Final Fantasy 16 is here, and with it the story of Clive Rosfield and the land of Valisthea! Find out if the game's graphics, new real-time combat, and story are worth a buy in our review.
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Final Fantasy 16 Review and Score Explanation
Final Fantasy 16 Review Video
Final Fantasy 16 Score Explanation
| Overall | A good step in the right direction for the series overall, though it can leave you asking exactly how much of a game can you change until it stops feeling like a Final Fantasy title. |
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| Story | The story is great, with good characters and a mystery that will compel you enough to plow through the game’s roughly 30 to 40-hour campaign. But there were several plot decisions that could’ve been handled differently and/or omitted, since they did nothing but weaken the game's narrative and pacing. |
| Gameplay | Final Fantasy 16’s gameplay is highly reminiscent of Devil May Cry. Unsurprising, as they share the same combat director with DMC. It is fun and engaging. But it also begs the question of whether or not this is the gameplay of a Final Fantasy title or the gameplay of a generic action RPG with a coat of Final Fantasy paint. |
| Visuals | The power of the PlayStation 5 is largely on display in Final Fantasy 16, with breathtaking environments, models, effects, and setpieces. The problem is that the game runs mostly on 30 FPS, with a resolution that’s lower than what you would expect from Sony’s latest console. It is unclear whether this is a problem with the PS5 or a problem with the game itself. |
| Audio | Final Fantasy 6’s audio suite is beautiful, with epic orchestral music during battles and major story beats, as well as calm and gentle melodies while exploring the world. The English voice acting is also well-done, with the performances by the voice actors for Clive and Cid getting a special mention from us. |
| Value for Money | Final Fantasy 16 is a long game that can take you at least 2 to 3 days of dedicated playtime just to get through the main story. Though it’s more linear compared to Final Fantasy 15, the game world is still relatively open and littered with side-quests. The only problem is that there is little reason to re-play the game once you’ve finished the story, barring the introduction of a DLC. |
Final Fantasy 16 Review: A Return to Form
Final Fantasy 16 is not a breathtaking or revolutionary game. Some people might also say that it shouldn’t even count as a mainline Final Fantasy title. But it is a good game, or better than its predecessor at least. It shows several design decisions that Square Enix ought to implement in future Final Fantasy titles, especially in terms of themes and presentation of the game’s world.
But the developers should remember that the series is walking a tightrope. Although fun and engaging, the game's combat diverges significantly from previous Final Fantasy titles--even to the point where parts of it feel more like playing an installment in the Devil May Cry or Metal Gear Revengeance franchises rather than an FF title.
Square Enix will undoubtedly face the challenge of retaining the Final Fantasy series' identity in future games. Will utilizing settings and aesthetics from earlier titles be enough to offset the changes to the core combat system and other mechanics? Only time will tell.
Final Fantasy 16 Full Game Review
Pros of Final Fantasy 16
| Things Final Fantasy 16 Got Right |
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 Increased Linearity Was a Good Design Choice Devil May Cry-Like Gameplay Is Fun and Engaging Gorgeous Graphics Enhanced by Wonderful Cinematography Great Sound Design and Voice Acting |
Increased Linearity Was a Good Design Choice
The world of Final Fantasy 16 is beautifully designed, with breathtaking setpieces that give us a glimpse at how life is lived in the land of Valisthea. In the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, we see towering castles in front of huge crystal spires, while the Duchy of Rosaria shows us foreboding swamps and desolation. The Dhalmekian Republic, meanwhile, offers oases in the middle of harsh deserts, and the Kingdom of Waloed is host to gray castles and sheer rock faces.
This immersive world design is achieved not by showing us an open world, but by giving us a series of cleverly-designed and handcrafted setpieces. They may be reminiscent of the dreadful "corridors" from Final Fantasy 13, but it seems Square Enix has learned their lesson by making them much more open than before. Not as open as Final Fantasy XV, but packed with more detail and a good sense of aesthetics.
Players travel to these setpieces by selecting certain points on a world map, rather than by walking through an overworld. Though this may be restricting for some, it makes exploration more streamlined. The setpieces themselves also provide a good opportunity for grinding via random monster encounters. Square Enix has struck a good balance between the openness of its game world while still making it feel alive. We hope they will continue to use and improve this design element in future titles.
Devil May Cry-Like Gameplay Is Fun and Engaging
By far, the biggest break Final Fantasy 16 has made from previous titles is its transition to real-time combat. Your player character, Clive Rosfield, makes sword swipes with the square button and casts magic with the triangle button. There’s a button for dodging, and there’s also a button system for casting powerful spells and switching magic elements. Meanwhile, the Limit Break system has turned into a sort of super-powered mode where Clive deals extra damage to his enemies for a limited time.
With this system, the combat feels more like playing Devil May Cry or Metal Gear Revengeance than playing an actual Final Fantasy title at times. We’re not saying it’s boring, though. In fact, we would say that it’s the most adrenaline-inducing combat we’ve seen in a mainline Final Fantasy game to date. Even Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s hybrid combat system pales in comparison to just how much fun it is to have Clive cast Ignition and blast six monsters into a nearby wall.
Another good thing Final Fantasy 16 has taken from DMC and MGR Revengeance is the sheer insanity and epicness of some of its set pieces. We won’t say anything specific, but we’ll just say that you will probably swear that you’re watching a cinematic instead of fighting an actual battle. Some of the set pieces look THAT good.
Gorgeous Graphics Enhanced by Wonderful Cinematography
Immaculate. That’s the only word we think would do justice in appraising Final Fantasy 16’s graphics. The game clearly takes advantage of the PlayStation 5’s powerful hardware, with beautiful environments, detailed character models, and great visual effects. This is enhanced by how the camerawork in the cutscenes is clearly inspired by film cinematography. SE also has a pedigree in making great cutscenes in general.
Some of the scenes are just so nicely directed. Two characters face each other, with a third character entering the frame through the gap between their faces. A wide shot of a large dome-like crystal in the middle of a desert. A pan across a crater so big it has turned into a waterfall. Whoever Square Enix got for FF16’s Director of Photography should be given a raise.
Great Sound Design and Voice Acting
Final Fantasy 16’s soundtrack is the right mix of epic orchestral battle music that engages one’s sense of urgency, and low-key melodies that spark one’s sense of wonder while exploring the game’s world. Of course, the familiar motifs are still there, such as the standard battle and victory music, but they’ve been adapted it to FF16’s medieval fantasy setting. That’s why you'll hear a lot of lyres, pianos, and ominous chanting in the game’s soundtrack.
Of course, this is not to say that FF16’s soundtrack is nothing BUT medieval music. There are times when the soundtrack does a total 180-degree spin and turns into this fast-paced techno-rock that wouldn’t be out of place in a DMC title. The game definitely wears its influences on its sleeve.
Another great thing about the game in the audio department is the voice acting. Every member of the cast pulls off a fairly decent English accent. The dialogue was also written well enough to convince us of the setting, while not being overly stiff or formal. It's kind of like how the Witcher series and Game of Thrones handled the way their medieval characters talked. Of particular note are the performances of the voice actors for Clive and Cid. They gave a lot in their performances, and I liked their characters all the more for it.
Cons of Final Fantasy 16
| Things That Final Fantasy 16 Can Improve |
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Questionable Plot Choices and Pacing Real-Time Combat Is a Big Departure From Previous FF Titles Stuck With Using Only One Character Linear Direction May Turn Off Some Fans |
Questionable Plot Choices and Pacing
One of Final Fantasy 16’s major problems is with some of the choices in the plot and the story’s pacing. Without revealing too many spoilers, we'll just say that the plot becomes somewhat weaker in the second half. This is because of what we consider to be self-inflicted issues that could’ve been handled differently or even omitted.
Beyond this point, there will be some light spoilers, so please feel free to skip ahead to the next section. In the second half, there is a five-year time skip. However, there are barely any changes in the characters and their relationships. Even certain plot points that supposedly hinged on the time skip could still have worked with a shorter one of six months to a year. All the time skip did was stretch our suspension of disbelief with how long it was, how little of an effect it had on the characters, and how many potential plot points had been missed because of it.
Another criticism we have is with the handling of the game’s major relationships. It boggles the mind that Final Fantasy 16 can portray sibling relationships so well, yet blow it with the handling of the game’s main couple in terms of their interactions and the pacing of their relationship. There were a few opportunities that, had Square Enix taken advantage of them, would have increased the player’s investment in the characters. But not having those moments dampened the experience instead. Better to have just done away with the time skip or at least made it shorter.
Real-Time Combat Is a Big Departure From Previous FF Titles
Final Fantasy 16’s combat is the culmination of a continuing shift away from the series’ traditional turn-based battle system that started over a decade ago with Final Fantasy 13. Yet it is so different that we could’ve sworn that we were playing another game entirely, like Devil May Cry.
It’s a fun combat system, a responsive combat system, and definitely a better combat system than what was implemented in Final Fantasy XV. But is it still Final Fantasy? We are of the opinion that the Final Fantasy coat of paint is still there, but other than that, it’s a completely different game. A less charitable opinion would be that it’s a derivative combat system that’s weaker compared to other full Action RPG titles.
But then again, this is the series’ first decent experiment with real-time combat, so it’s safe to assume that there will be improvements. We just hope that Square Enix will find a way to make the combat feel more like a Final Fantasy title while still retaining the responsiveness, engagement, and fun you could have with FF16’s combat.
Stuck With Using Only One Character
When it came to designing the gameplay for Final Fantasy 16, we could see that Creative Business Unit 3 went with the narrow-but-deep approach by giving us one character with a big assortment of skills, rather than a wide cast of playable characters with certain niches.
This may come off as a light spoiler (though it’s already obvious by the second hour or so), but you will be playing as Clive for the entire game, and Clive only. With different powers, in different forms, sure, but it’s still just Clive. He has party members that help him in battle, but they’re AI-controlled. On top of that, you only get to bring 2 party members with you (3 if you count Torgal, Clive’s dog, as a party member).
This is yet another departure from the franchise (at least from the mainline games), where you usually have a full party whose actions you can control. This is another factor that makes FF16’s combat feel less like that of a Final Fantasy game. You can control Torgal, sure, though you can easily automate that with an accessory you get the moment he joins your party. At the very least, Square Enix could’ve let us decide what tactics the other party members would use in battle - whether they would be offensive or defensive, whether they would cast support spells or offensive spells, and so on.
Linear Direction May Turn Off Some Fans
We’ve mentioned earlier that Square Enix decided to eschew the open-world design of Final Fantasy 15 for a more linear, focused approach in Final Fantasy 16 with map points that bring you to inter-connected open areas via a world map. Some players may consider this a step back for the series, while we here at Game8 consider it more like a lost opportunity.
You see, Final Fantasy 16 can be interpreted as a love letter to previous Final Fantasy titles, especially the first six. A darker letter for sure, but you can see it in the aesthetics, the setting, the use of crystals, and the character design. Each of the characters even has their own pixel sprite that appears in a save slot whenever you save the game, just like in the old FF titles.
It would’ve been nice if, instead of having the player select map points, FF16 could’ve instead had these same pixel models walk around the world map. When they reach a location, the game would transition to the fully-3D area. That way, SE would’ve made the game feel far more open, while mirroring the other titles it sought to emulate in so many other aspects. At the very least, it would’ve been cute like Octopath Traveler, another JRPG that mixed 2D sprites with 3D backgrounds.
Final Fantasy 16 Story Plot
Final Fantasy 16 is set in the medieval realm of Valisthea, a land where Mothercrystals, gigantic crystalline formations that surround the environment with aether, are found. Aether is the energy that enables the use of magic and is also the land's life force. But this force is slowly dying out, as a mysterious Blight has begun spreading throughout the land. The precarious peace between Valisthea's nations soon gives way to an eruption of conflict, as each country scrambles to grab as much of the remaining arable land as they can.
Enter Clive Rosfield, the firstborn son of the Archduke of Rosaria and older brother of Joshua - the heir to the Duchy of Rosaria and Dominant of the Phoenix, Eikon of Fire. Dominants are powerful beings that can call upon the power of the Eikons during battle, and their very presence can make or break wars between Valisthea’s nations. But the younger brother Joshua is killed by a mysterious Dominant, while Clive is enslaved by the neighboring Holy Empire of Sanbreque.
13 years have passed since Joshua’s death, and Clive has sworn to avenge him despite still being under the thrall of the Empire. Little does he know that a chance encounter on the battlefield with a girl from his past will change his destiny forever.
Final Fantasy 16 sees Square Enix take the series back to its medieval fantasy roots, complete with swords, shields, and plate armor, as well as being themed around crystals. The game also takes a more linear approach to the story, in contrast to Final Fantasy 15’s more open-world approach. It also completes the series’ full transition to real-time action combat.
Who Should Play Final Fantasy 16?
Final Fantasy 16 is Recommended if You Enjoy:
• The Final Fantasy Series
• Devil May Cry Series
• Souls-like games
Of course, Final Fantasy fans ought not to miss the latest installment in the franchise. But with the game’s transition to real-time combat, players of other action RPGs might also want to give Final Fantasy 16 a try. Those who’ve played the Devil May Cry games will appreciate FF16’s fast-paced action, while fans of Souls-like games might like the emphasis on dodging and timing during combat.
Is Final Fantasy 16 Worth It?
FF16 Is Worth Buying
Final Fantasy 16’s combat may be different from previous titles. But it’s fast-paced, thrilling, and enjoyable. Aside from that, the game has all the hallmarks of a Final Fantasy game. That’s why long-time fans, and even those who are getting into the series for the first time, should not miss this title. It’s not a groundbreaking Final Fantasy, but after FF15, it’s a good step in the right direction.
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How Final Fantasy 16 Matches Up to Recently-Released Games
| Games That Came Out Recently | Pros | Cons |
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 Street Fighter 6 |
Final Fantasy 16 is a more enjoyable game if you’re not a big fan of fighting games in the first place. That’s on top of having better graphics and an actual story. | But FF16 isn’t a multiplayer game, and there’s not really much replay value once you’ve finished its long campaign. So Street Fighter 6 is recommended if you’re more concerned about replayability. |
 Amnesia: The Bunker |
Final Fantasy 16 is obviously not scary at all, while Amnesia: The Bunker will probably knock your socks off. So get FF16 if you’re not a fan of horror titles. | Still, Amnesia: The Bunker is cheap enough to get it along with Final Fantasy 16 if you happen to have a laptop and a PS5. So why not get both games instead? |
 Oblivion Override |
If you’re not a fan of roguelikes, you’re better off playing FF16 than Oblivion Override. | But much like with Amnesia: The Bunker, you can realistically buy both this and FF16. So if you like fast-paced gameplay, get both. |
How Final Fantasy 16 Matches Up to Similar Games
| Games Similar to Final Fantasy 16 | Pros | Cons |
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 Devil May Cry 5 |
Final Fantasy 16’s combat is a more casual, more forgiving form of DMC’s combat. So you can get FF16 first, and if you like this style of combat, you can start trying out the DMC series. | Of course, DMC 5’s combat is much more polished compared to FF16. If you want a challenge, grab DMC 5. It should be on sale anyway, so it’s cheap enough to pick up. |
 Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance |
Just like with DMC, if you’re a JRPG fan who’s been used to the kind of combat Final Fantasy usually offers, FF16 is a good entry point to fast and crazy action-adventure games like MGR Revengeance. | And just like DMC, FF16’s combat still does not match up to MGR Revengeance. It’s on sale too. |
 Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin |
Actually, it’s kind of funny that Square Enix already had a good reference point for making real-time combat (which is Stranger of Paradise), so they could’ve taken notes from its combat system when designing FF16. But if you want flashier and epic boss battles, FF16 is your game. | If you want a more well-developed combat system, however, then Stranger of Paradise should be your go-to. It’s possibly on sale now too, so why not get it along with FF16? |
Final Fantasy 16 Trailer
Game8 Reviews
Final Fantasy 16 Product Information
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| Title | FINAL FANTASY XVI |
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| Release Date | June 22, 2023 |
| Developer | Creative Business Unit III (Square Enix) |
| Supported Platforms | PS5 |
| Genre | RPG, Adventure |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | Mature |
| Official Website | https://na.finalfantasyxvi.com |
