A Bit of RPG, a Bit Game of Thrones - Final Fantasy XVI Has Something For Everyone
The creators and publishers of Final Fantasy XVI aimed to attract as many new players as possible to the iconic series, and it shows. However, it seems they didn't want to completely break from their heritage, leading to a game that lacks clear identity.
Our own Hubert recently speaks about Diablo in almost pure superlatives, but he didn't forget about a certain problem of the game, related to its identity. After all, is it a story-driven hack'n'slash or a seasonal MMO? I didn't intend to return to this dilemma, but I would also like to tell everyone that a new cowboy is in town. Or is it a samurai? In any case, it’s definitely someone from the culture border of East and West. This is another AAA production, a really good one. But it has similar syndromes of not being fully defined. In terms of genre, as well as narrative and stylistics. Final Fantasy XVI was supposed to be a bit different and it's indeed different, at least from time to time. But I'm not quite sure if that's the kind of difference Square Enix was aiming for.
Definitely a Game – but not of Thrones
Naoki Yoshida, the producer of Final Fantasy XVI, says clearly: as an elderly gentleman, he has fallen in love with medieval realism. He wanted to use A Song of Ice and Fire and the Game of Thrones as a strong artistic inspiration for his latest game. Even more so, the developers had to watch the entire series to understand its phenomena and move FF XVI’s storyline in a completely new direction, unexplored by the series yet.
Are these "GoT-like" characteristics apparent? Yes, without a doubt. There are direct references to specific characters or scenes. The prolog (known to the wider public from the demo version) reminds of the first episode of the first season of Game of Thrones, i.e. King Robert Baratheon's visit to Winterfell. The game also has its own "Hodor" and a plotline reminiscent of Bran Stark's journey. One of the main roles here is even played by an actor who appeared in the HBO series. Ralph Ineson, by the way, credits the most characteristic acting performance in Final Fantasy XVI.
There are also significant structural similarities to the TV series formula here. Over the period of 30-40 hours of play, it can be felt that the game reaches its climax a couple of times. Later in the story, we can initiate threads previously known only from the lexicon that the developers have prepared. (By the way, it’s great stuff, I appreciated something similar in Pentiment). The entire thing feels a bit like a multi-season or multi-volume fantasy epic, so forget about a compact story that can be explored in two casual sittings. We are talking about a monumental work that’s often heavy and demanding patience.
Final Fantasy XVI, Square Enix, 2023
On the one hand, we have almost direct references to scenes from Game of Thrones, and on the other hand, a very general but also fresh approach to building a game in the shape of something resembling a TV series. So that Western viewers who use streaming platforms on daily basis can easily find themselves in it. However, this is not enough for me to call Final Fantasy XVI a complete medieval fantasy with European heritage and atmosphere, even if the dialogues were first recorded in English, and every other sentence contains the pleasantly sounding "bloody hell."
And I'm not talking about some cultural gatekeeping, but about the fact that in the dirty, brutal, dark Middle Ages, the smooth, scarless and fatigue-free faces of heroes looks a bit unnatural. The same thing with the anime-inspired binary approach to building drama and conflicts. If someone suffers, they must suffer in one hundred and ten percent and let others know about their torment constantly. Protagonist Clive is not a quiet Jon Snow; he's not a specific Ned Stark. St. Stephen & Shakespearean misfit vibe.
Fighting the "demons of the past" well-known to pop culture fans is shown in Final Fantasy XVI in the form of over-expression, pathos and a slow, devastating pace of trauma processing. Does it bother me when I play a Japanese game? No, because I know that's what I'm signing up for. I get this convention with everything about it. Does it bother me when I play Final Fantasy XVI? Here I already feel a certain dissonance – related not only to the developers' promises, but also to the actual tonal divergence at the narrative level of the game. One minute I watch a battle scene in the atmosphere of the Battle of the Bastards, and in the next I experience a ten-minute cutscene intertwined with QTE sequences with magical effects straight from Dragon Ball. It’s mayhem.
SCENARIO DISPROPORTIONS
And since Game of Thrones is a reference point here, I unfortunately have to point out one thing – FF XVI’s script doesn't get close to the level of the show. Emotions are shown directly too often, and there are too few dynamic dialogues and memorable moments of writing craftsmanship. In terms of the story, this production repeatedly resets the status quo, and in fact, the starting point of the demo is the most audacious decision made by the writers in the context of the entire game. The story presents a decent level, it's engaging, the acting is hypnotizing, but it lacks a claw. Although it definitely surpasses the eighth season of GoT by several lengths.
Definitely a Game, not really an RPG
The producers of Final Fantasy XVI say it clearly (again): do not call their games jRPGs, as it once had negative connotations. They mainly develop RPGs. And FF XVI definitely breaks away from turn-based gameplay in favor of a truly slasher-like combat created by the designer of Devil May Cry 5 – Ryota Suzuki. So I guess it can be called an action RPG, right? With all due respect, not really.
The new Final cleverly pretends to be an RPG game, for sure. When it gives a moment to explore semi-open locations, it throws in a side quest or two, and allows for some leveling up and character development, once every ten quests (sic!). What's more – it even allows choosing a dialogue option. Most of the key skills are obtained in the first few hours, and the levels of opponents scale with our own, so just like in Diablo, you don't really feel that the character becomes more and more powerful.
Final Fantasy XVI, Square Enix, 2023
At the very beginning, when the game still curbs exploration to a minimum and locks us up in rather linear locations, I had these impressions that I was dealing with a high-budget beat'em up. Why? Because I couldn't progress further until I defeated the wolves or spiders in a given area. Do not take this as an accusation per se. To me, showing this middle finger to the industry's popular open worlds makes sense and fits the nature of Final Fantasy XVI. And still, I always feel the vastness of the continents I travel through, because on the horizon there is either a castle or a Mother's Crystal, or a mountain trail.
Final Fantasy XVI is primarily an action game with some RPG systems. I understand, however, that selling the game as a full-fledged action RPG will attract many more players, and although it’s very far-fetched for me, Blizzard does the same with Diablo – and there are no bigger complaints. The key role here, however, is moving away from the turn-based combat system in favor of real-time clashes with spectacular combinations and all kinds of synergies. This dynamization of gameplay attracted me and will certainly also attract other fans of explosive battles using large swords.
"For everyone" more than any other Final
Final Fantasy XVI wanted to be tailored more to the western style, and it definitely succeeded. I am the best example of this – this is my first direct encounter with this series, encouraged by the announced changes to the classical formula and convention. Sure, after 30 hours spent with the game, it turned out that it's neither Game of Thrones nor a crystal-clear action RPG. It is Final, but everything here's more mature, brutal, and definitely fresher.
That's why I consider this installment to be perfect for starting the adventure with the series for people who have shunned the series so far. Sometimes it's boring, other times it's very direct, but in the end, it stimulates the senses and engages. Accessible mechanics and truly cinematic interludes allow you to feel the essence of Final Fantasy and encourage you to dive into the other parts. I'm already downloading the remake of VII. I'm seriously considering downloading XV as well. Damn, I even watched the gameplay of the Final MMO today. And yet I hate MMOs!
