Final Fantasy 16 Needs More Than Just Good Fighting

Believe it or not, Final Fantasy 16 was my first Final Fantasy game, so I approached it blindly, with zero expectations. Sure, I had heard whispers of its intense Eikon boss battles (and that’s to put it mildly), but beyond that, I hoped for, you know, a classic RPG journey—rich in stories, characters, side activities, and rewarding loot. What I discovered, though, hardly resembled an RPG at all. The core of the experience revolved around combat, leaving much of the traditional role-playing essence behind.

I’m pretty sure that comparing Final Fantasy 16 to, say, Devil May Cry 5, is nothing new, especially given how one person—Ryota Suzuki—was in charge of designing the combat system for both of them. To clarify, there’s nothing wrong with FF16’s combat; it’s robust and enjoyable, and I’m not one of those people who pine for a turn-based style here. Yet, to me, the key issue with FF16 is that it offers so little besides its fast-paced combat that I struggled to engage in the long gaming sessions I usually revel in with other games, particularly RPGs.

More Brawly Than Your Typical RPG

Let’s quickly break down what Final Fantasy 16 has in store. It offers story missions with overabundance of cutscenes, an array of side quests featuring non-essential characters, semi-open world spaces to explore either on foot or atop a Chocobo, legendary monster hunts, and pitch-perfectly executed Eikon battles. On paper, it might seem diverse, but in reality, it’s anything but. One way or another, all of the above funnels into yet another combat arena where you unleash your flashy, colorful skills. After watching a lengthy cutscene, get ready for a fight. Tackling a side-quest? Be prepared to dispatch some monsters later; there are no exceptions. Exploring the game’s visually stunning locations serves no purpose unless you’re up for some more fighting along the way. FF16 is incredibly basic and barebones in its structure, as you’re essentially playing a linear arena action game and watching a movie in between.

When thinking of an RPG (not necessarily about Baldur’s Gate 3), intricate systems usually come to mind, like rich customization, deep party management, meaningful loot you could meticulously sort out for hours, dialogue choices, mini-games, or maybe even deep combat builds. Well, Final Fantasy 16 has none of that and feels remarkably shallow.

If the development team hadn’t stripped away nearly every system we’ve come to expect from modern RPGs, FF16 could have been so much more.

There’s a glaring lack of options; you’re confined to just two appearances for Clive (that’s you) and his companions. Dialogue choices for Clive are sparse (about five or six times throughout the entire game), and they hardly impact anything important. Forget about experimenting with various weapons; you’re stuck with a one-handed sword. Leveling up doesn’t involve strategic decisions; stat growth upon leveling up is automatic, leaving you with no control over whether you prioritize strength, speed, or vitality. Your combat ‘builds’ are restricted to six active skills and three trinkets, each offering a single minor bonus. There’s no significant difference in how your Clive looks or plays compared to other players’ Clives—he’s essentially the same for everyone.

Feels Like Something’s Missing

The absence of any other activities beyond combat makes FF16 feel repetitive and predictable quite quickly, and it can become exhausting during extended play sessions. The combat alone, however well-executed it is, just can’t compensate for the lack of other essential features in FF16. The game ends up totally lacking those small, meaningful milestones or goals that typically make time fly in other RPGs. Think about all the things you often anticipate in an RPG, like acquiring a game-changing or speech perk, finding better armor for your companion, reaching a new distant area on the map, trading your ridiculous hat for a stylish outfit, returning to your base or hideout to sort out and upgrade all the new equipment you’ve collected, or finally unlocking new conversation options with your love interest.

Final Fantasy 16 offers none of the elements that typically provide a sense of progression, limiting its core systems to combat alone. Consequently, it was hard for me to push through for more than a couple of hours at a stretch. Dispatching enemies with six active skills can be fun in short bursts, but doing so for hours becomes monotonous. I even found myself actively avoiding non-essential fights whenever possible, which is not how it should be in a game centered around combat, I guess. What’s the point of so many meaningless combat encounters with regular enemies like goblins or crabs at every step of my journey? There’s no reward for doing so; all I gain is some XP or money I can’t even put to good use. Exploring the open areas feels lackluster too, as the loot from chests consists of crafting resources and money.

Perhaps, it was the Eikon clash encounters that made me push through to the end credits. Each of them was totally worth the effort, even though such battles happen far less frequently than I initially hoped. Unfortunately, these exciting boss encounters only constitute about five hours top of the game’s 50-hour duration. Most of your time with Final Fantasy 16 is spent in anticipation of these high-point moments, doing some pretty dull stuff in between for hours on end, such as running between quest markers all over the map and chopping wasps with your single sword.

Final Fantasy 16 does certain things at a top-tier industry level, with standout visuals and cutscenes, an amazing score, and jaw-dropping boss sequences. The problem is, all these things are not enough to compensate for all the crucial elements missing from the overall package to truly suck you in. If the development team hadn’t stripped away nearly every system we’ve come to expect from modern RPGs, FF16 could have been so much more. As it is, I’m not even sure if I’m excited about its DLC—unless it’s all about Eikons.