I’m not that far intoFinal Fantasy 16yet.I’ve heard it picks up after its slow start, and I really hope that’s true because so far I’m just not feeling it. What has stood out to me though is the petulance of Clive’s actions - it’s an oddly charming part of his personality that I hope he maintains into his broad-shouldered adult years. As I make my way through my first few towns, kill my first few monsters, and read my first few thousand tutorial messages, I can see the basic shape of the game unfolding. Is it ‘really’Final Fantasy? I don’t care. I’ve kissed a girl before, my life is not constrained by such debates. But I have to ask - why does Clive kill things like that, and will he ever grow out of it?
When we first meet young Clive, he’s training to be a soldier. While he wins the battle against his master, he does not gloat or display a burning ambition to race off and die in a glorious war. He is polite and genial to his mother, and deferential to his father, even as he mildly defies their wishes by allowing his younger brother to watch him spar in the courtyard. He’s a nice young boy. When he kills things, this changes.
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The things Clive kills, at least initially, are irredeemable bad guys. While I imagine things get more complex later on, there is no moral ambiguity to these early victories. Clive takes on murderous, grotesque goblins and barely sentient plants. These are creatures that exist to be killed - they are classic video game fodder. And so Clive kills them with aplomb, as we as the player discover all of his attacks. You know, all three of them. There’s just one thing I don’t like - Clive loves to kick a man when he’s down.
Finishers are a vital building block of character action games, and without getting into the whole’is Final Fantasy an RPG’ debate(again, I’ve kissed real human people, I do not care), FF16 clearly takes inspiration from modern character action titles. The fact that Clive has some special moves in his locker to end the battle with style is not surprising. But one I’ve already seen him use too many times has him stab his downed opponent in his chest then boot his head with a firm kick like he’s Fabian Schar watching Joelinton cut inside from the left. Why does he do that? Why not some of the more typical fancy footwork and gymnastic final blows?
Violence in video games is not a deal-breaker for me. I spent the weekend cracking skulls and spines inMortal Kombat 1’sonline stress test. I love Bulletstorm,Wet, andResident Evil, while Pulp Fiction, Sin City, and Battle Royale were amongst my most formative movies. Violence is a core part of art, whether to represent something deeper and metaphorically traumatic or simply to stir up our basest emotions. It’s not that I hate what Clive does because he could just as easily de-escalate the situation with his words rather than bringing violence into the workplace. It’s just a weird, almost bratty animation that doesn’t seem to suit Clive at all.
I had the same sensation watching Abby inThe Last of Us Part 2.The Last of Usis a violent series, and I had no problem with shooting people dead or even bashing their skulls in with a hammer. But for some reason,when Abby has the small hammer, she digs into her enemy’s chest with the claw side and then yanks it back out roughly, rather than just a good old fashioned head bone wallop. I don’t think there’s a better way to describe it than just ‘mean’, and that goes for Clive’s head-kicking too. You might have killed someone, but you don’t need to be such a bully about it.
I’m going to stick with Final Fantasy 16 in the hopes that, as prophesied, it does get better as it goes on. Maybe things get a little faster, maybe the world seems a little deeper, maybe the companions become less annoying. Mostly though, I hope Clive stops treating heads like they’re footballs.
Next:Final Fantasy 16 Has No Idea What It Wants to Be
