Final Fantasy XVI General Discussion Thread

[Dionysos]

Saw this a few days ago but I haven't been on to post it.

Apparently FFXVI has prioritised English voice overs and performance capture, etc. The Japanese voices will be done later. This is very interesting and, I guess, a bit like the film Kingsglaive.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1419326958689603585

https://twitter.com/x/status/1419312844953333761

 

[Dionysos]

Forgot to post this the other day (or week) as I was giving myself a Christmas break.
FFXVI is running about six months behind schedule, which is fair to be fair. They've said in the past they want to do the next reveal not long before it actually comes out, relatively speaking. So this transparency is a good sign.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1475335618905669635

I suspect everyone knows already, but this is a discussion thread so we can discuss things sometimes.

 

[Linnaete]

I have an impeccable record of being wrong most of the time, so my Nostradamus rating is sadly as high as the average person's credit score.

That said I'm still going to poke my head up above the parapet and say FFXVI will probably be a Q1 2023 release to conclude Square Enix's current fiscal year which has just started. I know Yoshi-P and his team reiterated that the next showing of the game will be this spring, but I'm willing to suggest that there won't be any further significant information blowout until maaaaybe late summer and certainly into the autumn.

While I can only guess and provide conjecture as to how Square Enix's marketing schedule looks, I think we have to be cognisant of the likely fact that they need to market Forspoken and give it some time in the limelight in preparation for its October release. For something touted as the company's next major next-gen triple-A big budget offering, there is currently a very noticeable lack of buzz for Forspoken.

I look forward to being very wrong.

 

[Dionysos]

I have an impeccable record of being wrong most of the time, so my Nostradamus rating is sadly as high as the average person's credit score.

That said I'm still going to poke my head up above the parapet and say FFXVI will probably be a Q1 2023 release to conclude Square Enix's current fiscal year which has just started. I know Yoshi-P and his team reiterated that the next showing of the game will be this spring, but I'm willing to suggest that there won't be any further significant information blowout until maaaaybe late summer and certainly into the autumn.

While I can only guess and provide conjecture as to how Square Enix's marketing schedule looks, I think we have to be cognisant of the likely fact that they need to market Forspoken and give it some time in the limelight in preparation for its October release. For something touted as the company's next major next-gen triple-A big budget offering, there is currently a very noticeable lack of buzz for Forspoken.

I look forward to being very wrong.

I would actually be okay with this.

They seem to be quite pragmatic about FFXVI. I'd much prefer to see them take their time, let other projects breathe, and give FFXVI their full attention when the time is right. I would not like a rushed job and an incomplete product. I wouldn't want a repeat of the FFXV situation...

Now that Strangers of Paradise has been released, I hope SE's marketing focuses on Forspoken (which I am also intrigued by), and lets the FFXVI team continue to create/polish their game behind the scenes and out of the limelight.

If we get the game earlier than 2023, then great.... So long as the game is polished and fully reflects the vision of its creators.

 

[Setzer Gabbiani]

Oh man this final fantasy game makes me want to buy a Playstation 5. The graphics, the gamplay and the new mechanics looks amazing! This is something I see most of you and lots of people play alot. This definitely will be on my wishlist.

 

[Linnaete]

Haha, even my Q1 2023 prediction was way too optimistic. Avoiding it may be for the best, because there's a chance that the Zelda Breath of the Wild sequel could land somewhere there and suck up all the oxygen in the room.

Given the usual cadence of FFXIV expansions every two years, 2023 could actually be insane for Yoshi-P and all of Creative Business Division 3. A new mainline Final Fantasy release and a new FFXIV expansion in the same year would basically be more nectar than I can manage. That and this year could well see a teaser announcement for the second FFVII Remake game.

Next 18 months going to be a wild one for FF fans.

 

[Vivi-Gamer]

The game will be “a complete experience” at launch, and there are currently no plans for other tertiary content.

I will be holding them to this... I don't want another 2nd anniversary disaster like with XV. It would be so nice to just buy an FF game and not worry about the experience being incomplete without extras DLC and etc. Holding them to this...

Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida interviews - real-time combat, AI party members, no open-world, more - Gematsu

Interviews with Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida have gone live across several outlets worldwide, which include new information on the summer 2023-due numbered Final Fantasy game.

www.gematsu.com

 

[Dionysos]

Apparently a lot of gameplay footage has been released and examined.
I haven't had time to watch it yet myself but from a quick peek it seems to show many interesting things, including footage from a dungeon with Clive, Cid and Torgal.

Final Fantasy XVI gameplay - dungeon, mid-boss, boss, Eikon battle, and Timely accessories - Gematsu

As part of today's Final Fantasy XVI global media tour coverage, Gematsu presents over 45 minutes of gameplay footage from the Final Fantasy XVI demo that press went hands-on with earlier this month.

www.gematsu.com

 

[Dionysos]

Here is the recent PAX 23 panel on FFXVI.

I love Yoshi-P and Koji Fox speaking about their games in a very approachable and honest way.

The world looks great to me, honestly. Even the medieval castle Rosaria (which people have called bland, generic fantasy) is looking prettier than it did in the earliest reveals. Plus riding chocobos with Torgal bounding alongside does look like a lot of fun.

There do appear to be some very large areas, and more going on in them than people had feared. We see travellers with chocobos, ancient ruins, and a small settlement within the desert location they showcased.

They have also promised the Eikon vs Eikon battles to be more varied and interesting than their recent showcase suggested. They demonstrate this briefly with a short montage, and they do look more interesting. They aren't all Eikons smashing each other like Kong versus Godzilla. Some seem to have completely different game modes involved.



And yes, you can pet the Torgal. (Or attack it, in Yoshi-P's case).

 

[Dionysos]

Here is the footage from the latest State of Play that showcases some of the gameplay elements:

I'll state some of my initial observations here in rough.

I'll place them in spoilers just in case.

Spoiler: Some observations based on ancient mythology etc

Typhon (Approx 22:52)
I love this representation of Typhon. Don't get me wrong, I love Ultros' goofy sidekick version from FFVI (and recycled in other games since), but my main gripe with that Typhon has always been that he is hardly a major threat and only serves as comic relief as a pink dual-headed sentient toasted marshmallow.

Whereas FFXVI's Typhon looks like a tortured grunge rockstar put through a Japanese horror filter. And I love it.

The Typhon of Greek mythology was a real and most serious threat to the sovereignty of Zeus and the Olympians. One of the only adversaries to truly make them sweat buckets about their position as the ruling pantheon.

I've always compared the Greek Typhon to a Lovecraftian horror in that he was was a difficult entity to describe (in poetry and writing) and also to depict in art. Sometimes he has hundreds of heads in literature, but in some representations (including artistic) he is presented as a floating humanoid torso and head (sometimes winged) with snakes for legs (sometimes many, many snakes). FFXVI's Typhon is also a floating humanoid from the waist up, and has an assortment of dangly tentacles for a lower half (standing in for snakes).

Much can be speculated about his potential role in this game's plot, based on the Typhon of mythology being the spawn of Gaia (sometimes with Tartarus), and that when he was finally defeated he was either cast down into the void of Tartarus or trapped underneath a mountain (sometimes identified as Etna). I guess we'll see where they take it, if anywhere, but I am intrigued.


Cid's Hideout NPCs
At the Hideout area (Cid's base) we see a number of interesting NPCs.

We see a merchant lady named Charon with a shop called Charon's Toll (13:47). Charon was the ferryman of the ancient Greek underworld. The deceased were buried with obols (coins) so that they could pay their fare to cross over. FFXVI's Charon is female, and does not seem to have any comparable duties, besides dealing with coins in her running a shop (and perhaps also besides operating in a gloomy area in what I believe to be the repurposed ruins of this game's fallen ancient civilisation). We'll see if she has any character development or background in the finished game.

Harpocrates the loremaster (16:28) is a really interesting one to me. The footage reveals that this old man will unlock Valisthea’s secrets connected to the stories Clive tells him (AKA how far the player progresses, essentially). I spy on the menu a reference to a 'Battle of Belenus Tor' (a tor being a hill, and Belenus being an ancient Celtic healing god known to the Romans—some interesting event in Valisthea's history I'd like to know more about). Harpocrates himself though is a Greco-Roman appropriation and reinterpretation of the Egyptian god Horus (specifically Horus as a child). The ancient Greeks and Romans associated Harpocrates with silence and knowledge (as in knowledge held in secrecy). FFXVI’s Harpocrates is a wise old man rather than a youth, and he seems far from silent at this stage. However, he seems to be somebody to speak with in confidence who can keep and, as the video says, can unlock the world's secrets. His costume seems to me to be vaguely pointing towards the Middle Eastern/North African sort of area in terms of influence, hence like Egypt (albeit as if played by an old Charlton Heston or somebody...). Possibly this Harpocrates was originally from the Dhalmekian Republic, which seems to share these aesthetics? If so, that's the same region as Hugo Kupka, the Dominant of Titan (also derived from Greek mythology).

Makes you wonder if Typhon will also have a connection with the Dhalmekian Republic, due to Titan, and if Harpocrates is from there too then that is interesting. Typhon was associated by the Greeks with the Egyptian god Set, and Horus (which the Greeks and Romans sometimes knew as Harpocrates) defeated Set. I very much doubt that FFXVI's Harpocrates will fight and defeat FFXVI's Typhon, I just find the concentrated use of these names to be quite fascinating.


And on a non-ancient history/mythology note, the ponytailed girl (at 15:24] seems to be this game’s iteration of Mid (typically a younger relative of a game’s Cid). Cindy sort of covered this role in FFXV, albeit not in name, so it’ll be interesting to see how this Mid wears the mantle of Mid.


The Arete Stone
This is a crystal monolith of sorts used as a training simulator accessed via a crystal-based magic, I guess. Arete (and its personified entity) is a difficult concept to translate and it can depend on context, etc etc. Usually it is covered by 'Virtue' or 'Excellence' (i.e. as in fulfilling one's potential and attaining excellence through hard work/overcoming obstacles). A decent label for this stone, I think.

Regardless of how good this game ends up being, I know there will be a lot of details that I'd love to investigate. The trailers/demos have shown much already.

 

[Vivi-Gamer]

The Soundtrack is available for Pre-order:

Square Enix Store | United Kingdom

Buy video games online at the Square Enix official store. Shop our top franchises including Final Fantasy, Nier, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest & more.

store.eu.square-enix-games.com

Square Enix Store | United Kingdom

Buy video games online at the Square Enix official store. Shop our top franchises including Final Fantasy, Nier, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest & more.

store.eu.square-enix-games.com

I dont' like how they release 2 versions of the OST. An Ultimate Edition with 1 extra Disc for nearly double the price seems a rip-off to me! But of course, missing that part makes the 'Standard Edition' (Which is a Whopping 7-Discs!) Feel incomplete! Unless it is confirmed to be a bunch of Remixes... How annoying!

More info on the USA Listing:

FINAL FANTASY XVI Original Soundtrack Ultimate Edition [CD]

The premium version soundtrack for "FINAL FANTASY XVI" arrives!

store.na.square-enix-games.com

Similar to the standard edition, this version includes an expansive 7 disc set featuring a compilation of tracks that color the game's massive world, but will also include an additional bonus disc that contains tracks that are not included in the standard edition, such as those from various cutscenes.

Included booklet features the artworks from the game along with liner notes from composer Masayoshi Soken and other creators of "FINAL FANTASY XVI".

*The theme song by Kenshi Yonezu, "Tsuki Wo Miteita - Moongazing" is not included.

So the content on th Extra Disc is relevant... Also the Promo track Moongazing is not included... - This would not happen in a Soundtrack for a film...

Not sure how I feel about it. 7-Discs for the Standard Edition is a lot of content but knowing it is incomplete just nags me.

 

[Vivi-Gamer]

I haven't been following much FF16 news, I've already Pre-ordered the game and don't want much spoilers but this news brings me much joy!

I'm so fed up of buying gmaes Day One for them to be incomplete with Season Passes leaving the experience drawn out. We all remember how FF15 botched the games DLC by cutting out segments of the narrative well, FF16 won't be like that. Heck the game won't even have a Day One Patch, the game is done! It's jsut nice to hear of a game which doesn't follow such poor common industry standards!

Full Article:

No Final Fantasy 16 DLC Planned, Said to Be a 'One-Off Game'

Unless PS5 players want it

www.pushsquare.com

 

[Thule Esperada]

All of this is quite promising. I hope this is that actual good single-player FF we haven't had for two whole console generations. I just hope it isn't open-world, cause then I'm not getting it.

 

[Dionysos]

Been meaning to post the most recent trailer. But be cautious, it does seem to me to be quite spoilery. I mean, it shows the giant massive ski slope of a crystal behind Sanbreque smashing/dissolving right at the end of the trailer.

Titan's dominant screaming that he wants to be the king of all the world is on point, mythologically speaking. Given that he is a general representative of the group of beings that once led the Greek pantheon, many of whom fought to try and prevent Zeus from taking that supremacy from them. And also given that Titans were additionally regularly conflated with other beings that attempted to wrest that power of kingship from Zeus or stormed Olympus for other aims (most seriously Typhon, but also the Gigantes and the Aloads).

All of this is quite promising. I hope this is that actual good single-player FF we haven't had for two whole console generations. I just hope it isn't open-world, cause then I'm not getting it.

According to the recent promises, I believe that there are some large, open sections (akin to FFXIV zones), but that the game itself will not be entirely like that and there are also many enclosed areas. It is not meant to be like the open world of FFXV, but perhaps a compromise.

 

[Vivi-Gamer]

I'm actually glad it is not an Open World game, Final Fantasy XV's Open World Structure is one of it's biggest problems - Big land masses with little content. XV was especially bad as it barely had any notable locations, I can only think of 1 location I woul call a town, the rest were just forrests and gas stations, hotels and fishing spots...

I'm hoping if anything (And I can't believe I am saying this...) it will have a similar map layout to Final Fantasy XII. Big locations seperated by littler land mass areas that you traverse through that are connected to one another and some which veer off to a side cavern for exploration here and there. The problem with XII wasn't really the games layout it would be that when you would reach a new location, nothing would happen so the land mass sections felt overwhelming - I was eager to bypass them just to try progress the story.

I'm fine with having these land lass sections as traversal pieces rather than being an exploration focused part of the game. I don't want there to be a focus on generic sidequests like XV. I prefer my sideqursts to have little sotries around them like the Painting in FFVIII's Dollet or something more deep like a Chocobo Mini-game. I don't mind the concept of a game being linear, had no issue with FFX's structure of the pilgrimage as the party had narrative motivation to go from temple to temple. I'm curious to see how it handles the structure, if there is a big laundry list of NPC fetch quests my patience will ware thing very quick!

 

[Vivi-Gamer]

The Demo is now out!

Play the opening section if FINAL FANTASY XVI. Save data can be carried over to the full version of the game.
After completing the opening section of the story, players can enjoy FINAL FANTASY XVI’s amazing action gameplay in the “Eikonic Challenge” mode made specially for this demo.

*Some content in this demo may vary from the final game.
*It is not possible to save or load game data for the Eikonic Challenge mode. Data from this mode cannot be carried over to the release version of the game.

FINAL FANTASY XVI DEMO

The legacy of the crystals has shaped our history for long enough.

store.playstation.com

I won't be playing the Demo as I want to experience the game in it's entirety, I wish I could jump into the Extra Challeneg Mode to get a sense of the combat without playing the Prologue.

It's getting close & I can't deny I am feeling excited for it

 

[Osmium]

I immediately played the demo and it snatched my wig. The gameplay is very fluid, voice acting is pretty stellar and natural, I would argue, and it looks pretty. I can't wait until I can hold it in my hands.

 

[Six]

Saw the full demo. Personally the game play looks cool, but what the heck is up with the forced conversations and even comments that are made? A couple of times this demo really made me go "What?" or "Did I hear that right?" It's just so odd to see in a Final Fantasy game, I get it "stay with the times" but... "You cock" ...Really?? Who says that? It just seemed extremely out of place, and there's more things like that in the game that just stuck out as extremely odd.

Not been interested, I think the demo didn't do anything good for my interest. Maybe I'll grab it on a big sale at some point or watch a Lets Play but uh... yeah...

 

[Bambi]

A couple of times this demo really made me go "What?" or "Did I hear that right?" It's just so odd to see in a Final Fantasy game, I get it "stay with the times" but... "You cock" ...Really?? Who says that? It just seemed extremely out of place, and there's more things like that in the game that just stuck out as extremely odd.

Yeah this particular one stuck out to me the most, I think with that particular phrase its a very British insult/term of endearment, but wasn't quite used in the the correct tone/context. It felt very forced and used for the sake of it. It's a phrase I've heard used alot, but it didn't feel natural in this context. Ive also noticed this a few times with ff14 so i expect the same for 16 as well, i just hope it doesn't take me out of the immersion too much.

Other than some of the sketchy language though i did really enjoy the demo, and ngl i loved the brutality of it as well. Im going in with high hopes after zero expectation so far!

 

[Vivi-Gamer]

Glad to hear the DEMO is getting such good reception! I have still held out. I did find out this morning S-E are releasing a 300+ Paged Hardback Artbook! It's not being released until 2024 but at least it is happening! XV's big artbook was an exclsuive to their Ultimate Edition of the game which made it rather costly. It also wasn't half the size of this so it's win-win all round being released seperately!

The Art of FINAL FANTASY XVI

Square Enix, renowned for FINAL FANTASY and NieR game series, offers lots of manga with anime adaptations like Soul Eater and game tie-in books in English.

squareenixmangaandbooks.square-enix-games.com