[h3]My past before the review[/h3]
[i]Well.. well.. well.. How long has it been already? Ten. No. Maybe fifteen years since I last glanced at Final Fantasy (Single player) games. How I loved the old RPG turn-based combat mechanic but still challenging enemies and with beautiful storytelling.
As the gaming world needs to keep evolving to please the masses, FF series changed from original RPG turn-based combat to something new. Something that made me skip all the future FF games for over a decade.
But then a one day, heard from a friend that the [b]FINAL FANTASY XVI[/b] combat gameplay has been modernized for current generations and I should give a new chance for FF series.
And oh the Mothercrystal, how [b]correct[/b] he was on that.[/i]
[h3]The review[/h3]
As with every Final Fantasy title, the storytelling and cinematics are of the highest quality. It even made me regret skipping some of the cutscenes in Final Fantasy MMORPGs back in the day. With today's graphical standards, the visuals were so breathtaking that I felt like I was literally crying Gil (gold) while admiring them.
Players have the option to pause or skip cinematics (though doing so should probably be considered a cardinal sin). I often chose to pause them, as some sequences can be quite lengthy before the game allows you to save again. The presentation does an excellent job of making you feel like the main protagonist in your very own FF movie.
What about the gameplay? Well, the developers have evolved the main combat into real time action-based with melee and magic based attacks. Players unlock new abilities and spice the combat throughout the story by [spoiler]defeating the previous owner of Eikons.[/spoiler]
From normal to boss fights can thou get easily ponderous for more casual players as they follow the game mechanic of “staggering”, which after filling a bar the target becomes vulnerable for few seconds, enough time to blast every saved ultimate player got available. Additionally, there’s quite a lot “special fights”, which change your current combat into new perspective with some QTE with button smashing.
Players don’t need to complete the side story missions to finish with the game. But hell, it sure was hard to skip any of these missions as they will heavily introduce the old lore and relationship with your companions. Additionally completing any [spoiler]plus (+) quests)[/spoiler], will ease out the rising enemy difficulty and feels must do quests, if you’re ever planning to finish the DLC content.
What wouldn’t a world building be without the sound effects and music supporting it? The orchestral level of OST just keeps giving to the player on each story section and major combat events. If I were tasked to save the world from great evil, this would easily reach the top three soundtracks to play during the action.
Completed the game using Japanese voice acting with English subtitles. Having acquired "some" Japanese knowledge through years of watching anime, a few lines occasionally felt off to me, as if the English localization had taken certain liberties with the original dialogue. Even so, regardless of the language combination, the voice acting was exceptional and more than capable of bringing a tear to my eye.
[h3]What about the DLCs?[/h3]
Both [b]Echoes of the Fallen[/b] and [b]The Rising Tide[/b] have a huge spike on difficulty waiting for the main story players. With each having multiple new enemies and bosses to beat, thou the TRT will contain more NPC dialogue content than EotF.
Both DLC final bosses were easily my hardest challenges ever encountered in FF games in recent memory. EotF has annoying move set and TRT had button-smashing nightmare which I seemed to lack physical capability to beat it. I had to look for a guide to finish the fight, it was just that tedious for my fingers (played on controller by the way).
If you're completely new to the Final Fantasy series, or you've been away from it for the past decade, [b]FINAL FANTASY XVI[/b] is an excellent entry point. It shows the developers at their best, delivering a compelling story, engaging gameplay, immersive world-building, memorable music, and worthwhile DLC content.
[h2]Final score: 10/10[/h2]
