FF16 is not lacking complexity, but it truly excels when it comes to game feel. While mechanical intricacy is important, none of it matters if the game doesn’t feel good. Final Fantasy XVI is the best feeling action game I’ve ever played. I’ll start with my boldest statement, and we can work down to some nuance as we go. It has issues, some more significant than others - but I had an absolute blast with it. DMC5 wasn’t a perfect game, but it had evident heart and soul, which really matters to me. On a simpler level though, I realized only a few hours into my 65-hour playthrough of FF16 that… wow, we haven’t had a new DMC game in nearly half a decade. You could tell this type of story in a turn-based RPG, and several have, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel extra good being the one to press buttons in time with Clive’s tenacious sword strikes as he overwhelms anyone who opposes his mission to make a better, fairer world. In this instance, we have a tale of revenge against power structures that viciously oppress a minority group. FF combat can be whatever it needs to be, so long as it’s cohesive and fits the narrative the game is offering. To some this is blasphemy, but I think it fits. As a fan of these games, the idea of a mainline FF that resembles these games always excited me. Ryota Suzuki, a designer on Devil May Cry V, was even brought on board to be XVI’s combat director. Even when its RPG mechanics are struggling to connect, it’s a brilliant Final Fantasy - which is certainly no mean feat.įF16 borrows much from a particular sub-genre of the action game, and has much in common with hallmark titles such as Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and Metal Gear Rising Revengeance. It feels like a character action game that smartly adapts classic Final Fantasy elements into its very core. It doesn’t merely feel like some action game wearing the skin of a Final Fantasy title. But for longtime Final Fantasy fans, I doubt this is a new feeling entirely.Īfter years of speculation, now finally sitting down and actually playing through FF16, I’m left largely positive about the experience. It knows exactly to whom it is trying to appeal to, which means others will get left by the wayside. This sort of confidence inevitably becomes a double-edged sword. The team who made this clearly adores Final Fantasy, even if they have a clear disposition toward a grittier and more grounded take. FF16 is an action RPG where the ‘action’ takes center stage, but one that doesn’t wholly forget its roots. Within even its first hour, it is very clear what the goals were for the team working on it. Post-launch updates adding scenes from the Kingsglaive movie, strange collabs, and even some new mechanics entirely ultimately led to an entry that simply felt confused.įinal Fantasy XVI, on the other hand, is nothing if not confident in its design. It exhibits an identity crisis in trying to balance being an action game, being an open-world game, and being an RPG. Years later, Final Fantasy XV feels like a hesitant half-step in retrospect. While FF15 wasn’t the first time the series strayed away from its turn-based roots, it was the first time a mainline entry was primarily more action-based. Final Fantasy has been a lot of things across its lifespan to a lot of different people.
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