2 reviews liked by NewCountry13


I really wanted to come out of the ending satisfied, being able to find it within myself to fully accept the way FF16 executed its vision and say "despite its flaws it's very well done". But as the dust has settled, I find that while I still feel like its messages are extremely palpable and powerful, I didn't come out of the experience feeling wholly confident that FF16 executed itself to the best of its ability.

It's no secret now that this game is not actually a game of thrones politics heavy Final Fantasy game, but is actually just your typical JRPG romp. Make friends, save world, defy fate, etc etc. It's this first element especially that is essentially the lynchpin of the entire narrative, and it is the center of its focus on every level. From the plot, to the thematics, to the characters, to the game design YoshiP and Maehiro STRESS deeply the communities you've come to be a part of, as well as the power of the found family you’ve come to create. And I think through the sidequests this is done super well, but I don't love how these elements at times can take away from the main scenario experience. From the literal times which the plot halts completely and has you fill time by going around the hideaway, or how everytime you enter a new area you have to learn about its local town and the secret leaders who run them. While I find the former egregious, the latter isn't inherently problematic. I am a 14 fan after all, but the difference between 14 and 16 in this department is the potency of their writing and worldbuilding. I don't mind helping people do random BS in Shadowbringers cause Norvrandt is one of the richest worlds out there and Ishikawa writes with such charm and turn that random NPC's can really have an impact on how you view the world. Maehiro in 16 just really doesn't have the charm in his writing to consistently make his NPC's pop and Valisthea is just not an interesting enough setting to carry these more mundane sections. There is a lot of focus in trying to make some of the more significant NPC’s notable characters and I really appreciate that approach, but there really is only so far you can go with an NPC in terms of character writing.

It really ends up being a double edged sword, where while I do think it ultimately contributes to this holistic vision that can be satisfying (see the conclusions to many of the side quests), it at the same time draws focus away from things that definitely could've really used it like better exploration of the politics within Valisthea. This is something really made apparent by the fact that there’s literally a character who’s entire job is to explain to you the political state of the world on the handful of occasions Clive actually ships out on a mission.

I feel like every day I'd hop on 16 I'd feel different about it, more or less confident with its vision at each step, one day content and another quizzical. Funnily enough this is exactly like how I was with Endwalker, and I probably have it within myself nowadays to admit that Shadowbringers/Endwalker are my de facto top 1 fiction, but the difference here is I just don't think the quality of the writing is ever strong enough to really make my confliction ever bloom into deep appreciation and love.

That being said, I do really enjoy a lot of the game. I've been very critical of it simply because I think there is a lot to say about 16 as an experience, but ultimately there are still a lot of positives to remark on. The boss fights and setpieces are awesome, the cast is way better than I'd ever thought it'd be, Maehiro wrote his first truly great antagonist, the cutscene direction/general visuals are incredible, and I think in general the story has a really great sense of thematic cohesion which makes a lot of the moments land especially hard. This game is good, without a doubt in my mind do I think it's good but before I had first played it I said something to myself, which was I'd be content if it was at least better then Heavensward. And I haven't played Heavensward in so long, so it's hard for me to even make this judgment properly, but it's the fact that I can't be confident about it that gives me pause.

The tale of the 1000-year old witch. A stunningly woven story featuring a great cast of characters and a mystery that keeps you thinking. There are a number of themes that really came across strongly here, but I certainly believe it would be better for those interested to take this journey and reason them out for themselves. It is not a short endeavor by any stretch of the imagination - my overall play time combining both Question and Answer Arcs summed up to be just shy of 130 hours but I can assure you every moment was well worth it.

Like Question Arcs, Answer Arcs undoubtedly has its moments where the pacing slows down, however this time around I was significantly more enthralled with the plot points to really feel like it was a detractor. It is a roller coaster ride from start to finish and wrapped up as well as I had hoped, but I still believe Chapter 5 to be my favourite overall.

I did not imagine that I would have made more handwritten notes for a VN this year than I did for Tears of the Kingdom - and I started far, far too late. For fans of the mystery genre, you absolutely owe it to yourself to read this to completion. I genuinely hope more people continue to do so as I have, and I can think of no more fitting game to mark as my 1000th played game tracked on this website.