When Final Fantasy XVI was announced, Square Enix made it clear that this would be an attempt by them to make something different. They weren’t going to “rewrite the book,” per se, and make an entirely different kind of game. Still, they were going to lean into certain elements that would take it in a different direction compared to previous entries in the longstanding franchise. But one of the most important factors was that this game would have a much darker storyline, one that was embodied in the main character, Clive Rosfield. He would be a conduit for many things that would happen in the best and worst ways, and many fans resonated with him as a result.
He wasn’t just an “angsty protagonist” like a certain Cloud Strife was. This was a man who lost so much, then was forced to be something he didn’t want to be, and yet still wanted the best for certain people. One of the reasons that fans resonated with Clive so much was because of his performance by voice actor Ben Starr. His performance was so grand that he was nominated for “Best Performance” at The Game Awards, and many were shocked when he didn’t win.
Even with that, he told VGC on their podcast that he would love to be Clive again:
“If anyone asked me to do Clive again, I would jump at the chance. I feel such a personal attachment to him, as I said, and so if someone said we would like Clive to be involved in whatever thing, I would go, ‘yes, please let me do it’ because I feel a responsibility to do that.”
Technically speaking, that’s not impossible, as Square Enix has brought characters back into other titles in the past or done sequel titles with them, like what happened with Lightning in the 13th game series.
One thing to note is that we will hear Ben again as Clive via the Final Fantasy XVI story DLC. The first DLC is out now, and the second one will come later this year. But whether we’ll hear new content from him remains to be seen.
One of the reasons for this is that the sales of the title weren’t the best. Square Enix backpedaled on that statement later, but they noted a loss in revenue when the game launched on PS5. But, when it inevitably comes to PC this year, that could help swing things around. So perhaps Clive isn’t fully gone just yet.
