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A reader is adamant that not only is Final Fantasy 16 one of Square Enix’s worst games but that it’s a disgrace to the entire genre.
Oh, Square Enix. Where did it all go wrong? Oh, that’s right. It went wrong with your awful 2023 game release Final Fantasy 16, which is a horrendously insidious disappointment. The game is honestly a boring slog and unmemorable, for a multitude of reasons. It’s labelled as a role-playing game. What role is there to actually play? An errand boy for random characters, that we don’t or couldn’t care less about. And a hack and slash combat system that grows stale, and repetitive as soon as you’ve realised there’s no depth to it.
By now we all know of the truth about the side quests. How they are absolutely horrifyingly atrocious. I never actually bothered with a single side quest, at all. Not a single one could lull me out of my boredom phase, because what’s it worth? To speak to a random character and undertake a fetch quest? To pad the running time, until the next main story quest and that being another cut scene fiasco.
Then there is the main characters. Clive Rosfield is no Cloud Strife. Cloud isn’t the most compelling of protagonists, but he’s such a cut above Clive, who is literally successful at putting us to sleep. Which could be said for every single character in this game. Jill is boring and uninteresting. Cid becomes one note far too quickly. Even Ralph Ineson can’t make him worthwhile and that’s overall quite shameful.
The main story is far too long, dull, and confusing. I’ll say one positive was Benedikta. She was a very interesting character and my favourite overall. But her story barely even lasts 20 hours, before she’s killed off and then I began to lose my patience, my interest, and my desire to continue this travesty. What else have I left out? Clive’s abilities slowly draining your sanity and barely even coming across as aesthetically pleasing? The damage output is absolutely embarrassing, to the point where it drags.
Boss fights, while visually stunning, continue to overstay their welcome. There is no need to turn every battle into a 30 to 40 minute button-mashing simulator. But Square have outdone themselves. There’s also the overall abundance of cut scenes – Metal Gear Solid 4 has serious competition. Because if I had £50 for every pointless cut scene in this game, and for how many times I continuously skipped a useless line of dialogue, I’d be wealthy enough to buy an island in Italy.
There’s also the fact that for a Final Fantasy instalment, journeying with a party is frankly useless when you only assume control of one sole character: Clive and his Eikon Ifrit. So it seems rather unpleasantly pointless to turn this into a party of characters, that are unable to be controlled and, frankly, it come across as background noise.
I’ll also state that this game is far removed from what makes a true role-playing game. This is a hack ‘n’ slash title. There is no rhyme or even reason to refer to it as a role-playing game. If it is, it’s the worst I’ve ever played. You are locked to accept every mundane side quest, before you are able to access the next story beat. There is no gear system – only appearance changes and even that is flawed.
Dialogue choices are extinct, there are none at all. That freedom of choice makes a role-playing game special. Consequences and weighty decisions play a part in shaping any character. Without any of this included how can it even call itself a role-playing game? Starfield has more right, to that moniker than Final Fantasy 16 does and that’s quite embarrassing.
The demo was fantastic, but it was deceitful. Every single story moment after that point is forgettable and once the layers have been peeled open it showcases a hollow and malignant narrative. The fact that Square even thought to create DLC for such a mess of a game is beyond abysmal. I am selling this game to CeX and never looking back, because I’ll say this with absolutely no regret: Final Fantasy 16 is the worst role-playing game I have ever played. Because it is not a role-playing game and it disgraces the moniker.
It is so far removed from any role-playing elements that I’m glad it failed. I urge anyone to stay away from this abomination of a game. Stick to Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. They are marginally better titles and carry the brand of Final Fantasy with more love and care than this ever could. I’ll even say this. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey felt more of a role-playing game, to me, than this ever did. If you chose unwisely Kassandra or Alexios could lose their entire family by the story’s end, and you felt that consequence. The choices altered how the story played out and it was fantastic.
All in all, I just completely cannot comprehend how Square Enix failed us as an audience with this game and it is truly a shame. They are still a reputable company but when they fail, they truly fail. Forspoken was another failure and despite the fact that I actually beat the story, I was relieved to have finally seen it through. I just don’t see the benefits of seeing Final Fantasy 16 through.
It carries the same problem that Fallout 4 did. Veering away from the role-playing elements and prioritising action over meaningful choices and weighty consequences. I loathe this game and I’ll be quite blunt; this deserved a lower score from GC than a 6. It deserved a 4 out of 10. Because it is a failure. A Square Enix failure.
By reader Shahzaib Sadiq
The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
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