Final Fantasy XVI

I've played every Final Fantasy.

Some of my favorites are Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy XV. So when Final Fantasy XVI was announced, I was obviously excited.

I finished the base game and both DLCs, and I ended up in a weird place with it.

There are things I admire a lot.

There are also things that frustrated me for a large part of the journey.

The more I think about it, the more I compare it to Final Fantasy XV. Not because XV is a better-made game. It isn't. But it stayed with me in a way XVI did not.

What Final Fantasy XVI gets right

The Eikon battles are extraordinary.

Phoenix, Ifrit, Titan, Bahamut, Leviathan — these fights are absurdly large, and somehow they work.

They are not just boss fights. The game treats each one like a major moment. The music, the scale, the staging, the camera work — everything commits to the size of the scene. It often feels like watching an expensive animated movie, except you are still playing.

The combat also works very well. I know some people miss the more traditional RPG systems, and I do too, but as an action game it feels responsive and satisfying. There is a real pleasure in learning which abilities work together and executing them properly.

I think people will remember three things about Final Fantasy XVI:

• The Eikon battles
• The music
• The combat system

When it works, it really works.

That's also why the rest frustrated me so much.

The MMO rhythm of a single-player RPG

After a while, I started noticing the structure.

Amazing boss fight, then errands.

Another amazing boss fight, then more errands.

Once I saw the pattern, I couldn't stop seeing it.

Knowing that a lot of the team came from Final Fantasy XIV made many things click. The influence is not just in the side quests. It's in the hubs, the way NPCs are presented, the dialogue structure, and the way the game keeps sending you from one person to another before allowing the next big story moment to happen.

The side quests are the easiest example. I completed all of them, and to be fair, many of them contain interesting lore. Some of them even have good character moments.

That said, the structure becomes repetitive very quickly.

Talk to someone.

Travel somewhere.

Kill a few enemies.

Go back.

Repeat.

The problem is not always the writing. The problem is that the game often chooses the least interesting way to deliver it. Some side stories could have been shorter, more cinematic, or simply more playful. Instead, they often feel like chores.

This also hurts the pacing of the main story. The game creates urgency, then immediately asks you to slow down. The Mid quests are the clearest example. The story feels like it is moving toward something important, and suddenly I am collecting parts.

The same thing happens with Goetz. I don't dislike these characters, but the timing is rough. Every time the game reaches a high point, it seems afraid to keep going.

By the end, this became my biggest issue with the game. It constantly builds momentum, then cuts it with structure that feels inherited from an MMO.

RPG systems without meaningful choices

My other big disappointment was the RPG side of the game.

Not because I expected turn-based combat. I knew what kind of game this was. What disappointed me is that many systems are technically present, but rarely ask anything interesting from the player.

There is crafting.

There is equipment.

There are exploration rewards.

There is Eikon customization.

On paper, that's a lot. In practice, most of it feels too automatic.

I never felt excited about finding a new weapon. I wasn't exploring an old ruin hoping to discover something unique. Most of the time, I reached the blacksmith, crafted the next obvious upgrade, and moved on.

Crafting is the same. It exists, it works, but it rarely feels important.

The Eikons are where I felt this the most. The game gives you fire, lightning, earth, wind, water, darkness, and more. Visually, this is great. Strategically, it matters far less than I wanted.

Enemies rarely care which element you use. Bosses rarely force you to change your setup. I mostly kept the abilities that felt efficient and stayed with them.

That frustrated me because the base combat is good. I would have loved a reason to specialize, experiment, or rethink my build depending on the situation.

That's the strange feeling Final Fantasy XVI leaves. It has RPG systems, but many of them don't matter enough.

Why Final Fantasy XV remains more memorable to me

This is where Final Fantasy XV comes in.

Final Fantasy XVI is more polished. The combat is better. The cinematics are better. The boss fights are obviously better.

And yet, Final Fantasy XV is the one I think about more often.

The reason is simple: Final Fantasy XV feels like an adventure. Final Fantasy XVI feels like a sequence.

Final Fantasy XV had countless flaws.

Its story was fragmented.

Its second half felt rushed.

Its combat never reached its full potential.

But it rewarded curiosity.

I remember discovering hidden dungeons.

Finding Royal Arms.

Exploring simply because I wanted to know what was around the next corner.

Most importantly, I remember the group.

Noctis.

Ignis.

Prompto.

Gladiolus.

The game lets you spend a lot of time simply existing with them.

Driving.

Camping.

Eating.

Talking.

Laughing.

Very little of this advanced the main plot.

But all of it strengthened the relationships.

By the end of the game, I cared deeply about that group.

Not because the story told me to.

Because I had traveled with them.

That contrast made Jill stand out to me.

Not because I disliked her. Quite the opposite. I kept feeling there was more to her character than the game wanted to explore.

Jill is central to the story, yet often feels surprisingly distant from it.

I wanted more time with her outside of world-ending stakes. Her past, her abilities, her trauma, her ambitions beyond supporting Clive — all of that was there. The game just didn't spend enough time with it.

Final Fantasy XVI develops Clive exceptionally well.

Cid is easily my favorite character in the game.

But outside of a few key characters, I rarely felt the same emotional attachment I experienced with the Chocobros.

When I look back on Final Fantasy XV, I remember the people.

When I look back on Final Fantasy XVI, I remember the spectacle.

Did the DLCs change my opinion?

Not significantly.

I enjoyed them, especially because I bought them at a substantial discount.

The Rising Tide was nice to play. Leviathan was fun, and I was happy to see that part of the game finally included.

That said, by that point I mostly wanted the game to open up more. Instead, it gave me another guided sequence. A good one, but still a guided sequence.

I also wish the magitech side of the world had been more present in the main game. There are interesting ideas there, but they arrive too late to change how I feel about the whole experience.

The DLCs added content.

They didn't change my opinion of the core game.

Final thoughts

I don't think Final Fantasy XVI is a bad game.

It has moments I'll probably remember for years. The Eikon battles are unforgettable, the music is exceptional, and the presentation is sometimes unbelievable.

But I kept feeling that there was a better RPG underneath all of it.

A version with stronger exploration, more meaningful equipment, elemental interactions that actually matter, and more time spent with the people around Clive.

Final Fantasy XVI impressed me more than Final Fantasy XV.

But Final Fantasy XV stayed with me longer.

And for this series, that matters.

Final Fantasy is not just about polish for me. It's also about the memories it leaves behind.

I remember XVI for its big moments.

I remember XV for the time I spent in it.