Everyone is talking aboutFinal Fantasy 16. Just a few weeks ago I kicked up a fuss about themarketing being far too overzealous.Square Enixwas releasing a countless stream of trailers and similar promotional materials that left little to the imagination. That strategy has not subsided, but by giving players access to an extensive playable demo the conversation has shifted in a more positive direction. After playing it for ourselves, all is forgiven.
The demo released during the hype of Summer Games Fest is massive, setting a new benchmark for pre-release trials not only intended to promote a singular experience, it provides us with the opportunity to make progress and decide whether the finished game is worth our investment. It clocks in at several hours with a meaty introductory sequence and later combat encounters which provide a solid idea of how the finished game will play.
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First impressions are everything. That goes double for games that demand dozens of hours from players as they tell ambitious stories across sprawling open worlds. Final Fantasy 16 is no exception with its introductions of characters like Clive, Joshua, and Jill, young teenagers growing up amidst the Duchy of Rosaria whose lives are about to be turned upside down by political machinations far out of their control. It takes huge inspiration from Game of Thrones not just in its overall tone and dialogue, but the multilayered world of Valsithea entrenched by centuries of history it never bothers to explain.
Not that it has to when the central tragedy of Dominants, Eikons, and Kingdoms paints a personal picture never once eclipsed by a global conflict that is larger than anything this series has seen before. It’s confidently epic in its own execution while always giving us room to breathe and absorb its universe at our own pace.
You can hold down the touchpad at any moment during cutscenes to peruse a glossary of locations, characters, and terms with detailed explanations that provide essential context while also updating themselves whenever time passes or a character changes. For a game this dense such a helping hand is invaluable, and it seems to recognise the troubled history Final Fantasy has with nonsensical jargon and melodramatic storytelling that doesn’t bother to make the player feel welcome. It’s the inverse of Final Fantasy 13 with sharper writing and better characters, most of which abandon the tired tropes this genre has clung onto for ages.
Then there’s the combat, which feels like a mix ofFinal Fantasy 7 RemakeandBayonetta 3. Clive is fast on his feet yet also brutal in his attacks, capable of zipping towards enemies or yanking them into his immediate area to deal damage using Eikon-driven attacks. It feels incredible, although in the demo I will admit some encounters can boil down to using the square button constantly until whatever enemy you’re fighting croaks it. Nothing about this is particularly difficult, but it’s not trying to be. Square Enix has made it very clear how Final Fantasy 16 is a new beginning for the series, and an effort to penetrate the mainstream in ways it never has before. That’s why it draws so liberally from Game of Thrones and The Witcher with a more action-packed approach to its combat and narrative - everything here is determined to establish a new identity lined with homage.
Everywhere you look there’s a love letter to games of the past, all of it presented through the luscious veneer of innovation that understands how daunting Final Fantasy has become and how it needs to satiate newcomers with everything triple-A games have come to represent. It does this, although the demo seems to understand the legacy it’s toying with through its long cutscenes and perfect balance of prestige drama and anime-fueled excess. Everyone in it is also super handsome, which definitely helps. Clive and Cid can do terrible things to me.
Demos are rare nowadays, and those that warrant discussion seldom light the world on fire quite like this. Final Fantasy 16 has done just that at the perfect time, amping up hype mere days from release where consoles are being bought and pre-orders are made. Once upon a time I thought Square Enix was showing us too much of this game to its own detriment, but it turns out all we needed was to play it for ourselves. If this is a new era for Final Fantasy, I’m thrilled to see it bursting out of the gate with such confidence.
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