Final fantasy 16 - before you buy
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but yeah. idk. I don't know if there'll ever be a Final Fantasy that I can play and enjoy again. I guess I should just be happy with the old titles that I have-- and no, I don't need remakes to satisfy me. The original copies are all I need.
Date: 2023-06-25
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Comments and reviews: 19
Max
Of course there are a few little nit picks, like some facial animations on npcs being poorly animated for example or the god awful motion blur on quality mode, but for the most part this is a nearly flawless game with a good story, with really incredible action and combos. Of course, the most notable point, the game doesn't really have much down time. It's one spectacle after the next, non stop action with very little of that slower, more boring stuff. Unfortunately, because of how good the exciting parts are, the slower parts feel a lot less exciting.
I do want to point out the arcade mode that lets you replay levels helps with this in terms of replay value, as you can just replay stages whenever you want.
Lastly, I dont think the more simple combat parts where you just fight a few enemies are bad, because it lets you practice combos, sort of building that muscle memory because there are a LOT of combos you can pull off.
This is a hands down buy if you like action, awesome medieval visuals with epic proportions, or if you like game of thrones. (Story feels very game of thronesish. Pretty conpelling for sure)
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Of course there are a few little nit picks, like some facial animations on npcs being poorly animated for example or the god awful motion blur on quality mode, but for the most part this is a nearly flawless game with a good story, with really incredible action and combos. Of course, the most notable point, the game doesn't really have much down time. It's one spectacle after the next, non stop action with very little of that slower, more boring stuff. Unfortunately, because of how good the exciting parts are, the slower parts feel a lot less exciting.
I do want to point out the arcade mode that lets you replay levels helps with this in terms of replay value, as you can just replay stages whenever you want.
Lastly, I dont think the more simple combat parts where you just fight a few enemies are bad, because it lets you practice combos, sort of building that muscle memory because there are a LOT of combos you can pull off.
This is a hands down buy if you like action, awesome medieval visuals with epic proportions, or if you like game of thrones. (Story feels very game of thronesish. Pretty conpelling for sure)
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sootythunder
I like it, so far I m enjoying the tone and adult nature of the story compared to that of other final fantasy. While I like the gameplay as an action game, I m kind of upset that with this game I get the distinct feeling turn based combat is good and dead in mainline numbered final fantasy which is a shame. I did notice some issues with frame rate in certain towns as well as 1 part of the game early on you see this wide open field with enemies filled in it. The distance enemies are very clearly in a performance saving mode because their frame rate in their movements are maybe 10-15 fps, at the beginning of the game the combat feels a bit more limited until you get more eikon powers giving you more movesets to juggle between. As for the side quests they are really. they aren t there for challenge or to give you real reward, they are there to give context for how the big massive plot points or lore and how these things effect culture and the people in the different societies. In short after my first playthrough I probably won t be doing the majority of the side quests in a new game.
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I like it, so far I m enjoying the tone and adult nature of the story compared to that of other final fantasy. While I like the gameplay as an action game, I m kind of upset that with this game I get the distinct feeling turn based combat is good and dead in mainline numbered final fantasy which is a shame. I did notice some issues with frame rate in certain towns as well as 1 part of the game early on you see this wide open field with enemies filled in it. The distance enemies are very clearly in a performance saving mode because their frame rate in their movements are maybe 10-15 fps, at the beginning of the game the combat feels a bit more limited until you get more eikon powers giving you more movesets to juggle between. As for the side quests they are really. they aren t there for challenge or to give you real reward, they are there to give context for how the big massive plot points or lore and how these things effect culture and the people in the different societies. In short after my first playthrough I probably won t be doing the majority of the side quests in a new game.
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tinyjester27
I knew it was going to be more linear and not open world, but man. It's really linear: -/ and you're right about the side quests. They are all so pointless and few actually have some tie in to the story. The rest are just filler for exp and gil. Nothing more which is a bummer. I was really looking forward to the side quests when they said that those alone would extend the game to 80 hours. What stats and where is the joy in finding awesome weapons in a hard to find chest? The awesome armor you can find. The sense of exploring for those items I like the darker tone and more adult approach. The fights are fun and the voice acting good. Absolutely LOVE the Eikon boss fights. Gorgeous graphics! It gets me hyped with the music.
Love FF. Been playing since the first release here stateside on the NES is 87. It's okay. not my most favorite, but okay I guess. Just reminds me of a short devil may cry or capcom game at this point. I just wish more of the older RPG elements were involved with exploration. Better items. That would have made this one of my top 5.
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I knew it was going to be more linear and not open world, but man. It's really linear: -/ and you're right about the side quests. They are all so pointless and few actually have some tie in to the story. The rest are just filler for exp and gil. Nothing more which is a bummer. I was really looking forward to the side quests when they said that those alone would extend the game to 80 hours. What stats and where is the joy in finding awesome weapons in a hard to find chest? The awesome armor you can find. The sense of exploring for those items I like the darker tone and more adult approach. The fights are fun and the voice acting good. Absolutely LOVE the Eikon boss fights. Gorgeous graphics! It gets me hyped with the music.
Love FF. Been playing since the first release here stateside on the NES is 87. It's okay. not my most favorite, but okay I guess. Just reminds me of a short devil may cry or capcom game at this point. I just wish more of the older RPG elements were involved with exploration. Better items. That would have made this one of my top 5.
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Szilveszter
Thank you Gameranx for this review! So many reviews out there what sounds like they've got a nice fat paycheck from SE. You confirmed all my worries about this game. It is an action game (very little RPG elements to it) what resembles Devil May Cry and Game of Thrones. Literally almost nothing has got to do anything with Final Fantasy. If they would have released this game under a different title nobody would even try to say this is FF. (Obviously without the recurring names what are trademarks of the series like Cid, Ifrit etc) I've seen people go that far to say this is one of the best FFs Not once did I feel any FF vibes from the demo or the trailers. I admit that this might be a cool, over the top action game to someone, but it is 100% not Final Fantasy and with that im not giving my money for this. Thank you for being real about the stuff what old time fans are looking for in FFs since its golden age. This game is still not it and I am still waiting for a TRUE FF.
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Thank you Gameranx for this review! So many reviews out there what sounds like they've got a nice fat paycheck from SE. You confirmed all my worries about this game. It is an action game (very little RPG elements to it) what resembles Devil May Cry and Game of Thrones. Literally almost nothing has got to do anything with Final Fantasy. If they would have released this game under a different title nobody would even try to say this is FF. (Obviously without the recurring names what are trademarks of the series like Cid, Ifrit etc) I've seen people go that far to say this is one of the best FFs Not once did I feel any FF vibes from the demo or the trailers. I admit that this might be a cool, over the top action game to someone, but it is 100% not Final Fantasy and with that im not giving my money for this. Thank you for being real about the stuff what old time fans are looking for in FFs since its golden age. This game is still not it and I am still waiting for a TRUE FF.
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fanjoy
I had a lot of hope that with the 14 crew at the helm, this one would have huge areas to explore and nooks and crannies to find all kinds of identity secrets. As much as 15 was a bummer, the exploration was top notch (albeit in too confined an area of just a small corner of the entire world. When I found out there was a world map and you select your destination, and then I found out they misled people regarding there being a party of characters, this is a hard pass.
I ve been playing FF since the OG on the NES (even had the Nintendo Power strategy guide. I enjoyed 13 and 13-2, along with 9 and 6 and 4 and etc. I m one of those who doesn t think 7 is the best and really enjoyed the remake. But losing the party-based and job-based framework is a bold move. People will have fun with this for a few weeks, but the cinematic movies folks paste together online will end up being more popular.
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I had a lot of hope that with the 14 crew at the helm, this one would have huge areas to explore and nooks and crannies to find all kinds of identity secrets. As much as 15 was a bummer, the exploration was top notch (albeit in too confined an area of just a small corner of the entire world. When I found out there was a world map and you select your destination, and then I found out they misled people regarding there being a party of characters, this is a hard pass.
I ve been playing FF since the OG on the NES (even had the Nintendo Power strategy guide. I enjoyed 13 and 13-2, along with 9 and 6 and 4 and etc. I m one of those who doesn t think 7 is the best and really enjoyed the remake. But losing the party-based and job-based framework is a bold move. People will have fun with this for a few weeks, but the cinematic movies folks paste together online will end up being more popular.
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Brandon
I ve got some 20+ hours into FF16 already and it came out 2 days ago.
I ve been playing Final Fantasy since FF6 on the SNES. Once 1, 2, 4, and 5 became available to play, I played each of them as well. However, I only finished 1&5. I ve beaten 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, and 15. I played 11&14, but never beat them, and was never able to beat 10. It just wasn t that good to me, and the lack of any significant change in power from beginning to end just lost my interest.
To explain that previous statement, what I mean is that no matter how much you level up in 10, at no point do you actually feel like your character got stronger when they gained a level. It s too slow and gradual, it broke the feedback loop for me. It just felt like grinding and getting stronger was meaningless.
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I ve got some 20+ hours into FF16 already and it came out 2 days ago.
I ve been playing Final Fantasy since FF6 on the SNES. Once 1, 2, 4, and 5 became available to play, I played each of them as well. However, I only finished 1&5. I ve beaten 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, and 15. I played 11&14, but never beat them, and was never able to beat 10. It just wasn t that good to me, and the lack of any significant change in power from beginning to end just lost my interest.
To explain that previous statement, what I mean is that no matter how much you level up in 10, at no point do you actually feel like your character got stronger when they gained a level. It s too slow and gradual, it broke the feedback loop for me. It just felt like grinding and getting stronger was meaningless.
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james
My first Final Fantasy was on the Super Nimtendo. Final Fantasy 2 in North America but in Japan its Final Fantasy 4. My top 5 are 5. 8 4. 10 3. 9 2. 4 in Japan and 2 in North America(same game) and 1. 6. I would higly recommend the Andriod version of 4. Its a remake with voice acting and they even have a pixel remaster of 4 in the PlayStation Store. As for 16, still playing the game and just finshed the prolouge and I am blown away. Everything is top tier. Would not say it has Devil May Cry gameplay but there some things that remind me of Devil May Cry. I would say the creature design has more relation to Devil May Cry then gameplay. Def much faster paced tho. Kicked Diablo 4 to the curb to play this game. Talking about repetiviness Diablo 4 is a bore chore compared to this.
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My first Final Fantasy was on the Super Nimtendo. Final Fantasy 2 in North America but in Japan its Final Fantasy 4. My top 5 are 5. 8 4. 10 3. 9 2. 4 in Japan and 2 in North America(same game) and 1. 6. I would higly recommend the Andriod version of 4. Its a remake with voice acting and they even have a pixel remaster of 4 in the PlayStation Store. As for 16, still playing the game and just finshed the prolouge and I am blown away. Everything is top tier. Would not say it has Devil May Cry gameplay but there some things that remind me of Devil May Cry. I would say the creature design has more relation to Devil May Cry then gameplay. Def much faster paced tho. Kicked Diablo 4 to the curb to play this game. Talking about repetiviness Diablo 4 is a bore chore compared to this.
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Kentucky
My honest view as a Final Fantasy fanboy since the original.
Game looks amazing. Comabt is simple but plays great. Easy to learn the combat, magic and crafting. Maps aren't confusing.
I'm 8 hours in and the story is getting better.
The bad-
The video is correct. Side quests are too short. Way too cut scene heavy. This game competes with Witcher 3 for cut scenes. Cities/towns are beautiful but as lifeless as a Fallout game.
Compared to recent failures of AAA titles, this game is great. Never will become legendary. But this game is easy for new Final Fantasy fans to pick up and play.
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My honest view as a Final Fantasy fanboy since the original.
Game looks amazing. Comabt is simple but plays great. Easy to learn the combat, magic and crafting. Maps aren't confusing.
I'm 8 hours in and the story is getting better.
The bad-
The video is correct. Side quests are too short. Way too cut scene heavy. This game competes with Witcher 3 for cut scenes. Cities/towns are beautiful but as lifeless as a Fallout game.
Compared to recent failures of AAA titles, this game is great. Never will become legendary. But this game is easy for new Final Fantasy fans to pick up and play.
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Peyton
First off, thank you for your very honest review. I'm relatively new to the FF games, but FF 16 feels like Elden Ring last year ( the game i was waiting for impatiently. I'm only a few hours into the game, but i'm having a lot of fun. I like the characters, the dark medieval vibe and the combat system. Yes, it's got the DMC flavour into it but it doesn't feel out of place. And so the franchise lost a bit of its RPG and gains some action in its core. The only downside for me: to many cinematics ( i mean 11 hours of cutscenes is a lot to digest. Other than that, a fun game to play.
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First off, thank you for your very honest review. I'm relatively new to the FF games, but FF 16 feels like Elden Ring last year ( the game i was waiting for impatiently. I'm only a few hours into the game, but i'm having a lot of fun. I like the characters, the dark medieval vibe and the combat system. Yes, it's got the DMC flavour into it but it doesn't feel out of place. And so the franchise lost a bit of its RPG and gains some action in its core. The only downside for me: to many cinematics ( i mean 11 hours of cutscenes is a lot to digest. Other than that, a fun game to play.
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Nader
This is FF14 through and through, all systems stripped back with action combat instead of mmo. For better or for worse. I love FF14 and initially I was dissapointed with 16 beacuse IMO its missing too much of what I love about my fave FFs, but after 20 hours and playing imagining it was a single player action game expansion of 14 I just leaned in and am enjoying the hell out of it.
I think it falls a bit flat because FF14 has all these systems behind it to get engrossed in, which lets you forgive the essentially barren map, bar major hubs.
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This is FF14 through and through, all systems stripped back with action combat instead of mmo. For better or for worse. I love FF14 and initially I was dissapointed with 16 beacuse IMO its missing too much of what I love about my fave FFs, but after 20 hours and playing imagining it was a single player action game expansion of 14 I just leaned in and am enjoying the hell out of it.
I think it falls a bit flat because FF14 has all these systems behind it to get engrossed in, which lets you forgive the essentially barren map, bar major hubs.
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densetsu4286
The side quests contribute to the world building and lore. They don't need to co tribute to the story. Thats what the story quests are for. You learn a lot about the world through the side quests especially with just how horrible a life of a bearer is. Sure you hear about it from others perspectives but the side quests nail it in.
If we look at the overall objective of go do this get that, yeah its bland but what's going while you doing it is where it takes away the blandness. Are they great? No. Are they fine? Yep.
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The side quests contribute to the world building and lore. They don't need to co tribute to the story. Thats what the story quests are for. You learn a lot about the world through the side quests especially with just how horrible a life of a bearer is. Sure you hear about it from others perspectives but the side quests nail it in.
If we look at the overall objective of go do this get that, yeah its bland but what's going while you doing it is where it takes away the blandness. Are they great? No. Are they fine? Yep.
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Ezio
I'm a fan of the series since FF4. This is not FF in its core. And no, I don't have problem with the game not being 100% turn based, the series dropped the old school turn-based system years ago and I was ok with it, the problem is that its 90% DmC and 10% FF. If I wanted to play DmC (and I do, as a huge fan of the series, well, I'll play DmC, not FF. So, not my cup of tea, but I can see why the younger people love it. At least the story was decent and some battles (no spoilers) were incredible to watch.
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I'm a fan of the series since FF4. This is not FF in its core. And no, I don't have problem with the game not being 100% turn based, the series dropped the old school turn-based system years ago and I was ok with it, the problem is that its 90% DmC and 10% FF. If I wanted to play DmC (and I do, as a huge fan of the series, well, I'll play DmC, not FF. So, not my cup of tea, but I can see why the younger people love it. At least the story was decent and some battles (no spoilers) were incredible to watch.
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Lady
As usual, you guys have the best reviews. I started playing this week and agree with everything you said here. It's a beautiful game with some fantastic cutscenes, an interesting story but never have I felt like I was playing an rpg while playing it. Witcher 3 has more rpg elements in my opinion and I dont really consider it an rpg when compared to games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
Tbf the game does tell you right off that its an action game when you choose which difficulty to play it on.
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As usual, you guys have the best reviews. I started playing this week and agree with everything you said here. It's a beautiful game with some fantastic cutscenes, an interesting story but never have I felt like I was playing an rpg while playing it. Witcher 3 has more rpg elements in my opinion and I dont really consider it an rpg when compared to games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
Tbf the game does tell you right off that its an action game when you choose which difficulty to play it on.
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no. one. 2
Ugh. Final fantasy is being transmutated into an action walking simulator. I miss 10. That was the last universally liked game 13 was the worst. 15 had a story that was secondary to the visuals. And there's this. I'm still probably going to buy it because I am a tool, but it might surprise me. Also the music went down hill. Now it's a million instruments making noise with no defined sound. And square enix is a bad company and I hate final fantasy, which I used to love. I hope I enjoy it.
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Ugh. Final fantasy is being transmutated into an action walking simulator. I miss 10. That was the last universally liked game 13 was the worst. 15 had a story that was secondary to the visuals. And there's this. I'm still probably going to buy it because I am a tool, but it might surprise me. Also the music went down hill. Now it's a million instruments making noise with no defined sound. And square enix is a bad company and I hate final fantasy, which I used to love. I hope I enjoy it.
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Bingo
Cant believe all the online hype made me buy another modern FF and (partially) regret it
Id say its much better than XIII but very close to XV. XV has waaaay better character interactions but worse battles but both games become so freaking boring and unfocused half way through
However, kudos to the graphics department- this game looks beyond amazing and oozes style and excitement. Visually this might be my favorite game so far. Gameplay rather mid, story, questing and pacing just no
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Cant believe all the online hype made me buy another modern FF and (partially) regret it
Id say its much better than XIII but very close to XV. XV has waaaay better character interactions but worse battles but both games become so freaking boring and unfocused half way through
However, kudos to the graphics department- this game looks beyond amazing and oozes style and excitement. Visually this might be my favorite game so far. Gameplay rather mid, story, questing and pacing just no
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Hells
So far, I'm loving this game. New combos; trying new abilities (especially since you can respec anytime, and the story/lore of the world is amazing. My only gripes are the lackluster equipment options (I would like weapons that boost damage for a Eikon's abilities, or have different attack and stagger damage so we could make builds based on things other than just eikons, and possibly elemental strengths/weaknesses. Also; so far that I'm in, Burning Blade is kinda overpowered.
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So far, I'm loving this game. New combos; trying new abilities (especially since you can respec anytime, and the story/lore of the world is amazing. My only gripes are the lackluster equipment options (I would like weapons that boost damage for a Eikon's abilities, or have different attack and stagger damage so we could make builds based on things other than just eikons, and possibly elemental strengths/weaknesses. Also; so far that I'm in, Burning Blade is kinda overpowered.
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Marcus
For me, Final Fantasy died after X or X-2. Losing the traditional turn-based play style always felt wrong to me. It's fine to have action games out there - I just don't think every game needs to be an action game. Also, is it just me, or have the newer Final Fantasy games really lost their charm? Visually, for instance, look at the FFVII Remake and compare it to the original. It just looks really bland, whereas the original was so beautifully made.
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For me, Final Fantasy died after X or X-2. Losing the traditional turn-based play style always felt wrong to me. It's fine to have action games out there - I just don't think every game needs to be an action game. Also, is it just me, or have the newer Final Fantasy games really lost their charm? Visually, for instance, look at the FFVII Remake and compare it to the original. It just looks really bland, whereas the original was so beautifully made.
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Michael
This was what sealed the deal as far as getting ps5. I was gonna wait. As of so far this one seems like it s most up my alley. It s got a FF vibe although the combat is more like God of War/DMC/Prince of Persia whatever that style is called. And, the lead protagonist is very charismatic. Kinda reminds me a little of Gabe Belmont. People compare with Game of Thrones which I ve never seen. I did really enjoy The Last Kingdom however
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This was what sealed the deal as far as getting ps5. I was gonna wait. As of so far this one seems like it s most up my alley. It s got a FF vibe although the combat is more like God of War/DMC/Prince of Persia whatever that style is called. And, the lead protagonist is very charismatic. Kinda reminds me a little of Gabe Belmont. People compare with Game of Thrones which I ve never seen. I did really enjoy The Last Kingdom however
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Name
Seems like someone could rent it for a couple weeks and get everything out of it meaning it doesn't seem to have any kind of grind. Combat looks fun but it doesn't seem to have a Bloody Palace mode that's expected of Action games these days or any kind of replayability outside the story line. It seems to really hit that Action RPG genre where it's not really specialized in either. Still looking forward to playing it through.
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Seems like someone could rent it for a couple weeks and get everything out of it meaning it doesn't seem to have any kind of grind. Combat looks fun but it doesn't seem to have a Bloody Palace mode that's expected of Action games these days or any kind of replayability outside the story line. It seems to really hit that Action RPG genre where it's not really specialized in either. Still looking forward to playing it through.
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