Gamer Diary - Final Fantasy XVI (Entry One)

One of my favorite games of all time is Final Fantasy VI. It is the perfect video game. I followed When the franchise transitioned from 2D sprites to 3D. I enjoyed Final Fantasy VII-IX. But around X, I started to fall off the series. With various systems and stories that didn't connect, it felt like the series I once knew decided to drop the things I loved in favor of what's popular today. Final Fantasy XVI is so different from the games I loved that I have to wonder - How far can a game deviate from its original origins that you can still call it the same game?

A Story That Lacks Motivation

What I loved about Final Fantasy was the scale of the story. In VI, a rag-tag group set out to stop Kefka, who later became a god. We traveled the world in an airship and visited distant lands while dealing with grief and self-discovery. As times change, so do the types of stories that we tell. In Final Fantasy XVI, the series has shifted from world-ending threats to Tolkien fantasy with political intrigue similar to Game of Thrones. The problem with the shift is how the story is told. You're dropped into a war between nations when you begin the game. We're never given a clear picture of the cause of the war or why we should care. Clive is not portrayed as the story's hero but as a man searching for meaning in a meaningless war. If you were to ask me what the story is about, I wouldn't have a clear answer. I know that Clive is in search of his brother's killer, who is more than likely the actual killer and Cid wants to help the bearers(the game's version of slaves), but none of them seems strong enough a motivation to create a forty-hour game.

Boring Design Choices

Final Fantasy might be many things, but it was never dull. In the old games, the main characters had designs that made them stand out. Cloud and his Buster Sword, Kain and his Dragoon armor, or Zindane and the cast from Final Fantasy IX. While the stories differed, many of the same design elements and creatures would travel through the series. These shared creatures lent themselves to a world that felt like a Final Fantasy game. In XVI, the game feels like a generic high fantasy game. Thus far, nothing in the world makes me want to "stay." The main characters also suffer from this blandness. Neither Clive nor Cid have visual qualities that would make them stand out from any NPCs. This is a shame because there is so much unused potential in both characters. The bland designs sting, but nothing hurts quite like Square Enix's decision to completely ditch what made Final Fantasy feel like Final Fantasy - the turn-based combat system.

Long live Turn-Based Action

You can call me a boomer, old man, or whatever term to describe the youthfully challenged, but I will die on the hill that Final Fantasy lost its way when it gave up lining my party up vertically for turn-based action. Part of the fun of Final Fantasy was party management and building a team that could completely overpower any enemy in your way. In XVI, we've traded the complexity of character management, stats, and ATB gauges for the simplicity of button mashing. I can't tell if the designers wanted to build Elden Ring or Devil May Cry, but I'm left with combat design that has yet to commit to either system.

Thus far, I've fought a giant Marlboro, a spiked lizard, and an Eikon-powered general, and each time, I hoped the action would pick up. Let's use Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown as an example. In that game, boss battles challenged you to use all the abilities in your toolbox. Like a Souls game, you had to learn patterns and utilize the dodge and parry mechanics to set yourself up to deal significant damage against an enemy. A risky move could pay dividends in damage or quickly lead to your death. In XVI, however, the tension is missing from combat. Since I'm early in the game, I'll acknowledge that combat could gain depth the more I play, but it's pretty dull at the outset. Enemy attacks are easy to read; there are not many combos I can string together, and even when I do string a combo, the amount of damage dealt never feels like enough. Take the Malboro fight. I would easily dodge the attacks and wear out the creature's defense gauge. Once the Malboro was stunned I would rush it, chaining together attacks with my Eikon powers. This is the moment where I should be doing the type of damage that would make all the dodging seem worth it. Instead, it feels like an MMO where you spam and attack until an enemy dies. It hardly feels worth the sacrifice of a proper turn-based game.

The Final Fantasy?

According to the PS App, I've spent thirteen hours in Valisthea. I've defeated my first Eikon (Garuda) and learned that an important character I thought was dead is still alive. My initial impressions aren't that great. I've often thought about playing something else like Dragon's Dogma 2. But it's Final Fantasy, and I must see where the story goes. Maybe there will be more to the combat than in the game's early stages. Maybe Clive will do more to step into the spotlight. Or perhaps this game drives home an ugly truth - that the series stopped being the games I once loved long ago.