Final Fantasy XVI

Did You Know?

• The game features a database called Active Time Lore, accessible at any time to provide information on locations, characters, and terminology.
• Clive's home base is a hideout that acts as a hub for interacting with NPCs, tracking relationships, and accepting side quests.
• The English voice work was done entirely by European actors, a non-standard approach to appeal to the North American market.

Synopsis

Final Fantasy XVI is set in the twin continents of Ash and Storm, collectively called Valisthea. Colossal magical crystals known as Mothercrystals provide aether energy to civilization, while shards are mined for commercial use. Humans called Bearers can use magic without crystals but face prejudice and slavery, gradually petrifying from overuse. Key to politics are the Eikons, eight magical creatures each tied to an element—Phoenix (fire), Shiva (ice), Ramuh (thunder), Leviathan (water), Titan (earth), Garuda (wind), Odin (darkness), and Bahamut (light)—and their human hosts called Dominants. A second fire Eikon, Ifrit, disrupts the balance. The core nations are the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, the Dhalmekian Republic, the Kingdom of Waloed, and the neutral Crystalline Dominion, with the Iron Kingdom as an outlier. An ancient civilization called the Fallen once dominated Valisthea before a cataclysm. A magical drought called the Blight now withers the land, driving nations into conflict. Dominants are used as political leaders, tolerated, or abused depending on their birthplace.

Development

Concept work for Final Fantasy XVI began in 2015 after Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda approached Naoki Yoshida to develop the next mainline Final Fantasy game. Yoshida assembled a small planning team including himself, Kazutoyo Maehiro, and Mitsutoshi Gondai. Yoshida served as producer, while Hiroshi Takai was selected as main director. Full production began in 2016 following Patch 3.4 of the Final Fantasy XIV expansion Heavensward. The development team included members from Creative Business Unit III, veterans of the Ivalice universe, and staff from Final Fantasy XIV. Key staff included art director Hiroshi Minagawa, character designer Kazuya Takahashi, creative director and lead writer Kazutoyo Maehiro, lead gameplay designer Ayako Yokoyama, lead system programmer Yusuke Hashimoto, and composer Masayoshi Soken. Capcom veteran Ryota Suzuki served as battle designer. The logo, depicting the Eikons Phoenix and Ifrit, was designed by Yoshitaka Amano. Development support came from Tai Yasue's Kingdom Hearts team and a team at PlatinumGames led by Takahisa Taura. Yoshida aimed for a dark fantasy storyline with broad appeal.

Release

Before its official reveal in September 2020, Final Fantasy XVI was the subject of rumors in late 2019, following reports that Creative Business Unit III had finished initial work on a major project. The first trailer used real-time footage to demonstrate the game’s advanced development. A second trailer, completed in March 2022, was held back until June due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as the game depicts warring nations; producer Yoshida recorded a preface to separate it from real-world events. A third trailer, showing more gameplay and the release date, debuted at The Game Awards in December 2022. The game went gold in late March 2023, and a demo covering the opening and a later dungeon launched on June 12. Localization was led by Fox, with casting and recording by Side’s UK branch. The script was originally Japanese but was translated and motion-captured in English, with no Japanese lip-syncing. The English and Japanese voice casts were announced in December 2022. Unlike recent Final Fantasy titles, no downloadable content or books were planned, as the full story is contained within the game.

Reception

Final Fantasy XVI received 'generally favorable' reviews on Metacritic, with 91% of 205 critics recommending it on OpenCritic. Critics praised the story, graphics, music, and gameplay. GameSpot's Michael Higham praised the writing for darker themes and the cast, while IGN's Mitchell Saltzman lauded the story, characters, and lead performances. Game Informer's Wesley LeBlanc enjoyed the wider narrative, and Edge noted the grand scope. Video Games Chronicle's Jordan Middler found the story well told after a slow start. GamesRadar+ described the setting as a throwback to early series games. Destructoid's Eric Van Allen noted the story's ambition but felt some themes were poorly resolved. Eurogamer's Edwin Evans-Thirlwell praised Clive's storyline but noted 'wanton backstabbing and ambient misogyny' among the supporting cast. RPGFan's Zach Wilkerson found female characters underdeveloped. Digital Trends' Giovanni Colantonio found the story lacking after shifting from Clive's revenge quest. Some critics cited a lack of ethnic diversity. Technical issues included an unstable frame rate. Side quest design and lack of role-playing elements drew criticism. The game sold over three million units in its first week but failed to meet Square Enix's expectations.