Arsic
Loves his juicy stink trail scent
I just beat final fantasy xvi last night, and it made me realize a lot of posts on here (including my own in the past) claim it’s a bad game.
Let’s get it right out of the way — the game has issues, but some of these complaints are within other games this year that are getting far more praise. Oddly enough I think those complaints are blown way out of proportion but in context this is a game of its parts and not the overall package that shines.
Issues consist of:
- Awful Side quests. Only a few have some great writing and add to the overall story package. Too many are generic mmo filler. The complaint added to this issue is you often go to point X and stand as two characters just talk to each other…. You mean like in BG3 and Starfield? Difference here is it isn’t a giga close up in first person of awkward facial expressions.
- The game has poor pacing. After playing through all of it , no, it doesn’t. It DOES if you do all the side quests definitely because the game is back loaded. Final two chapters will dump 20+ on you when earlier game would maybe have 3 at most. They needed to be spread out more. The actual story is very well paced and knows how to keep a good roller coaster effect of highs and then chill a little to build back up.
- The game has piss easy combat. Yep. There’s no doubt the combat is flashy and to me was fun, especially once you get more eikon powers to tinker with, but at no point is anything remotely challenging. Even on final fantasy mode in NG+ it is all a joke. Not everything needs to be dark souls difficulty but I would’ve liked a couple bosses or hunts to give me some game over screens.
- The game has no real progression. It’s all on rails progression, and with how easy it is none of the upgrades you get actually matter.
- There is no reason to explore. Chests off the beaten path give you 10 scales for crafting. It’s a lot of empty vistas with a few enemies sprinkled throughout.
- The game could use visual changes to gear equipped not just your swords. Different armors, gauntlets , etc to change up Clive’s look.
- Square needs to stop putting 60% of the lore into books and notes you can read in these games.
————-
That’s the negatives. On paper it seems bad right ? But for me the good outweighs it by a metric mile. You have a game that has a wonderful story, cast of characters that shine, terrific voice acting and music(holy shit that soundtrack slaps) , fun combat to the credits, and some of the highest highs I’ve experienced in a game with boss fights. The sheer scope dwarfs prior attempts like God of War games.
I’ll also add the visuals are top notch, and as someone who loathes 30fps I promise you the quality mode with VRR forced is the ONLY game I’ve ever played where 30fps was buttery smooth. I wish more devs if they do 30fps modes would steal this voo doo magic and used it so it isn’t choppy and weird.
I prefer this game over 15&13, but I don’t think it trumps anything FF12 and prior. It DOES have my favorite protagonist with Clive, and I don’t think any FF game has presented a story better, but other FF have overall better packages. Like mentioned, it’s a sum of its parts.
There’s plenty to improve on here and all reasonable to do that FF17 could be a no brainer GOTY contender when it hits.
What did GAF think ? I dropped the game at the second time skip, but when I came back to it I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. Kupka onwards took the game to 11/10 status, but ultimately the game is a 9/10 for me in a year filled with superb titles like Zelda, BG3, etc.
I encourage anyone who dropped it to come back and finish it when the mood strikes. It’s worth the story payout and to experience the epic boss fights first hand.
Let’s get it right out of the way — the game has issues, but some of these complaints are within other games this year that are getting far more praise. Oddly enough I think those complaints are blown way out of proportion but in context this is a game of its parts and not the overall package that shines.
Issues consist of:
- Awful Side quests. Only a few have some great writing and add to the overall story package. Too many are generic mmo filler. The complaint added to this issue is you often go to point X and stand as two characters just talk to each other…. You mean like in BG3 and Starfield? Difference here is it isn’t a giga close up in first person of awkward facial expressions.
- The game has poor pacing. After playing through all of it , no, it doesn’t. It DOES if you do all the side quests definitely because the game is back loaded. Final two chapters will dump 20+ on you when earlier game would maybe have 3 at most. They needed to be spread out more. The actual story is very well paced and knows how to keep a good roller coaster effect of highs and then chill a little to build back up.
- The game has piss easy combat. Yep. There’s no doubt the combat is flashy and to me was fun, especially once you get more eikon powers to tinker with, but at no point is anything remotely challenging. Even on final fantasy mode in NG+ it is all a joke. Not everything needs to be dark souls difficulty but I would’ve liked a couple bosses or hunts to give me some game over screens.
- The game has no real progression. It’s all on rails progression, and with how easy it is none of the upgrades you get actually matter.
- There is no reason to explore. Chests off the beaten path give you 10 scales for crafting. It’s a lot of empty vistas with a few enemies sprinkled throughout.
- The game could use visual changes to gear equipped not just your swords. Different armors, gauntlets , etc to change up Clive’s look.
- Square needs to stop putting 60% of the lore into books and notes you can read in these games.
————-
That’s the negatives. On paper it seems bad right ? But for me the good outweighs it by a metric mile. You have a game that has a wonderful story, cast of characters that shine, terrific voice acting and music(holy shit that soundtrack slaps) , fun combat to the credits, and some of the highest highs I’ve experienced in a game with boss fights. The sheer scope dwarfs prior attempts like God of War games.
I’ll also add the visuals are top notch, and as someone who loathes 30fps I promise you the quality mode with VRR forced is the ONLY game I’ve ever played where 30fps was buttery smooth. I wish more devs if they do 30fps modes would steal this voo doo magic and used it so it isn’t choppy and weird.
I prefer this game over 15&13, but I don’t think it trumps anything FF12 and prior. It DOES have my favorite protagonist with Clive, and I don’t think any FF game has presented a story better, but other FF have overall better packages. Like mentioned, it’s a sum of its parts.
There’s plenty to improve on here and all reasonable to do that FF17 could be a no brainer GOTY contender when it hits.
What did GAF think ? I dropped the game at the second time skip, but when I came back to it I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. Kupka onwards took the game to 11/10 status, but ultimately the game is a 9/10 for me in a year filled with superb titles like Zelda, BG3, etc.
I encourage anyone who dropped it to come back and finish it when the mood strikes. It’s worth the story payout and to experience the epic boss fights first hand.
![L*][*N*K](/data/avatars/m/842/842515.jpg?1696510303){kind=avatar}
