We now have some new details shared by Square Enix for Final Fantasy XVI.
As revealed on reddit, Square uploaded some new art for the Eikons. If you have been following the previews for this game closely, you can guess which Eikons match which of the characters. The visual language does drop hints on which Eikon matches which Dominant. We do already know as well that Clive is the Ifrit’s Dominant, and his brother Joshua is the Phoenix’s Dominant.
We will share the art with you below.
There are also new gameplay trailers that finally show us things that producer Naoki Yoshida shared with us in a panel in PAX East from the end of last March.
As reported by PSU, the trailers show Story Focused Mode accomodations, as well as gameplay with Clive fighting with some new companions.
So we now know that you can choose to play Story Focused Mode at the start of the game. However, even with this accommodation, this is essentially the same game as players who choose different modes.
What Story Focused Mode does is it starts you off with the Timely Items already available to use. These items were deliberately added in to make the game easier, but with the proviso that you can only use three at a time.
The gameplay demonstrates three Time Items; the Ring of Timely Strikes enables a one button autocombo, the Ring of Timely Evasion gives you a perfect dodge, and the Ring of Timely Focus allows you to slow time for the perfect strike.
A third trailer shows your fighting companions, Jill, Cid, and Torgal. Jill Warrick has been previously revealed. She was raised with Clive and Joshua and is a constant companion. She uses lightning attacks.
Cid in this game will be Cidolfus Telamon, and he uses ice attacks. His last name is taken from the minor figure in Greek mythology. That Telamon was one of the Argonauts, and father to Ajax and Teucer. One wonders if Square Enix took inspiration in that figure in this Cid’s own adventures.
Finally, Torgal is Clive’s pet dog. While your companions will fight with you automatically, you can give orders to Torgal, and of course, you can also pet him.
Final Fantasy XVI will be releasing exclusively to the PlayStation 5 on June 22, 2023. It is also expected to be released on PC in the future, but that has yet to be announced. You can watch the trailers below.