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PlayStation State of Play April 2023: All About Final Fantasy 16

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Thomas Richards
| April 18, 2023
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Sony has finally released another State of Play, but it wasn’t what you might expect. Instead of covering multiple upcoming games, the 25-minute presentation focused exclusively on the upcoming Final Fantasy 16. The presentation covered almost all aspects of the game, including the story, world, combat, and exploration. Having never had the opportunity to play any medieval-style Final Fantasy games (only having experience with the more sci-fi ones such as 7 Remake and 13), I’m even more excited now to get this game in my hands and start punching giant monsters in the face.

A story of family and gods

The summon Ramuh is preparing to attack.
I really want to fight this guy. (Sony, Square Enix)

The presentation started with an overview of the story. The game takes place in Valisthea, comprising six warring nations. Players will take control of Clive Rosfield, a member of a royal family, who can obtain abilities from all the different eikons (giant monster/summons from previous games). The State of Play gave us more information on some of the supporting characters, such as Cidolfus Telamon (Cid for short) and the news that we’ll be playing through three different parts of Clive’s life. We’ll get to see Clive’s teenage years, his 20’s, and his 30’s (maybe we’ll also get his mid-life crisis). The presentation didn’t give too much away, which is good, because I want to be surprised during the 11 hours of cutscenes.

All the particle effects!

Clive is attaking an enemy with ice magic in style.
IT’S SO PRETTY! (Sony, Square Enix)

A big portion of the presentation focused on the game’s combat, and god damn, does it look pretty. Clive is shown to have quite a few powers and abilities that will no doubt shred through enemies in style. From the trailer, it seems you’ll be able to unlock these flashy abilities by defeating the different eikons (and maybe absorbing them, who knows at this point). During the game, you’ll only be controlling Clive. There will be other party members, but they’ll be fully controlled by the AI. There is one exception, and it’s Clive’s loyal canine companion Torgal. You’ll be able to give basic commands to Torgal to help you in combat. You can also give him treats when you aren’t taking down monsters (and if you don’t, you’re a monster).

Varied landscapes

Clive is standing in the middle of the hideout while children walk in the background.
For a dimly lit cave, it’s quite homely. (Sony, Square Enix)

The last significant aspect of the presentation was the sheer number of environments that will be available in the game. Throughout the presentation, we got snippets of many different areas that looked wildly different. There were your JRPG classics like Forests and Deserts, but there was also an old medieval castle and what looked like a crystal mountain range. It wasn’t mentioned, but it looks like these areas won’t be one seamless open world and will instead be segmented (similar to Dragon Age: Inquisition). I don’t speak for everyone, but I’m glad this is the case. A lot of games have these massive open worlds with a million map markers everywhere, so I’m happy Final Fantasy 16 won’t be filled with the obligatory open-world tower climbing. We also got a first look at Clive’s base of operations, which is a little hideaway in a cave. For a cave, it does look like a nice place to unwind.

Final Fantasy 16 is shaping up to be an excellent addition to the series. With everything revealed in the State of Play, I’m even more excited to sink my teeth into this massive game. If my play time from Final Fantasy 7 Remake is any indication, I’ll be losing at least 100 hours to the world of Valisthea. The game releases on the 22nd of June this year on the PS5, with more information being revealed before then. You can catch the full presentation below.

(Side note: it was also announced that the main theme for the game will be performed by Kenshi Yonezu. He’s the guy who did the opening for Chainsaw Man, which was amazing!)

Did you watch the latest State of Play? Are you excited for Final Fantasy 16? Are you looking forward to giving Torgal some treats? Let us know in the comments below where we can talk all things Final Fantasy (and why 13 isn’t that bad).

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About the Author

  • Thomas Richards

    Self-proclaimed anime trash from Melbourne, Australia, Thomas has always been obsessed with everything pop culture. From games such as Pokémon and Jak and Daxter to the MCU and everything in between. When he isn’t hyper-fixated on some new shiny release or feeding his manga buying disease, Tom is always trying to create new things that can bring a smile to anyone's face.

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Dan Morris
Editor
1 year ago

I am really excited for FF 16, I’m disappointed that it is a PS5 exclusive though.
I also Loved FF 13, which I played all of on Xbox.

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