game I'd say it has significantly more hype moments than 16's most hype points. Oh you're going into space of fight Bahamut that's cool. The first boss of Asura's Wrath literally becomes the side of the planet and tries to crush you with his finger. It's hard to top punching a planet sized god's finger until he explodes, but Asura's Wrath does crazier stuff as you go through it. I will definitely say that gameplay wise it's not super strong, but if you just want dumb fun with a pretty heartfelt story it's a great interactive anime. Go with Devil May Cry or Bayonetta if you want a solid character action combat system. I'd also argue as much as the 13 trilogy got a lot of flack for it's pacing and combat those games are better than 15 and 16. Lightning Returns also has a way better more strategic character action combat system. The one thing I will definitely praise 16 for is it's story. Heck I stopped playing and just watched the cutscenes after a while and enjoyed doing that much more. I think the first half is solid while the second half is quite a bit weaker, but overall I thought it was very well written. My only complaint is the main villain kind of sucks, but I think the other villains hold this story up pretty well.

[@gilded_lady]

FF is no longer for me and that just makes me sad. But thankfully Atlus is still nailing it.

[@dontmatter1368]

Eh we get older, tastes change, quality definitely going down all across the board of all entertainment out there. One door closes leaving you with more time to explore opening others. Don't sweat it 😅

[@Dinomight125]

FACTS, I miss the old days back when FF was turned based. Hot take, but if I wanted to play DMC gameplay, i'd play DMC. I love both series don't get me wrong, but Final Fantasy just isn't what it used to be.

[@longphan7656]

@@Dinomight125 i mean its like 1 game out of 30 games the DMC dev is allergic to making DMC content so with FF having a DMC dev designing the combat, this is basically DMC 6 for me. It could be another 15 years before DMC 6 come out

[@Dinomight125]

@@longphan7656 Honestly, I feel that. Not even sure where'd they go story wise for the new DMC. We gonna be waiting for a while for a new one XD

[@aprile1710]

You should play the Legend of Heroes trails series

[@trashboatex]

Im a new final fantasy fan, my first one was 15 so 16 was a step up for me. Can't relate to the criticisms the same way you all do

[@kam_3953]

To my understanding 16 has and done everything that FF is and was, shaking things up and changed things. The thing is they don't like it. That's it. That's fine. It's okay to dislike it but people these days feel the need to dramatize their dislike or make a spectacle of it. 16 is a FF to it's core. Great game.

[@xiiir838]

​@@kam_3953uh, who told you that tho? Because he/she is blatantly LYING to you. 16 does nothing the previous fourteen mainline games did. For starters, it doesn't even have a single RPG element, either from the franchise or from any other RPG franchise

[@kam_3953]

@xiiir838 16 isnt an rpg. It's a FF yes

[@xiiir838]

@@kam_3953 Of course it is a Final Fantasy. It has the name on it. 13 is also a FF game, that weird Gauntlet Crystal Chronicles also is a FF game. That doesn't mean they're good

[@kam_3953]

@xiiir838 that's just an opinion. What's good is subjective to the individual. I liked 16 it was good for me.

[@GatheredMyst]

Very well done video, and I agree with every point... ... Except the narrative. It was about as messy as the combat, and for more reasons than its pacing. It didn't really do anything meaningful with its world building, and left too many plot points unfinished. Take the conflict between the nations as an example. What is started with such bombast eventually becomes background noise; inconsequential to the story, and glazed over at a map table by some ladys exposition. It doesn't impact the story at all after a point, so they just glaze over it. Then you have the character writing, which progresses in fits and spurts without threading the needle. Jill's relationship with Clive doesn't have enough meaningful setup, and then suddenly they're naked on the beach together. The King of Waload moves from meek in the very first cutscene to a fervent of Ultima, all without showing how he moved from point to point in his plotline... ... And don't get me started on Clive's relationships with Joshua. Having them hug a few times is not enough to establish the emotional depth needed for the climax. And it breaks my heart saying all this, too. I was looking forward to the game for over a year; patiently waiting for the PC release, only to be let down to such an extreme degree. Let's hope, indeed, that Square learns their lesson from this, because if this is the future of the franchise, the series is in serious trouble.

[@brennenhorton2493]

Your review makes me think this game could greatly benefit from an Atlus style re-release, or dare I say - A Realm Reborn style re-release. They could easily overhaul the combat, add more variety, mini-games etc if they wanted to.

[@Damon242]

The franchise really ought to return to turn based combat, not just because it’s consistent with all of the mainline entries before 11 but it carries over into party roles and dynamics which all further feed into the storytelling; the story becomes much less about the team when it becomes a main character power fantasy. There’s no reason another franchise couldn’t exist for this sort of action combat but it never needed to be Final Fantasy.

[@xiiir838]

Please, stop calling it turn based. It gives the genre a horrible pr. Call it what it actually is, an STRATEGY game.

[@Dermetsu]

@@xiiir838 Final Fantasy has never been strategic, quit trolling.

[@xiiir838]

@@Dermetsu you have never played a final fantasy game outside of XVI, that much is clear by now. Shut it

[@Dermetsu]

@@xiiir838 nice one buddy. Lifetime Final Fantasy fan here, you're just a blind fanboy who's mad that yet another FF was different from the prior title. Final Fantasy is known for its world building, epic stories and lovable casts, not for strategic gameplay. FF1 began the franchise being able to beat the entire game using 4 warriors and their basic attack, something you can do in virtually all of these titles unlike most other jrpg franchises. I think it's you who doesn't know shit about the series, or you just suck at gaming.

[@Dermetsu]

@@xiiir838 nice try buddy, but I'm a lifelong Final Fantasy fan who's finished every title that's not an MMO. You cannot tell me with a straight face that FF1, FF4, FF5, FF6, FF7, FF8, FF9, FF10, FF12, FF13, or FF14 are in any way challenging or strategic games, even within the JRPG subgenre. Since you only started in 2021, you were probably unaware that the early games we got in the west were the easy-type versions, as they thought Americans were too simple for the games. That means unless you played them in original japanese on original hardware or a fan romhack restoring the balance, 1-6 were all on game journalist difficulty, something none of the re-releases really fixed besides FF4 on the DS. Those pixel remasters are actually easier than the easy-type versions we got due to balance and QOL changes. FF1 can be beaten with a team of 4 warriors using basic attack, hell you could apply this to most of the games like 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, FF8 can be beaten without leveling once just spamming GFs due to level scaling. Unless you're going for end game side content, virtually none of these games can remotely be called strategic unless you count the lone strategy game Tactics. I've also been around long enough to see the fandom do what you're doing right now, every new game isn't a true final fantasy and you attack the fans who don't care or expect Final Fantasy to change with each iteration. I can still remember when FF7 was a fake final fantasy that ruined the franchise, or when the much beloved X was called a franchise ender for being linear and dropping staples like the overworld map. I'm sorry that YOU didn't enjoy 16, but going around trying to call out others or claiming easily conformable user metrics are fake data just make you look silly and irrational.

[@thepeanutter9972]

This game is honestly just too long. If the game were just its instanced levels it would be far shorter and made up of just the highlights of the story (90% of the open zone content is literal bloat anyway). It would also make the gaps between new Eikon abilities far shorter. Clive is a fantastic protagonist and he shines far above the supporting cast. A more personal narrative about Clive's vengeance against the other dominants would've been far more appropriate rather than a plot about humanity working together which doesn't fit the solo action gameplay. Honestly still a decent game regardless.

[@soracool1234]

While I dont agree with most of what you said I can agree that they could have cut down the run time a bit overall. Mostly in regards to the downtime main quests that happen after each big event, but I don't think just making the game more instanced level based would have been good. It probably would have made people feel more like it was FF13. And I really don't think a story more about Clive wanting revenge against the dominants would have been any better. Because the way the world is and him as a character, I think it would drastically diminish him as a character and wouldn't make much sense to the overall plot. Clive never had beef with the other dominants since he knows how dominants and bearers are treated by the world. They're usually either controlled by their nation to be used as weapons or just treated like literal shit. So why would he want to go on a war path specifically against the dominants? Outside of the one he thought destroyed his home and killed his brother. And it makes sense that even now he's still mostly solo in his journey to destroy the crystals because other than him, who else can? Most of the supporting cast are nowhere near as strong as he is and are in hiding supporting in the shadows to not be found out have everything they known be completely fucked. Hugo Kupka showed why that's very important.

[@jamesgravil9162]

"This feels like _too_ much of a different direction." That same criticism could be made of VII, which is still the most influential Final Fantasy game of all time.

[@garitobee7541]

The first 1/3rd of the game is the honeymoon phase, after that it falls apart. The combat is fun when you're first learning it and unlocking abilities and Eikons, but then it gets very repetitive and boring. The enemy variety and the fact that every single enemy in the game, from the tutorial fight to the final boss, is killed in the exact same way is ridiculous. Dodge always works for everything and is very forgiving. You are never challenged or taken out of your comfort zone in this game. CBUIII went for the old "Play the game how YOU want to play!" which inevitably means the game is bland - in order to play how YOU want to play, everything has to be viable no matter what, which limits encounter design. The game never requires you to think or strategize in any way. You are never required to change your Eikon loadout because everything always works, which makes anything other than the most OP combination sort of silly. "But what about the fun of trying different loadouts?" This game is so damn long, I already tried all the different Eikons and loadouts by 2/3rds through the game in the training area. Once I realized that Eikon combinations don't matter in any real way, you can literally take whatever you want and win, and the enemies are boring to fight because you've encountered everything the game is going to throw at you by 2/3rd through, I just went with the path of least resistance. In other words, the game got boring and I wanted it to end as quickly as possible. And I have to say... the soundtrack to this game is dull. I never thought I would play a Final Fantasy game where I never go back and listen to a track on KZbin. I played FF14, I know what Soken is capable of, and I was completely disappointed that he brought none of that to this game. What the fuck happened to him during development? This music he created is BORING. To be sure, the soundtrack isn't bad, it's just not great. The best word to describe it is "Generic". This is a very generic-sounding JRPG soundtrack. It fits the mood, but it doesn't excite. Here or there there are moments of excitement and beauty, but they are so, so rare. I finally decided the soundtrack was mid when I got to the desert area. It was the most generic, vaguely-arabic sounding music I've heard. The title of that track should be "Desert Theme in a video game #5512" - that's how dull it is.

[@Retro666nvst]

I got the plat, but this was one of the weaker entries in the series for me. It felt too similar to XV

[@davidalvarez5659]

After Dawntrail dude, I doubt they are as good as everyone believed they are. 21 hours of story with minimal gameplay.

[@SuperRamos619]

Dawntrail mostly suffers writing missteps. The ideas conveyed in their story wasn't bad, but the execution and focus was imbalanced. Combined with a lowered amount of solo duties left people feeling Dawntrail was a letdown.

[@paledrake]

Even Endwalker was horrible. They totally botched the finale of a 10 year spanning saga. It also retconned a lot of themes and even lore that Shadowbringer, their best expansion story-wise, brought into the series. The time travel doesn't work the same and makes no sense, despite being the same method used in Shadowbringers. It also paints Venat as a struggling saint, while she is the 2nd root cause for everyone's suffering and why most of the universe is now dead. Why? Because she didn't like her people and didn't believe in them, so obviously nuking the entire planet is the logical solution because you disagree.

[@artjom94]

@@paledrake You don't even know what Shadowbringers was about. How do you know what does or doesn't work?

[@paledrake]

@ Yes I did because I played it? What kind of comment is this?

[@zerorisker9161]

Bought it, started it…set it aside for a month. Went back, have played a significant amount…and then didn’t touch it for months and uninstalled. I really want to go back back finish it because I have played and finished every non-MMO FF, but the game has given me nothing to make me care thus far.

[@Jackjackalex]

It took me a whole year to finally finish it and I still felt my time was wasted.

[@theinimitablejora522]

Ooh, good video essay from good underrated video essayist that I disagree with but enjoy anyway? We dine tonight boys

[@mikelundy9840]

You have my exact thoughts about both 14 and 16. To me even playing on the hardest difficulty, 16 was insanely easy.

[@OskarXCI]

Ultimaniac was easy? What a Gamer.

[@theflashgordon193]

Easy on the hardest difficulty? Don't know how you guys doing. You die in a 3-4 touch. Even if you know enemy pattern I eventually getting hit and it's pretty risky when you had lot of enemy.

[@TrvisXXIII]

I already love the setup for this video, thank you for not wasting my time

[@salivatinggreed4219]

Old FF head here. Loved it. Loved the combat, I'm tired of turn based. The story was under written, and as with other "Ivalice" games, too big for its shoes. I am absolutely in love with how square tackled dark subjects and want to see more.

[@SOLIDPEDINI]

FF16 was incredible. Its very dark and has the courage to openly discuss Slavery. Its a game for intellgent people. unlike games like the last of us who cater to social engineering trends. The combat and story are insanely deep. ( you can do way crazier combos in FF16 than say God of war) its very long and has some of the best set pieces in gaming.

[@cozysushipm]

Can’t stress enough how happy seeing this video made me. I felt crazy last year when I told people I hated the game, but everyone loved it. I couldn’t see the appeal and kept thinking about ho Kingdom Hearts did this game’s combat (and even some story) better all those years ago. All this spectacle doesn’t save the game from being not fun or having a good story. It just feels so forgettable and a slog to get through

[@Zer0Hour17]

If you think KH’s combat is better you’re actually trash at video games. KH wishes it had the options ff16 has.

[@Nastara]

@@Zer0Hour17 The thing is that the final mix versions of KH 1, 2, and 3 respect the players intelligence despite the simpler mechanics. Also Kingdom Hearts game aren’t bloated with MMO sidequest content. Kingdom Hearts 2 has the best paced ability unlocks in the history of action games. Sora’s progression in abilities is like a boiling frog in a good way. The amount of power and options he gets from the start to the end game is absurd in the best way. The reason why Devil May Cry wins where FF16 fails is that you are incentivized to get better. The style system and the scoring system keeps reminding you to do better. And better you play the closer you are to being as stylish and overpowered as Dante.

[@cozysushipm]

@@Zer0Hour17 Got that shit in complete reverse. FF16 wishes it had anything KH2 has lol. FF16 is one of the easiest games I’ve ever played. Not even close to KH2 crit

[@Zer0Hour17]

@@cozysushipm kh2 level 1 crit is a fucking joke.

[@Zer0Hour17]

@@Nastara if you need a letter in the corner for you to want to be stylish, you have severe tik tok brain.

[@haydenmills895]

Sorry, imma have to disagree with the title here. Yoshi P actually made the game specifically for me, which is probably why it’s not to everyone’s liking 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@maxmillianwiegel1643]

It’s consistently received scores in the high 80s and has sold well, so clearly *somebody* very much likes this game.

[@CelestialLimbo]

FFXVI is a good game, but as you've pointed out in the video it has some flaws too. - The combat could have been more fleshed out, and the difficulty was non-existing in normal mode. - I actually like the side quests' writing but you're right that there is no variety in the side quests' gameplay.

[@Mcortezzzz]

Im dying for this game to come to xbox. Played it on ps5 it was wonderful. Now i have an xbox and hoping it comes over to this side

[@TheHeavenlyBeast]

Saying how FF is a series that pushes itself and evolves, but then bringing up how it probably should've stayed turn-based (which I vehemently disagree with) is incredibly contradictory. You can only make turn-based so revolutionary before there's no point considering all the mechanic is about is waiting your turn and hoping your attack not only lands but does significant damage to the opponent. I'll agree that the combat could've been better, but I'm proud of Square for actually trying. Even they said these games are about innovation, so it was only a matter of time before they switched the combat style.

[@cjlake1233]

This game was AWESOME! It’s story was unique. The gameplay was better than FF7 Remake & I found every character intriguing. Even the non-playable characters.

[@aarontorres8101]

Yeah sorry dude i loved FF16, its not an open world theme park extravaganza and im cool with that, sometimes i just want to play a linear RPG.

[@julitakamaki4386]

Yeah I enjoyed it as well. My roommate freakin LOVED it. Lol

[@kar12894]

what is the theme part comprised of exactly? i dont understand the love fo rthis gmae, it literally just looked kinda good and had a great soundtrack. thats it.

[@steponcurry7012]

​​@@kar12894it is a very personal story and even though the conflict isnt something new, things are actually dealt in a mature and nuanced way.

[@playername9391]

It's not even an rpg

[@carbxncle]

It is fucking BAFFLING that the same people who complain about linear maps in FF16 are 100% okay with the linear straight line maps in FF10.

[@omegaXjammur]

Honestly, I've enjoyed playing FF spin-off games more than the main line games

[@senpafl4405]

I'm one of the probably 50 people that has been passionate enough to get all the Ultimaniac S-Ranks and tbh I feel a lot of your criticism resonates with me. But I also like how streamlined the game is, especially after FF15 having been cluttered clusterf*ck. Because that piece of garbage was REALLY all over the place and 16 felt like it was trying to NOT be 15, which I was just grateful for. That being said, I am getting disappointed about one thing that all critiques, positive and negative, have in common about this game. None of you have ever touched on the game's endgame, the Arcade Mode, despite that one being worth its very own analysis... So yeah, I really liked FF16 and you still say a lot of correct stuff, I just feel like it didn't ruin my experience as much.

[@Tuan-1993]

The game had one of the best boss fight I scene in a long time and it’s a game for no one?

[@BrettScr1]

I died a lot in Final Fantasy XVI and I think it was mostly because I just don’t have the attention span to hit and dodge and hit and dodge over and over again minute after minute while waiting for extremely tanky enemies to get staggered. I also sometimes literally could not tell where Clive was because of the obnoxious particle effects, so many sparks flying in every direction. I really liked the world and lore of the game and did not mind the side quests or lack of minigames at all… It might have been a favorite game for me if the combat had been more engaging / strategy-oriented and less flashy.

[@Zer0Hour17]

Literally my Goty last year and imo the 3rd best FF.

[@MarkHogan994]

Literally the most shallow "rpg" I've ever played. A mediocre action game that has no business being a FF game. Voice acting, music, character design and art direction are all solid, but that's not enough to save the game given how weak the combat is, and how lackluster the rpg elements are. In fact most of the game's systems (looting, crafting, itemization, etc...) are weak. The exploration is also awful, and the story is full of missed potential.

[@carbxncle]

@@MarkHogan994 nah. GOTY material.

[@arceptor]

@@carbxncle not even one nomination aside from the obvious music

[@NAzo.]

GOTY? 3rd best FF? Holy cringe. I put this pile of crap right above FF13 and FF13-3 but below FF2 which are at the end of my tier list.

[@X-Cactus]

It's so interesting how most gamers will say they don't give a shit about the Game Awards by Geoff Keighley, but then the moment this trash heap gets nominated, NOW you care about the Game Awards. (The fans of FF7Rebirth sure do!) Many gamers are fickle as hell and have terrible taste.

[@iiayoob]

"some dad who can ONLY play like, 2 HOURS a night" Tell me you don't have kids working saying you don't have kids 😂 Edit: wow, plus "some 63-year-old retiree" in what world? Retirement age is like 67+ bro

[@oblivioustouch9012]

Video hasnt dropped yet but I absolutely loved FF16. Curious what your opinion on it is, doesnt look like you liked it tho. Thats unfortunate for you.

[@RkSmithers]

Could there be a fine line behind enjoying something for existing and thinking you enjoyed it due to manipulation?

[@oblivioustouch9012]

@@RkSmithers manipulation? As in the media telling me I enjoyed it? Nah, I don’t look at reviews of anything until after I play it.

[@RkSmithers]

@oblivioustouch9012 no, the little things in game that connect nostalgic, but not anything else

[@verygoodfreelancer]

characters bland and lifeless, everything brown and ugly, “clive” and “jill” immensely boring and sound like they’re on prozac. magic doesn’t matter and basically accounts to choosing your fav color, and the rest of the combat is button mashing the same couple combos and watching timers tick down.

[@oblivioustouch9012]

@@RkSmithers Then no, I genuinely like fast paced, character action games. I understand if a player wanted a in-depth turn based game and is disappointed that’s not what they got. Or they wanted a huge open-world game (which I am burnt out on and don’t think an open world is necessary for a game to be great). This game delivered on what it wanted to do. The combat was phenomenal and there is tons of different builds you can make to create insane combos. Boss battles were the best since God of War 3, Asura’s Wraith or DMC 3. The story was great and beautiful, creative environments. People knock points from this game based on what they wanted it to be or what it wasn’t, instead of how well it executed the things it wanted to do.

[@ivoten]

I played most of final fantasy games and final fantasy 16 is one of the best amongst them so it's a game definitely for me

[@xiiir838]

What's your favourite part of 6? What version of IV did you played?

[@ivoten]

@@xiiir838 i've played both on playstation 1 , and one of my favourite parts of the 6th is when Edgar and Sabin return to Figaro

[@xiiir838]

@@ivoten damn, I heard the collections in psx are very glitchy and slow. That's why I didn't bought chrono trigger on that console. Have you tried the IV remake in the DS? I recommend it. It's a very different experience, it also has new content, and the script is wonderfully written

[@ivoten]

@xiiir838 on the contrary i've had no problem playing them it was pretty smooth

[@SpookittyCat]

FF16 feels like a watered down Dragon Age Origins. Magic users are feared and therefore subjugated, but Dragon Age made more sense because as magic users, why wouldn't they rebel and fight for their freedom? Or the other way around, why aren't the magic users the ones in charge? Like the Tevinter. I think the story would have been more compelling if Clive and company they were on the oppressive side and they'll somehow change the status quo. Because Clive just recruited a bunch of people but they just lived on a floating building for five years. If you had the ability to fight for your freedom, you would do so. It's human nature, history is full of men and women who fought and died for liberty. So what if they petrify if they use magic? Realistically, you'd fight for freedom than suffer oppression. And... what if Barnabas left Clive and co them alone, instead focused on conquest, so what then for Clive and the others? What did Barnabas do for 5 years aside the war? Wasn't he looking for Clive under Ultima's grand scheme? I also think that Joshua should have died first instead of Cid, that would have more put more narrative weight of intense grief on Clive that all this time his brother was alive, only for a short lived reunion, then he dies--- then Clive would continue whatever what Joshua was doing in his honor, instead of the five years of essentially nothing as "Cid", really. And why does Clive get a brand and Jill doesn't? Nor Cid? Joshua? Why are magic users subjugated but dominants celebrated like Joshua and Dion? Though to be fair, I like Anabella as the evil, ambitious mother... that was a fresh take. Though I wish the uncle baron was introduced earlier so we could have had a deeper relationship with him as much as Clive, they talked about a nostalgic play we never saw--- not even as a flashback. I remember tearing up when the FF8 gang talked about Edea being their Matron when they were kids at the orphanage, it was a small flashback--- which makes the player feel that weight when they realized that they'll be fighting their "mom". Why wasn't the uncle at the castle thing at the beginning too? He could have had Rodney's role instead at the beginning instead, relating to Clive as being the brother that wasn't "the chosen one", seeing him struggle to save the boys that night when shit fell apart, see his brother die and feeling helpless, also believing he lost his nephews would add so much emotion and narrative weight when he sees his nephews alive and grown. Now imagine the loving uncle and the ambitious mother had a confrontation about family and titles... the mother mocking the uncle for being happy being the spare of the Rosfield brothers, not even marrying up to level up his rank in aristocracy... while she became a wife of an archduke then to an emperor. And then uncle would rebuke this, his own monologue between family, loyalty and real duty... It would even add more weight if ambitious mother was a commoner instead of aristocratic, but aside from her motive, we know next to nothing to her. We kind of know why Sephiroth lost his mind, we was an experiment. Kuja was the sort of the same. Edea was the FF8 gang's foster mother and she was being mind controlled. I feel 16 lost a bit of that interconnectivity usually found in FF games; like Cloud is childhood friends with Tifa, is the reason why he wants to be a soldier, become best friends with Zack, Zack and Tifa were both there when Sephiroth lost his mind, and then finally Aerith is Zack's gf, and she is unknowingly flirting with Zack's bf (in OG kinda), but she dies, then Tifa would later piece Cloud back together in Mideel. See? All characters are all narratively connected and aren't introduced halfway with no context but we are led to believe they're important just because our avatar said so. I really wanted to love 16, I like it... but the narrative misses were so heavy. 16 had awesome spectacles, but after the bright lights... the story is pretty meh. Even the love story, tbh. I would have wanted Clive and Jill to have flirty convos, or get teasing from their friends--- but they write to each other... um why? Sure we got the flower field thing but sprinkled interactions feels more organic. FF8 was a teenage romcom but the back and forth from Squall and Rinoa had them interact at least, their friends tease them and even force them to date, they clash ideals and then they begin to see each other's point of view... people say the "love" declaration when Rinoa was in a coma came out of nowhere but, hey, they're 17. I get why Jill would have been more withdrawn during the first half in the game, it's implied she was R-worded--- but WHY... she can turn to Shiva. What? A sword to another kid's neck? But she can just turn to Shiva and freeze her oppressors then just free everyone. It was already an M rated game, there was no reason why they didn't push the envelope further and got really gritty, but the M rating was pretty superficial in my opinion, just a bit of post coital pillow talk. I would have at least wanted more post coital pillow talk from Jill and Clive prior to his suicide mission... so I can feel as sad as she did when he didn't return. The whole drying scene with the both of them seemed like the first time they truly acknowledged their feelings for each other... so what happened in the timeskip? It would have made sense if Jill was like too traumatized to pursue a relationship and was still processing, and it would have been nice to see Clive be supportive of her. But they didn't delve in further... it would have been such a tragic and mature story. Then Clive "dies" just when she was finally ready to pursue a relationship. And why did Benedicta and Cid weakened or died when Clive absorbed their Eikons while Jill is okay? See? How contrived it feels? Dion's entire family was wiped out, what happens to his kingdom now? MMOs don't really have the deep, narrative stories compared to single players games and that's what I feel. I dunno.

[@carbxncle]

The magic users don't fight back because they die if they use magic. They're literally forced into slavery and made to cast magic against their wills. Have you paid attention to the story at all?

[@SpookittyCat]

@@carbxncle they dont die immediately upon using it. it takes several years. sure, just be miserable for a long time in slavery then die anyway. it makes total sense. oh and they can totally remove the brand, but dont do anything with their abilities to regain autonomy. because thats how subjugated people really act isnt it.. despite history is full of fed up demographics that fought the higher power and they died trying.. but clive and cid are specials. there was that one little village that did defy the empire, wow. each place should have little pockets of their own freedom fighters. but that's asking for too much isn't it?

[@carbxncle]

@SurinameNgalan I'm sure it would take the same amount of magical exertion to do menial day to day tasks for your overlords, and to wage a collective war to completely overthrow them and remake society in your own image.

[@SpookittyCat]

@@carbxncle sure, jan.

[@xiiir838]

I completely agree on the M rated take. Everything 16 does that classify it as M rated, 7 already did it DECADES before.

[@pennypeach7616]

It is a good game and story that is bloated by bad side content. It would have been better as a linear action game than having forced shallow side quests. XVI also needed some kind of party interaction during combat like the Remake games. Spamming AoE spells as Clive got boring fast.

[@PapaDeusVult]

What you mentioned about combat being the way it is and having no drastic swings in terms of skills you use, or depth, or variations instantly reminds me of a symptom CBU3 suffers from with regard to how they also developed gameplay for Final Fantasy XIV. The whole "damage the boss' stagger bar, and then unload all of your skills during the staggered period" is reminiscent of the so-called "2-minute meta" which is currently the way raids are executed in XIV as of the moment. For those unfamiliar, the 2-minute meta is where every player in the raid pops their party-wide buff cooldowns-giving the party enhanced damage for 20 seconds-and then dump all of their hard-hitting abilities within those 20 seconds in order to get the boss' health down as far as they can. And while those 2-minute cooldowns tick back up to refreshing, they're doing their skill rotations until the two minutes are up, and they do it all over again until the boss is dead. Furthermore, the way that you can fight and kill something higher than your own base level in XVI is pretty much another symptom of how combat design is in XIV. In the MMO, raid fights are basically choreographed dance numbers. You learn the mechanics, you don't get hit by anything, you do your rotation, the boss goes down. It's completely muscle memory and has very little variation-much like the fights in XVI. Now, while I understand the mechanics of XVI were in development well before Endwalker where said 2-minute meta was introduced, it pretty much still serves as a snapshot to that whole MMO design experience that CBU3 has under their belt. With regard to only being able to play as Clive, I agree with you 100%. Considering that Clive acquires the abilities of his party members (who are also Dominants), being able to swap to them mid-fight would have been an opportunity to get a preliminary taste of their move-sets just before Clive acquires them. For instance, swapping into Jill, Cid, or Joshua would give you access to their Eikonic abilities by default. Joshua has Phoenix Shift, Jill has Cold Snap, and Cid has a variation of Blind Justice (maybe without the staff), and then their own abilities on cooldown much like Clive does. This would have made it so that-when you get their abilities-you already know which of their skills you liked to synergize with your playstyle and there's no big learning curve every time you got a new Eikon. At least aside from the ones you get from combat like Benedikta, Bahamut, Titan and Odin

[@Unordinary-lg4yt]

The party swapping would’ve been a novel concept as dictated by plot. Missed opportunity as usual. As for the practice of stagger and then dump, it’s been around since XIII more generally. At this point, it just adds unnecessary padding to rotation for no good reason than to draw out battles. It’s not stimulating or requires any meaningful effort to the challenge than sheer drudgery over time.

[@vizekun9590]

So been reading through comments and yours stands out the most because of the info of 2 minute meta which I'm hearing for by the first time as a newer ff14 player. I think this is the most valid of arguments against ff16 combat style and a really good take. I think I only disagree on the stagger bar take only because of ff7 stagger bar being that if you affect an enemy with certain abilities or elements it makes it go up faster while also applying pressure on them which I think 16 should've applied to its game play to make it better and have the ff7 spell/ability selection with the dominant powers.

[@PapaDeusVult]

@@vizekun9590 There are skills in FF16 which do deal more will damage than actual damage, like Garuda's Aerial Blast-as an example. Or some of the more counter-oriented skills like Heatwave from the Phoenix skill line. The fact does remain that it boxes you into its own meta just like FF14 does with the 2-minute meta. You have to have skills that break the Will gauge while also balancing having skills to use when the stagger happens. Like a 40-60 split-give or take. Otherwise, you'll either break the Will gauge faster but your attack skills aren't as damaging as they should be. Alternatively, you have hard-hitting skills, but no efficient way to break the Will gauge to maximize the damage they deal

[@Swillo]

Best game this gen, top 5 in this series. The game I didn’t know I needed and wanted.

[@sartavin]

A good 15 hour game stretched out to a miserable 50 hour slog. Graphics and VA were good. Everything else was mid to flat out garbage.

[@fab1279]

Skill issue for you. This game is a masterpiece. Combat has a lot of depth and story is fucking amazing.

[@TrvisXXIII]

Came back to say you might’ve sold me on FF14, never got into an MMO and the UI always looked complicated to me, but hearing you say how easy it is I actually wanna try it out lol no one’s ever said this about the game

[@wiseguy240Winston]

Overall, i liked 16. Its like a B- but nothing about the game felt perfected in any way. FF16 is like a jack of all trades. The FF13 trilogy was the last to do traditional atb and man was it good especially 13-3's battle system. Kinda want FF17 to build off that game's combat

[@FinalDragoon63]

As a longtime fan of Final Fantasy games, FFXVI's terrible delivery broke my heart. Combat was mediocre and non-challenging. The RPG aspects were watered down and meaningless. The story was droll, uninteresting and felt like a copy of a copy. Its Final Fantasy XVI: Mystic Quest.

[@nunyabsniss1432]

I wanted to like the gane, it had a lot going for it with art direction and story. But the trend chasing has to stop. They used to drive the industry, now they are pushing out mediocre Action RPGs in the house of genre defining RPGs. I don't want to play a worse DMC when I play Final Fantasy.

[@sevhoss]

Yeah I can confidently say this game was made for me. I love Character action. I love Final Fantasy.

[@vox70]

so many games doing the pointless quest thing, im fine with questing if the reward makes it worth doing, i played lightning returns recently where basically the whole game is a boring quest simulator, but the fact the game gave you easy mode which made all your stats pointless, just made the whole game pointless since quests were a total waste of time, even in games where quests are worth doing, im never actually enjoying the process of questing, the storytelling of said quests, the fun part is getting op to trivialize the main story or superbosses etc, theres this thing about the internet where you wanna talk about stuff, even make a living off your take or something you put together, and it could be fun to watch a video someone put together who gave a hell about all these little tidbits about the quest giver, ties with the story and lore etc, but while im actually playing the game i so couldnt care less about any of that, i just wanna get op and hopefully the process is fun, im prone to skip all the dialogue i possibly can so i can just get a hold of my character back and do what i want, a lot of games nowadays feel more like movies than an actual game

[@Felipe_AC]

My take is much more optimistic! I believe that the decision they took was fair. I also think the execution was close to expected. They had to deliver a finished product up to modern standards, and within a very limited time frame of about 4 years. All that while targeting new audiences. You may disagree with their intent, but it's clear to me that they purposefully discarded most of FF's legacy gameplay in order to restart the franchise. For me, FF 16 feels like a reboot to the series. It's highly likely that most of FF 16's devs and assets will be kept for the next title, which will definitely be improved upon when compared to 16. Something that hasn't been done in ages since Square keeps changing devs AND engine for each new instalment. 16 has laid a new foundation that can be further developed and much sooner than 15 for example, similarly to how 7 Remake laid the foundation to 7 Rebirth. It's just that people are unwilling to think things through before going ballistic. I see a better future for Square, specially after FF VII Part 3.

[@xiiir838]

Are you aware that this game underperformed and wasn't any darling of critics and players alike, right? Do you understand 16 and Remake/Rebirth aren't doing well?

[@Felipe_AC]

@@xiiir838 Yes i do. We can discuss that! For me there are a few reasons: Sony Exclusivity. Not because of Sony, but due to the current economic landscape. A few years ago, consoles were dominating the market because PC gaming wasn't as cheap and accessible as it is today. When the PS5 arrived, PC was already the preferred platform for gaming. There's also the economic crisis that halted investment in certain regions, making the transition to PS5 impossible. There are many still playing on PS4, or live service games on PC. There's another reason that i link to the diminishing interest in the title, but it's complex: The clash between the higher ups at Square and FF's aging fan base. Square is targeting audiences around 10 to 15 years younger. That impacted some of the decisions they made. For example, the simplification of the combat is something much more appreciated for younger audiences. You'll see that much of the people complaing about the lack of "RPG mechanics" are older. There's also the fact that most of 16 devs are the ones working on 14, which already has those party-based RPG mechanics. Not only that but we also got FF7 Remake, so they probably avoided similar concepts intentionally. And like i said, they avoided complexity like the plague to lure youngsters in. And i know what you're thinking: If they were so adamant in doing a FF for "kids", why did they make such a mature story? Changes have to be made slowly. If you change too much stuff in one go, there'll be an outrage. Square in the past used to change visuals and storytelling a lot from game to game, but they kept the gameplay consistent while adding a few new mechanics here and there. The moment that they started to change gameplay too much (FF12) the backlash was insane. That's possibly why they made the story to older fans and the gameplay to younger audiences. It was a compromise that made the development cycle smoother. They also had the technology from 15 on making giant monsters. That's why the huge Eikon fights were possible and it was an imperative market strategy for re-vitalizing interest in the franchise.

[@Felipe_AC]

@@xiiir838 Yes i do. We can discuss that! For me there are a few reasons: Sony Exclusivity. Not because of Sony, but due to the current economic landscape. A few years ago, consoles were dominating the market because PC gaming wasn't as cheap and accessible as it is today. When the PS5 arrived, PC was already the preferred platform for gaming. There's also the economic crisis that halted investment in certain regions, making the transition to PS5 impossible. There are many still playing on PS4, or live service games on PC.

[@Felipe_AC]

@@xiiir838 There's another reason that i link to the diminishing interest in the title, but it's complex: The clash between the higher ups at Square and FF's aging fan base. Square is targeting audiences around 10 to 15 years younger. That impacted some of the decisions they made. For example, the simplification of the combat is something much more appreciated for younger audiences. You'll see that much of the people complaing about the lack of "RPG mechanics" are older. There's also the fact that most of 16 devs are the ones working on 14, which already has those party-based RPG mechanics. Not only that but we also got FF7 Remake, so they probably avoided similar concepts intentionally. And like i said, they avoided complexity like the plague to lure youngsters in. And i know what you're thinking: If they were so adamant in doing a FF for "kids", why did they make such a mature story? Changes have to be made slowly. If you change too much stuff in one go, there'll be an outrage. Square in the past used to change visuals and storytelling a lot from game to game, but they kept the gameplay consistent while adding a few new mechanics here and there. The moment that they started to change gameplay too much (FF12) the backlash was insane. That's possibly why they made the story to older fans and the gameplay to younger audiences. It was a compromise that made the development cycle smoother. They also had the technology from 15 on making giant monsters. That's why the huge Eikon fights were possible and it was an imperative market strategy for re-vitalizing interest in the franchise.

[@Felipe_AC]

@@xiiir838 My comments are being deleted. Here is a terrible platform for discussion, sorry.

[@kephalai]

the reason the game falls flat on its face is the story and the characters are too much of a downer... there is zero fun or adventure, its just borderline depressing story to experience

[@peterhoffmann502]

I love when reviewers think their opinion speaks for everyone. Ff16 was great.

[@samb123078]

I liked 16 so I guess it was for people like me. Too bad I’m a niche person. The combat was slick, stylish and surprisingly complex with the ability to switch between avatars seemlessly. The story was darker than I thought it would be but I still enjoyed. Wished Clive and company got a happy ending but bittersweet endings have always been a staple.

[@RainingFlow19]

Game was absolutely for me. Atleast the first 70% of the game. Hated the last 30% tho I dislike the purple sky.

[@Rubidius]

I want a turn based mainline final fantasy RPG with a customizable silent protagonist!

[@nahbien]

Final Fantasy shouldn't be an action game

[@budigunawan1677]

Every FF is different. Cope.

[@MemoryMori]

Not played FFXVI yet...but I think you overblown some issues a loooooot. I agree with your POV, that Creative Unit 3 can sometimes do great stories/ worldsbuilding and then drop the ball on gameplay/ game mechanics/ battle systems.... I think that this missunderstanding arise from your lack of understanding the Japanese way of making video games. East and West are sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much diferent in their aproach to making video games, their philosophy, their culture and way of thinking. FF games have always have flaws, thats why we love them :D (excluding FF13....that was garbage from start to finish -.-"""). Each FF game is a new try at something new....and it always fail in some ways.....they should stick to FF7/9 model in my opinion -.-""" Im not saying your opinion is bad....just a bit "overblown" in many ways. Its okay...USA is a teens with big edgy energy, your just 248y old....sit back and let the adults like Europa and Asia teach you a few things ;-) We do things different....

[@cjlake1233]

This is game was fucking awesome. I like the FFXVI characters more than FFX.

[@Dermetsu]

Now that's a title and thumbnail carefully crafted for bait.

[@Kronos_88]

I almost feel like this is some kind of satire video. Half of this video is just flat out wrong or doesn't make sense. Video starts by explaining what a Final Fantasy is and isn't, then spends 10 minutes talking about an amazing FF story with crystals and summons and political intrigue and social struggles and slavery/suppression and murder.. Oh he's talking about FFXVI? Yeah it's a good game, true. Hint: this is in every Final Fantasy game ever, or did you guys forget about FF6, FF7, FF8, FF9, FF10 and FF12? Because those games all have that. I could write it out for each game, I won't, but I'll use FF7 as an example. Remember FF7? The best FF according to many people? We have crystals (Mako/Lifestream), we have summons, we have Shinra basically oppressing the entire world both politically, socially, and financially, we have LOTS and LOTS of murder (plate drop, Nibelheim, etc etc). We have world-ending threats. We have a love story. FFXVI is pretty much the same in those regards as any other FF. And then the video gets to the combat. "Nothing gets added past the first 5 hours, you have the same attacks as you do in the beginning, you don't get new combos or moves". Maybe if you're playing with all the Auto rings for accessibility on yeah. This just sounds like all you did was mash Attack, which you can do in pretty much any FF btw. But none of the combos I was using endgame were even possible early game. You can't do launchers at the start of the game (or you can't really take advantage of it at least). Can't do doublejumps on enemies. Can't do certain types of counters/movement strats. And you only have access to 10% of the Eikon moves, not to mention the combos you can do with those. There's no way anyone can seriously say "man this Final Fantasy doesn't get any new stuff compared to the other Final Fantasies!" after playing any other FF where you're literally just doing buff > Attack > Limit/Overdrive/whatever > repeat. If you want that kind of thing, that's fine, I love the older FFs too, but there's no way you're seriously suggesting FFXVI adds less to the combat throughout the game than any previous FF. FFXVI lacked one major thing: elemental/status effects. That's it. You could argue that it could've used a minigame or something, but I don't think it'd fit the game to have something like Blitzball or a collectible card game. But I could see there being like a puzzle dungeon or maybe some FF Tactics-lite type of thing. A combination of Fort Condor (FF7 Remake-style) and FF Tactics or something like that, but without the collectables of Fort Condor. Also at 39:45 - "These (boss) battles, no matter the scale, offer nothing but spectacle. There is no consequence to failure or poor performance. The game picks you back up with full inventory after you do die" I'm pretty sure there's no mainline FF game that has something like that lol. For the minigames, yeah obviously, but not in combat. This is a complete non-argument in the discussion of "Is Final Fantasy a good RPG/Final Fantasy". Because there's almost no RPGs at all that do that, and I'm pretty sure not a single mainline FF has something like that. This is not Dark Souls lol.

[@theflashgordon193]

For real I'm always In disbelief when I look at other fan opinion. Especially about the "it's not a REAL final". I'm glad I'm more opened than them and you right this a lot of elements of old ff it's just with GOT take in the writing. I love this game

[@Kronos_88]

@theflashgordon193 Yeah it's like the saying goes "The internet: the place where nuance died". I personally loved FF16 too. There were things it did great (characters, spectacle, world building, music) and things it did okay (combat, sidequests) and things it did poorly (RPG-elements, long stretches of downtime). I think most people kind of agree with those statements to some extent, but the difference lies in what each person values. I'd never say it's a perfect game. But it's still a FF game in heart and soul. Personally I value world building, character arcs, music and spectacle, so for me this game is great. But if you're a big "min-max build" type of person or you really value gameplay diversity via minigames and such this game will probably feel lackluster. Personally I see stuff like that as a bonus, it's what could turn a good game into a great game. I'd give 16 a solid 8.5/10. If it had more in-depth RPG mechanics maybe it'd be a 9, and then if it had a fun minigame or two on top of that it'd be a 9.5/10. But as it stands it's just a really solid game, which you could argue is indeed being carried by amazing voice acting, music, spectacle, and world building... But to me that just sounds like an incredible basis for a game lol.

[@auroraboracat26]

Disagree, love FF16 every part of it. The story, music and combat. It’s in no way a mediocre game or ultimately a waste of time (your words snob).

[@nullavitasinemusica1]

We should have been able to play as the three brothers ourselves Joshua Dion Clive Would have made it a lot better

[@Morden97]

A review I actuallt agree with almost entirely. I couldnt have expressed this better.

[@everythingmainecooncat4938]

It's not perfect, but I loved it. So a game for no one? No, not at all.

[@deadmo1]

GREAT VIDEO

[@gabrielrodriguez463]

i luv the game with all its flaws and i luv this review with all its arguments, well done bruh

[@TheDullsville]

I agree with the cast of characters ff16 was a massive step back The cast of characters were bland in comparison to other entries

[@shaneweasl]

I loved 16! It’s prolly my favourite of all the FF games I’ve played

[@s7r49]

Final fantasy was my favorite franchise since SNES. I played up until I bought nier automata. to this day, and through 4 PCs and a bunch of custom player made mod/fixes I have been unable to play it through without a game breaking bug. I swore off square-enix games until they release a patch that allows me to get through the entire game. and to this day, I have not played any square enix games :( I thoguht ff16 looked cool but Ive been hearing from a lot of people it has cool bones but when you dive in it feels boring and grindy. so i guess i am happy i am still waiting on square to fix nier. i had a lot of hope with thier random patch many years later but i still cant playt hrough it.

[@magicn5367]

That game was awesome as fuck ! Epic story , epic effects

[@noahbird9879]

People need to stop treating ff16 as an rpg and more of an action game. Before this game came out, there were many showcases where yoshida and his team showed off gameplay and what the game was going to focus on. With that said why do some people have this 'living under a rock' mindset when clearly the game was going to be different from the start, but they had the same expectations for every final fantasy game that comes out knowing each will appease to a different gaming genre of people. This game was never advertised as a turn based party rpg. Why the majority of people like 16, myself included is because is that the overall game had more focus on what it set out to do. Action based combat though simplified but varied and with depth, a linear open world that doesn't need hours to explore everything so no time wasted, and story that is arguably better paced and well written than most final fantasy that came out.(Specifically 15 on release,which had an unfinished story and gameplay that quite literally held your hand and an open world filled with nothing to do that dlc needed to save it, and 13 and it sequals which was......). There are criticisms to be made yes, but most of the negatives of this game are not as bad to hamper this games overall experience. One final note: this community seems to be more for nostalgia and glorifying 7 to not end and never trying to change for something new. Ff16 sold better than 7 rebirth in the long run. 16 sold 3 million units in its first week and continued more later on, at the time being the game that broke ps5 sales records and the best selling ps5 exclusive. But in rebirths case i can't find anything, not even a post from square enix themselves on the sales numbers for rebirth. Ad i said this community glorifies 7 but never bought or played it.

[@alexmaganda5827]

i lost all trust i had in the franchise after ff15 im glad i found the persona series atlus has not dissapointed me yet

[@ELYSIUM1997]

I absolutely loved this game what are you on?

[@Sctn187]

Its final fantasy may cry 16. Its dmc5s battle system with some final fantasy tropes. I love the game and its great for a one off i hope this is the exact opposite of what 17 is. I want a party, elemental weakeness, status effects, actual gear ect

[@raulrojas9253]

IS NOT DMC 5 BATTLE SYSTEM, thats BS is not. I have 100 hours on DMC V (rookie numbers for a dmc game btw) and FF 16 does not play like DMC like at all.

[@outofpaintball]

i like this game, and i know it has its flaws and it is not perfect final fantasy. it is different too to a traditional ff, but i like its more mature theme and a very few ff title that have a emotional impact, at least for me. over all, i think it is pretty solid, flaws and all.

[@deadmo1]

28:30 there is a segment here where you are wrong. Its not that players arent smart enough to understand stats, its that making stats irrelevant makes it much easier to balance while avoiding one of the main problems of older FF titles, forced farming "to be strong enough". the farming concept was invented because in older RPGs, the amount of data on cartridges was very limited and they needed to use the same areas over and over again in order to prolonge the gameplay of the game. This "seemingly flawed mechanic" allows players to just play the game without having to "farm" areas to get gear and levels. Its far more casual friendly, which is used to make the FF franchise more accessible (they did the same with diablo 4). Now, I personally hate the whole concept as a passionate player, but I can easily understand WHY its built that way.

[@alanlee67]

I dunno. Ff7 had an extremely deep progression system that was very friendly for casuals. Feel like that's a better way to go. Elden ring destroyed pretty much every ff game in sales so maybe not patronize the audience so much.

[@Nastara]

@@deadmo1 I hate the concept too because you may as well delete stats from the game. They don’t mean anything.

[@deadmo1]

@@Nastara That was the most painful realization I had from Sea of Stars. it hurts FR.

[@Nastara]

@@deadmo1 Wait what? Stats don’t matter in Sea of Stars?

[@deadmo1]

@@Nastara The stat that you LEVEL UP makes no difference. (Mana is probably the best one for everyone, HP is as good if you use the special power that gives you double HP, and everything else LITERALLY dosen't change anything.)

[@AnarickTheDevil]

I want a FF game not a DMC knockoff.

[@budigunawan1677]

Every FF game is different and that's ok. This is more like OG God of War PS3 era with Game of Thrones vibe

[@theloyalist2006]

I hate this game. If you like this game more power to you, its not a bad game, its just not for me

[@terror4310]

i lke this i just finished all of the content and i still want to go back to do more combos and do the archade stuff

[@Ben-od4yd]

Call me crazy but I think it’s the best final fantasy! Only potentially rivalled by X!

[@Testhotwater]

FF16 needs to die and fail. We need FF JRPG back.

[@daichi7887]

I both enjoyed and yet sadly slogged my time playing FF16 (100% achievements). I've just about finished NewGame+ on Final Fantasy difficulty-- from there I'd say that they SHOULD'VE made that difficulty available earlier and not lock it behind NG+. In fact, THAT should've been the default normal Action mode difficulty. I would've enjoyed the game more since the variant of enemies come in so much earlier and that their move sets and attack actions are more fierce -- Granted the game is still too forgiving even at that end BUT it's still more fun than base game. Things I would've wanted to have had to improve: - FinalFantasy mode difficulty should've been default Action mode - More Mob enemies that do special things (like the ones that do Protect, Cure, Bravery, etc. to switch up how to approach them) - Elemental Weaknesses (it forces me to actually make other Eikon loadouts, than stick to 1 --- They could make it so that weaknesses stagger the enemy faster and improve the multiplier faster) - Other playable/controllable party members (Whether it's a swap control mid battle, or ala DMC5 change character) - Fleshed out gear system (The only interesting gear type were the Accessories and even then, they gave little for what they did -- BUT IF weapons and armor did the same thing as accessories, then it would be fun to make actual builds. The only notable Weapon that made things different was the Tonberry Knife on DLC where you sacrifice damage in exchange for stagger.) - Trim down sidequests (A lot of them are worldbuilding quests or shows the bonds you have with NPCs which is somewhat forgivable but having so much of it is a slog). - Encapsulate some Main Story Quests to one Quest (Mid's story quest to create the Enterprise ship shouldn't have made me go back and forth to her for each step. The quest to build her workshop was more palatable.) - Trim down cutscenes (They last for WAY TOO LONG -- some even going for 10 minutes). - Checkpoints on boss fights should only be available in the Story Focused Difficulty. - Tighten Precision Dodge timing on Action/FinalFantasy difficulty (Improving timing can be locked behind gear as per my 3rd bullet point). - Tighten QTE timing on Eikon fights (especially on Action/FinalFantasy difficulty -- the only good thing FF difficulty did about it was hide the button prompt but it's otherwise too forgiving/easy.) - Improve Clive's non combat movespeed. Everything other than those were decent, some even beautiful and right up my alley, like the flashiness of combat, the music, story highs, character quips and banter, etc.