TLDR; This is a great spectacle fighter and potentially one of the best modern Final Fantasy's but it is buried in a lot of fluff and padding. It would be perfect at 1/16th its playtime.

Originally, I wrote this review stating that I had difficulty playing the game due to horrible optimization for PC. Since the initial review, very little has changed stability wise. What kept me going is that underneath all the technical issues, there is a game worth playing here.

Final Fantasy will always have a safe spot in my gaming heart. I have played and completed ALL mainline FF entries (while not possible to complete I am including 11 and 14 as I made it to endgame in both) so I'd like to believe I have a fairly solid platform to speak my mind.

Final Fantasy 16 suffers from a lot of the same issues that plagued 15: gigantic overall scope with development problems that hindered the final product. Similar to 15, it's best experienced while also playing through all available DLC. Despite the roughness in execution, the story, music, art, and combat are a true wonder to behold and the team should be praised for all the passion behind this.

However, there is a serious imbalance of good vs. bad when it comes to assessing this game and I'll try to explain that as best as I can.

While I was thinking of analogies to compare it to, I tried to think of a few scenarios that would sum up my overall experiences with the game.

I thought of Fine dining, themepark, and even work based analogies but then I realized, I didn't have to. There is already a game in the franchise that embodies the experience of FF16 'unfiltered'. And that game is: FFX-2!

If you have played the game before, you might already be cringing. If you haven't, I'll break it down for you. FFX-2 was the first 'sequel' to a numbered Final Fantasy in the franchise. Not only was FFX the first game to include fully-voice cutscenes, it is considered to be one of the best gateways for people new to the franchise. Just about everything FFX attempted, it pulled off well; It created a diverse and memorable cast of characters, a modern twist on Turn based JRPG battles, a brisk and well-paced story, and a bright and colourful world design that was often contrasted by some dark and depressing themes. It's one of my personal favorites and I must have played through it at least 3 times, 100%ing it once.

So with such high praise, why not do more of it? That's probably what some executives thought about when pitching FFX-2.

So imagine a serious, dark, respectful story. Now imagine the rug pull when they decide that the sequel should be a goofy romp around the world looking for treasure. It takes all the severity established in the original game and pretends it never happened. And even if you were receptive to the much lighter tone, the game mostly consists of side-quests that would be considered uninspired by mobile game standards. Also, the story really dragged at parts and getting the 'real' ending by getting 100% completion was not worth the effort. However, for all its faults, the FFX-2 combat and dress sphere system was genuinely fun and engaging that somehow bested the original system.

So when you ask most FFX-2 fans, they will likely have the same response: "You can't take the story too seriously, but the combat is really good!"

And that's basically what I think about when I think of FF16.

This is where I think the game will either capture your interest or bore you to tears.

The problem is not the quality of the story, the problem is the quantity of the story being told.

To put it simply, the game's main story is excellent even with the pacing issues. In fact, it is so great, I would argue it is better than even FF7 Remake's, FF13 and FF15. The problem is that it is bogged down by the sidequest writing.

I know what you're already thinking: "It's a sidequest, those are optional."

On the surface, yes, yes they are. But in a more theoretical sense, if you're like me and you bought the DLC, completing most of them are mandatory. The problem with FF16's are that there are just too many of them and they are always inserted 'just before' you're about to continue on in the main story.

So the experience is more like:

You learn something cool in the main story > you're about to continue onto the next thread and your interest is piqued > 5 sidequests appear on your map > you start one, thinking it wont take long > 30 minutes later, you've completed one > you realize there are still more sidequests to do > you continue the main story where you actually care about the events

Rinse repeat until you inevitably finish the game.

It's not just the quantity though, that's just what makes them feel like padding, it's more that the extended cast is far too broad and their importance is negligible at best. It's the equivalent of going into a random JRPG and picking a random townsfolk then deciding to make a 3 hour epic about why their store/sign/cow is important to the world. I don't see why it's relevant to the wider world, and far too much time is spent talking about it.

And that's ultimately the worst feeling. You can tell that a lot of love and attention went into the world, the story, the design and the characters and all it needed was the right direction to deliver a stellar experience. In its current form, however, it just doesn't respect your time. The game could ditch 90% of its sidequests and trim off 40% of the fluff from the main narrative and be the best Final Fantasy on the market today. Heck, it could go all-in as a spectacle fighter and ditch all the RPG aspects and work well. Unfortunately, this just isn't the case and it does negatively impact the overall experience.

FF16 isn't an RPG despite having levels and experience. It is a spectacle fighter, through and through.

There is equipment but there is no real incentive to experiment or go after specific sets of gear. The decision making process ends up being "dur, this numba bigger than this numba" and it ends there. By far, the most useful customizations come in Eikon (summon) selections, their unique abilities, and trinkets that give you extended abilities or improved effectiveness. The trinket system is 'ok' and some of them feel genuinely great to use, but you only have 3 slots to use them and some of them only work with specific builds. It's more practical to use something that ends up affecting all builds, which further stagnates the decision making processes and makes you feel like you're drowning in fake choices.

This could all be fixed if instead, maybe they made some enemies immune to regular damage, or have elemental strengths and weaknesses. You know, like the other final fantasies? But now, it's effectively just picking the Eikon's that work for you and pulling off whatever does the most damage in the quickest fashion. I had used all the Eikon's and tried most of their abilities, only to inevitably decide on 3 that I used for the remainder of the final hours of the game. I was neither punished or challenged for doing so.

If this game were re-released with most of the sidequest content removed and the narrative trimmed, it would be a universal recommendation, not just to fans of the franchise but to people who just want to experience a truly over-the-top and engaging experience. In it's current state it is bloated, and even though the bloat can be skipped, it is enough to turn off most people, even existing fans.

To keep it simple, if you are a diehard Final Fantasy fan with a computer that's been built or upgraded in the last 2 years, you might find enough gems buried in this vast desert of filler. For everyone else, stay far away and save your time.

This game is truly unique and satisfying. Just about everything about this game is incredible: the theme, the level/art design, the plot, especially the soundtrack and audio.

It's also short and sweet with excellent pacing.

It's a great game if you need a... palette cleanser...

...Yeah, I'll show myself out.