CohhCarnage's Thoughts On Final Fantasy XVI

Cohh talks about his thoughts on Final Fantasy XVI after finishing it. - Watch live at / cohhcarnage
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#finalfantasyxvi #gamereview #cohhcarnage

[@blakeandcamp]

Totally agree about the loot. As someone who really loves to loot everything, I was super underwhelmed by it. Opening chests and getting crafting materials just feels awful and it happens so frequently.

[@nickbusker725]

Agree. I remember when coh first played the Witcher 3 and he looted everything. I’d argue that game leaves more to be desired in regards to loot as well, but miles ahead of ff16. That being said, I loved ff16, but the loot and crafting left a lot to be desired.

[@sallysaysyes]

Completely agree Cohh! The lack of desire to loot made me less inclinced to want to explore. I found the crafting to be almost pointless, it was basically a store that you could level up your items at. With that said, I really enjoyed the game for exactly what you said at the beginning.

[@Nordicsz]

Agree, I loved the game, but after scouring the first big areas and finding only crafting materials, I quickly turned to a more look over and take the obvious chests and move on approach. True there were like 4 unique items in those chests and 1 item to give me 100k gil, but finding 4 unique items and a money item over 80 hours isn't something to write home about.

[@SergioPower21]

Always awesome to hear Cohn’s thoughts on games 😁

[@Hyakudeaths]

World renown gamer Cohn Carnage

[@craigdonaldson936]

Summed up my feelings perfectly. I was so excited for ff16; with respect to the music, and scale/jaw-dropping moments, it delivered, but it also made me realise just how much those other elements are important to me. FF7 rebirth is what I most looking forward to now.

[@TalesofCROWE]

The lostwing arc with Quinten immediately came to mind. the fact that this was a SIDEQUEST and not a MAIN QUEST blows my mind, considering the filler some of the MAIN QUEST has around the time.

[@danieljordening688]

So glad you do these thoughts videos. I find them really helpful for when I am on the fence about whether or not I want to get a game. Thank you for doing them!!

[@yoeuge86]

You nailed it in every aspect, especially in the part of them wanting to bring new players to the franchaise, this was my first FF because it looked super interesting story wise and now I'm a fan and I'm also planning on playing future games and also maybe older ones, but as much as I enjoyed the game I agree on the difficulty part and the side quests, hopefully they listen to the players and improve those things in future games.

[@Mirage4492]

I'm in the same boat as a new FF fan because of XVI and completely agree with the points mentioned SE's reputation is listening to players though so up next is DLC I hope

[@Zarotoshi]

I love how Cohh isn't really a reviewer or a Journalist, but still made the best Review regarding FFXVI.

[@karohemd2426]

That's because he actually plays the games he posts thoughts on extensively and to the end. Journalists don't.

[@losveratos]

@@karohemd2426 Except TotK.

[@BubbleWrapz91]

@@losveratos notice the comment you replied to said "play" not "finish". Even though he didn't finish it, he still played the game and posted his thoughts on his experience so far

[@losveratos]

@@BubbleWrapz91 Notice the part of what I replied to that said "to the end" and then realize that it wasn't I that misread. Reread it please.

[@Wile1412]

@@losveratos Well TotK is basically an exception due to its popularity and people asking why he doesn't/didn't play more, although he does sometimes make early thoughts videos on games

[@xSoulEater23]

It would have been cool if they let us manually upgrade Torgal and outfit him with different armors, etc.

[@johnndandurand]

FF16 feels like a game made specifically for me. I grew up with FFX being my first RPG, so it means a lot to me. Unfortunately, no other FF since has really clicked. In the years between some of my top games of all time have been Witcher 3, Persona 4: Golden, and Bayonetta. I saw aspects in all of these games in 16 and thus it really felt like the culmination of my gaming history up until this point. I loved every minute of this game and it has reached that upper echelon of games for me. This feels like my Final Fantasy.

[@timm8998]

Isnt 16 more an action game. I also really liked 10, but also 8 and 9. I couldn't get through 16 cause of the lack of rpg elements. I just ran through the main quests like a brainless dude and did not really care for what was happening.

[@Crenust]

For the first 2/3rds of the game I was thinking that this might be game of the year for me but after Bahamut the game took a huge turn into mediocrity, to the point where I started skimming and skipping dialog to get through to the end. Spoilers I also hated how they hardly explained anything. Why was Clive chosen? How did Cid know about Ultima? If Clive needed to absorb all Eikons for Ultima's grand plan, where was Leviathan? Why was Joshua in hiding for so long and what did he ultimately bring to the story, other than hardly imprisoning Ultima, it was implied that he had been studying Ultima but he didn't really seem to know much about him other than his name? I thought we were going to get to see Clive and Jill fall in love, but I think all of that happened during the second time skip? Why didn't the leaders of the various kingdoms try to actively try to stop Clive, they seemed unconcerned about him going around destroying mother crystals and killing world leaders? What was Barnabas' motivation in all of this, it is implied that it had something to do with his mother but why? If they make DLC it should be a prequel that tells Barnabas' story, his origin, how he met and came to be influenced by Ultima, maybe have some interactions between Barnabas, Cid and Joshua that might explain how they knew about Ultima, maybe an interaction with Leviathan on his way to Ash that would explain how why he is lost and not needed by Ultima.

[@skeel77730]

Yup Story is a disappointment. The prologue was the best part about the game. I hope this isn't a trend for Square Enix to milk their franchise by purposely cutting stories.

[@niksolu]

Man you speak to my soul. After the bahamut it could have ended for me and it would have been better.

[@LordofLions]

To answer one thing, Cid was Barnabas' Lord Commander so he would've known who Ultima was. Prob even part of why he hated him so much.

[@MrAlexvizz]

Game being more a Witcher / DMC game kind of bums me.. also having no party to manage feels bad. Gonna wait for a sale I guess.

[@evidicus]

Loved the setting, the characters, the music and most of the story (especially early on). The voice acting was amazing, and Ben Starr is exceptional as Clive. I enjoyed the combat, but I wish the hardest difficulty was available immediately. Really loved the over-the-top boss fights for pure spectacle, but I could’ve done with way less QTEs. Wish I had more control over my party, even if was just activating abilities like Torgal’s. It may not have been what I expected, but it pulled me in more than any other FF game in a long time.

[@HiLoMusic]

QTE’s are fine for keeping viewers engaged in the fight whilst delivering that very same spectacle you spoke about! And I totally agree, they NEED that harder difficulty out of the gate. It would make it a much much better experience imo.

[@GodOfWar187]

I'm assuming the essential side quests you're referring to is stuff like the Clive and Jill one right at the end? If so, then yeah, I agree. That 100% should have been in the MSQ.

[@zamaskowany12]

I wish he did the Harpocrates/Dion quest. It's a solid hint that Clive wrote the book at the end.

[@Nordicsz]

@@zamaskowany12 There are hints for both sides. Cause for some a tragic ending is the best story and others a happy is the better one. Personally I hate this weak will in creators who can't decide how their story ends and just leaves it as is, wishy washy.

[@tokyobassist]

All I know is FF16 dodged the bullet by not being out at the time but Jack from Stranger of Paradise would absolutely not put up with Ultima's babbling. My god. He's a pretty fleshed out "alien" villain but his screen time consisted of being a floating cryptic metaphor.

[@jhskeen]

Here I am, a life long final fantasy lover, finding myself NOT wanting to sit down and play FF16. And I was thinking there was something wrong with me! It's gotten great reviews, the hype around it is electric. But Cohh just spelled out exactly how I've been feeling. Mundane loot. Mundane story portions (where I am at currently). Not a lot of depth. I will get through the game, for sure, but it's not what I was hoping for at all.

[@ronuss]

1000% Agree with cohh here. Solid game , good characters, good story, amazing boss fights. But its so bare bones mechanicly, even for someone who enjoys brawler games its way to easy even in NG+ btw. Having no control over any party members, such little amount of characters , no party selection , really boring items. Nothing of value found in exploration when the zones were so pretty. When i think of ff one of the core features has always been party management. Having it pretty much removed in 16 was rather disappointing in my opinion as well. I felt FF7R done a great job of having action combat, but the pause feature to issue commands and even control ur party. Why that was left out in 16 i feel only hurts the game. It will be interesting to see where they go from here, if they stick to action i hope at least they add abit more depth and focus abit more on party control and setup.

[@fredericodoreto5936]

As a old player of this franchise, and daily FF14 player, i think FF16 will be looked in the future as the Gateway game to the franchise. I've seen so many new players on 14, with 16 character names, interacting in the cities, that is wholesome to see. Yeah 16 is easier and simpler, but the world and story alone are enough to carry this game on its back, and i loved pretty much all parts (with the except of Mid's quests, they were not even Mid level, they were awful).

[@shiny460]

I jumped off FF7R and FF14 very early, played this, absolutely loved it, and now I'm planning on going back to those games and several others in the franchise

[@Apchenail]

Thank you for the playtrough! You tagged along my summer '23 in a memorable fashion. Never would have played this game without this.

[@aaronseyfried7960]

one second you're shooting laser beams at the lord of the underworld in an epic clash, and then you have to go trudge through several boring fetchquests where a dude just asks you to walk over to some other guy and hand him a banana or something.

[@MrAndronius]

Im a big loot guy when it comes to RPGs and its a big part of my motivation to explore and progress the game. I stopped playing after 10hrs when i could see all the systems and how shallow they are for me. Ill just wait for BG3.

[@kskiran08]

BG3 going to be massive!

[@stespin]

After spending way too much time on games that require grinding for loot, I have to say I found the lack of it in this game almost refreshing. Not having to care about a specific build for each and every situation but having the freedom of choosing whatever I liked whenever I liked it, without having to use a calculator for stats, and not having to worry about missing a chest with an important piece of equipment, was a "new" and very welcome experience for me. Even though I agree about the difficulty, it's very easy, looking back on it I think it wasn't too bad of a choice for the first playthrough. Differently to other games, there's a lot of stuff going on during fights, not necessarily fight-related, especially during boss fights: dialogues, references, incredibly cool animations. I think the goal was to allow your brain to not be always 100% focused on the perfect parry/dodge but allow you to truly notice and experience those things on your first run. All that said, I totally agree about the secondary missions near the end, I'm one of those who got too excited about seeing where the main story was going and skipped most of them. Now hearing they are crucial to fully understand the story is heartbreaking and I wish I knew.

[@TrowGundam]

Ya I agree. This was an action game with light RPG flavor, and as a long time RPG nerd, that sucks. I still enjoyed the game, but it has confirmed that FF is no longer my favorite game series in favor of Persona. Still enjoy the game, just going in a direction that isn't for me.

[@Chumbaniya]

I haven't played the game due to lack of a PS5, but I've seen a number of playthroughs and I think both the strengths and the weaknesses are exactly the strengths and weaknesses of FFXIV taken to even greater extremes. Creative Business Unit 3 have the capacity to create great stories (at the times where they don't switch to filler mode) with distinctive characters, delivered with stunning music and great set pieces, and in FFXVI they have the resources to do that with much greater production value. But they also create lots of bolted-on content, where systems exist not because they contribute to the game but because... they're just the sort of things that games have. The bland side quests, the hunts to arbitrarily diversify your activities, the phoned-in number-goes-up loot acquisition, and the pacing that injects very obvious filler between really refined narrative sequences - these are all problems with FFXIV, and can't be hidden as well as in FFXIV with its rich back catalogue of 10 years of content and the existence of genuinely challenging MMO content for those who want it. There are positives here, and I hope that if CBU3 works on future games they are given a remit to produce something more expansive and with greater depth. They've proven they can produce quality work on a genuinely up-to-date FF game and not just an older MMO. I'd also very much hope they can bring on Natsuko Ishikawa as the lead writer, as the main story in FFXVI seemed to lose steam and devolve into some fairly one-dimensional tropes towards the end in a way which, frankly, is pretty representative of most FF games. Ishikawa as the lead writer of the last two FFXIV expansions has shown an ability to write stories which build to a finale in a way that keeps you involved, as well as presenting more relatable antagonists.

[@khaixa_]

This completely sums up almost all my thoughts about this entry in the franchise after 50+ hours of gameplay.

[@riotintheair]

I didn't die very often in FFXVI and I think it was too easy, but I don't know if I ever died in FFXV? It was essentially impossible to die in FFXV (outside of the dungeon you can't use items in, whose name I can't quite recall).

[@Deminese2]

you rarely die if ever in any of them if you are well geared and have healing in some form. Idk why people harp on the difficulty so much none of them are that hard.

[@dark-lord-vinay]

true in ff15 you can spam potions, you cannot die

[@usaliengames9810]

Thanks for yet another great 'thoughts' video.

[@SpiffidyKeen]

This touches on something that's kind of concerning with these very corporatized games companies which is that they always want some assurance of widespread marketability. On one hand, I like the idea of more people getting into gaming, but I also really dislike that a lot of games seem to be losing their identity as they attempt to appeal to a wider audience. Rather than taking what makes a game special and enhancing those qualities, they're stripped down to their core mechanics and simplified. I'm generally of the opinion that every game doesn't need to be for everyone. It's very unlikely that anyone who doesn't play games for a living is ever going to play EVERY game that's released and everyone has their own special preferences for what they find entertaining. Diversity in games systems and playstyles is what makes them interesting and this trend in gaming is something that I believe will actually decrease overall interest over time.

[@Talezi1]

Reminds me of what happened to wow, this is very sad to see happening.

[@HDCybersun]

true, but why do that when you can have all the money too. Wider audience = more yacht money.

[@AngelavengerL]

Absolutely agree with this!

[@Sarnatuile]

@@Lithenius You seem to think it's completely the company's fault. It's a supply and demand. People clearly enjoy it and they sell, so why would they not do it? Blame the consumer for mindlessly consuming.

[@retuchn]

@@Sarnatuile Low quality reply

[@Titan-zp7ex]

Yeah your not the only one Cohh a lot of other content creators have said the same thing I feel like people are afraid to say something because Square put together that event which was really cool. But people are nice and don't want to say anything because they are nice and don't want to hurt their relationship with Square. Like you said its not a bad game but missing a lot like enemy's don't even have weaknesses and strengths when I hit a Bomb with fire it should heal it would have made you use different Eikons to changing your play style more often but whateves.

[@MrJacksparrago]

They should just mix the two best combat systems they have developed since X, which are this one and the FFVII:R one. Instead of materia they could use different jobs, but yeah, that's the one thing I don't really like about this game, everything else is golden tho.

[@XxWolfxWaRioRxX]

I'd give it a 8/10 and that's only because the item and upgrade system is completely unnecessary, I'm almost at the end and haven't died once while not upgrading once

[@alexandrostype-2211]

Cohh's review is fair and balanced, I totally respect his opinion. However, it's the first time I have seen his chat being so toxic about a game, it was really annoying. Normally, his chat has good vibes and cool People but for weird reasons, this time it was really bad.

[@greggreyes6869]

yoshi-p said in the interview that 17 will depend on its director if they want to continue what 16 did or go back to older mechanics.

[@baronbob962]

Personally would like to see a shift towards the older games, FF7R type system is kind of a cool middle ground and stands out as something different. FF16 just feels like another Spectacle fighter game(DMC, MSG:R) to me albeit with a stellar story, characterisation, music. All those things that when square is on point shines through.

[@niksolu]

Finally. I see so many people saying it's goty just because they witnessed the Eikon fights but what about the rest? This game has so many flaws and bad pacing. Some systems were just included to give some sense of Rpg. I finished FF7R and FF16 almost simultaneously for the first time cause I rented a Ps5 for ff16 and figured I just should play FF7 aswell. I enjoyed FF7 so much more at the end than FF16. FF7 has a clear pacing and slowly builds up epicness until the end. FF16 has epic highpoints but after that falls back into boring fetchquests. That repeats like 3 times. Typhoon(Highpoint) - > filler content(Low point) - > Titan(^) - > filler - > Bahamut^ - > filler. And then there was Ashra which felt so rushed. You lend at the west coast of the continent and walk for 5 minutes. After that you are already in the middle of the continent. The dimensions of this games map are soo WEIRD. I feel like the map and crafting Systems was made after the chapters were done. This game could have easily been just a chapter select screen and would have been more enjoyable. They really tried hard to preserve the feel of a Openworld but it really failed there. The Openworld segments were really just filled with boring reskin hunts and fetchquests... Let's see how FF7 Rebirth makes it's Openworld. Also I like Soken and the Osts were great but not nearly as good as Masoshi's and Uematsu's works. Like thats where I enjoyed FF7R more aswell. FF16 Was lacking music and had some really uncanny ost which I hated listening too. For example the Barnabas/Odin theme is so strange it hurts my ears. It felt off. FF16 is a 6/10 and definitely not the Goty for me. It had good characters but it's really rare that this franchise disappoints with Characters tbh. The main plot was sadly just a copy of the FF13 trilogy plot.

[@epicbento7303]

Completely fair and well spoken opinion, I find myself enjoying the game and though I do miss the depth of traditional item and party management which inherently give an rpg more depth, direction(as in urge to explore and 100percent a game) and difficulty imo sometimes It’s nice to have what I call a beer and pretzels game. Where I don’t have to try hard I get a good story and at the end I can say well that was a fun experience. Great thoughts video I always appreciate your insights and honesty!!

[@MrJacksparrago]

I would fuse this combat with FFVII:R combat, instead of materia they could use different jobs. Give me the overall movement of FFXVI with FFVII:R deep customization and different characters. CBU3 are usually good at taking feedback, so I hope we get those kind of things in the next game.

[@panamakira]

5:18 I agree with you Cohh. You nailed all my issues with the game lol. I enjoyed my time with it. It was fun to play but I feel like they might have gone a bit too strong on the action side. The combat was fun but a bit repetitive and I wished there was more to the crafting, exploration and side quests. While it was fun I think for me ultimately it lacked depth on its gameplay systems. I think I miss the party system and the more rpg mechanics the franchise is known for. I think FF7R has a nice balance of new mechanics and the charm of the series. Still this was an interesting entry to the series. Also I personally enjoyed FFXV so I get where you're coming from 🥲

[@shownon]

I agree, honestly all they gotta do is add more loot/armour/Cosmetics and optional dungeons etc to just give a reason to explore

[@FieldMedic4077]

This game made Cohh stop caring about loot. Pretty sure that's illegal. Someone get the police on the line.

[@FightOrWriteResponse]

As someone whose wheelhouse for the franchise is FF6 through 10 (7 being my first, 9 being my all time favorite) this game captured the magic that has been severely lacking. Regardless of its flaws, which I do recognize, I'm loving it. Kind of flabbergasted that Coh sited 15 as a GOTY. I turned it off after 30 minutes. Would love to hear his in depth opinions on it.

[@Snack6288]

Couldn’t agree more that a harder difficulty should have been made available out the gate. And should be an industry standard imo.

[@Stardrifter404]

I'll be picking up the game when it's available on PC but have watched a full play through and several streamers perspectives of their games. My opinion is that the game tried to branch out which it did but perhaps forgot some of what made the series popular in the first place. Example they didn't include a materia equivalent system which would have improved combat favourably.

[@NickTaco55]

I prefer FF to be as it used to be. I feel they could have still made a great game building off of the mechanics of the old titles. Even FF15 seems a bit more FF than 16 imo.

[@n3verendR]

I like FFXVI so much I had to pause your video and go new game + through a level just to get my fix before I finished. I totally agree about the RPG elements feeling like they are missing. Would have loved to have seen some more meaningful choices. Hell, FFVI had a system where your stats increased depending on the Esper that was equipped at the time, which was pretty intuitive to me and it was one of my first ever video games. Can you imagine if when you got a level while Titan was equipped, your perfect block damage was increased by a little? OMG that would be so cool. I would have loved controlling multiple characters as well, similar to FF7re. Some fights the AI legitimately fucking did their part, no reason why they can't program this the entire way through and allow more flexibility of choice in terms of who you want to control. The one where Cid kills a Dragon while you focus the Dragoon really sticks out to me because a potentially more difficult fight gets trivialized because an NPC kicks so much ass. I eventually started spotting the formula and began skipping through certain parts of cutscenes because they were just taking too long to explain something I already got the jist of due to earlier dialogue. I totally understand, you are going to ask me to go get you three relic pieces. I'll go do that, I can't imagine anything you are going to say will farther enrich my experience so I'll just take the 5-10 seconds of my life back. Also, I would have killed for some hard optional dungeons rather than a simple quest line for ultimate type weapons. Difficulty slider from the get. I can't think of a single good reason it's not there given the number of accessibility settings they already give players. I wish some of the side quests were just outright dungeon crawls. I fondly remember most of the optional dungeon dive content in more classic square games. The cultist tower in FFVI, pretty much anything end game in Chrono Trigger, and the Chrysler Building in Parasite Eve. Just to name a few. P.S. I sincerely hope a "Summoner Knight" dominant / kingsglaive resembling class makes it into FFXIV. That would be pretty cool to see an MMO's takes on those kind of abilities. This was fun to type up even if nobody reads it! Cheers!

[@jr4bz]

I am a majorly pro-FF guy but I have to say that I completely agree with you. I found myself significantly disappointed in the gameplay department. The eikons and the overall presentation and spectacle are top notch and very much FF trademarks, but it just doesn't feel like I am playing Final Fantasy anymore. I was hoping it was going to be something a little more like FF7: Remake which I absolutely loved.

[@patchtactic]

Idk what everybody thinks but tbh i like 15's replayability and exploration more than 16.

[@Morden97]

I can't believe XV was your GOTY lol (I loved it too btw) I agree with this review 100%. I also believe most of the issues of this game can be attributed to MMO style design. You can tell Yoshi-P is the head of XIV 😂

[@shadowace940]

Did you watch him play it? It was great...he was gushing over it whenever he played it. Also, it had fishing. Honestly, that's probably what pushed it to GOTY status lol

[@gurnoorsekhon6402]

Absolutely agree. Loot in this felt like loot/arms in sekiro where they COULD play a roll but we're never required. I found the ring that buffs attack after precision dodge and never changed it the entire game. It was necessary to make a fixed combat style but I think they should have made loot more integrated into the eikons instead where the items change/unlock more usability of any Eikon instead of just cooldowns. Also they should have had a deeper basic moveset to compensate. Because Clive just had a simpler version of Nero's moveset. The story did have some fat that could be trimmed but otherwise was my favorite till now. And this game is my personal favorite FF and I hope they improve on this formula rather than walk back to turn based.

[@casualcarvalhogaming3249]

Honestly, I always expect something different, every Final Fantasy should be something different, should be feel diffrent, should be played different. I have played every FF that exists, which includes spinnoffs and ffxi, and for me , this game easily is a 9 of 10. I never rushed games, and in this case, I just did one quest at the time and got a better experience. This game is closer to games like FF12, FFT and vagrant story, and for reference more to the Ivalice Saga in FFXIV, and that is good. Again, for me, I feel like I am going to play this game more times than de previous ones.

[@Ocean5ix]

Except 1 through 10 aren't something different. 12 is slightly different but it's a lot more "turn based" than people care to admit. 13 fits your argument, although its still somewhat turn based but very experimental. 11 and 14 MMOs, does it belong to the conversation? Your pick. 15 fits your argument, it's an action game. So out of 14 mainline single player FF games, 10 are turn based, 4 aren't. Conclusion, Final Fantasy isn't "always" something different.

[@MegaAndyGG]

@Ocean5ix So long and ridiculous answer. FF always trying different things, like it or not lol.

[@Talezi1]

@@MegaAndyGG are u so thick in the head that u dont get his point here ?

[@Ocean5ix]

@@MegaAndyGG Yet your short answer did nothing to counter my argument.

[@MegaAndyGG]

@@Ocean5ix Cry about it, bozo

[@scatsandwich38]

I agree with what was said here. This is the first FF i have actually played through and i really enjoyed it. Makes me want to play the others!

[@icescorpion6189]

FF15 was awesome, glad to hear that you really enjoyed that too. Also I think the word you should use instead of 'muted' is 'shallow', lol

[@Dragoonon]

One thing i truly dont understand is.. There is 8 Eikons, why can we equip 6 abilites and not 8?!

[@animancy9824]

I don't think you have have enough buttons for 8, or the macro mangement for it.

[@Dragoonon]

@@animancy9824 True, that it would be hard to mange the way they designed it. But i mean you have buttons for Torgal and potions. I feel like it would be fairly easy to design a system that utilized all 8 Eikons instead. :) Especially since there is quite a bit of wieght on the whole "vessel is incomplete, it needs all Eikons", Or atleast its implied that the vessel is not complete before it has them all.

[@SuperRamos619]

Remember when FF9 came out, part of the advertisement was that Crystals are returning? Makes me wonder if FF17 goes back to turn based, and that's parr of their advertisement. Turn based combat returns after 20 years!

[@MumonguGaming]

Agree with what you say. The other negative's are "Lock On, Too busy on screen with the effects, and Camera sometimes getting stuck " IMO

[@LayHon0217]

Being an absolute jrpg nerd since the late 90s, i can say with confidence that FFXVI has become not only one of my favourite FF, but also easily a top 15 rpg of mine. It's definitely not perfect ; the game is indeed too easy, the forge system is pretty much pointless, allies and enemies alike are overall too slow (especially allies, wish they could be a bit more useful), sidequests are very hit or miss (some of them provide very good lore / worldbuilding, some others are just your fedex mmo fetch quest), and the loot is just potions / crafting scraps for the mundane forge system. But the game offers a very beautiful world, tons of characters you end up loving, a narration / pacing that is overall very solid, mechanics that are very fun, a fantastic atmosphere that is complemented by an absolute banger of a soundtrack ... And voice acting. Oh and let's not forget to mention the absolute MADNESS that is the demo, i've absolutely NEVER IN MY LIFE been hooked and hyped like this by a demo before, and i didn't even play it myself. I'm definitely expecting a "FFXVI Vengeful Edition" at some point where they'll refine the few negative aspects of the game and make a few changes here and there, but this is definitely one of my best experience of the decade, with P5 and Like a Dragon being up there with it.

[@CaerEsthar]

Hard disagree on the Witcher 3 comparison (or that Final Fantasy 15 deserved to be anyone's game of the year) but the rest of this is spot on.

[@danielpayne7194]

Final Fantasy X still takes top spot for me.

[@jewgenijsurnin6043]

Man finally I can sleep again. I was so conflicted about why I loved the game so much but actually had so much to fuss about at the same time feeling that my praise for the game felt more coped then anything else. You PoV helped a lot to sort the things in my head. Amazing Review!

[@GamesRule]

This is exactly how I felt about FF7 Remake. Yes it was gorgeous, yes the music was amazing, but it had none of the RPG elements that helped me fall in love with the original and I didn't want to keep spamming attack so I could cast a single spell. Unfortunately Final Fantasy games are no longer for me. Thank god for games like Like a Dragon and Dragon Quest.

[@chrisrussell1106]

I'm currently 65% done with FFXVI personally and around episode 36-37 on your KZbin playthrough. Up to that point, it seems like you're having an epic blast, so the lack of core RPG elements must have dragged down your experience toward the end. I also have minor problems with FFXVI, but as someone who loves action combat and prioritizes story and characters above all else, this is easily in my top 3 FFs of all time (along with 6 and 9).

[@alexin3dable]

yeah felt like a very casual experience but has a great story and graphics.

[@Maxbeedo2]

100% agree with your thoughts here. Turns out when you remove a party system, elemental affinities, status ailments, buffs, debuffs, interesting gear choices, and meaningful exploration/quest rewards, while being extremely easy, you've made a pretty unfulfilling game to play if you like making strategic choices. No reason to "play most of the game" outside of story. The main story also did not hit with me, but some of the character moments did, and the game still sometimes hits extremely high peaks of gaming, it just has a lower average floor. Still an ok game, and I'll still be listening to the soundtrack forever and ever.

[@Lincy7734]

So i was waiting for you thoughts on this game... and after watching this video it made me wanna replay Final Fantasy X, and summer break is coming up, guess who will sink more time into it!

[@Scottoest]

I agree with Preach who said that it felt like they poured 90% of their time and resources into the MSQ and combat, and the remaining 10% into literally everything else. The side quests are mostly terrible and boring aside from a bit of world building and the game makes a baffling decision to throw them at you in gigantic pre-set waves. The crafting and gearing is perfunctory, and that's putting it charitably. The production quality of most side content is a big step down from the MSQ, up to and including even VISUAL fidelity and basic camera work (it reminds me of Ghost of Tsushima in this respect). There's a few better side quests, but most of them are MMO-tier filler. The story missions are beautiful and the kaiju fights are insane, though I think the sheer number of QTEs in them will probably diminish replayability. The music is god-tier, as you'd expect from Soken. The story and endless apeing of Game of Thrones is a bit hit or miss with me, though I like a lot of the characters and the overall setting. I'm right at the end of the game personally, and I think at present I'd give the game an 8/10 - maybe an 8.5. There's a lot to love and I've really enjoyed my time with the game, but the overall package just feels a bit off-balance with the amount of shallow systems and side cruft that only seems like it's there because they figured a FF RPG "had" to have it, rather than just embracing being a pure action game.

[@Kizmar]

Amazing spell animations make for a rough streaming bit rate 😆

[@terakahn]

I keep hearing about this and how great it is. I haven't played a FF game since 13. This doesnt look like I remember FF games to be. but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I do miss the turn based cmobat though.

[@Choteron3]

Hate when games have lackluster loot. The Outer Worlds was very dissapointing in that area.

[@MatthewTCG]

Cohh as well-spoken as ever, great video.

[@madfjuuri]

Well, guess now I dont have to wait for it to come to PC. Ive had quite enough of dumbing down games. I do like - as Cohh said - to apply myself.

[@blueocean12]

Good take, I mostly agree. One annoying thing about the combat is that it is often very hard to see what an enemy/boss is doing because the attack animations are so over the top, so it is hard to see when you need to dodge, especially when using limit break.

[@Meowtro]

I'd disagree, all of the moves are pretty well telegraphed and some are even announced via text on screen.

[@baronbob962]

@@Meowtro eh? I dunno if I'm in Pheonix mode and wailing on something I can't see some monsters movements to dodge among all the chaff on screen

[@Meowtro]

@@baronbob962 never had that problem.

[@andresashura5550]

Final fantasy 16 may be my favorite final fantasy since 10, and your opinion is so valid Cohh, I understand exactly what you meant, final fantasy 16 is an amazing game but I understand why for some people is difficult to accept this change of direction.. The same thing happened to me with Yakuza 7, I don’t like turn base, but I understand that for some people turn base is more easy than brawler.. I think that final fantasy 16 and yakuza 7 managed to archive their propuse Bring new fans to the franchise, thank you for finishing the game

[@bigcoffee8341]

The game was a huge miss for me but Cohh is right there. More then half of the side quests might as well be cut out, and the best side quests are only at the very tip end of the game. They could just as well have been added into the main story instead and I think the general experience could have been enhanced.

[@crazzykilla]

It defo did its job of brining in a wider audience. This is my first FF game and I loved it. I was always kinda put of by the turn based mechanics and sometimes goofy themes. I loved the mature story and tone, as well as the combat system. I agree with alot of the points saying the game is to easy and needed some harder difficulties from the start. I look forward to seeing what happens next, or if this will remain my only FF game.

[@monksden467]

Great review!

[@lilkhmer5]

I feel like Cohh's thoughts at 4:32 is exactly what alot of older FF fans were having issues with but got a lot of flak/hate for having this critique about FF16. I had this thought as well so I didn't play this FF. To me it looks like DMC with a FF theme (which isn't a bad thing) but probably not for me.

[@Croyles]

They got a lot of flak because they are super loud everwhere. It's totally fine if the game isn't for you, but the way people reacted to this game instantly without actually even delving into it was incredibly irritating. Complaints about the series changing too much is also something we've heard since FF6 so it's very tiring.

[@HawkEyeTS]

@@Croyles The heavy complaints are because the contingent of blockbuster chasing gamers who latched onto this for the hype and spectacle of it (a decent chunk of who will just as quickly turn their backs on the franchise for the "next big thing") have made themselves just as aggressively and obnoxiously loud in stating how it's the best Final Fantasy game ever and/or the only one that's ever appealed to them, and that all the people who want their franchise to return to how it used to be should just "accept the evolution" or "go play Octopath Traveler" instead. Maybe not as much in this particular channel's discussions, but absolutely elsewhere - SkillUp's comment section has some of the worst of "your group" on full display. Pot. Kettle. Black. Ultimately though, I just really wish more people would stop and consider about how they would feel if their favorite game series had nearly everything they love stripped down to the barest remaining threads, retrofitted with game play they dislike, and then to be told "these games are always changing, get over it". The unfortunate reality is that money makes this a zero sum situation to a substantial degree - in order for you to get the AAA spectacle action game you loved, that negates basically any chance of us getting what we'd like to see for at least another 5 or so years at minimum, and that's assuming the executives allow a change of course, which since they've continued down this frustrating path this long, they likely won't. There is no actual alternative Final Fantasy with the systems we want to see in it. This entry especially is just a straight up substantially different game than it used to be, no matter how much people try to ignore the first 10 games to pretend it was always changing at this level. Even FFVII Remake was retrofitted with "more popular" systems to appeal to a wider group, despite those of us who made the original the blockbuster hit it was begging for a visual overhaul since the days of the PS3 tech demo. In this situation where many fans continue to "lose" release after release, I'd really appreciate it if the people who "won" would recognize that fact and not rail us for venting, especially about legitimate issues people are overlooking or willfully ignoring out of hype. This is absolutely not a perfect game by any measure, and SquareEnix deserves to be called out for the parts that are legitimately poorly constructed, especially when some of them are major pain points for the people unhappy with the game they now seem to want to make.

[@Croyles]

@@HawkEyeTS I've read this same essay from many people in the last 30 years despite your rebuttal about "however much we claim the games have changed". Interesting you should say "my camp" and mention skill ups video where 99% of the comments are frothing at the mouth about how he "owned" the game even though the video itself comes with a heavy disclaimer. Games series I love have changed all the time, there's no need for me to put myself in their shoes. You can either move on and continue to find stuff you enjoy or make it your mission in life to be dissatisfied.

[@HawkEyeTS]

@@Croyles Dude, you don't have to pretend you were doing the magazine rounds in the Super Nintendo era to try an appeal to authority here. If you're going to be a hypocrite who complains about gamers complaining about games, at least recognize you're causing just as much noise. And not once in the above reply did I say that "loud" idiots on the internet don't exist regardless of the side involved. Hyperbole never helps an argument either - 99% really? That's an "I made it the $%^# up" statistic if I ever heard one. Lastly, I don't understand why you seem so proud about being unwilling to empathize with other people. Frankly, you seem like you'd be a very unpleasant person to be around if you tell your friends to move on or get over it whenever something happens they don't like.

[@Ozmaniacify]

Absolutely agree. I have so much of the crafting materials, but nothing to make with them.

[@bushisback112]

As someone who doesnt like an overwhelming amount of customization and options i appreciate how basic the skill and gear upgrades are

[@elricskye5562]

Here's my thing. Players don't really want basic gameplay. If Elden Ring taught us anything, its that gamers are ready for deep customization and builds in an action setting and FF16 should have capitalized on that. It adds depth and replay value. FF16 is not a bad game, but it could have been fantastic.

[@animancy9824]

Not true, not everyone wants a dark souls game, nor everything should be dark souls. Dark souls has very slow combat and different manner of pacing to things. Also its open world. Not every game is about Elden Ring.

[@shiny460]

People play different games for different things. I love ER and I don't particularly care that FF16 isn't an in depth RPG.

[@elricskye5562]

@@shiny460 and thats fine. I don't think FF16 is bad. It just could have been better in my opinion. I'm not trying to poo on it.

[@Creslin321]

I’m glad to hear someone voice this perspective because it’s how I feel too. To me, what makes a game franchise a game franchise is ultimately the gameplay. Street Fighter 6 would not be a mainline street fighter game if it was an FPS. And I mean, it’s the same thing with Final Fantasy. To me, Final Fantasy is an epic RPG with world exploration, tons of side activities, and yes, party based combat where you get to control every character and grow their abilities. FFXVI, from what I’ve heard, is a cinematic character action game. Which I mean, that’s great and all, and I’ll still play it . But it’s veered so far off of what the Final Fantasy series is, that I’m not really sure I will consider it to be a mainline FF game.

[@gurnoorsekhon6402]

For the difficulty, they should have done a DMC 5 where there's a powerful boss in the beginning and if you beat him, you unlock harder difficulty modes.

[@YoohAi]

Honestly if they took FFXVI's combat system into what dissidia should've been man it'll be a great arena brawler..

[@dlvarcade9729]

Loot is my biggest complaint. Funny enough, that’s also my biggest issues in FF14. I love 14 and 16 and they are some of my fav games but I feel like the loot simplicity for the sake of accessibility to a broader audience is a low for me.

[@josephgurr]

I just wish it had more rpg aspects. Such as more loot, and loot diversity. Also character skills should be more in-depth. I’m glad for the simplicity, but not so simple as I can’t upgrade the basic of the basic skills which require me to use gear to upgrade. Now I’m not saying I’m not happy with using gear to upgrade stats, but that would also mean there would need to be more gear to do so. I felt the only decent side quests were the ones marked with a “+” instead of an “!,” and the bounty quest. Aside from those they became drags. Don’t get me wrong some towards the end had good stories, but the tldr they were just the same as the beginning side quest just with more added dialogue. The story was fantastic the world was beautiful. But I only died because I wasn’t paying attention, and not because of game difficulty. It is a good game, I just wish it had more rpg elements of 15 with this new combat style, and maybe a difficulty setting. But that’s my own personal opinion which doesn’t take away from this being a great game to have at least one play through of under your belt.

[@off-meta-michael]

Lifelong FF fan here: in my opinion 16 did not deliver on the overall gameplay loop. Everything that you do when you're not fighting in previous FF games included party management, mini games, some level of grinding, and figuring out where to go next. 16 has none of these things in exchange for extremely high quality cutscenes and boss battles. I think they got away with it in this case, but will not do well in future installments without going back to the golden age classics and trying to capture that gameplay loop. right now FF7 Rebirth looks like it has a better chance of delivering on those aspects.

[@harjawaldaz136]

I just stopped using healing very early and that helped a lot in enjoying combat, only healing being Limit Break. Harder difficulty would have been much prefered however, especially as I'm doing everything and it kinda feels needless to get levels and newer gear. As for loot... has that really been that important for most FF games except for new town = new weapon with 10ish more damage?

[@MP-tw4fc]

Great review. I feel similar about the game. I can’t help but compare it to ff7R though, which was a game I never felt bored playing and I wanted to take on every battle I could. With ff16, there’s been more slow periods and I genuinely try to avoid every fight I can at this point. I liked the combat, but after dozens of hours I find it too repetitive. Having other party members take on elemental eikons of their own would have gone a long way for me. Still, I enjoy the game. Just not my favorites. I appreciate the attempt but would like for them to return to the roots with a next game.

[@kartikayysola]

I feel the exact opposite. Playing FF7R felt like a chore for me (I do plan to give it another chance eventually though), but I never once tired of 16. But that seems to be the story of FF, where no two fans will respond the same to any given game.

[@RudeSaiyan]

I broadly agree with your criticisms on the Rpg aspects of this game. I feel as if there are ample opportunities to give some semblance of a party system in the game. I would have been happy if they even allowed the option to influence your party members in a dragons dogma way, (focus on my target, support, cc, etc). the lack of meaningful loot and gear was a bummer to me as well but overall didn't impact my enjoyment of the game for 50+ hours and I didn't really think about it until nearing the end of the game as I was wrapped up in the wonderful storytelling and cinematics. One thing I will have to say though, I don't really understand the online rhetoric of "does this deserve to be a mainline numbered FF" when we have two MMO games that have numbers. Would the game be better labeled as an FF spin off, ala Stranger of Paradise? I don't know. I think that it's a good game that during the high moments is great but it falls short of being a perfect FF probably because of all the series gameplay mainstays highlighted. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Cohh.

[@Blaisem]

Can't wait for the PC port. I bet with mods it can become incredible. Difficulty and gear are the ideal points for mods to grapple.

[@SebastianVVVVVV]

I just think that if they added alot more depth into the combat with debuffs etc, that it wouldve been way to much for alot of people who havent played action games before and/or are coming from just turn based FF. still couldve maybe had some in NG+

[@K9Viper84]

I will agree it was a fantastic game in many ways characters music etc.. But difficulty was stupidly easy which was a shame I was hoping for the progressive difficulty like it used to be. Also party management really missed that this time round I kinda hope they revert back in some areas to the likes of ff15 but still enjoyed the game and look forward to the next

[@magickmynd1296]

I get what you are saying, and I understand the reasoning behind the developers trying to appeal to a wider audience, but I feel like maybe they overshot the goal and diluted it a little TOO much. Instead of an rpg it's just now kind of an action game with some extremely light rpg elements. It's been trending that way since final fantasy 13, so it's not too surprising, but it is a bit disappointing as turn based rpgs have been my favorite ever since I got into gaming and nowadays it's getting more and more difficult to find really good turn based games. Don't get me wrong, I have liked a few action type games, such as mass effect or deus ex, but they aren't really at the top of my list for enjoyment as a playstyle, it's more of just something I can play every so often vs turn based rpgs are something I can sink 10-16 hours a day into if I'm really enjoying it during a binge gaming session. I'm just hoping that turn based games as a genre don't disappear completely with this shift that gaming companies seem to be taking towards more action based casual games.

[@captply4468]

It makes me sad when some one who games almost everyday all year long says a game is to easy!!! well it should be for you!! most of us who gets to game 2 or 3hrs a week have a challenge on there hands

[@mcrevolver6399]

Is 13 but with good story and characters . A solid 7, no more.

[@TheSamya2005]

My main concern is still the amount of cutscenes.. when i sit down to play a game i want to play not watch. Some reviewers said this game is more than 50% cutscenes... thats much too much

[@creyes879]

Nough said. Fantastic review.

[@KnetikTV]

I LOVED the atmosphere, characters, and world; however, the actual story, while it had cool moments, it was kinda meh compared to other final fantasy games. They took away A LOT of core rpg concepts revolving around loot, equipment, and exploration. Honestly, this game didnt come close to breaking the top 5 final fantasy games to me.

[@marcusantione2280]

After everyone was wearing the exact same clothing/outfits after the 5 year time skip, I was kinda done.

[@chubacca8450]

Definitely missing a challenge difficulty. Unfortunately FF mode is also pretty easy with the full toolkit.

[@Soulbane90]

Very good thoughts video. I 100% agree with Cohh here.

[@mister-hajime]

"I haven't been maining it". He was making sushis But yeah I agree with everything he said. It's crazy to even say it but I don't consider FF16 to be a RPG

[@Dabedidabe]

*Spoiler alert* Can we all be honest with each other and admit the story was terrible? The characters were good, but they didn't do anything with them for the most part and most choices that were made didn't make sense, other than they were made to drive the plot forward. There's a lot of problems, but some of the big ones - Joshua avoiding Clive for no reason - Joshua wearing a black cloak, just like the man in Clive's imagination that Jill and Cid could also see, was cheap fake mystery. - Destroying the crystals to stop the blight, and then when the guy that talked them into it (Cid) dies, just continuing even though the blight isn't slowing down was ridiculous.

[@drewbull4385]

thanks cohh and team