Hey guys it is zushi once again reviewing another game, this time it’s Final fantasy 16. Without further ado, the review:
Story:6.5/10(Fantasy?check,magic?check,war?check,Crystals?check,Chocobo’s?check,Moogles?check,Cid?check….seems we have everything in order for a final fantasy game so why is the score so low when it checks off most things I want IN a final fantasy game???Because while the story itself is fine,not the peak of final fantasy stories but still good the problems lie in the story telling.Not jacked up like the disaster 15 was but 16 tells its story so bland and boring. The overall story I was rarely interested in what was happening. There were a few characters I cared deeply for and their stories but the overarching one? Don’t ask me to relay it cuz I already deleted it from memory mostly and on top of that, the PACING was so stop and go it was like the story was breaking checking me! The true saving grace from a horrible story score are the dlc stories especially Rising tide dlc. The rising tide dlc’s story was truly gripping I was gnawing at the bit the entire time and was engrossed in what was happening. To end this section off I believe the story overall was fine and had some great bits but it was told so boring that after 40 hours I was ready for it to end. I hope 17 does better when it comes out)
Setting:6/10(I truly do not have alot to say here because I love the medieval and fantastical settings in stories and 16 tried that but because I was bored most of the time from the story and its telling, I couldn’t get invested into liking any of the kingdoms or any of their background. The setting isn’t horrible, it looks fairly good,the story behind the setting is what’s bad and that’s unfortunate)
Art:9/10(if we completely ignore stutters and very bad performance issues the art and graphics are phenomenal, they’re truly amazing. For the rare 15 seconds of perfect performance,art is chefs kiss but to even get the game to run at all I had to compromise and the games quality most of the time was low and horrible but I don’t want to knock the game some points for that, I don’t wanna be a negative Nancy all the time. Character designs are fine, some hit or miss but where the character designs thrives are the eikon designs!
Ifrit?peak,Pheonix?peak,Shiva?peak,bahamut?
Peak,the rest of the eikons? Just PEAK!)
Characters:7/10(The cast members of this game are unique to say the least. It puts me in a predicament in talking about it and scoring it a 7/10 because I truly loved Clive,Joshua,Jill and Cid the most, all 4 to me are 10/10 characters with depth and backgrounds I dig into but almost everyone else are just very expensive looking cardboard cutouts of npcs. Clive’s backstory as a teen and playing that section is one of the best introductions to a game I have ever played and seeings Clive’s struggle with that backstory of his and coming to terms with it was beautiful and Jill….Jill isn’t as boring as I’ve heard from others about her. She’s special and has true character. Yes she plays the background supporter to Clive more than be independent and a “strong woman” but being strong isn’t always about being the only one with strength and not asking for help. She has strength but she chooses, the game/story didn’t but she,herself chooses to support the man she loves in his endeavors and uses her strengths and wits to do so. Cid is peak because he sounds like a Brit who’s chained smoked for decades and he’s funny, that’s all. He has great story but he’s all funny for me.)
Music:7.5/10(The music of Final fantasy 16 indeed fits the setting the game goes for and it is good, there are no awful songs and there are some songs I really love like
Find the flame,Away,Titan lost,My Star and
Eikonoklasm but aside from those 5 and like a good 5 others there are,to me, no other stand out 10/10 tracks and while 10 good songs is good, to only have 10ish good songs on a 200 song soundtrack is NOT good. The soundtrack is fine but it doesn’t give me oomph, it doesn’t feel like the final fantasy music that I know and love)
Battle/fights:9/10(Aside from the obvious “this isn’t turn based so not my FF” or “this is just a DMC rip off” the battle system and the boss fights truly are peak. They are not bad by a long shot. I do think the combat is a cheap Devil may cry but that doesn’t deter me or upset me because I loved DMC. The boss fights were so cinematic and had me at the edge of my seat without fail each boss fight.for the next final fantasy if they turn down the cinematic aspect to a cinematic boss fight and turn up the boss fight aspect, that final fantasy if not turn based should do that and I don’t think anyone should complain.)
Overall:7.5/10(Overall the game is a C tier game like the previous mainline final fantasy entry. Fine game that could have been great and hopefully next time they don’t repeat themselves and improve.As for recommending this game, only do I recommend if you’ve played the others and haven’t played this one yet.)
