I played Final Fantasy XVI during a recent preview event in February, but it focused almost entirely on combat. I really enjoyed the combat – you can read my thoughts here – but my last run-in with the game came during my cover story trip to the Square Enix offices in Tokyo, Japan. I played a few hours of the game, which is what everyone who participated in this last preview wave played, and that’s what I’ll talk about here.
But I also saw unseen gameplay, got an exclusive tour of several areas of FFXVI, learned about its endgame, and more for this month’s Game Informer cover story. This story goes live today so check it out for exclusive details on the game. Be sure to check back for even more exclusive articles and video interviews in the coming days and weeks as part of our exclusive FFXVI coverage hub. In the meantime, check out our cover reveal from last week.
My take on FFXVI for this preview begins in the opening hours of the game. The game quickly thrusts me into a dramatic, scene-chewing battle between the two icons that grace the title treatment for the latest version of developer Creative Business Unit III: Phoenix and Ifrit. The various times I spoke with producer Naoki Yoshida about the game’s iconic battle, he explained that each battle would be different. In an earlier preview, I played as Ifrit and fought Garuda in an all-out brawl-style battle. This time, however, I control the Phoenix and the combat plays out like an on-rails third-person shooter.
With Phoenix, I aim a reticle to shoot fireballs at Ifrit as these two icons crash through a giant underground cavern. Ifrit fights, of course, and I dodge their attacks in a flashy and cinematic way. The action here is frenetic, with vibrant flames popping up on the screen. But soon after, I switch to the protagonist Clive Rossfield, a soldier tasked with finding and murdering a Dominant, who is someone who could become an icon. In this case, it is Shiva.
Without spoiling much, Clive is eventually dubbed a traitor by those he works for. While on the run, he meets Siddolphus Telamon, or Cid for short (because this is a Final Fantasy game, after all). Together, Clive, Syd and Clive’s companion dog Turgal make their way to Syd’s hideout, one of the game’s main focal points. This hideout has a lot going for it – a pub, a blacksmith, an item shop, and more – and it looks like a great spot to rest, check in with characters, and prepare Clive for the rest of his journey.
CBUIII previously talked about how FFXVI takes place over three decades of Clive’s life – his teenage years, his 20s and his 30s. By now, Clive is 28 years old, but much of what I’m experiencing in-game for this preview happened 13 years before, when Clive was 15. In what seems like a defining moment for both Clive’s life and the bulk of FFXVI’s narrative, I see Joshua turns into a phoenix. It’s excruciating to watch, and it’s clear he’s still not as comfortable doing it as other dominants who do it more regularly. This flashback sequence is where the battle between Phoenix and Ifrit takes place.
My hands-on time with young Clive culminates as he watches Joshua brutally murdered by a mystery assailant. It’s gory, heartbreaking, surprisingly gory, and sold fantastically by the character’s voice actor, who you might recognize as Logan Hannan, the voice behind Hugo de Rona from the Plague Story series.
Unable to fight back, Clive harbors a deep desire for revenge and this revenge seems to be a driving force for the narrative throughout FFXVI, or at least a starting point.
Continuing the narrative of the game, I run around in one of the open areas near where the Rosary Duchy used to be for about 20 minutes. It is a spectacular and picturesque landscape with ruins, a spectacular waterfall, marshy land and plenty of monsters to defeat. There are quests here, but I’m not allowed to interact with them. However, I enjoy fighting the various enemies in the area and discover some hidden chests as well. It looks like what I’m experiencing is about an eighth of that whole open space, and the scale is impressive. There are several of these in the game, and I’m excited to explore each one and see how they change.
I won’t spoil any more of what I experienced – you can read a lot more about what I played, including exclusive details you won’t find anywhere else in my cover story live now and in the coming weeks via Game Informer’s FFXVI coverage hub – but it’s clear that FFXVI aims to be one of those dark games, The most mature and action-forward at the beginning of the series.