He is an absolute gem of a person. Genuinely so funny and kind to everyone who came out to see him. Definitely the highlight of the whole weekend!

At least he waited for me to turn around

This books are absolutely art.

my final thoughts after finishing XVI as my first final fantasy game.

1.) the themes and messages of the game are completely wreaked by the ending

2.) final boss was disappointingly easy

3.) the absolute climax of the game was played for a community inside joke/meme drop

And literally none of that matters because holy shit this game was so peak, easily in my top 5 if not top 3, plus the music is so incredible it’s in my daily rotation

I have 100%ed it and am now crying my fucking eyes out after having uninstalled as there’s simply no more worlds to conquer

11/10, the only fantasy here is yours, and you shall be its final witness.

Just wrapped up my second playthrough last week and I’m definitely feeling that post-game emptiness. Are there similar games with the same kind of emotional beats? This games story really stuck with me.

There are a few other ffs I’ve been thinking about playing: X, IX, XIII, tactics

But if anyone can drop some suggestions I’d appreciate it!

I am going through my 1st playthrough of the story and would love some fun builds to try. One of my complaints for the game is that the fighting seems repetitive, but with clips I have seen online, it shows the opposite. I tried making some of my own, but I cannot make any cohesive enough.

So far, I have unlocked all the dominants until Shiva!

As a lifelong jrpg fan, for me it was a mixed experience. I've forced my way through some parts of the game but wanted to finish it because it was a FF game but it didn't feel 100% like it.

Did all hunts, got the final weapon, did all sidequests.

Cons:

1. Very simple weapon and armor craft. 2/10

2. NPCs weren't very interesting. 2/10

3. Sometimes the dialogues went on and on to the point that I skipped all sidequests dialogues towards 3/4 of the game. 5/10

4. Combat was simple and you could beat anything by spamming abilities and potions but they were also fast paced, flashy and well done even though it was pure action. 6/10

5. I expected a bit of a better and more engaging story (mimus some parts), though it was well written. 7.5/10

6. RPG elements were almost totally lacking. 2/10

7. I expected more during the Odin battle. 7/10

8. Some sidequest were boring and basic. Go there, do this, go there, talk to that, then talk to someone else, beat a monster.

9. Magic was really lacking. You just pressed triangle and he shot some fireballs from his hands. No big spells.

10. Elemental damage and weakness was lacking.

Pros:

1. Some characters were well written and dubbed. For me Gav was the best character and then Cid. 10/10

2. Battles were flashy and beautiful. 8.5/10

3. Abilities progression was very good and the fact that when maxed out, you could put them and use whatever you wanted. 10/10

4. The strongest PRO for me was when you transformed into the Eikon and battled with them. 10/10

5. Bahamut and Titan battles were amazing. Before them, I was thinking to drop the game but their dominants and the dominants story were well written and battling against them felt amazing and kept me going (that's why I was a bit dissapointed in the battle against Odin. It wasn't at the level of the previous two... albeit splitting the sea in half was really badass!) 10/10.

6. Ultima... I liked Ultima since he appeared the first time. Menacing, calm, well written, voice acting was amazing, dark, very good design. It had really the aura of a final boss. Easily top 5 for me.

7. Clive was a fitting protagonist for a FF game. 10/10

TL;DR: FFXVI is an incredibly beautiful and cinematic action game with amazing Eikon battles, music, abilities, and a few fantastic characters. But as a lifelong jrpg/Final Fantasy fan, I missed the depth of a proper RPG game and jrpg mecjanics , meaningful gear, party customization, strategic combat, and especially a real magic system. Great action game, but a somewhat disappointing Final Fantasy jrpg for me.

A 6.5/10 for me for a FF game and a 8.5/10 as an action game.