Final Fantasy 16 Spoiler Discussion || The Most Divisive FF Ever??

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[@plectrumura]

Not gonna lie. I got a bit annoyed too when I saw the 8 billion side quests become available right before the final battle but once I got through the ending (no spoilers), I was glad I did them.

[@Sleepy_Badger]

Jill was dying from using her abilities constantly for the iron bloods, she coughed up a lot of blood and her long gloves concealed her arm turning to stone. She was clearly often in pain

[@langleymneely]

Thank you! I thought that was SO readily apparent?

[@xXmartinoliXx]

I think there's a scene where Tarja implies that Jill has some crystal's curse on her hand and hence she uses her glove

[@toby9364]

Luke Stephens is so right when he says hype ruins everything. This was my first FF and I had no expectations. I really enjoyed! 8.5/10

[@langleymneely]

Same!

[@drgonzo123]

I really think you owe it to yourselves to play a different FF. 9 is still great if you like turn based combat, and 7 remake is a great modern starting point too.

[@langleymneely]

@@drgonzo123 Me actually loving 16 has made me try other games in the franchise. Though the reasons I have not been a FF fan are due to turn based combat and not really digging some of the wonky translation performances of previous games. Because of that I am actively trying out FF games that have real time combat. I am a born again nascent Final Fantasy fan now! I still can’t believe I 100% 16!? Lol

[@sadisticD]

Ultima essentially represents mega corporations and the control they have on the world. With the crystals whether they are destroyed or not Ultima has a plan. It would be like if we destroyed big oil the big oil companies would just use their money and infrastructure to just take control of whatever is next. The ideal of wanting people to be will-less akashic is similar to how large companies would rather people just show up and work rather than have lives outside of work to balance.

[@langleymneely]

Thank you for this gentleman! I’ve been dying to see/have an in-depth conversation about this game! Please do more spoiler game conversations like these in the future?

[@luvstagrind]

8/10 is a fair score imo

[@JM-qx5qv]

Those final side quests were so poorly placed. “He’s gathering power. We need to stop him before he’s too strong”…….”but Jill might like to see these flowers, Gavs lucky charm needs a nice final touch, and the lore guy needs a flower from the most dangerous place in the world to give to Dion”

[@TheLQGaming]

Seeing more review videos and I'm fascinated by how divided reviews are. Think it really comes down to which parts of the game resonated with the players more, and in a good or bad way. Personally I really enjoyed the game. The combat was good but easy, the Eikon fights looked amazing but gameplay as an Eikon was much less interesting and more basic than as Clive. The story, there was only one story that really dominated the game, in part due to the voice acting, other plots lost potential due to characters being off screen at questionable points in the plot, or the main (and fairly forgettable) villain. The FF16 story ending I actually cried at, which is quite the statement as video games go. It's a game I haven't been able to stop thinking about since I completed it. Besides the music everything could have been slightly one level up. But it is still to me a beautiful game despite its flaws and would recommend players play it, regardless of whether you follow the Final Fantasy games or not.

[@natsune09]

I enjoyed the game, but I can see why people are turned off. It isn't the Final Fantasy game people expected or maybe even wanted. Final Fantasy has always experimented, but eliminating the party system is something that people are going to have a hard time getting over.

[@keaton3174]

I think what helped me with some of the side missions and how same-y they could feel was only playing FF16 part time so to speak. I tried not to play more than 6-7 hrs of it before playing something else for a few hrs just to get a break from the tedium (I get that's the point is the tedium/mundane) that might have been helped by this actually being more of an open world. I give it an 8.5 because I LOVE the story and characters but as Josh said it felt hindered by the side quest a bit and lack of freedom, but that is a me thing because I like to grind a bit in RPGs

[@cmadeam]

Loved this game. Did miss the traditional cool party members and the side quests do start slow but this story was soooo amazing

[@AzureRoxe]

It's an RPG with barely any RPG, many iconic FF staples removed for a half-assed Devil May Cry combat with none of the flair, style or reason for existing.

[@natsune09]

Perfect timing, I beat the game yesterday. I was thinking about the post credit scene, it can be taken two ways. First, it shows that life went on in the new world with no more magic, dominants, and bearers. The second way it can be taken is that often hated plot twist slap to creativity and logic we all hate with a mighty passion, it was not real but a story. I will choose the first as the second would make me hate the game.

[@natsune09]

I honestly think the battle with Bahamut was harder and longer than the fight with Ultima. Bahamut just kept going and going.

[@langleymneely]

I get other people’s issues with it but this is the first Final Fantasy game I’ve ever played and loved. I used to call myself a FF “hater” and some how I 100% this game!? I’m not a fan of turn based combat or the wonky writing/translation performance of previous games so 16 felt like it was completely created for me. Though the side quests felt pointless at first they all came back around to elucidate the point of the story in a great way! I thought this was so good that I’ve actually gone back and started FF7 Remake again! All because of how much this made me appreciate the franchise and its tropes. In that way this game was insanely successful for me.

[@Jazzmannnnn]

I literally didn’t care about side quests until the time skip, but I’m on my second playthrough and I’m appreciating the game much more. This is the first FF where I’m actually wanting more. I’d like to explore Cid and Benedicter’s relationship. Leviathan, who were the people before humans came along. Did they rebel against Ultima and he wiped them out to start again? I even see the world more. Going as far to using the Aether to dry clothes. Like, what the hell😂

[@langleymneely]

@@Jazzmannnnn I missed it at first but apparently the ancient race were Barers that ruled over humanity with magic until they were wiped out and fell from the sky leading to their enslavement and discrimination. I found it funny because I kept asking myself while playing how are all the magic people enslaved by normal humans? Lol

[@Afr0Punk]

​@@JazzmannnnnI'm a long time fan of the series and this was the first time I ever completed a Final Fantasy and immediately started up a new game after rolling credits. Similar to you I got a bit more out of the story and characters the 2nd playthrough especially after completing all the side quests this time.

[@AzureRoxe]

Ah, here's the copy/pasted "i used to hate the franchise, but i 100% this divisive game!!" that is always used whenever something is divisive.

[@langleymneely]

@@Afr0Punk I completely understand the issues others have with the game and it’s side quests but by the end they all really locked into place and worked for me. I haven’t dared to start new game + yet but I am very tempted.

[@brendastevens3665]

FFXI is still there, still being updated, you can go and play it right now on the official servers, solo with trusts through the entire story if wanted.

[@elliotbalo10]

For me it while I loved the game it felt like it was slightly rushed with the mechanics cause they had 1 eye on the next ff7 remake

[@Yoteeeeej]

FFXVI would've been PERFECT if the side quest dialogue/cutscenes weren't so 2010-looking

[@Lemmingofdoom]

It removed the final remaining aspects of Final Fantasy I enjoyed ^^’ what’s left I could take or leave; to each their own, I’m sure it’s great, but I have zero drive to play this one c: and that’s ok

[@frankgarrison3276]

On one hand all those quests at the end was ugh a lot at once but on the other hand you get closure on basically all the important people you meet instead of just going oh this guy is important ok bye and never see em again so I appreciated it

[@nickcrouch1258]

I loved the game and Clive's story. The side quests although a bit lame in most cases did a lot to flesh out the characters and the world - particularly around understanding the plight of the bearers. My only real gripe was the crafting and shop systems. I still don't know what half of my resources were for as I was never short of anything and I'm sure some were either used once or not at all despite me accumulating 100s of those items. Plus I was drowning in gil from early on so could buy anything I wanted bar the songs. More crafing options for things like custom potions or boosting effects of accessories (or adding effects to your sword/armour) and I'd happily say this is the best ff game since 7

[@Ranemoraken]

I appreciate the slowburn story, but the second half isn't as sharp as the first half (Basically after Hugo) Barnabas was not interesting and while I love how Ultima was acted, I didn't find him overall satisfying. Also, Clive resolved most of his conflicts with Hugo's exit. Also, I remember at the beginning of the game going, "Geeze, the first thing these Rosaria guys do when the blight approaches is invade their neighbors. Solving the blight seems to the be the biggest friggin problem". Then Cid finally talks about his plan to stop it, but we find out at the end of the game that the blight is still coming. All mankind did was free themselves from Ultima's slavery. So there could be a continuation of the story... where the blight is an issue, and maybe Leviathan shows up... except that it's impossible because of the ending.

[@DogsOfWarr]

My main problem with FF16 is the best parts of the story are all at the start, whilst the best parts of combat aren't unlocked until the end with a lot of filler thrown in detracting from the fast-paced, combat heavy action game it sells itself as (let's not forget the literal 20+ hours of slow paced cutscenes where control is taken away from you & shallow combat system) Overall a good game with a lot of potential, but in a world where FF7 Remake exists, this game just doesn't cut it.

[@DogsOfWarr]

...oh - and don't get me started on the NPC's who say half a few words before stopping mid-sentence & leaving you to read 3 pages of text... FFS

[@inzone88]

You sound like a ff7 remake fanboy.

[@DogsOfWarr]

@inzone88 yep... because it's very very good - FF16 is pretty mediocre overall... I wanted action & characters I cared about, but didn't really get either - most of the time I spent playing I was just bored - starts off strong, but goes downhill fast 🤷‍♂️

[@inzone88]

@@DogsOfWarr the characters are some of the strongest in the series. I will agree with the story inconsistency. But to say the characters are forgettable is a pretty laughably dishonest statement.

[@DogsOfWarr]

@inzone88 I never said the characters were forgettable... that's a "dishonest statement" - I said I never cared about them, totally different thing - I will never forget how generic & boring most of them were 😂 (apart from Cid, obvs)

[@DrMike18]

I finished the game about two weeks ago and, honestly, FF16 is such a forgettable game. I barely remember anything that happened, and what I do remember is just poor story choices. Nothing about this game as stuck with me other than just being so frustrated with it, not disappointed like I was with FF15, but just disappointed because everyone acted like 16 is the second coming. It copied a lot of the strong things other FF and JRPG games did, but not in a way to really make it stand out on its own. The only things worth praising the game are its visually stunning, the acting is 10/10, and the music is fantastic. And really the only reason I even finished the game was out of a sense of obligation, not enjoyment.

[@blakty2]

Forgettable? You definitely didn’t play it

[@cautionnerds]

Ultima felt like such a boring main antagonist to me. Great game, but he was just a over confident im above you enemy.

[@Jazzmannnnn]

He didn’t take a look at Clive’s will gauge. Had a fit in the end wondering why Clive wouldn’t give up.

[@MoreLimitless_]

I would describe FFXVI as a "great but flawed" game because while the game has some of the best boss fights I've seen in a game and the story has become one of my favorites there are many flaws that unfortunately are very noticeable and cant be excused. The two outliers to me are level design and quest design, their extremally repetitive with not much substance then to bring you to the next story beat. Nonetheless I'd still rate the game personally a 9/10 and critically an 8.5/10 because for me, while their are low lows in the game, the highs in this game had me floored and in awe of what I was playing and the game itself overall is still a good game, just not perfect.

[@Viper.907]

Nice

[@inspectahwoke5746]

The game is great, but it's not a 10/10 game. The narrative is incredible, the set piece Eikonic battles are iconic, but the game suffers with its lack of great quest design, which is partially because of the empty semi-open world environment design and its lack of RPG systems and little upgradability for weapons and armour.

[@extra4542]

They should’ve gotten rid of a majority of those side quests and only kept the ones that actually contributed to the story meaningfully. I knew we were in trouble with meaningless side quests when the first one was to SERVE FOOD(?!). I wish the game was harder from the start, especially the bosses to match the spectacle that they displayed. Not soulslike hard, but give us some challenge! SE needs to stop hand holding turn based RPG players when the game isn’t that I also wish the gear crafting was more extensive instead of always just getting a clearly better weapon in the next chapter so there was almost never a debate of what weapon to choose bc there were no unique abilities or stats built into them. At the very least give us weapons transmog! Some of the coolest weapon were no longer viable so quickly Also, this game made loot feel sooo useless. It’s like the same 10 items over and over so 99% of the time nothing from a chest was worth getting. I can only recall 2 times chests containing a cool weapon worth checking for Otherwise it was still an amazing game to me and I could feel the care put into it

[@blakty2]

Side quest are strictly world building. It’s pretty apparent early that’s what side quests are only necessary for completionist or uncovering info relevant to zones you go to. You never ever have to do any of them 4head

[@mohammedallha61]

Hmmmm the problem with se is that they never take the good parts from the previous ff games . If this game combat had more depth using elements (fire weak against ice vice versa) add statues effect (poison confusion etc etc) and debuff skills. And co op mode where you fight these big monsters to unlock new equipments . But other than that I really enjoyed the story Clive and Jill are my favourite protagonists there story will be remembered as the best in the series

[@zackkeogh3515]

The game has buff skills. Mages cast protect on their allies and you have to break their barriers down to return DPS received to normal. I don't know what purpose status ailments would serve other than forcing Clive to menu during the middle of a fight. Do you really enjoy getting hit by a stun baton in VII Remake and losing control of that character for thirty seconds? The same could be said of reflect and ghosts in that game. It felt like a lazy gimmick that railroaded the player into only fighting the enemy in the way the battle assessment proscribed. It's antithetical to a good action combat system. What they needed was a little bit more situational advantages like Dragon's Dogma. Make Eikonic vulnerabilities actually mean something. Cripple a body part. Knock an enemy off of something. Put something in the arena that helps exploit a weakness rather than just forcing the player to reload a save and respec. That's where VII Remake shines and where XVI feels repetitive.

[@AzureRoxe]

This dude legit just said the story is better than 6, 7, 8 or 10. Good lord.

[@lanta21]

It was a great platinum. I enjoyed it alot

[@TimeIsOfThe3ssence]

Josh's final thoughts hit the nail on the head for me. This was a good game with mega high points but also some mega dull points. Its one of the rare games I would recommend people to just b line the main missions and skip the side content. Also disappointed we didn't have any elemental stuff like enemys that coud only be killed with Ice moves or something like that but overall still really enjoyed the hype moments of the game and it is a solid 7.5 but if it was a proper action RPG with witcher 3 style side content and exploration it would have been an easy 10 out of 10

[@a.c.slater7989]

Ff13 will always be most divisive followed by 15

[@Cheers_Mcgee]

Game was awesome, only criticism: Side quests. a lot of them were boring, repetitive. Now The Witcher 3, side quests and various NPC were immaculate in their presentations. That is absolutely the gold standard for others to aspire to.

[@Idiotboxxx]

I lived it

[@NxtDoc1851]

I'm pretty mixed with it. Sure I enjoy it. But, damn it. It is literally DMC. Some same exact animations, swings, and combat mechanics (I understand that was the point same dude from DMC). HOWEVER, other games get labeled as clones for this same thing. From COD, GTA, to even Diablo. Why is this exempt? Shouldn't be more embarrassing that this "iconic" IP is having a damn identity crisis? Sure you want to evolve and expand an IP. But at its core, FF is a damned RPG. NOT an action adventure, hack and slash focused on stylized fast paced combat. I feel as though FF is large enough to have spin offs. But, what do I know. I'm just a fan of the franchise. I still prefer the strategic ATB.

[@rafaelpozo9962]

Ngl I like the combat but it has so many annoying characters

[@neild1368]

Ive just finished FF16 after 50 hours, TLDR is if youre on the fence about getting this game then don’t or wait for a major sale, IMO its not worth the price of entry. This game is the epitome of style over substance. This is just my opinion and if youre enjoying it then more power to you but I wish id known a few of the points below before I spent 80 euro on a digital copy. Minor spoilers. Credit where its due, the game looks fantastic at times and the animations and set pieces are beautiful but the performance on PS5 is awful, even after the recent patch, frame drops and stutters abound when youre exploring the environments which is bizarre because there isn’t much going on in them and you can only sprint when the game feels like it, no sprint button. Strangely the performance is great during combat. Speaking of combat, it looks good but its shockingly simplistic and repetitive. Its laughably easy, you just smash square and use abilities on a cool down timer. You unlock approx 30 of these abilities but you can only ever equip 6 at a time. You can juggle the occasional enemy if they’ve the HP but its not satisfying. Every now and then youll encounter a tougher enemy so youll have to occasionally dodge with R1 as you spam square and abilities. The quick time events are so slow you could pop out and make a coffee and still get them. Your ranged attack is so weak its not even worth using. There are mid boss checkpoints that dump you back in with full potions/ hi-potions. There is no challenge or mastery to be obtained here. And at the end of each battle, you’ve to endure a victory/ loot screen giving you another 20 bloody hides that you can add to the 500 you’ve already no use for. The dominant fights look fantastic but are even more mechanically simple than the regular combat. I was open minded on the change to an action character game so no party, no status effects, no open world, no side activities, no need for exploration but those systems need to be substituted for something! (GOW has much better combat but also heaps of side activities!) You still “level up” and upgrade your sword but you are never lacking the required materials. The whole loot system is nonsense, I upgraded as much as I could and still had >100,000 gil at the end of the game. I like the main story when it sticks to the primary narrative but when it deviates from the main thread, and it often does, its so boring; collecting parts for a construction of a boat was mind numbing. Why am I repeatedly looking at bluprints for a boat that has little relevance to the quest/story/game? The less said about the side quests the better, they are abysmal, long cutscenes about how you’ve to go get some plants or some other boring nonsense, just awful. All the side quest givers have markers over their heads so you wont bother talking to anyone else either. The music is great but its replayed over and over. The characters are well acted but uninteresting outside Clive, Sid, Jill and a couple of the villains. Why is Jill given so little to do/say? Shes a dominant but is written as mostly helpless and whoever wrote/directed Goetz should be fired. I really hope they can fix these issues for ff17 because ff16 is honestly the most disappointing game I’ve ever played.

[@zackkeogh3515]

Before I even watch the video I'm gonna say this: I don't envy the situation Square Enix finds themselves in. Between games like TLOU, Spiderman, GoW, RE4R, and others, this linear RPG light action game with XVI doesn't really separate itself from the pack. There's a lot of linear AAA games competing for your time and dollar these days. If they're going the pure action route, we got Bayonetta 3 and DMC V at home. If they try to split the difference, Elden Ring becomes the better option. On the flipside of that, if they went off and made the greatest AAA version of FFVI in the modern day to placate the older fans, I'd still probably just end up recommending Baldur's Gate 3 to a newcomer. So what about going with that cliched anime aesthetic about teenagers saving the world that Yoshi P keeps complaining about? Seems like Persona and Genshin got that market covered. Even in terms of phenomenal music, that new Lotus Juice battle track for P3R sounds pretty damn good right now. Kaiju fights? Shadow of the Colossus might be a better place to start than XVI. There's nothing about XVI that really separates itself from other phenomenal titles on the market today and what adds insult to injury is that I feel like Nier Automata was a better version of what XVI was trying to do way back in 2017 despite being a Platinum Games creation. Big set piece boss battles, fun, interesting side quests, an empty but explorable open world, better mount options, soundtrack is just as good if not better, three playable characters constantly interacting with each other, a more interesting cast of side characters, several towns and encampments that are more interesting than just mediaeval village and/or castle. XVI feels like a step back in some regards. It's a great 7/10, but it certainly failed in elevating Final Fantasy back to "must buy," status, though I do feel like there is some hope on the horizon for the series yet.

[@rawaali8451]

3 million copies sold after 5 days completely refutes your claims- it is okay that you personally don’t like the game or find it a 7/10- there are so many people that see is 8,9,10 out of 10. Entertainment is objective at the end of the day

[@rawaali8451]

*objective

[@be3beru708]

Josh’s nitpicking is killing me

[@2canwin635]

It’s not nit picking, this games has actually issues, whether it be the shallow combat or the lack of rpg elements

[@be3beru708]

@@2canwin635 i hear his complaints that are obviously valid.. and i hear his obvious nit picking

[@htogr26]

This game is overhyped. FFXVI does cinematic sequences and boss fights well but guts RPG mechanics. Side content isn't as enjoyable as previous titles. And, frankly, it's too easy.

[@Semi-Addict-Gamer]

15 > 16 > 7 Remake.

[@drgonzo123]

Poor Josh. It’s ok man, just tell Scott you didn’t like it. I can feel your apathy through my screen! I finished it too and didn’t really like it. I know it’s scary being honest and vulnerable, but he’ll probably respect you for your honesty. 😂