The presentation begins with a general overview of the world of Valisthea and its various realms, all of which are heavily dependent on the power of their Mother Crystal. Clive Rosfield is the central protagonist who we follow through three periods of his life: adolescence, twenties and thirties. But not in a linear way, because it’s a playable flashback that will trace his happy adolescence in the Duchy of Rosalia, as the protective big brother of Joshua, the young Phoenix Emissary who will obviously lose control and be eaten by the evil Ifrit.
But we all knew that. So close up on the navigation with a look at the 3D world map already seen during the last presentation of the game. The structure of Final Fantasy 16 is not that of an open world like Final Fantasy 15but neither is the game a headlong rush with no way back. Final Fantasy 13. From this map, fast travel will allow you to return to all the places already visited to take care of side quests, for example. The diversity of the environments visited at this time of the presentation (from 5:30 to 6:30) impresses as much as the quality of their realization.
Then head to the fights, probably the area we know best about the game since Diogo had even had the opportunity to take control of this system in real time, including everything you can expect from a real game. Japanese-style action (need we still remember that Square Enix specifically recruited Ryota Suzuki from Devil May Cry 5 to pilot the fights?). The result is nervous, overflowing with special effects and intends to attract fans of raw action in the Final Fantasy family. That said, in the absence of being able to choose different difficulty modes, a system of accessories to equip will greatly facilitate or even automate certain actions, in particular dodging, for those who are afraid of blocking in combat and not being able to enjoy the story. These support accessories will be equipped by default if the player chooses “story mode” rather than “action mode” when launching the game.
Unlike the dog Torgal who will be present all the time (and who has been renamed Talgor in French, probably to avoid problems with a certain comic book hero), Cidolfus the mentor (Ramuh) and Jill the childhood friend ( Shiva) are among the combat companions who will be present or not depending on the scenario context. In any case, the player will only care about Clive, the other characters being entirely managed by artificial intelligence. Clive will unlock and upgrade plenty of new abilities as he picks up the abilities of the Primordials he crosses paths with. For those who don’t want to worry about all these skill trees, a function lets the game choose the next improvement on its own.
Square Enix then takes us on a tour of Cidolfus’ lair, which we will access at a certain point in the game. This refuge built in the heart of ancient ruins houses all the merchants and blacksmiths necessary for any good RPG hero, without forgetting to accumulate quests annexes, including elite targets to hunt down all over the world. Characters are also there to deepen the lore of Valisthéa and its current geopolitical situation, if necessary. In addition, a stele provides access to the training mode located in a quiet place in a kind of space cut off from the real world.
Square Enix is decidedly too proud of its confrontations between Primordials not to give a layer. It must be said that none of these Homeric fights are supposed to be alike, some even pulling towards shoot’em up or wrestling, without ever getting rid of their (very) great show staging and this extraordinary theme by Masayoshi Soken (already heard during the fight against Benedikta) that we would like to listen to on loop until June 22.
The final word will be for Naoki Yoshida, who reveals that star Kenshi Yonezu performs the game’s main theme, ” Tsuki Wo Miteita – Moongazing and confirms that Square Enix still has plenty to show for June 22.
Introducing the Final Fantasy XVI theme song “Tsuki Wo Miteita – Moongazing”, performed by Kenshi Yonezu. #FF16#KenshiYonezu#TsukiWoMiteitapic.twitter.com/o5BVyGArfF
— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@finalfantasyxvi) April 13, 2023
