History Can Wait.
I've finished Final Fantasy XVI! Here's my last batch of playthrough notes.
I've been watching a Let's Play of this game with Ginger, and it's reached the point at which Clive is chained up nude in a cell. 'You see, I understand why Cid might chain him up,' I said, 'but why would he strip him naked?' Ginger considered for an instant and said, 'Because he was chaining someone up and just went onto autopilot,' which I am immediately adopting as canon.
I was about to be slightly miffed that I'd barely scratched the main plot, after six or seven sidequests in a row, and the game was throwing yet another sidequest at me. But the questgiver is Jote, who I really want to get to know better, so I'll allow it!
(Retrospective note: we never did get to know Jote well enough for my satisfaction.)
I love Joshua punching Clive for taking Shiva; what a great moment!
JOSHUA DON'T STAY BEHIND oh goddammit. I'm always so excited to spend time with Joshua and see more of the brothers' relationship, but it's always so short-lived! Don't just leave me with Gav; I don't care about Gav! (Sorry, Gav.)
Glancing at the AO3 section, I'd noticed that Clive/Barnabas was a popular pairing. Having now done the Barnabas fight, most of which Barnabas spends in a weird state of ecstasy, I can understand why. At one point he said, 'I am yours, Mythos. Claim me as your prize.' I imagine the post-fight scene in which he forces Clive to take Odin (ahem) may also have been a factor.
As a character, I find Ultima pretty dull, but as a god I do think he's interesting: a god who created humanity for his own convenience, isn't really interested in them beyond what they can do for him, and considers it inconvenient that they gained sapience and free will.
'I have wronged so many. Ruined thousands of lives. I did not deserve to be saved, but save me you and your brother did.' Excellent self-loathing, Dion. Tell me more.
I like that Clive and Joshua are fighting for a chance for a better future for humanity, even if they acknowledge that the work may take generations and they might not see that better future themselves. Just like Cid, who devoted his life to a future he never got to see.
STOP GIVING ME SIDEQUESTS, IT'S SO BAD FOR PACING, I JUST WANT TO PROGRESS THE PLOT
Okay, I will allow this sidequest in which Torgal returns our childhood sparring sword to us, because that's cute.
This batch of sidequests is generally pretty good! Some nice conclusions to minor character arcs, some custom animation. Plus more L'ubor. (I'm not really intense about any of the characters in this game, which is a bit of a pity, but I think my three favourites might be Cid, Mid and L'ubor.) I'll let these ones stay.
It's not like I actively dislike any of the sidequests in this game, really. They offer some interesting insight! There are just too many of them.
Oh, boo, I saved the Joshua sidequest for last; you're telling me he could have been in my party all this time if I'd done it first?
And now he's out of my party again! Boooooo! Come on my goddamn date, Joshua.
Put the daisy crown on Clive's head. PUT THE DAISY CROWN ON CLIVE'S HEAD, JILL. If that daisy crown doesn't end up on Clive's head, I'm deleting this game.
Hey, both Jill and Joshua are in my party now! I wish that had been the case for more of this game; it's been a bit lonely.
Just took a closer look at a Rosarian scarecrow; it was a Vivi-style black mage! That's cute.
While I'm not that attached to the characters of this game, I was invested enough to take a quick trot around the Hideaway and speak to all my pals before leaving for the final mission. Plus I bought a round for everyone in the bar, of course!
Clive hugging Mid! I really like their relationship; I wish we'd seen more of it.
Mid hugging Joshua and Dion is also delightful, particularly how awkward Dion is about it. He can't handle affection; he doesn't deserve it!
Gav's never really interested me, but I do like that he cries when we're leaving.
WHY AREN'T JILL AND TORGAL COMING WITH US FOR THE FINAL BATTLE
This is a nice scene saying goodbye to them! But I'm so pissed off that we're saying goodbye to them! LET ME BRING MY FRIENDS WITH ME, STOP TAKING THEM AWAY. They're capable fighters; they could help!
Game, I swear, if you make me fight Joshua to the death I'm going to be even more unhappy than I was when you didn't let Clive wear the flower garland.
NO, THIS IS BAD TOO
I do like that Joshua passes on his powers through a hug, though. And I sort of like the fact that Clive is a really messy, noisy crier; I feel it's a quality I rarely see in major characters. No single manly tears here!
Liked this exchange, too:
'Even now, you deny the inevitable.'
'As we always have.'
I can't believe this game ends with you punching God in the face for a million damage. Lightning is seething with envy.
Clive going back to hold Joshua's body after the battle is incredibly distressing.
Hmm. Mixed feelings on the ending. I ended up liking the 'defeat an uncaring god to earn the right to live on our own terms' plot, and I was satisfied with the conclusion there. But I've spoken before about my dislike of endings that kill the protagonist out of nowhere because it feels like the writer doesn't know how else to end a story, and it did feel a bit 'oh, now Clive has to die for unclear reasons'. It could have felt fitting if the game had set up the possibility beforehand and tied in the 'sometimes you have to put in the work to make things better, even if you'll never live to see the world you're working for' theme.
Also, come on, Clive, Dion sacrificed his life for you and your brother; the least you could do is imagine his voice cheering you on when you call on Bahamut in the final battle!
Oh, it's cool that we get to see that far-future world that Clive fought and died for!
WAIT DID JOSHUA SURVIVE WAIT DID JOSHUA SURVIVE
The last thing we see in this game is a couple of big Final Fantasy fans roleplaying, and frankly I think that's delightful.
Final conclusion: Final Fantasy XVI is a good game, very polished. The battle system is fun; the worldbuilding is interesting. There are some pacing issues (if you want to see everything) on account of the number and distribution of sidequests, but it'd be hard to name a game in this series without pacing issues.
I didn't love the characters, which is a shame, because the characters are my favourite part of most Final Fantasy games. I did think minor characters were nicely fleshed out, though, which is important for a game that's ultimately about the value of community; you need a lot of memorable side characters if you want to pull that off.
It's not what I look for in a Final Fantasy and would probably end up moderately low in my ranking of the series, but, disregarding its name, I've enjoyed my time with it. I definitely liked it a lot more than I expected to from the trailers.
I've been watching a Let's Play of this game with Ginger, and it's reached the point at which Clive is chained up nude in a cell. 'You see, I understand why Cid might chain him up,' I said, 'but why would he strip him naked?' Ginger considered for an instant and said, 'Because he was chaining someone up and just went onto autopilot,' which I am immediately adopting as canon.
I was about to be slightly miffed that I'd barely scratched the main plot, after six or seven sidequests in a row, and the game was throwing yet another sidequest at me. But the questgiver is Jote, who I really want to get to know better, so I'll allow it!
(Retrospective note: we never did get to know Jote well enough for my satisfaction.)
I love Joshua punching Clive for taking Shiva; what a great moment!
JOSHUA DON'T STAY BEHIND oh goddammit. I'm always so excited to spend time with Joshua and see more of the brothers' relationship, but it's always so short-lived! Don't just leave me with Gav; I don't care about Gav! (Sorry, Gav.)
Glancing at the AO3 section, I'd noticed that Clive/Barnabas was a popular pairing. Having now done the Barnabas fight, most of which Barnabas spends in a weird state of ecstasy, I can understand why. At one point he said, 'I am yours, Mythos. Claim me as your prize.' I imagine the post-fight scene in which he forces Clive to take Odin (ahem) may also have been a factor.
As a character, I find Ultima pretty dull, but as a god I do think he's interesting: a god who created humanity for his own convenience, isn't really interested in them beyond what they can do for him, and considers it inconvenient that they gained sapience and free will.
'I have wronged so many. Ruined thousands of lives. I did not deserve to be saved, but save me you and your brother did.' Excellent self-loathing, Dion. Tell me more.
I like that Clive and Joshua are fighting for a chance for a better future for humanity, even if they acknowledge that the work may take generations and they might not see that better future themselves. Just like Cid, who devoted his life to a future he never got to see.
STOP GIVING ME SIDEQUESTS, IT'S SO BAD FOR PACING, I JUST WANT TO PROGRESS THE PLOT
Okay, I will allow this sidequest in which Torgal returns our childhood sparring sword to us, because that's cute.
This batch of sidequests is generally pretty good! Some nice conclusions to minor character arcs, some custom animation. Plus more L'ubor. (I'm not really intense about any of the characters in this game, which is a bit of a pity, but I think my three favourites might be Cid, Mid and L'ubor.) I'll let these ones stay.
It's not like I actively dislike any of the sidequests in this game, really. They offer some interesting insight! There are just too many of them.
Oh, boo, I saved the Joshua sidequest for last; you're telling me he could have been in my party all this time if I'd done it first?
And now he's out of my party again! Boooooo! Come on my goddamn date, Joshua.
Put the daisy crown on Clive's head. PUT THE DAISY CROWN ON CLIVE'S HEAD, JILL. If that daisy crown doesn't end up on Clive's head, I'm deleting this game.
Hey, both Jill and Joshua are in my party now! I wish that had been the case for more of this game; it's been a bit lonely.
Just took a closer look at a Rosarian scarecrow; it was a Vivi-style black mage! That's cute.
While I'm not that attached to the characters of this game, I was invested enough to take a quick trot around the Hideaway and speak to all my pals before leaving for the final mission. Plus I bought a round for everyone in the bar, of course!
Clive hugging Mid! I really like their relationship; I wish we'd seen more of it.
Mid hugging Joshua and Dion is also delightful, particularly how awkward Dion is about it. He can't handle affection; he doesn't deserve it!
Gav's never really interested me, but I do like that he cries when we're leaving.
WHY AREN'T JILL AND TORGAL COMING WITH US FOR THE FINAL BATTLE
This is a nice scene saying goodbye to them! But I'm so pissed off that we're saying goodbye to them! LET ME BRING MY FRIENDS WITH ME, STOP TAKING THEM AWAY. They're capable fighters; they could help!
Game, I swear, if you make me fight Joshua to the death I'm going to be even more unhappy than I was when you didn't let Clive wear the flower garland.
NO, THIS IS BAD TOO
I do like that Joshua passes on his powers through a hug, though. And I sort of like the fact that Clive is a really messy, noisy crier; I feel it's a quality I rarely see in major characters. No single manly tears here!
Liked this exchange, too:
'Even now, you deny the inevitable.'
'As we always have.'
I can't believe this game ends with you punching God in the face for a million damage. Lightning is seething with envy.
Clive going back to hold Joshua's body after the battle is incredibly distressing.
Hmm. Mixed feelings on the ending. I ended up liking the 'defeat an uncaring god to earn the right to live on our own terms' plot, and I was satisfied with the conclusion there. But I've spoken before about my dislike of endings that kill the protagonist out of nowhere because it feels like the writer doesn't know how else to end a story, and it did feel a bit 'oh, now Clive has to die for unclear reasons'. It could have felt fitting if the game had set up the possibility beforehand and tied in the 'sometimes you have to put in the work to make things better, even if you'll never live to see the world you're working for' theme.
Also, come on, Clive, Dion sacrificed his life for you and your brother; the least you could do is imagine his voice cheering you on when you call on Bahamut in the final battle!
Oh, it's cool that we get to see that far-future world that Clive fought and died for!
WAIT DID JOSHUA SURVIVE WAIT DID JOSHUA SURVIVE
The last thing we see in this game is a couple of big Final Fantasy fans roleplaying, and frankly I think that's delightful.
Final conclusion: Final Fantasy XVI is a good game, very polished. The battle system is fun; the worldbuilding is interesting. There are some pacing issues (if you want to see everything) on account of the number and distribution of sidequests, but it'd be hard to name a game in this series without pacing issues.
I didn't love the characters, which is a shame, because the characters are my favourite part of most Final Fantasy games. I did think minor characters were nicely fleshed out, though, which is important for a game that's ultimately about the value of community; you need a lot of memorable side characters if you want to pull that off.
It's not what I look for in a Final Fantasy and would probably end up moderately low in my ranking of the series, but, disregarding its name, I've enjoyed my time with it. I definitely liked it a lot more than I expected to from the trailers.