Where to start with Final Fantasy XVI? The game first released in June 2023, right on the heals of Diablo IV. Already drowning in games, I put it on the back burner until some time I could actually sink in the prerequisite hours needed to see it to completion. All the while, the friends around me were singing the game’s praises for how dark and gritty the storyline was. Was it any wonder I stumbled upon the odd spoiler or two?

Not that I care about spoilers.

Just because I know something will happen doesn’t mean I know how it exactly plays out. It’s far more interesting for me to see how the writers navigate the characters from plot point A to plot point B and then later D.

Enter the slower half of 2024. Although there was still a plethora of games I needed to get through, I was able to finally sit down and play through Final Fantasy XVI. And all before bleachpanda was able to do the same with Final Fantasy XV. Heck, I still think she’s midway through her replay of Final Fantasy XIII because she’s been sidetracked by her endless number of otomes. A fact I was unable to escape during our trip abroad in Japan.

Final Fantasy XVI (or FF16 for short) puts players in the shoes of one Clive Rosfield, eldest son of the Rosfield family who rule over the Duchy of Rosaria. Despite being the firstborn child, Clive is not to inherit the Ducal throne. Rather, the honour would go to his brother, Joshua, as he was the one to awaken as the Dominant for the Phoenix. Though such situations could lead to enmity between family members, there is no bad blood between the brothers. Clive is satisfied to be Joshua’s shield, vowing to protect his younger brother by any means at his disposal.

Everything changes at Phoenix Gate.

Betrayed by their allies, the Ducal forces are destroyed by agents from Sanbreque. During the attack, Joshua primes as Phoenix. Losing control of his Eikon, he wreaks havoc on both allies and enemies until a second Dominant of Fire emerges in the confusion and seemingly kills the phoenix. In the aftermath, Clive is found alive by the Sanbreque forces, as well as his mother. Instead of being executed, he is branded as a bearer and forced to fight on the front lines for the next thirteen years.

Sent on a mission to kill Shiva’s dominant, Clive and his assassin allies skirt along the battlefield before finding an opportune moment to attack. Before Clive lands the killing blow, Clive recognises as his old childhood friend, Jill. After slaying his previous compatriots, Clive, with the help of deus ex machina, Cidolfus Telamon and a suddenly adult Torgal (who had just been a pup – how is that a dog/wolf can live to thirteen and still seem like a puppy? Also, did Cid never name the dog/wolf he found? They’ve been together for quite a while) escape. Still intent on finding the person who had killed his brother, Clive isn’t initially interested in joining Cid’s cause although he is sympathetic as a whole to the plight of the Bearers.

Cid, of course, helps our erstwhile hero. It isn’t long before Clive later learns the truth: that the second Eikon on that fateful day was Ifrit and that he is the Dominant. Broken by the revelation, Clive is barely hanging onto his sanity. Until he hears word of a Dominant of Fire still very much alive. He figures: if his brother is dead and he is the second Dominant of Fire, who is this third figure?

Wishing to uncover the truth, Clive and Jill travel to Rosaria and down into the depths of Phoenix Gate. There, they learn some truths. Filled with new resolve, Clive and Jill decide to join in Cid’s quest to atone for the sins they had committed by freeing Bearers from their oppression. They do this by destroying the Mothercrystals, and by wiping out magic, so that all can live and die by their own choice.

Together, they infiltrate Sanbreque’s capital, Oriflamme, and manage to destroy the Mothercrystal. Within the crystal, however, is a being called Ultima. Ultima manages to mortally wound Cid before attempting to possess Clive. Joshua, revealing he managed to survive the events of Phoenix Gate, interrupts and manages to trap the being within himself.

Five years pass before Clive resumes his quest to destroy the Mothercrystals. Systematically, he manages to take them and the Eikons guiding them down – absorbing their powers along the way. Why can Clive take the powers of others? Why, he is Mythos, a vessel for Ultima to inhabit in order to cast a spell to resurrect the remnants of his race. Even if humans are completely wiped out.

We soon learn that it was Ultima, through Barnabas – the King of Waloed – who managed to orchestrate the political unrest plaguing the world of Valisthea. In so doing, he kept them focused not on the plight of the world but rather their own squabbles for diminishing resources. Much like in Game of Thrones, for which FF16 takes inspiration, many of the leaders of the various nations are focused more on collating power than the imminent threat of the Blight.

FF16 culminates in a final battle atop Origin with Ultima – first as a three-pronged attack with Bahamut, Phoenix and Ifrit, before Clive takes on Ultima solo in the heart of the final Mothercrystal where he demonstrates the strength of his will due to the bonds he shares with his friends.

Honestly, if there were three themes FF16 wanted to get across, they were: oppression, climate change and friendship.

But while the oppression could be solved by simply taking away the very reason why the Bearers were special (ala the Mutants from the X-men series), the modern day ramifications are vastly different. If we could simply fix the quirk of fate of being born a certain race by removing magic, things would be much simpler. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution for the cycles of hatred that has been left to ferment for centuries. Nor can we make all people equal by destroying some gemstones.

Imagine the power to make everyone, oh, I don’t know, white, simply because there was a crystal plonked in the desert?

The bigger message, though, I felt FF16 was telling, was that of climate change. I feel like it was summed up best in a quote from Joshua as he opined to the heavens with his guardian, Jote, beside him: A blessing that leads to damnation or freedom that leads to deprivation. It seems especially poignant considering how our modern day world is so dependent on so many comforts like electricity. And while we are taking steps to move away from our reliance on fossil fuels, the companies behind them would rather we all swelter in a bleak future than admit the inconvenient truth that continual use of something so readily apparent will only lead to our destruction.

It is the hubris of man to think that ‘we’ won’t be affected, or think too closely on the short term rather than the future.

Ultima, too, could be likened to capitalist corporations who care little for the workers slaving away to assist in the company’s goals. To him, humans are disposable. That they have freewill is the greatest sin because they are no longer subservient subjects willing to sacrifice themselves for his benefit (and yes, I know Ultima probably isn’t a him per se but I’m simply using the pronoun as an easy shorthand).

In the end, Ultima is a cruel god. One Clive must need take down if there is any hope in saving the world.

And he manages to do so.

These themes are further explored in the two DLC fort he game: Echoes of the Fallen and The Rising Tide. As it took me quite a while to actually get started, I was able to play through both of them before I finally gave Ultima his comeuppance with a deft punch to the face. An ending that was more humorous than cathartic.

It is my humble opinion that the game’s focus on ‘dark and gritty’ somewhat took away from what could have been an even better game. Much like Forspoken, I felt the game was under-saturated. There could have been more contrast and a bit more colour to the world. I would have also liked to have heard a completed Chocobo theme melody.

In the pursuit of trying to be a ‘serious’ game, FF16 also failed to insert in any meaningful minigames that could alleviate the doom and gloom of the plot.

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the story. But most Final Fantasy games are pretty dark if you consider their actual ramifications: from Final Fantasy VI to Final Fantasy XIII. That doesn’t preclude them from having their lighter moments to add some much needed levity. Although, Gav is quite able to do it pretty well. A solid character that Gav.

Speaking of characters, I loved the cast of FF16, although I did find the chemistry between Jill and Clive a little stilted. I was much more invested in the romance between Dion and Terence (although I wouldn’t have minded some Dion and Joshua, or Joshua and Mid. Heck, even Clive and Cid would have been pretty steamy). But my absolute favourite character would have to go to Torgal. Our frostwolf with magical abilities and can live up to, at least, 18.

Although, he doesn’t hold a candle to Ambrosia. How old can chocobos get up to anyway? Enquiring minds need to know.

Oh, and uncle Byron Rosfield is GREAT too. He’s so unserious! And the way Clive managed to convince his uncle who he was!

Combat-wise, FF16 shines. While Clive can party up with the other characters, they simply feel like tag-alongs with Clive doing most of the heavy lifting. At least they can’t get knocked out (which is a definite plus)! But what I liked most about the combat was how it was tied into the story.

New abilities Clive obtains are linked to the Eikons he absorbs. And they all play differently. While Titan is focused on defence, Bahamut is all about charging up that Megaflare to do extensive area-of-effect damage. Shiva, meanwhile, has the ability to freeze enemies – giving Clive some breathing room to think before Phoenix sees him rushing in to deliver the final blow.

In the end, I ended up with a loadout that made use of Ramuh’s Judgement, Garuda’s ability to quickly whittle down the stagger gauge and Titan’s block ability to keep both myself alive while also dealing as much damage as I could possibly. Perhaps I should have traded in Odin’s Zantetsuken for more carnage but a lot of the story boss battles also traded normal blow-by-blow battles with more cinematic clashes. Something that was quite awe-inspiring when it came to the fight with Titan and Bahamut but could not find the same heights in later boss battles with Ultima and Odin.

Overall, my time with FF16 was astounding. Yes, some of the cutscenes were a little longer than necessary as they talked about politics, but I didn’t mind given it’s one of my favourite genres to read. And I also appreciated how early Ultima made his appearance. This was no final boss skulking in the shadows that jumped out right at the end without any explanation (well, he kinda was but I’ll give the writers of FF16 a pass on that). The message, too, the game is trying to convey is relevant and current.

And I can’t forget the accents!

I love me the various different UK accents! Xenoblade did it and now Final Fantasy is jumping on the trend!

Should a Final Fantasy XVII ever come out, I’d be interested to see the direction of where Square-Enix takes their next entry. I’m sure it’ll revolve around taking down a God somehow (it almost always is) and our protagonist will pull through with the power of FRIENDSHIP! But it’s the setting that I’m much more excited to see and explore.

I’ve certainly enjoyed this diversion into high fantasy with elements of political struggle. And honestly? I’d like to see more. Suppose that’s why Final Fantasy Tactics tickled my fancy and why I’m hoping for more from the DioField Chronicle. Certainly, I want to know more about the Continent – the other piece of Valisthea that was never explored and where Harpocrates III, Charon and a few other characters hailed from.

If ever there should be a spin-off, I would be very glad to see what else the world of Valisthea has to offer. Or even how our characters navigate the new world they find themselves in.

There are, after all, so many unanswered questions. Like, if Clive did resurrect Joshua in the end, how did he reach shore without possibly drowning? He wasn’t on the beach with Clive as his big brother turned to stone.

Or, how old can Torgal get? How do the people adapt to the sudden loss of magic?

Are there still monsters?

Does Gav take on the mantle of ‘Cid the Outlaw?’ Do the people in the Hideaway stop hiding and actually lead the people to a brighter tomorrow with their technology? Will Mid ever get her flying machine to work?

So many questions, so little time.

Before I go, though, dear reader, I’d like to leave off with another quote from the game. One that I think speaks to many: People need dreams to chase, especially in a world like this one.