I am desperate to discuss this game, it’s possibly one of my top 3 Final Fantasy games.
The combat feels pretty great, I don’t mind it being a Devil May Cry action system. It’s really satisfying to chain together evades and teleports and blow up the screen with particle effects. The game really opens up as you get more abilities but it does take a while to get into the full scope of combat.
The sense of spectacle is amazing, I am a huge fan of kaiju movies, so I am all on board for 50 foot monster battles.
And the story and characters are so good! It’s so refreshing to get a story where the protagonists want to make the world a better place by throwing down oppressive authority and are actually allowed to do so. Clive has a strong sense of honor and a very endearing dorky streak wrapped up behind all his emotional trauma and he’s a great sympathetic protagonist. Cid is possibly one of the best Cids of all time (where did they find the absolute mutant that voices him?). Jill is a perfect complement to Clive, they are possibly the only two people who can fully understand each other.
Additional marks for letting everyone say “Fuck.”
Please mark spoilers!
Zelda is still my GOTY but story-wise, FFXVI is easily my favorite. Played Bayo 3 pretty recently so playing with the new combat style is quite refreshing compared to my mild disappointment with that game. I’ve been doing every side quest- some are better than others but definitely worth it to do them.
I just love that every chapter/boss fight is climactic enough to be the final, only to be outdone by the next one 3-4 hours later!
I’m in the sidequest lull before Titan right now. (Which reminds me a bit of FFXIV, but not nearly as bad!) I do like that the sidequests make you feel more attached to the hideaway and the minor characters. The game does need the moments of quiet to contrast with the huge action setpieces.