Were They Wrong About Final Fantasy XVI?

[@davidblainescharizard]

Yo guys!! this video is blowing the f up! I cant keep up with the comments but gimme time i'll respond i promise! ive been reading em all 😅

[@KonEl17]

Dark and gritty doesn't need to make a good game or a good ff title. At this point ff is failing in its numbered games. DQ11 I'm having a blast far more then any ff game from 12 to 16. 7 Remake and Rebirth are also great games.

[@synx5196]

it was a very easy game but the music the story the characters the cutscenes were all INCREDIBLE and some of the most exciting things ive ever experienced in gaming

[@castjet9898]

I loved the game. The side content got a little repetitive here and there, but I loved the game.

[@mariomario7379]

I enjoyed Devil May Clive. I thought it was better than 15. I enjoyed the story, loved going on hunts, and forging the relic weapon on the hardest mode.

[@NineToFiveGamerUC0079]

LMAO DMC

[@NaturesFlame]

This game was incredible, and I feel like a good 60% of the complaints about this game would have been cleared up if we weren't stuck on easy mode for our first playthrough. The combat system is so deep and has a ton of nuance, but because every enemy dies in two hits, the player is never forced to explore those systems. I get wanting to make sure that any player can beat the game, but they overcorrected. The fact that a good 80% of the fun is locked behind a full playthrough should be a crime.

[@MarkHogan994]

FF mode is just as easy, bosses just have more HP. Sure it gives you more time to express yourself in combat via combos, but there is zero difficulty. The combat has no complexity or challenge, it's just a simple action game but even then it pales in comparison with actually good action game. And the game has a ton of other issues. Awful exploration, awful level design, awful loot and itemization, almost no rpg elements, bland and boring towns with nothing to do, bland side quests, no interesting party mechanics or interactions, an extremely underwhelming story that tried to ape Game of Thrones while completely misunderstanding what made GoT good, underdeveloped characters, weak and repetitive themes, the list goes on and on. What this game does well is spectacle, art direction, music, and voice acting. And I will say I liked the characters even though they were mostly underdeveloped. But that's about it. A thoroughly mediocre game.

[@michaelcerrone1025]

The game was too easy. A hard mode would have made a huge difference

[@NaturesFlame]

@@MarkHogan994 it was made by the creator of the DMC combat system who called it his masterpiece. It's fine if you didn't click with it, or don't like cool down systems, but if you though it was shallow or boring, I feel like you didn't unlock a single skill or try out any fun combos.

[@Merk1387]

​@MarkHogan994 Ultimaniac mode is where the real challenge is

[@xavierreallyplaysgames]

What's deep about it? Use stagger moves to stagger, use damage moves to damage. During stagger unload all cooldown attacks. What is deep here?

[@Lillymu961]

FF16 was a magical experience for me, so it's a little sad to hear that it's not as well received in the broader scope of the Final Fantasy community. It's definitely not a perfect game, but there is a vision and passion to it that shines really bright. The storytelling done here is truly immaculate, especially in how it handles those darker themes. This is a dark story, but it's also one full of hope and triumph. I haven't played many FF games yet, but this one is definitely my favorite so far. It's epic, cathartic, emotional, and painful. I felt everything playing it. It's true that most of the side quests are just the standard fetch quests, but others build on the lore or expand on side characters you don't think you'll end up caring about but then you'll cry when bad stuff happens to them. (I'm mainly speaking about the Theo, Eloise quest you put in the video. That was optional side content you could do before the final battles, and I cried buckets during that quest). There are some legitimately great sidequests toward the end of the game that enhance the main story so much. They may not all feel great to play, but in terms of storytelling, they're extremely effective in selling the plight of these people navigating a grim world. Clive and Jill are also a big part of why I love this game. Their relationship is just beautiful, especially because you get to see them both grow during the course of the story and how they help keep each other grounded through every trial. I love them together. Gameplay isn't that important to me, so I can't say much on that. I enjoyed it overall. The presentation of boss battles are outstanding, even if some carry on a little too long. I hope in the future that those who are on the fence about this game will give it a chance. For me, FF16 is the best game I have ever played. Flaws and all, I love it. It felt like a game tailor made for me. I wish I could play it for the first time again. ❤❤❤ It's not a game for everyone, but it's a powerful story that feels like a true final fantasy. And 16's Cid is best Cid. He's hilarious.😂 Great review! Enjoyed watching it! Best wishes and God bless you!

[@Wesker47584]

Agreed, I had never played any Final Fantasy game besides the remake of 7 so I was pleasantly surprised with how graphic they got with 16 and the ending broke me. I hope that people will look back a pond this game the same way as people did with ff7

[@FURognar]

This disagreement among the FF fanbase about the latest release has been going on since FF7, FF8 and on into the current generation. FFXIII was very, very contentious when it came out as was FFXV. The fact that XVI went full action combat was always going to be a huge sore point for the fanbase at large.

[@naheo]

I don't mean to speak for the entire community, but I've been playing these games since the start, manage a decent- and help with a large-sized FFXIV community, so I do hear from "the FF fan" more often than your average person! XVI was pretty well-received. The XIV community believes it could have been better due to the talent involved, that the sound team was restrained (compare the XVI soundtrack to say, Heavensward's and you'll find a lot more variety), and they agree the sidequests are mind-numbing.

[@trentonhuggins465]

The game is enjoyable. As are both DLCs. But it feels like a random action game was nearing completion, had some crystals thrown into the story, bosses changed to ff bosses and then slapped with the words Final Fantasy. Rebirth on the other hand.... a perfect modern iteration of everything that makes a Final Fantasy game.

[@davidblainescharizard]

While FFXVI is definitely still a final fantasy game, FFVII Rebirth should define the modern final fantasy's future. I really hope Square enix doesn't abandon the battle system after VII Remakes completion cuz it's amazing!

[@watchamigos1232]

Rebirth's combat system is one that I want to see keep evolving. I don't think I've ever enjoyed an d explored a combat system in a JRPG as hot as Rebirth.

[@ngochanguyen5099]

Since I can’t afford an ps5 or pc yet to experience this game for myself, I was impressed with the effort Yoshi-p and his team put in to create an original ideal. No matter how many flaw it’s may have, it’s stay true to its creator vision and deliver whatever it’s promises. To me it’s a true passion project that worth a try, a creator like Yoshi-P need more support

[@BioDeus]

20 hours in. I was looking for a good story with decent combat. Yes, side quests are repetitive but it delivered what i wanted.

[@makisbizarreadventure4669]

I feel like FF should blow us away but when i think of it the stories havent blown me away since 12 for the main line games. I think 16 played the story waaaay too safe to be remembered as one of the greats down the line.

[@BioDeus]

@makisbizarreadventure4669 what recent video game story has blown you away?

[@makisbizarreadventure4669]

@@BioDeus If I have to keep it within Final Fantasy I’d say FF 14 Shadowbringers and Endwalker , I only played 12 this year and it blew me away aswell. I sorta regret not giving FF12 a chance for so long.

[@zachw2538]

i wanted a ff game and thats not what was delivered.

[@diegosotomiranda4107]

​@makisbizarreadventure4669tve trailers Made it look like they would go for Some risky and daring changes...just to be...meh

[@joshuacoons9517]

My only criticism for the game is pick a lane. If you are going to be action / adventure base add more weapons that do different things. If you are going to stick to RPG. Make status element, elemental elements and party swap a thing (rebirth and remake does this well). As far as the side quest. Half could be main quest and half a quarter of the main quest can be side quest and get rid of the rest

[@cidschnubedubaubau6781]

If you take it on it's own merits it's a really good game, I had a blast playing it. There's no need to shame it for not being like the older FF games. Honestly I wouldn't be upset if they changed their tactics and had every other mainline FF swap between more linear action focused games, and the other leaning more towards turn based and open world. That way they would have more opportunies to experiment and innovate. If they have the manpower for it they could have different studios working on games simultaneously, so they could release more often. I'm tired of how long the waiting times have been these past few gens. Anyway, considering FF16 and Rebirth and how they managed the combat systems in both of them, I'd say the future looks brighter than it has for a long time.

[@MarkHogan994]

I think it's a very mediocre game even on its own merits. It's just a bland action game, not even a good action game. The game has good visuals and good music. Characters are likeable but underdeveloped. That's all I can say that's positive. Exploration, loot, combat, level design, towns, story, and themes were all either weak or straight up awful imo. The devs completely failed to build an engaging world from a gameplay POV. And the story is trying to be edgy and political while completely failing to understand how to make such a story compelling. This is no GoT.

[@pennypeach7616]

Replayed it recently. It's great until Benedicta is gone. Everything after feels like a slog.

[@davidblainescharizard]

She was too good of a character to lose so early

[@watchamigos1232]

The story was going too strong until the plot of Ultima. I'll say he's easily one of my least likeable antagonists to a game. I feel as if they could have spiraled the plot to be centered more around Odin since that man one shot Clive twice.

[@Nasalyx]

this... i totally agree, or at least until titan was defeated for me.

[@yorguenaut4499]

It was everything I wanted as a kid, and more. My first FF game was FF9 (I came late to the party) and I always wondered how cool would it be to play a FMV instead of the turn based combat. FF16 to me is that, each 'big' battle looks like a FMV from that era, but now you can move the character and play with it. I loved the story as well :)

[@elfsong713]

You think you're late to the party, I started with FF7 Remake, and I played it at the beginning of this year! 😆

[@d1zzaster393]

I just wrapped my first playthru yesterday and this video popped up at the perfect time. Solid 8 / 10 game for me. A respectable score. The teaser for this game convinced me to get PS5 over Xbox and I have no regrets

[@legoscoobydoo]

This is definitely one of my favorite games and was my GOTY for 2023. As someone who is no stranger to deep lore (I’m a fan of Lord of the rings, Star Wars, DC, Kingdom Hearts) one of the main things I judge a video game on is how good its story is, and if additional content includes more worldbuilding for me to explore on the side. So for me while some of the side missions may be dragged on a little too much, It didn’t bother me as it just added to the world building learning all this information about different aspects of the world of Valisthea. While I do have issues with the leveling up system for this game and how it its equipment management is lackluster, that’s not really a detractor for me as it makes do without being obnoxious. also, the combat system was very in depth for what it was trying to do making it easy to learn, but challenging/enjoyable to master. I do wish that the base game had more outlets to utilize mastery of the combat system outside of the Chronolith Trials and maybe arcade mode. (which I probably should’ve utilized more) The DLC definitely made up for that though having more intricate boss fights requiring a little bit more skill to clear.

[@kuukankyomu6864]

The problem is whether you will like FF17 is practically a random dart shot, no matter whether you like FF16 or not. Every aspect of the franchise has been changed. There is no consistent gameplay, settings and even genre (also no consistent characters but FF never have same characters between game except direct sequel). FF1-6 plays relatively the same, looks relatively the same. If you like one then you probably will like the next one (maybe except FF2). Even FF7-10 still have a lot similarities with the older titles. There is nothing that carry over between FF nowadays (except FF7 trilogy). I play FF15 with "I don't consider this game as FF" mindset and liked FF15 a lot. Also FF15 supposed to be FF Versus 13, a spin off series from FF (which explain why the game is so much different than its predecessor). Technically, the FF that we have now is the FF Versus series and the OG FF series ends with 13. FF can learn a lot from Mario. Even RPG series of Mario are seperate entries when they play different (Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi). Newer FF games as a seperate entries are fine as a game. But they are horrible as a series.

[@davidblainescharizard]

The first sentence you wrote could have been about final fantasy 13 and I'd see no difference really, and that released 15 years ago. Final fantasy 1-6 have a lot of differences. I, III, and V created the job systems that you find in the MMOs (which also are main line FF games) like you said even with II, even thats it's own thing that most people dont like, and VI is the only one with a story that actually stands strong to this day. In 7 they get more playful with the setting, yeah, but im sure there were still some people upset about the change from pixel graphics to ugly ass chunky ps1 models 8 pissed me off back in the day in the same way by going for the weird magic draw and gf gameplay mechanics that felt completely different than the last game. 9 exists as a bookend for everything before it and i think most people love it. 10 upset me when it released because it removed a lot of mechanics i loved. World exploration was butched. No airship, no overworld. I thought voice acting would ruin the creativity of it all and just be cheesy. And could you believe the soundtrack wad made only in partial by nobuo umaetsu?? But you know what? I played it years later and I could appreciate the game for what if offered. These days I'd tell people to start with X even though it's what turned me away from the series for a while.

[@kuukankyomu6864]

​@@davidblainescharizard Everyone have their own opinion for each game. But we are talking the audiences as a whole or to be exact the percentage audiences as a whole (since audience never stays the same, individually some audience will lose interest anyway and there will be new audience). The characteristic of FF gets chipped away bit by bit. And none of its characteristic is immune from change. I think generally FF start becoming unrecognizable by its audiences somewhere around 12-16 (11 if you count the two MMOs). The percentage number of audience that unable to recognize FF games as FF series are growing. Personally, FF starts to feels weird from 12 for me. 15 is where i finally notice that it is practically not an FF anymore (again i like 15 as a standalone game).

[@Dataraptor-v9l]

FF XVI is amazing. Story was always strong point for FFs, but combat has never been this fun! And plenty of epic moments.

[@malenky4057]

The problem with 16 is that 7 Rebirth showed how it could be. Don't get me wrong, 16 was a great game for what is was, but it felt like it sacrificed a truly fleshed out world in favour of massive spectacle cutscenes and boss fights. The combat felt shallow (no I'm not advocating for turn based), the world was largely empty and most of the lore that could have been experienced in actual gameplay was relegated to essentially an in game book. I would have rather have less spectacle and more of a fleshed out world.

[@ErgoDog]

And none of them sold amazingly 😅

[@lifeiaskedfor]

7 rebirth had the same repetitive and boring side content as 16 did, just run around a barren world doing dumb towers or reptitive minigames. How is that much more fun? The combat of 7 rebirth was great but if you think 16's combat was shallow i think you need to check out some of the insane combos people pull off with the kit you have with all the eikons, it makes 7 rebirth look like baby's first ARPG comparatively. 7 Rebirth's combat lacks any kind of ceiling to make people feel like it's more engaging, on top of that you get punished for being too good in 7 rebirth that feels awful. Yes i know 16 has problems with that too but i feel 16 is more trying to mask that problem rather then just punishing you which feels just better as a whole

[@DogHairDontCare]

I couldn't bring myself to finish FF7Rebirth despite being over 100 hours in. I just got fed up with Chadley's bs cheap exposition. Let me explore and find summons on my own. Remember how we run into a wild Zapdos in a powerplant in Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow? FF16 drew me in had me playing from start to finish. I didn't want to put it down, and I didn't want it to end. After I finished, I wanted more. My feelings are that over time, people will look back at this like how they look at FF13 now and say "man, we were too harsh on that game."

[@threestars2164]

Both were flops, thats all that needs to be said.

[@alejandromomota6934]

@@lifeiaskedforthis is bait. Rebirth is the most content heavy final fantasy we’ve ever gotten. Why is MORE stuff to do a complaint? It’s hardly bloat, since you can finish everything whenever you want

[@Bonney-nz3qv]

I don't care about other, its very good for me.

[@Leisli]

for me: Graphics: impressiv Gameplay: very meh Structure: started strong and then 10-12 hours in it fell hard... (the sidequest dilemma) Story: started strong and then fell off hard for me it was a 4/10. I Had to force myself to finish this and at the end i was glad i finished it just so its finally over. Never gonna touch it again. Hottest Mainchar of an FF with Clive

[@Kenshin6321]

I absolutely loved this game. No, it wasn't perfect, but it was far from "meh" in my opinion. I loved the story, the boss fights were epic (how many Final Fantasy games actually have you fighting in space? None that I can think of!) I think the combat was deep enough for me to enjoy. In fact, I recall going to training mode for hours trying to perfect a combo, only to actually pull it off in a real fight. Glorious. Clive is such a bad*ss character, even though he has his flaws (mainly finding his own identity). I highly recommend this game to anyone who is looking for a good action RPG with fast paced, deep combat, awesome music, and a story that's good enough to keep you interested until the end. While some of the flaws are glaring like the pacing with the story, I don't think the flaws are enough to prevent you from having a good time with the game. I give the game a solid 8.5 out of 10. I've exhausted all the content in this game and still recall it fondly. Also, the music in this game is just top tier. I still listen to this soundtrack on my way to work everyday lol.

[@davidblainescharizard]

Yup agreed! It's not a perfect game but I enjoyed my time from start to finish and once everything was cleared out on the map before the final fight, I was definitely satisfied with my time with the game. Maybe even a little sad to see it come to an end.

[@kaporal890]

MMO fetch quest killed it for me. Boss fight where great tho

[@leonvalentine3748]

It starts excellent. But looses steam about 1/3 of the way in with bouts of flashes of brilliance afterwards

[@BoogieSnacks]

hey brother - this video just inspired me to finally give this game a shot. :) (ps - this video went by so quickly, great job man)

[@davidblainescharizard]

Hey thanks! I really appreciate that! 🙏

[@emeraldnoir7099]

The Sidequests may have been mostly boring, but a few DID stay with me after i was done. Namely: The girl and her missing pet DOG....... (i wont spoil it here.. but that one is fed up)

[@davidblainescharizard]

@emeraldnoir7099 Oof yeah that quest packs a punch. A handful of them are genuinely enjoyable and most try to add to the world building even if they are a bit too dry in tone.

[@puzzledwhale2376]

This is top 3 FF games for me for sure. A small recommendation that I give to people saying it is "too easy" is turn off the training wheel rings that do the combos for you. Yes, the combat is still easy in a way, but in a way that also gives the player more control and more room for error if you mistime a dodge or something of the sort.

[@davidblainescharizard]

When I was streaming the game I liked that one accessory for button presses dodge on big attacks just cuz I liked the additional mechanic and I tend to not pay full attention when streaming. I'm glad they include stuff like this, but it shouldn't be the default

[@lordgrim355]

The Bahamut fight was definitely one of the greatest boss fights I’ve had the pleasure of playing. Just epic

[@arrgber]

FFXVI was a masterpiece, plain and simple. It was impressive enough to sell a lot of PS5s, and it became instantly iconic. The story is greatly written with amazing thematic depth and an interesting villain. The OSTs stellar from beginning to end, and the gameplay is exciting enough to sell you on the game's fantasy of being the mighty mythos. Hate was totally forced back then, and even the media completely sabotaged the game by mischaracterizing the game's take on slavery and stuff like that.

[@DoodMcGnarGnar]

I love this game. It’s become my favorite FF game. It has its flaws but they’re not egregious enough,for me anyways, to detract from the overall experience. Never really understood the hate but hey not every game is gonna be for everyone and that’s fine

[@tenniscat]

Story, gameplay, progression all was so boring, music was great tho

[@genkiian]

Dang, the timing of your review upload got my hopes up that Final Fantasy 16 got some massive Steam deal this week or something :O Hopefully next year at least!

[@illliiiiillliii6265]

Well technically its all time low on steam right now. Like 30€ or something

[@j.angelo257]

Love the game to be honest. Its a solid mix of GOT in a FF setting. Combat was nice and wasn't that difficult in fact, the game teaches you to be creative and gives an infinite amount of time to improve (try not equipping the rings of evasion, attack, healing etc. Just equip the normal/buff items). Only thing thing i did not like is that you can't sprint wish there was a dedicated button or option

[@miketom217]

It is my first FF16 review I think 16 lacked party members, I'm excited to play it.

[@liquidcrystaldev]

I loved it. It had a serious tone that made it feel more like Dune than Star Wars, something I'm not hesitant to show off to others. The battle system felt like the weak point, while it was fun, it felt sort of basic: break the yellow bar and then go all out and dodge attacks in between. I never really had to consider any kind of strategy for most of the battles. I also wished there was more customization to make different play styles a reality. Everything else though, the characters, the voice acting, the music, the world it created...superb.

[@davidblainescharizard]

The serious tone for the main story was fantastic and refreshing for the series after 7 Remake and 15, which can feel a bit too anime at times even though i enjoy them as well. I'm glad they went in this direction, but I still think there was room to get more lighthearted in some of the side content.

Hi there David! I think you nailed it with your review. You echo a lot of the feelings I had with the game. What will this development team do next? Maybe a new MMO? Maybe they'll expand on these mechanics, make them more true to their source. That'd be cool to see!

[@AlexCole272]

I had to stop mid video to post this, ff never had blood except squall vs seifer open cs. The side quest in FF16, they don’t suck, some of them are very memorable give more depth to a zone. What sucks is the devs made us do side quest ish in main objective e to advance the story. I only hated the fed ex type quest

[@heretic124]

No, I beg you, no more annoying card mini games! Gwent in Witcher 3 did it brilliantly and then everyone thought they'd copy it and there's not a single mini game since Gwent that would rival it. Whether it's cards, dice or table tops (like in Horizon). They're all annoying side quests in every town and tavern. Enough! If it's a one off okay but I'm not willing to suffer through hours of card gameplay to satisfy my inner completionist anymore. FF7R actually nailed the mini game stuff except the card game. Too many matches and I even managed to get through like everything until near end game casino with the same early deck build. So not only was it annoying but also dull and easy.

[@davidblainescharizard]

I love card games in general but probably more than most channels. Did you know there is an official ff tcg? I actually started my channel to make videos about that but they get a lot less views for some reason 😅😂 As long as they keep it mostly optional then I like when card games are included! VIII and IX were the OG ff games with card games so its not like they haven't been around before. I liked the way SE did queens blood with Rebirth because you can skip 90% of it but if you actually do go into the story of it that starter deck won't get you too far and you'll need to actually learn some good strategies. But if you wanna skip it, you can even skip the tournament on the ship entirely

[@arenzricodexd4409]

overall i like the game for what they offer in both game play and story. there will be always those that going to complain like how those COD kids complaining about how other FPS games did not play like COD.

[@Neutral-Party]

Final Fantasy is change. It has its motifs, but i wish people would have less expectations from now on and "read the room".

[@MarkHogan994]

It would be good if the change was actually good. Change for change's sake is meaningless.

[@rainynimbus8703]

@@MarkHogan994 Exactally these ff14 andys won't understand

[@Neutral-Party]

@@MarkHogan994 As long as you're aware that that is your opinion. My post was referring to people like you. The changes you may not like are for a new audience. Doesn't make it less quality. It's on you to look for the good rather than saying change is bad "for the sake of it."

[@Neutral-Party]

@@rainynimbus8703 They don't have to. They picked the series where they picked it up. As did you and I. It resonated with them. Stop the gatekeeping mindset and accept or move on. (Life)

[@threestars2164]

Not really? Graphical change, perhaps, but not gameplay-wise. FF is one of the least innovative series until recently. Very unimpressive in the history of video games, and remains so in the 16th installment. As a franchise, it's still outclassed by the likes of Daggerfall (1996) in many areas.

[@edwardnowakowski5990]

Honestly, my biggest gripes were 1. Combat lacking strategy. Dodge, hit, stagger, blow all your eiconic abilities on the stagger meter to maximize damage. No enemies ever necessitated changing abilities, and using fire on bombs feels wrong. 2. A certain character who died early on should have stayed dead. Clyde being tortured by guilt, coming to terms with that, growing, and moving forward was incredibly interesting, then all the sudden we wipe his sins clean, because the story isn’t about that anymore Other than that, I enjoyed the story, I just felt like it pulled punches towards the middle and end

[@davidblainescharizard]

Yeah combat really does become repetitive at times. I still liked the early and mid game twists but I agree by the late game the story loses a lot of the stakes as they go for shocking deaths too early. There is that one character youre referring to... I think I just didn't like the misdirect they set up around it

[@edwardnowakowski5990]

@ yeah, for a story that was so mature, having them pass eachother like ships in the night repeatedly felt almost cartoonish. Also part of it is that character’s reasons for not going directly to Clive never felt satisfying to me. Although I will say, the side quest where the girl’s pet ran off was perfect. Short, sweet, and great for establishing stakes on the bearer’s situation.

[@tyhjyys]

loved the game. was always hype for it. my big problem was the tragic fumble of the M-rating. dramatic death happens so often that i became quickly desensitized to the storytelling. making use of the mature rating does not mean you have to constantly break tension with goofy amounts of death and broken spirits. the game never shocked me or put me in a loop of deep thought for days after like, for example, Nier would. dying and loss of life are not all that constitutes a mature setting. it showed me that T-rated games aren't held back by their rating. metaphor: refantazio is such a great example of that. a game that broaches on topics that are pretty pertinent to teens and new adults alike. ff16 did not make me feel like it respected the grown up fans of the series and didn't commit to much ff7R couldn't aside from f-bombs, dismemberment and more ketchup.

[@davidblainescharizard]

It's a very mild mature rating imo and I think you are right that the games don't need an M rating to have mature themes. I'm just not a fan of changing parts of the ff7 remake like the trail of blood scene, dynes suicide, etc where I suspect these scenes were changed to hit a specefic CERO/ESBR rating. I could be wrong and it could have been a creative decision but stuff like that I don't think they had to worry about with XVI. I'm surprised Metaphor hit a Teen rating because usually those atlus games end up M for some of the demon designs alone. I'm looking forward to checking that game out when I've got more time to put into it though.

[@dakotadoyle7573]

You only played DMC2? no wonder you couldn't get into it

[@davidblainescharizard]

I think that was the one? Now that I think about it though, it must have been one with an early 2000s PC port but I'm not sure if it was 1 or 2.

[@elfsong713]

I loved this game, the characters, the consistency of tone, the music, the mature rating, the gameplay. But I would like for the next game in the series to be less depressing and have more playable characters. I didn't have a problem with the sidequests. Some of the activities you are doing isn't the most riveting, but each one expands the world and the stories of the NPCs. So I thought they were really valuable.

[@davidblainescharizard]

Yup, more playable characters is a must and a big mistake even though i get what they were going for. I don't mind depressing aspects to the story but I agree they should tone it down for the next one

[@elfsong713]

​@@davidblainescharizard yeah, I get that they wanted to combine all the abilities into Clive instead of having them in separate characters. It worked for what they were doing for the story, but came at the expense of depth in the other characters. FF7Re has much more goofy lighthearted moments, which mixed with the more serious elements makes for a wildly inconsistent tone. At least the tone in 16 was consistent. I think the next game could strike more of a tonal balance, without being depressing all the time, but also not jerking you immediately from the highest highs to the lowest lows. And I agree that we needed a card minigame. In the Witcher 3 we had Gwent, in a dark, depressing world, and it worked perfectly!

[@thew00dsman79]

Having 100%’d the game on PC, I will note that with the second dlc, the Tonberry Blade you get *does* have more stagger, but less atk at 500/750… but by the time you can upgrade it to 750/1000 in NG+ FF Mode you can basically get the best sword in the game for 1000/1000 so it’s practically moot by then since you need to fully finish both dlc quest lines for them along with most of the side quests in the game

[@Mintcar923]

Its the first FF I finished including dlc.. Also, the reason why I bought a PS5.. I could not stop playing! The story was a little hard to follow tho.. It has a great battle system.. I actually prefer either action or turned based more so than those weird hybrid styles.. Moreover Clive is def one of the best MC's in all of RPGs..

[@davidblainescharizard]

Agreed Clive is a stand up lad, we should all strive to be a little more like Clive.

[@Diccolo91]

I played this right after ff7rebirth and I wished I played 16 first. Story was really good. Not as deep combat wise as DMC but honestly it was short enough and interesting enough that this didn't really matter.

[@jeremywright9511]

After having playing 15, yes.

[@meliotdas]

I think the DLC let this game down, but absolutely loved the base game. I was at the time expecting ff16 to be mediocre and FF7 Rebirth to be the greatest ff game ever. Turns out ff16 ended up being the better game in my opinion and i noticed people who like casual games more don't seem to like this game very much.

[@idkdc2615]

Metaphor is the Temu version of this but got nominated for game of the year, not even that but it got nominated instead of SH2, it's amazing all the things glazing can achieve

[@sosbrigaders]

Very high highs. And very low lows.

[@pablocasas5906]

Don't have a PS5, or plenty of disposable income in general 😅, so I haven't played FFXVI, but it seems pretty cool in terms if visuals. Though the thing that kind of surprises me is that it seems the game didn't have that big of an impact among players, haven't seen fanart or people talking about the characters I also have to mention that this is the first Final Fantasy game to receive a Neutral Spanish dub, which was done in Mexico with plenty of experienced voice actos, but speaking as someone living in Latin America, the game didn't have that much of an impact, perhaps because the FF series in general isn't very popular, since it wasn't until very recently that the games got official translations

[@pablocasas5906]

Also, since I mentioned that FFXVI is the first FF game which received a Neutral Spanish dub, here are some of the actors who voice the characters in the game and other roles they played: - Clive Rosfield = José Ángel Torres. He has voiced characters like Clemont in Pokémon XY, David Martínez in Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Nightcrawler in X-Men '97; - Jill Warwick = Analiz Sánchez. She's voiced Rainbow Dash in MLP, Tracer in OverWatch, Lilynette Gingerback in Bleach; - Cidolfus Telamon = Carlos Segundo. He's well known for voicing Piccolo in Dragon Ball, also Alf, Woody in the first two Toy Story movies and King Bradlet in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood; - Benedikta Harman = Betzabé Jara. She's voiced 2B in the NieR Automata anime, also Mileena and Kitana in Mortal Kombat 1, Sailor Pluto in Crytsal.

[@UnfertigeGedanken]

ive played about ten final fantasy games and im kinda used to them being different quite often. i just took ff16 as it is and had fun, mostly. my bf for example, who only played the first remake of 7 and none other, loved 16. it was exactly how he likes his games and he obviously couldnt feel bad about it being different from the former ones. but maybe these are people who get the game in a less "nostalgia clouded" way. also: thorhighheels video about masculinity in ff16 is really good!

[@TheSolOfaBadGuy]

The biggest problem I have with this game is the way they handled party members. You could already give Torgil commands mid combat to assist with combos, that could've done the other party members and it would've been AWESOME. ;-;

[@ChrisFadeHopper]

i loved the story of ff16 its was genuinely pretty good. Good politics between the different kingdoms (you can definitely feel the ASOIAF inspiration), amazing history and lore, and just great characters. Thought in my opinion when Ulitma takes the stage as the real big bad figure the story just dies . Because instead of a deeply political world with morally grey characters in high positions of power with the different kingdoms, it just gets ruined with ulitma. This probably stems from my absolute hatred for the “secret big bad controlling everything or influencing events” trope. but other then Ulitma i feel the story is pretty good

[@jjswifthd]

I didn't know not being able to control the boys in 15 used to be a thing. Maybe 16 can get that same treatment one day.

[@watchamigos1232]

I loved the game on my first blind playthrough, from start to finish. And while it's an incredible game, it has it's flaws: starting from a zone-like, empty open world sort of feel to it where you really don't have much to do except use this zone to travel from Point A to B. There's not much interesting side content since much of them are fetch quests or slaying down monsters. It gets really repetitive. The combat is interesting but I prefer 7 Remake's combat over it since, in this game, the only way to usually beat an enemy is if you're overleveled or underleveled yet extremely patient and skilled. You don't really exploit any weaknesses that could give you an advantage. And neither do the weapons you forge bear any special buffs except increased damage for what you'll be up against.The best part of this game are the story beats, music and Eikon Battles. The highs are too high but the lows are too low

[@dekaynine6347]

Ff16 is good but I don’t like how I have to play easy mode to get to hard mode

[@christianmaestas4435]

One thing I really don’t get is the criticism of “this isn’t a final fantasy game”. Why? because of the shift in gameplay? FF2 already did that. Then 4 with ATB, then whatever the hell the draw system was in 8, then 10 with its turn system, 12 had baby’s first coding sequences for gameplay, 15 had a blended active/wait system. Does this game not have summons? Don’t the summons fit the archetypes they’ve built up since 3? Are there crystals? Ancient Civs? Airships? CID? Dragoons? Chocobos? Do you fight a god? WHAT IS MISSING? It’s got the grand show stopping spectacle, a tradition since at least 6-7. It follows in 4s footsteps by redeeming almost all of the villains and recontextualizes those characters in relation to the true villain. Combined with the Kain Highwind entrance early on and the spoony bard, there is fair amount of 4 in this game. There are dodge mechanics and DPS checks borrowing from 14. Memory issues are downright FF tradition at this point. This may not be the final fantasy for you, but saying XXVI isn’t a final fantasy when VII broke from the series high fantasy standard to give us an edgelord pretty boy merc teamed up with literal eco terrorists to stop a megacorp only to be derailed by a madman with mommy issues….and that still worked. Or when 8 stepped up the modern tech into a highschool/military/romance/spacefaring/time -traveling escapade. From literally FF2 onward the gameplan has been wild changes being tacked on the the staple classic like chocobos and cid and crystals. 16 does just that.

[@KHhero]

Still gotta play XVI myself someday so I appreciate goin light on the spoilers ^_^ Sounds like a mature Game of Thrones version of Kingdom Hearts action rpg combat with meh sidequest bloat~ Guess I'll pick it up when it drops to under 30 XD

[@davidblainescharizard]

@@KHhero The writers must have been told to binge watch GoT before jumping into the game because you're spot on. If you get around to it, I'd suggest just looking up which side quests are worth it because a handful of them do add a bit to the background characters. Don't wanna miss out on the Torgal side content

[@SageRoku22]

Pretty much. Though the great set up from the beginning is kinda wasted. Try the demo, which saves the progress onwards to the main game to see what I mean

[@kao123456654]

It starts GoT but very quickly ends up becoming generic JRPG slop.

[@SuperRamos619]

​@davidblainescharizard yes the team watched the first 3 seasons of GoT for ideas.

[@dreamcaster100]

Hard disagree with the side-quests being bad. At least they try adding extra context to the world, characters and lore, on top of npcs finding some form of closure by the games end, which is a hell of alot better than the gargantuan-sized nothingburger 99.5% of XV's sidequests were!

[@davidblainescharizard]

That's a great point! I should have mentioned that many of them do tie into building the setting, and some even do have good little stories weaved there. They're not all bad, and I do think it can be an exaggerated issue with the game.

[@dacienvegas2712]

Great story, great cast. The battle system shines in Ultimaniac. "Pick whatever" works for the easy mode. But in Ultimaniac it is like a fighting game. You need to combo the hell out of the enemy or it'll kill you in 2-3 hits. For example, when you master all abilities, you can have Shiva's freeze and combine it with Bahamut's canons, keep Odin for Zantetsuken and Garuda for extending air combos.

[@vorathiel12345]

Will wait with watching that until I finish my playthrough. I'm going chronologically and I'm already on FF IV After Years, so this video I will watch probably in the middle of 2026. :D But still - comment for algorithm ;)

[@davidblainescharizard]

@vorathiel12345 Oh nice! You're in for a treat once you hit the middle of the series. Not that the new games are bad or anything, but that's just where Square was really hitting their stride

[@jaynunya5136]

with the success of Baldurs Gate 3, I hope it inspires the next iteration of FF to go back to turn based combat. my old ass is getting too old for button mashing

[@threestars2164]

You don't actually think the bear sex game was popular because it brought something fresh gameplay-wise do you?

[@nemesisundead83]

Awesome game 10/10 replayability 2/10

[@nemesisundead83]

My exact thoughts on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth as well

[@nemesisundead83]

And Final Fantasy 15

[@nemesisundead83]

Final Fantasy hasn't felt like Final Fantasy since Final Fantasy 10 granted I love 12, 13, 15 and 16, in my opinion ever since FFX-2 and X-2 was alright (no it wasn't) but that game began the downfall of FF (FF 11 was the true downfall 😷😷)

[@burtwonk]

I think your assessment is consistent with most people who enjoyed it. It has flaws and made compromises. It did not live up to the hype if you were following it with anticipation since it was announced, but it isn’t bad.

[@synx5196]

oh something that actually was kind of poorly done was that they took so much from FF14 MMO quests that just didnt work too well for the kind of game 16 presents itself to be, but for me personally im such an enormous fan of 14 that it didnt really bother me to do essentially the same things in this game which ultimately those quests are a vehicle for the player to receive more lore, world building, characterization and just have the world feel more lived in. I see why people didnt like it but I was definitely fine with it. of course it COULD have been done better

[@tugaygunes4816]

this was my first ff16 review :D

[@DerekMckean]

I usually write long comments. This time here's the notes -- themes are what seperates Final Fantasy from other games. Nit jts combat. -- themes: sacrifice, personal loss, and dealing with it (X), love, honor, honor for your country, underdog growth(hope estheim, evdn Quinna), Shakespearesn star-crossed lovers -- Publishers may experiment with new ways to makean experiment dustinct and relevant -- ff new fans cause of difference

[@kermitwithamustache3885]

I'm still not a big fan of the ending, the main villain, how some characters were handled, the lack of rewarding exploration and rpg mechanics, the MMO style fetch quests that added very little beside stopping the pacing to a halt, Clive's standard sword moveset being so limited, Ifrits moveset being even more limited, and the use of a mechanic as unengaging as cooldowns in a fast paced hack n slash game. No amounts of skilled play will get the cooldowns back any faster, getting rewarded for waiting just isn't very exciting, the moveset being limited to only 6 abilities at a time doesn't help either. I can admit it is a well made game that succeeded at a lot of things it tried to do, even if i wasn't particularly a fan of them. I liked most of the characters and the boss fights were some of the most hype thing ever, some real Asura's Wrath energy there. I’d say better than XIII and XV as in its a complete game , but the complete game itself it’s aggressively middle of the road both as an action game and an rpg. Despite all that i do believe this is a very high quality game that a lot of people would enjoy.

[@lanisolfire5692]

i enjoyed the game up until twinside, i am a story first gamer so i can deal with dull gameplay if the story is good, at that point i just plowed though every enemy with the phoenix fire dash and ramuhs lightning attack (normal difficulty) and had no issues. i think the reunion (being vauge on purpose) was the best part of the game and i think it should have ended there. the actual big bad i found kind of dull so after twinside it just became a slog. PS nice video, nice to see some new FF tubers popping up

[@Capothekid]

I never cared too much for the criticism in the FF franchise just because of the companies constant strive to push the brand in different directions. That will always come with complaints and criticism from one demographic or another. (Day 1 FF15 was horrible to me though) The game most definitely has its flaws but I love what it does way more than I hate what it doesn’t do (or what it does horribly). Above all, it’s essentially a complete game from day one.

[@davidblainescharizard]

For sure, there will be people upset about the direction they go with 17, no matter what direction they take it. I agree though. With 16, the positives totally outweighed the negatives.

[@storiesofindiana]

I loved FF16 enough to place it in my top 3 along with 4 and 6. Clive is my favourite protagonist in the series. The side quests were a bit bland, but after playing a decade of FF14, I didn't mind the slower moments.

[@threestars2164]

lol I can't even think of a jrpg that can match the likes of Morrowind (2002) when it comes to side quests. I don't even need to mention the likes of the witcher 3. Western rpgs, that is where the innovation is.

[@BOSNI2R]

In 13 Years everyone will enjoy FF16 and say "It was an Awesome game".. by the way those guys haven't touched it for months after that one playtrough 😂

[@davidblainescharizard]

New game bad

[@Oleus]

I kinda liked the world and more mature vision presented in this game. Honestly, I've liked every world created for FF games since 6, even when the games were not good, so I'm always on board to see what they've cooked for the next entry. But I'm not gonna lie, I did not like at all the mechanics of this game. The combat system was getting repetitive quickly when it should've been possible to make it more flexible by adding elemental weaknesses and status effects, even with the basis we were given. Since you can always reallocate your points at will in this game, why not encourage the player to try and experiment new combinations to keep things fresh ? Second thing is the abysmal RPG elements of the game. When you level up, multiple stats show up but what do they even mean ? Defense and vitality ? Attack and strenght ? Those are the exact same things in terms of mechanics with two different names each time. And since you don't have any form of crafting except a very linear system that make the next weapon do more damages and stagger than the previous one every time, you have absolutely no reason to do the horrible side quests you're offered. That's sad. So, yeah, you can always do the quests for the story bits they give and see characters you've met once and kinda liked die then see their sister you also kinda liked cry in despair, but once you're done you're like "ok that was a lot and I didn't receive anything good in exchange so... I shouldn't have done that one I guess".

[@Combo7-y2h]

Strength is a base character stat, attack is the final damage output stat that accounts for both your strength and the weapon you have equipped. Ditto for defense and vitality. Every RPG does this. A lot of people talk about wanting elemental strengths and weaknesses in this game, but it would not be possible to incorporate without burning down the entire game and rebuilding it from scratch. You get access to the eikons and their powers sequentially (ex. you don't get access to certain elements until the end of the game), while other games might give you a variety of spells from the beginning that strengthen as the game progresses (ex. the original Final Fantasy where you have low level fire, ice, and lightning spells from the start). It's not a mechanic that makes any sense for XVI, but it'd be cool to see it incorporated into the next one, assuming they stick with action combat (which I hope they do).

[@Oleus]

@Combo7-y2h well, those stats are basically the damages you do and the damages you take. Since you don't really have anything to compare these number to in the game, they're just random information given to you to make you feel like you're playing a RPG when you are not. And I don't really get the impossibility there. Having a 5% damage bonus if the enemy is of the opposite element would not exactly break anything. Combats are often dragged for no reasons anyway in this game so what would make a mechanic like that problematic ? You'd spend 2 minutes instead of 4 to kill a large monster with way too much health ? At least you'd feel rewarded for trying to be clever without breaking the experience for those who just want to brute force their way through. If a small damage boost is too much, fill the stagger meter quicker with the right element would've worked just as fine. If the problem is the sequence of events, the devs can simply not put fire enemies until you receive your ice powers for instance. I don't see any real problem here.

[@decilence6184]

It's good , but the gameplay is the real downer , too repetitive , not enough upgrades over time , gear is boring , side quest boring , literally on rails , FFxiii was on rails too but at least it had some choice of builds.

[@davidblainescharizard]

Yeah they should have either trimmed down the story or include more frequent (and additional) upgrades to the combat system for how long the game is

[@ErgoDog]

Didn't even finish the demo. Skip XVI and Rebirth. Played XII and XV again instead 😅

[@Adamantaimai]

Rebirth is amazing, you're missing out.

[@GottEddy]

Game is just average, also spells and element weaknesses missing. Dmc, Ninja Gaiden, Nioh, Sekiro,.. have a much better combat system. Overall 6 out of 10

[@threestars2164]

Square enix has always been behind when it comes to gameplay innovation, they must think it's still the 00s.

[@Merk1387]

Nah, Sekiro is incredibly simplistic. I agree with the rest, but I still think FF16 has a great combat system.

[@GottEddy]

@@Merk1387 it's just the optimum combo setup, you can't really be creative. Seriko is at least depending on the enemy variables

[@Merk1387]

@@GottEddy Well of course you can't be creative when you're stuck in that mindset. You got a wide variety of abilities that you can mix and match with different eikons. The choice is up to you whether you want to use an op setup or a combo focused one.

[@GottEddy]

@@Merk1387 Even if you want to be creative, you don't have much tools compared to the other games. You don't have combos, just the square sequence - just abilities. For maximum damage you have the optimum skills set. You won't mix while fighting and even if you would, doing anything under maximum damage wouldn't make sense

[@joeylee8098]

Final Fantasy: Devil May Cry edition.

[@blablablablablablablablablbla]

I watch youtube in the dark at night and the white screen transitions at 1:10 mean I have to stop watching. Just giving feedback

[@alejandromomota6934]

Maybe just watch with the lights on??

[@celestialarrow462]

My opinion pre video: 16 had an interesting story and the magic system was interesting. Base gameplay, though, is super basic to the point that the single instance you have to fight in a place without the magic it shows how mundane the combat actually is. They tried to make it more interesting with weaving combos, but it didn’t do much. The side quests feel very FF14, go to place, kill thing/talk to person/collect thing, possibly do a different step two, repeat. The interesting part is the story of the quests, but some of them are really just filler. A lot of them could be condensed or even removed entirely without effecting anything. I’m especially disappointed with the village quest, considering the direction it was going and how flaccid it turned out. DLC was meh. I did appreciate the story for Leviathan and the entire break that that DLC turned into(the red sky was really doing numbers on my eyes), but it didn’t do much in terms of quests, gameplay, or even lore. The second DLC got rid of side quests all together which helped it a lot. But it was also painfully short, and again, half of its starting quest could be cut down and not affect anything. And would definitely help the pacing. Avoiding too many spoilers, I think the thing I appreciated the most about both of them was their final boss fight. Oh, and the music of the tower in the second. Big FF14 fan, so I got super hype when I started to hear the light motif. TLDR: Good game, add some complexity to the combat, trim down the side quest bloat, and put more effort in the remaining side quests and it’d be top of my FF list.

[@Leoo117]

I thought the game was absolutely amazing. I really enjoyed the side quests because of the extra awesome dialog and getting to know the characters better. Plus, I was happy to have more reasons to keep playing and trying out new stuff in the gameplay. My only complaint was that the starting difficulty enemies had too little health to try more stuff on. And the gameplay was phenomenal. I play all kinds of games, including the dmc games, and wow, they did such an amazing job with the combat. It seems simple at first, but 16 is the kind of game that requires some creativity in its gameplay if you want to have fun beyond just waiting for the cooldowns. This is the type of game that allows for player expression. Most can't appreciate this kind of gameplay because it takes more effort and time to get there. This is why the battle coordinator was an awesome choice. He understands this. Also, I'd say Mid was pretty good with bringing lightheartedness as well as Cid. And the insane effort put into the crazy boss battle attacks like the one from the leviathan DLC was crazy. This game was so much fun. They did a phenomenal job.

[@blackzangetsu716]

One thing about final fantasy series is none of them is perfect each had they own flaws..but as long as they have a good story line im fine with it...but to me ff7 rebirth did the combat perfect for me...i do like ff 16 fighting too i just wish you can use the other party members similar to rebirth

[@John_TalbainN]

Late reviews are very good in my opinion. I've played FFIV, VII(Crisis Core, OG VII), and FFXV and both installments of the remake, and I can definitely say a FF shines so much with a good and polished combat system. I loved both VII Remake/Rebirth and XV combat mechanics. They are so satisfying. What I would work a bit more for future entries would be including better RPG elements. I would include a better implementations of costumes and their availability. Also, a better crafting system with a wider selection of weapons, armor and accessories. I'd like them to offer more than boring flat increases to your stats. Some examples I have in mind are an armor set that offers lifesteal, or maybe an armor oriented and focus on crit chance and critical damage. Some sets that increase Magic stats and MP sustain and regeneration. I would do the same with weapon availability. I believe Rebirth is heading to the right direction, but it still has a way to go. With and open world with the vastness that Rebirth had, there are tons of resources and places to explore. These resources could have been better used for a solid crafting system. I do understand that Materia diversifies the combat experience so much, but having armor sets and weapons with a wider variety of abilities would definitely put the best cherry on the top of a master piece. FFXV side quests are tedious, but I must admit it deepened my understanding of this game's Atmosphere. I would say these took it one step forward. Storywise, I can't say anything bad of it. Including it's flaws and inconsistency at times, I loved this story so freaking much. I actually cried at the end of the game. The cinematic cutscenes were outstanding. It was very much like watching a movie for me. No complain here. If these games would've had better rewards for exploration, and more rpg elements infused in the game, this would've become my favorite game off all time up to today.

[@terminator7578]

75 hours in The only thing people are right about is that side quests could've been more interesting (the hunts are still great) But besides that, the game has an amazing story with it's only flaw being the 1 scene with Dion and Terrence besides that everything is perfect the combat takes alot of time to truly peak but honestly it's better like that so that we can get to know the abilities of every Eikon and feel the game to it's fullest before you get the end game eikons and use the most broken build And the soundtrack is another thing that is perfect Soken has really nailed it

[@davidblainescharizard]

Yup when the story slows down, you usually just got done with a big boss fight with a new eikon to try out. I wish I would have thought to mention that because that's kind of the formula they set up for the game.

[@KonEl17]

Lets not pretend Square isnt trying to target the American market with a action rpg dont play us like children.

[@A203D]

Thought Stranger of Paradise was a better game. Even for an action game FF16 had major flaws.

[@dontforget3113]

This has gone beyond opinions at this point - it's a matter of artistic integrity, form, and genre. Final Fantasy was established as a turned-based franchise. It is not an action franchise, nor will it ever be. The mechanics are fundamentally different; the genres are different; and the expectations are different. This would be like writing a science fiction novel but marking it as erotica. It makes no sense. This is very similar to the mistakes Capcom made with Resident Evil 5 and 6. Five (and to a much lesser extent 6) are good action titles. But they are not survival horror. And thus, they are not good Resident Evil games. It's not subjective. Don't fence sit. Final Fantasy XVI is not a good final fantasy game. It is, however, an excellent, small scale fantasy adventure title. Start a new franchise, call it Guardian Force and make this the debut. Say it's an homage to Final Fantasy. Hell, even call it final fantasy, but acknowledge it to be a spin off by withholding it from numbered entry status. Since XI, the integrity of this franchise has been all over the place.

[@stazandhissnes2428]

The only gripe I have is that every, and i mean EVERY human enemy has the same "stagger" animation in the game😂 otherwise i enjoyed it very much

[@rijusnar1994]

Many people Wouldnt have a problem with this game if it wasnt called final fantasy . Its a action game based on devil may cry combat system for maintream audience. The gameplay is good , the story is ok but get attached to the lore with the side quests especially later on. FF XVI also give me something i wanted from the lasts god of war games which Didnt have ...epic bosses battles ... And EVERY majors bosses in this game were great ,none of them felt boring . But for a final fantasy game who don't have any true rpg and strategy based combat, this one was clearly not . But a very bland action game . Not bad but ok .

[@mikeg5039]

I loved this game for 15 hours then changed to absolutely hate it. The story is good i enjoyed that, combat was good but gets repetitive too early and way too easy, pretty graphics, but the questing sucked. It was like doing the most boring quests in ff14 with such slow boring exploration. The big open areas were empty, item collecting was pointless, 99% of the side quests were lame, also running was so slow. You probably spend a good 3 hours total of waiting for quest dialogue to end before getting back to the game.

[@damon-otaky5712]

15 have many is issues, but she was really interesting and fun, esspeshially combat was very good. 16 l dont now… l play 20 hourse and story, combat, enemy is really dissapointment for me

[@threestars2164]

Graphics and visual effects were all this franchise had and it seemed to me as if SE is still betting on that area for the 16th installment, as if this was still the 90s where this area by itself would be enough to consider a game exceptional. Get with the times. The only thing it brought to gaming that was impressive was the final battle against the big bad. It's the closest we got to an epic fight against a Morgoth-like figure in modern fantasy games, a superb spectacle. Those multi-hour, and sometimes multi-week (wtf) battles with bosses from ffxi were likely an inspiration.

[@KonEl17]

This game was not for me, its not what i want from a FF title and that seems to be happening alot coming from 13 to 15 to 16. Each one of those games i listed always misses big with something i enjoyed bout older ff games. And because 11 and 14 arent single player do those not count as mainline though they are numbered.

[@brya9681]

I have never seen a more mid game get so many nerds up in arms about it not winning a GOTY award. Like bruh it wasn't even close to deserving any awards. Its "we have Devil May Cry at home" with a story written by someone that knows people like A Song of Ice & Fire but doesn't seem to understand why people like it.

[@diegosotomiranda4107]

Sorry but having a combat that easy with an entry that presented as "mature" was a weird decision, specially cause it disconects from the stakes in the story, difficulty its not just there to flex or being a tryhard, its a chance to make the game more conpelling and coherent lore/story wise and gameplay wise, if the game says to you the following fight its a fight with hight stakes or even we are at disadvsntage, then tve fight its as easy as a first mario level boss, then cut to the scene when the characters are almost dying, doesnt sit well...ar least for a first playthrough

[@yemitruechild1200]

i'm glad people enjoyed it, but it's the only mainline ff since 6 that i haven't finished because it was so painfully boring in its combat and chatacter design. the story hooked me at the beginning, but the character writing is so cringe. sorry, i'm only a hater because i was so excited. like, i will defend 12 and 15 to my grave. but this was unbearable fr.

[@davidblainescharizard]

That's fair, Square Enix built up a ton of hype for the game before release but it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea

[@ashleeblackwell8505]

I thought the combat was boring and hated there wasnt enought rpg elements

[@Ymyeh-lr8wj]

I am playing it right now and honestly its ok. For me its a good game but it could have easily been a spin off title. Its a good game but its not a final fantasy game.

[@TheZajicekfarber]

I think XVI is unfortunately one of the worst FF. I'm not a fan M-ratings in general, so most of "maturness" felt unnecessary, but then other times it still didn't push it far enough either. I also didn't like the massive spectacle boss fights because I don't want to "play a cutscene". They were too distracting to let me properly enjoy and take in the full scene. But I think ultimately the main problems all stem from the lack of party. I think the party is a key part of a final fantasy game and really affects how the story and characters are presented. I don't like the story or Clive as the main character, more so because as the only character all my dislikes got further put upon him alone. And where I found the other characters that would have been the party members much more interesting, they were never allowed to do anything because Clive has to do it all.

[@MrVbgames]

I bought this game, but right after the first patch I started getting this weird visual rgb glitch it's in my vids here in youtube. Tried everything it would not go away decided to uninstall.