Final Fantasy 16 Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos, Speedrunning Tips

Final Fantasy XVI from Square Enix is one of the most ambitious releases of the last five-plus years.

In the wake of 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake bringing one of the best games of all time up to modern standards, Final Fantasy XVI veers out of its comfort zone by attempting to revolutionize the series as a whole.

Out is the former traditional party-based RPG format for an action RPG with whispers of God of War and other modern greats found throughout. The overhaul extends to the visuals, which exude a Final Fantasy-Game of Thrones mashup.

Never mind Final Fantasy XVI releases in one of the most stacked stretches of gaming the industry has enjoyed in years thanks to Street Fighter 6, Diablo IV, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and so many others.

But if Final Fantasy XVI can still retain that distinct Final Fantasy feel amid the changes, it should re-establish the must-buy status of the series and bring it to a whole new generation of players.

Graphics and Gameplay

One doesn't need long with Final Fantasy XVI to see it's one of the best-looking games on the market today.

The story takes players through a variety of different biomes, many of them breathtaking, whether it's slinking through a swaying forest or steadily progressing through a tension-riddled bit of haze with minimal lighting.

As expected, details like hair and clothing impress both visually and when swaying realistically and it hardly stops there—detail permeates through each environment and especially interiors. In battle, the particle effects, fluidity of the movements and staggering scope of certain summons and enemies are downright engrossing and really sell the impact of each exchange.

One important detail of note is the level of immersion into the setting, which might be more important than actual graphical fidelity. When one thinks Final Fantasy, it's pointy hair and colorful animals and the usual anime tropes. Not here—things are more muted, with little in the way of outlandish hairstyles and where once might have been flamboyant garments, more simplistic armors, even on animals. It's a grittier feel that really sells the world and seriousness of events.

The game's soundtrack is amazing in Final Fantasy style, ratcheting up at key moments and mid-fight. Players even gain some control over it, too, via the Orchestrion, where they can even change what background music plays at the central hub using scrolls they found out while exploring.

Must-acknowledge kudos goes to the voice acting too, as this is by far the most organic-sounding English dialogue found in a Final Fantasy game to date, which presumably stems from actors getting in the studio and bouncing lines off each other. Running to the menus in order to change the voice acting to Japanese because it is so much better like JRPGs of the past, this game is not.

The game probably could have done without the uptick in gore and cursing while hitting that "M" rating as it will prove divisive among fans, but the overall ambiance still manages to feel distinctly Final Fantasy. And while that will turn off some, it does just seem to fit the weight of the world and story.

Combat, of course, boils down to some basic form of attacks, dodges, leaning on companions and throwing out Eikons, the latest iteration of summons for the series.

While fans of the longstanding Final Fantasy combat experience might not love the shift, there's a fun Kingdom Hearts or even Devil May Cry-feeling flow to the combat that translates well to the more traditional elements of Final Fantasy. A well-designed user interface even makes it easy to see which abilities are available off cooldown, which is a really nice touch.

The Will Gauge is one of the big focal points of the system. Attacks will lower an enemy's willingness to fight back until they are outright stunned, an opening allowing players to inflict massive damage. There's a nice layer of strategy to unleashing saved attacks and combos for once an enemy suffers a stun.

Eikonic Abilities and Eikonic Feats, the latter elemental, are the big magic-based attacks and summons this time and players can juggle several abilities at a time once they really get going.

As if that weren't enough, the companion, Torgal, can respond to a player's Sic and Ravage commands, while Howl heals the player. Other party members will join the player on their journey throughout, though remain strictly controlled by the A.I., which seems to do a pretty good job of helping out in a sensible manner when not strictly commanded what to do. Torgal can also provide hints while out in the world, if prompted.

There's an important give-and-take with combat to know. While the gameplay itself has modernized for the series, some elements of it have unfortunately not. There are still quick-time events (QTE) to awkwardly juggle mid-fight and players will often find themselves battling the camera as much as enemies.

Those QTEs can lead to damage multipliers and such if timed properly, but there's a stigma around QTEs for a reason. If nothing else, it might prove to be a divisive point. Nobody figures to much argue against the camera issues that admittedly, most games in this sort of genre have never figured out.

Those two issues aside, the combat, which is easy to grasp early and has great depth, is extremely fluid, fun and rewarding, with boss battles a highlight.

Story and More

Players assume the role of Clive Rosfield in Valisthea, a realm of six nations across two continents (Ash and Storm) suffering a Blight as the all-powerful crystals cause issues, as does Ifrit, a fire Eikon.

The narrative refreshingly takes the series back to the high-fantasy genre, one rooted in a grounded sort of reality. It makes for a fun Game of Thrones-anime hybrid set in Final Fantasy that sets itself apart, with even the taglines about not relying on crystals a fun reference to moving away from some of the techno-babble that weighed heavily in other series entries.

There's no sense in spoiling pretty much any story beat in this grand epic, other than to say it is extremely long and worth the investment, with things getting richer narratively the more time players take to explore the world and tackle side content.

The game's lorebook is absolutely massive (and it's awesome lore—a dominant sky civilization fell to ground roughly 1,500 years prior to the game's events, for one) and something capable of stealing hours of time.

It sure doesn't hurt that there is organic storytelling throughout the journey too, as what NPC's in the game's central hub say changes based on the in-game events.

Plus, there is also a compendium of useful information and eventually, a timeline of sorts players can view to review key points of the story so far.

As for sidequests not tied to main storyline progression, the actual gameplay behind them won't blow away most, but the worldbuilding makes them worthwhile. Certain marked side items will provide very meaningful upgrades, too.

Before battle, there is some interesting buildcrafting to consider due to the Mastery system. Once an ability is mastered through enough investment, it is no longer restricted by Eikon, which in theory, would mean players can use multiple copies of the same ability for an increased effect.

Hideaway acts as a central hub for the player and includes several notable things beyond NPCs to chat with as things unfold. The Hall of Virtue is a training mode with a nice suite of options that should fit many player's needs.

Arcade Mode lets players replay missions and receive scores and feedback for their performance. A general mission replay feature is available, too.

Hunts might just top the list of notable things to do out in the world, as these specific monster-hunting missions vary in difficulty and provide big rewards. So far, most feel unique and present a wide range of different enemies to wrangle.

Final Fantasy XVI is very, very adamant on appealing to as many players as possible by presenting a hugely tweakable set of options and experience tweakers.

For example, players pick from a story-focused mode or action-focused mode right away, with the former a much simpler experience with Clive started more well-equipped. Players can switch between the two at any time.

There are also five in-game assists not unlike say, assists in a racing game. They are the...

Ring of Timely:

• Strikes
• Focus
• Evasion
• Healing
• Assistance

Strikes, for example, puts complicated combos requiring multiple button presses onto a single button prompt. Healing will see the character use a potion as soon as their health falls beyond a certain threshold.

Also on the accessibility front, the game boasts a Recommended Abilities option that picks and chooses abilities for the player who doesn't want to deep dive on builds.

The game really goes above and beyond with abilities, too. Players can reset them at any time, or lock specific ones during a reset—or even simply refund individual ones to purchase others. It's a refreshing bit of flexibility afforded to the player that most complicated games like this don't offer.

There are a treasure trove of more traditional options too, highlighted first and foremost by performance settings.

Many accessibility features, ease-of-use features such as on-screen markers and even personal preference details such as six different playable, voiced languages are highlights.

Then there is New Game +, where Final Fantasy Mode promises further gear upgrades and tweaks, plus Chronolith Trials will outright replace enemies with tougher ones.

Over in arcade mode, Ultimaniac is an additional difficulty that indeed feels like it demands players enter with the perfected versions of their builds or they won't come close to an "S" grade.

Final Fantasy XVI does not always run flawlessly, even on performance mode, but the hope is that stutters and problems will further fade with the launch patch and perhaps further work. As they stand now, they don't ruin the experience by any means.

Speedrunning Tips

Final Fantasy games always made for some of the most impressive speedrun attempts out there because runners typically find a way to boil down an RPG that could take hundreds of hours into only a few.

This entry won't be any exception, in part because there are so, so many buildcrafting options presented to the player, never mind the droves of changes that could open up new categories of runs.

Some key tips, outside of the standard skip cutscenes and dialogue and take the time to unearth the proper routing, though, pertain to specific strategies.

Side quests with plus marks (+) on them are must-do things in most cases, as that designation means they unlock something important, be it increasing the number of items the player can hold or even faster, ridable ways to travel the world.

Runners will also want to invest in Limit Bar upgrades early, as those special attacks that also regenerate health last only as long as the bar's meter. Timely, strategic usage of a bar invested into early on will pay dividends throughout a run.

Battles themselves are diverse enough through buildcrafting that there probably isn't one super-efficient way that trumps all others, at least at launch, which will make the first six months to a year of speedrunning attempts downright thrilling.

Conclusion

Change is difficult in video games, especially for a well-established series eager to straddle the line between modernizing to today's standards while not wanting to upset longstanding, dedicated fans.

Final Fantasy XVI doesn't strike the perfect balance, but it's difficult not to be impressed by the Final Fantasy-styled take on modern greats that still feels like it fits the universe well.

Diehard fans of turn-based Final Fantasy still won't love the ARPG route and A.I.-only teammates, but it's done well respectfully enough that it feels like the same conundrum facing the Zelda series. Many players want the linear dungeon-based experience of the older games, while Tears of the Kingdom sticks to the well-received open-world design.

It's a good problem for a series to have, especially when Final Fantasy XVI is this great. There's a heartfelt, worthwhile story, a laudable effort to make the experience as customizable as possible to an individual player's wants and needs and an overall sense that, despite its faults, there is now a new modern peak for one of gaming's juggernauts.