Final Fantasy XVI has had a rough time. From the very first gameplay trailer long-toothed fans of the series have been spitting more chips than a disgruntled seagull over Square Enix’s latest entry in their long-running franchise. The low rumblings of, “Not my Final Fantasy” and “This is Devil May Cry!”, could be heard like a fart on the wind conjured by Garuda herself.
After many months and many more reveals, very little has changed. Heck, even after a stellar demo and smooth launch, Final Fantasy XVI continues to be the butt of every joke. Millions of sales, exceptional critical reception, and a vocal majority be damned, the grognards, console warriors, and naysayers continue to relentlessly detract. To them, Final Fantasy XVI is neither an RPG nor a true-blooded Final Fantasy – but is there a bite to their bark?
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Who am I to say either way? I am, after all, just a faceless drone preparing to woo you with fancy words and lame jokes. Put all that aside and you have someone who has an extensive history with not only Final Fantasy, but RPGs across all decades of gaming. I’ve thwarted Sephiroth, slapped Chaos, banished the Dragon Lord, and earned the respect of Lord British himself – both in-game and in person. RPGs are my jam, and this article is going to be a delicious sandwich of somewhat coherent thought.
So what is an RPG? The term has become very nebulous as of late, with RPG elements being interlaced with all sorts like a confusing bag of liquorice. Everything from racing games to light puzzlers has dabbled in the genre and this has muddied the waters. Not only that, there are very real stylistic and mechanical differences between RPGs made in the West and those made in the East.
Despite all of that nonsense stinking up the air like a foisty doily at a family gathering, I am here to say that Final Fantasy XVI, despite all the backlash, is absolutely an RPG. It’s a rather light RPG, granted, but that’s not a bad thing. In fact, Final Fantasy XVI embodies its namesake so fully that proclaiming it is anything but comes across as disingenuous at best.
Here’s the spicy meat rub on the flank of reluctant acceptance for you: Final Fantasy has been a “light” RPG for quite some time now. One could argue Final Fantasy abandoned the heavier elements long before the series gained serious traction during the PS1 era. Go the extra step and you could even say it has been feathery from the get-go – especially compared to its contemporaries like Dragon Quest. Everything Final Fantasy XVI “removed” from the formula has either never existed or failed to materialise in decades.
Let’s dive deeper though – peel back the layers of Clive’s rather dashing corset. Common complaints include a lack of turn-based combat and stale RPG-esque progression. Combat in the series has been action-focused for close to 15 years now, longer if you skip over Final Fantasy XIII. Not to mention the ATB system being implemented as far back as Final Fantasy IV in an attempt to make the games feel more real-time. How about character progression? Clive gains levels that have as much mechanical intrigue as any other entry and has a comparable style of skill progression thanks to Eikons.
How about the complaints that the story is full of cutscenes and is lacking in gameplay for long stretches of time, or that spectacle and set piece has overtaken the core of the series? Final Fantasy IV was almost entirely based on set piece – borderline puzzle-like combat. Final Fantasy V pushed the emotional core that had been present since the third entry in tandem with a concerted effort to bring unprecedented spectacle. Not to mention the reams of text that make up vast swathes of these games, and the endless cutscenes that permeate more modern entries as a whole.
So I have to say, Final Fantasy XVI being a “light” entry in a light series doesn’t matter in the slightest as the series has always danced to that tune. The game not embodying Final Fantasy ignores decades of precedent. None of this is to say that criticism isn’t valid, but the nature of it doesn’t sit right with me.
What we have here is an excellent entry in a long-running franchise that has refused to stagnate. Every game has changed the mould, fiddled with the settings, or clobbered itself with a mallet. That is what Final Fantasy is. It is a series of perpetual evolution. But despite that forward momentum, Final Fantasy is still steeped in history and tropes. We have everything from Chocobos to Moogles, Eikons to Crystals. It’s all here, and it’s all distinctly Final Fantasy, and it’s all knitted together thanks to a killer soundtrack that effortlessly weaves old and new to make something outstanding.
As an experience, Final Fantasy XVI is bombastic and over the top whilst still managing to reign you back in for heartbreaking moments of sombre reflection. A story littered with characters so well written and acted, that their trauma becomes palpable. Clive as a protagonist is the strongest male lead we’ve had – possibly ever. And I mean that with a complete absence of hyperbole.
Labelling this game as a Devil May Cry knockoff in a Final Fantasy-shaped suit oozes nothing but ignorance – willing or not. Anyone who has played Devil May Cry will tell you Final Fantasy XVI plays nothing like it. Anyone who has played Final Fantasy will instantly recognise that this is, without a shadow of a doubt, Final Fantasy to the bone. Criticism is always a good thing, but uninformed babbling deserves as much respect as a forgotten slice of toast slowly moulding down the side of my fridge.
Something not being for you does not make it any less of a valid entry in a series or genre. There are so many things Final Fantasy XVI genuinely fumbles – things that could be improved and should be criticised. Crafting is irrelevant for example, and the economy is as limp as Hugo’s suspiciously missing hands, to name a few. The fact these issues are so very rarely brought up during discussion highlights the performative outrage that permeates modern discourse.
But none of this is new because every entry in the series since Final Fantasy VII has been met with the same “black sheep” treatment by the vocal minority. It comes as no surprise to see Final Fantasy XV and XIII (and Strangers Of Paradise for that matter) being elevated, just as it came as no surprise to see them being maligned at launch. The cycle will inevitably continue when the seventeenth entry graces our devices, and frankly, it’s exhausting.
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