Final Fantasy XVI Reviews
The PC version of the sixteenth Final Fantasy chapter is the best currently available, but leaves a bitter taste in the mouth due to a barely sufficient quality of the porting and some unexpected shortcomings in a saga that had always represented excellence on a technical level.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Final Fantasy XVI, which follows a different path from the series' usual path, has been properly ported to the PC platform and made available to more players, and we recommend it with peace of mind.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Final Fantasy XVI feels absolutely at home on PC. With excellent optimisation that’s bolstered by impressive Frame Generation technology, it’s a relatively smooth sailing experience if you have the hardware to handle it.
Final Fantasy 16 works on many levels, with a fantastic story and addictive combat system that keeps you coming back for me, along with incredible visuals that bring the world of Valisthea to life like no entry in the series before it, and I’m including Midgar from FF7 Remake in that comparison. On the other hand, you also have some of the MMO traits that hold it back from being a true classic, with a lot of pointless side quests and a few underwhelming game systems that feel as if they’re designed to waste time, in a game that doesn’t need its runtime extended.
Final Fantasy XVI admittedly isn’t what I’m accustomed to when it comes to mainline Final Fantasy games, but it’s still strong. Though it can get in its own way from time to time with overly long and interruptive cutscenes, the gameplay, story, and characters ensure this is an overall enjoyable entry to the Final Fantasy series.
At the end of the day, Final Fantasy XVI is an ambitious attempt to iterate on the series’ combat and story formulas, and for the most part is largely successful. Battles are frenetic and fun, with a combo system that feels simple to use but offers plenty of customization through Eikonic abilities. The world is unique and interesting, with varied character motivations and complex political landscapes. While darker than most of its predecessors, XVI‘s themes of acceptance, self-actualization and friendship resonate just as strongly as anything the series has offered thus far, and this is one of the strongest casts in recent memory. There’s a lot to love here, despite some of the game’s shortcomings and rushed ending. If nothing else, it’s given me a lot to think about, and for me, that’s well worth the price of admission.
Final Fantasy XVI represents a step forward for the franchise in terms of enhancing gameplay elements, but it falls short of being a truly engaging combat experience, with the otherwise fun Eikon ability system being let down by a lack of difficulty. The game thrives as a story-driven experience, with consistently spectacular scenes made more immersive by the outstanding voice acting and fine attention to detail in graphical design. Some players may find themselves wanting more from the sound design, but when the music is on point it truly shines. If rich storytelling, extensive lore, and enticing worldbuilding are your thing, you’re unlikely to be disappointed here.
Final Fantasy 16 is sure to split fans down the middle as it pushes toward a more mainstream audience, watering down some franchise staples, while removing others entirely. It is, however, a great entry point if you’ve never played the series before and one of the most spectacular-looking games so far this generation, accompanied by an enjoyable core loop that kept me invested for over 80 hours and some of the most memorable characters the series has produced in years. The localization is the best I’ve seen in FF history, with some incredible performances, and its breakdown of world history and character development is sure to be emulated and studied for years to come. Perhaps not the strongest instalment by its own huge expectations, with story that gets tonally confused, grindy quests, and some characters getting sidelined, but it is a remarkable achievement all the same.
Square Enix deserves kudos for not being afraid to make such big changes. That being said, for all of its grand spectacle and bombastic Eikon battles, Final Fantasy XVI turns its back on many of the themes and mechanics that brought it to the table in the first place. Whether this decision was right or wrong is debatable. Fans who have grown up with the series are entitled to feel more than a little disappointed though. Ultimately, much of what many love about this series has been mercilessly swept aside in Square Enix’s attempt to attract a bigger audience.
Final Fantasy XVI is a beautiful game that takes a slightly different approach than its predecessors. Brutal, tempo action with accessibility for everyone is what you can expect.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Final Fantasy XVI has over 25 years of history to live up to, largely acting as the culmination of the battle systems and dramatic storytelling from that time. While the animation and combat are truly extraordinary, the pacing in the quests and drawn-out cinematics often left me hungry for the next fight.
Final Fantasy 16 has become one of my favorite games in the series and despite the problems of inconsistency in pace and quality (those fetch quests are really banal), the good is really good and that's what prevails. I confess that the linear design with larger areas is a breath of fresh air in the middle of the huge open worlds and I loved the action combat that pulls for your talent. The Game of Thrones-style storytelling and the use of Final Fantasy lore in such a bold way are worthy of applause.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Final Fantasy XVI is technically impressive and an amazing action game, though the Game of Throne elements do hinder it a bit. However when the team does get to be original, the story can be absolutely engrossing.
Final Fantasy 16 largely shines as an epic-length action game, though the places where it attempts to find a comfortable compromise between action game and RPG feel largely unambitious, and certainly fade into the background against aspects that are approached with gusto. But it’s difficult not to get swept up by the earnest saga that Final Fantasy 16 eagerly lays out for you, and the egregious heights of spectacle it displays.
While it would be easy to look at Final Fantasy XVI from certain angles and proclaim something looks rough when looked at as a single package and a sum of its whole, this is a fantastic game. The cinematic flair, crazy action combat and extremely involved story with a nice side dish of world building make this a game worth playing. This is likely to appeal to fans of most character action games but also to those who just want another cool Final Fantasy to get lost in. Absolutely get this game.
Great worldbuilding and a peerless battle system, albeit one that rarely gets challenged, set in a static world with competent storytelling but of a cliched story. Still great fun but it could've been oh so much more.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Still, it is an excellent action game with perhaps one of the medium's most likeable protagonists in recent times. Final Fantasy XVI is a worthy return for an iconic franchise — that much is clear. Whether this success can light the path for future Final Fantasy games and elevate the series to its past heights, is perhaps a trickier question to answer.
My tastes have changed over the years, and I neglected certain franchise titles in that time. However, despite its missteps, I can wholeheartedly say Final Fantasy 16 managed to bring together in one title the things I loved about the earlier series’ entries, all while making most of the experience fresh and entertaining. The grim-dark tone, spectacular “kaiju battles,” and grandiose transformations with over-the-top action kept me entertained.
An action packed Final Fantasy with incredible set pieces and over the top fight scenes that would make the God of War games blush.
Spectacular, with an epic story and astonishing graphics: and yet, Final Fantasy XVI forgets what is really important for the series. It's impossibile to create a build and there's nothing important left for you to manage through the menus. Proper RPG options are gone, dungeons are just banal corridors, players are forced to play the entire game in easy mode and you can beat the game with literally no effort. There's a decent base for the future, but it's not enough to see a real rebirth for the saga.
Review in Italian | Read full review