Ultimate Fantasy XVI | PSX Excessive

Ultimate Fantasy 16 brings a brand new method to the normal Ultimate Fantasy formulation and is healthier for it. Regardless of some small points with some boring facet missions and an odd world design, Ultimate Fantasy XVI is the most effective the collection has been in a protracted whereas. With a compelling private story, unparalleled flashiness and action-focused fight, Ultimate Fantasy XVI is likely one of the greatest video games to expertise on the PlayStation 5.

Valisthea’s Discomfort

A side by which Ultimate Fantasy XVI excels is in its world. Valisthea is stuffed with gorgeous vistas, lush inexperienced valleys, and limitless golden deserts making for a gorgeous and immersive world. Every Kingdom in Valisthea stands out as a person nation — no two locations look the identical. There are totally different monsters in every space, together with totally different biomes, accents, and variety, serving to this to really feel like a globe-trotting journey. These kingdoms additionally take clear inspiration from the true world. Rosaria and Sanbreque are much like medieval Europe and the Iron Kingdom and the Dhalmakian Republic reference Western Asia. 

The world is used as a counterpart to enhance the story as a substitute of the story and the world being two separate entities. All through the world, the battle of bearers is portrayed completely, with many facet missions targeted on the battle and misfortune positioned upon these bearing powers, serving to to create a darkish and punishing world. That is a vital theme of the primary story constructed upon by the world.  At sure factors in it, the our bodies of bearers are littered throughout the bottom. The results of making an attempt to outlive in a world like Valisthea are continually proven to you thru the world and this was extraordinarily properly completed.

A standout second for me was a facet mission very early on within the sport referred to as “Transferring Heaven and Earth.” This mission begins as a fundamental fetch quest by which you search for appropriate soil to develop fruit within the deadlands, an space by which vegetation don’t develop. Clive provides this soil to Martha in an try and develop apples for folks on the hideaway. Martha guarantees Clive he would have the ability to attempt her apples as soon as they’re completed. Because the story progresses, Martha finally passes away. This results in a brand new quest referred to as the ‘Fruits of Her Labors.” Martha’s apples have been completed by one other member of the hideaway after she died. Clive has the job of handing these apples out to folks on the hideaway, and everybody reminisces in regards to the late Martha and tries her apples — it’s superbly instructed.

Clive will get to maintain an apple to recollect her as properly. It’s even higher as that is an optionally available mission that helps with world-building. The second mission remains to be accessible if you happen to miss the primary, however the private affect of it goes lacking. This highlights the significance of relationships on this sport in addition to its misfortune, creating memorable moments like this. This mission is the proper encapsulation of the robust world and character-building that takes place in Ultimate Fantasy XVI.

Regardless of the dangerously stunning world and its world-building, Valisthea just isn’t excellent. The world feels very formulaic at occasions. Aspect missions are often fetch quests and quite a lot of the time these missions are nowhere close to as memorable as ‘Fruits of Her Labor.” These quests typically find yourself feeling quite monotonous and fairly frankly, uninteresting. It’s a disgrace that a few of the higher quests are paired with the boring gameplay of fetching gadgets or preventing a few mobs.

Mobs Your Uncle

Talking of mobs, mobs within the open world didn’t get the identical consideration to element because the human tales that happen. Regardless of an excellent variation of mobs, they didn’t really feel actual. The monsters simply sit there ready so that you can come over and battle them. Not like modern video games like Monster Hunter World, I by no means as soon as noticed fights between mobs themselves or mobs shifting or migrating. This is able to’ve helped create an actual ecosystem and a world stuffed with animals and monsters that appeared real looking — one thing that this sport was targeted on going for.

Valisthea can also be extraordinarily linear, regardless of its many massive expansive areas. There are various invisible partitions and borders, and every space is constructed towards main you down a sure path. This wouldn’t be a problem if it wished to be linear. Nevertheless, components such because the Hunt Board and Chronolith Trials, that are nice, reward your exploration and so, it’s exhausting to grasp what Ultimate Fantasy needs to be. By no means in a sport have such expansive areas felt so confusingly small, with their limiting obstacles and their static, sporadically positioned mobs. 

There are basically no random occasions making the world quite predictable. Nonetheless to at the present time, video games haven’t learnt from the likes of Crimson Useless Redemption 2, which reward the participant’s exploration with occasions that aren’t historically labeled. Valisthea in flip feels robotic. Aspect missions are labeled with a vibrant inexperienced exclamation mark and slightly jingle performs everytime you settle for a quest  — important or facet — taking you out of the immersion. Though a small function, it’s fixed and it’s unlucky as it is a sport that wishes to be taken significantly and this occurs no matter whether or not the subject material of the mission is critical or not. For a sport that wishes to be critical and mature, facets like these appear rather more harking back to the extra lighthearted earlier entries.

Video games similar to Yakuza: Like a Dragon work properly with this dissonance between story, gameplay, and facet missions as it’s aiming to be dissonant. Nevertheless, within the case of Ultimate Fantasy XVI, it exhibits a lack of awareness of the tone it’s making an attempt to current. It is a basic criticism of the world of Valisthea. Valisthea doesn’t know whether or not it needs to be linear or open-world. Nor does it know whether or not it needs to be taken significantly or not. Valisthea is undoubtedly stunning, however it’s dampened because it doesn’t totally decide to a sure tone or consistency.

“Assist Me, Clive”

The characters and their relationships are one of many facets of this sport that shines. Clive, on the floor, is a two-dimensional sangfroid robust man. The protagonist is overly stoic, however it’s in his moments of weak point the place this conventional archetype is subverted. Ben Starr’s capability to indicate a lot emotion in these unhappy and contemplative scenes elevates Clive’s character tenfold. Starr’s screams and cries as Clive clings to a dying liked one are haunting. In these moments, Clive stands out and is a few of the greatest voice appearing I’ve heard in a protracted whereas.

By way of the story and character motivations, this nonetheless seems like a really party-focused sport, albeit differently. Ralph Ineson’s Cid is a standout character with magnetic power every time he’s current. He’s as cool as Clive, with that very same robust man archetype, however just isn’t reliant on others or particular person scenes to present him extra character. Cid is a well-fleshed-out character with nice motivations and an on-screen presence not like anybody else within the sport. 

The remainder of the solid may be very compelling as properly. Dion’s story arc could possibly be a sport in itself. It’s extremely properly written and, at its core, continues that theme of affection and relationships that underscores the entire sport. That is the case for most of the antagonists as properly. All of them have various ranges of fleshed-out backstories and motivations and, due to this fact, make for compelling characters. Much less distinguished characters similar to Gav and Uncle Byron have an infectious power that contrasts properly with Clive’s stoicism. 

A personality that ought to’ve been extra compelling, nonetheless, is Jill. That is Clive’s love curiosity and there’s simply not a lot to her, apart from her being the love curiosity. She has a quick story arc with the Iron Kingdom, which was fascinating however the particulars are scurried over and forgotten about in a short time. She doesn’t communicate a lot all through the sport, and I discovered myself forgetting she was round for lots of it. It was a disgrace as a result of her character had quite a lot of potential as she was Shiva’s Dominant and a sufferer of the Iron Kingdom’s abuse. Nevertheless, all of the solid are nice to battle with or towards, and the superb fight makes that have much more enjoyable.

Clive Might Cry

The fight is unimaginable. The fight is that this excellent steadiness between accessible button mashing and high-skill ceiling motion fight. Helmed by the Satan Might Cry fight director Ryota Suzuki, the affect of Satan Might Cry is obvious. It’s targeted on combos in addition to the flashiness that makes video games like Ultimate Fantasy or Satan Might Cry so compelling. Ryota Suzuki even described the fight on this sport as his “private masterpiece,” and he has each proper to say that. 

Suzuki Ryota’s message from the Ultimate Fantasy XVI Japanese dwell letter was enlightening- he says that all through his total profession designing motion video games for the previous 25 years, he really thinks FF16 is his personal private masterpiece.

I added English subs to his heartfelt message! pic.twitter.com/LlXKzAAn2C

— ☆オードリーAudrey☆ (@aitaikimochi) June 18, 2023

On the floor, it’s a quite simple fight system with a magic button, a fundamental assault button, and particular skills. Nevertheless, urgent buttons in tandem and totally different mixtures create a high-skill ceiling with the power to do combos whereas protecting it accessible for many who need to battle extra merely. That is all backed up by a few of the most stunning animated assaults and particular strikes within the business, making even essentially the most boring assaults compelling. Clive’s want for others is perpetuated via the gameplay and fight. Lots of the skills that he finally obtains are via the literal powers of individuals he meets on his journey. This makes the fight even higher because it enhances the themes of the story.

The introduction of well timed equipment is superb. This brings accessibility choices into the precise sport as a substitute of it being an alienating function that folks should scroll via the choices checklist for. These attachments mean you can make preventing simpler. These equipment allow assaults or therapeutic to be automated, for instance. That is excellent for many who battle with motion video games or these with disabilities. It’s a welcome function which is complemented by the Story-Targeted sport mode, which additionally makes preventing less complicated. This is a wonderful step in direction of making gaming extra accessible.

Whether or not you play with intense combos or easy button mashing, the flashiness of strikes and the fixed, layered inflow of skills of various components retains preventing recent till the very finish with a powerful story supporting it. 

The Energy Of Friendship

With out delving into spoilers, Ultimate Fantasy 16 tells a gorgeous story of hardship and relationships. The backdrop of hectic Eikon boss fights and flashiness is used to raise a gorgeous story in regards to the energy of bonds and the feelings that include being human. By way of this, the sport leans into an necessary side of all of the Ultimate Fantasy video games — the bonds between the protagonist and his get together members.

Though Ultimate Fantasy 16 is a extra mature sport than earlier entries, the center of what makes Ultimate Fantasy remains to be very a lot there. The story is value experiencing regardless of the smaller facet plots that may interrupt the primary story beats. There’s a free demo out on PS5 the place you may expertise the Prologue. These opening hours do properly to arrange the sport and are an amazing microcosm of the bigger expertise. It’s most undoubtedly value enjoying earlier than deciding if you wish to purchase the sport.

The stunningly animated cutscenes seize the minute element of gut-wrenching emotion and the explosive battles between two impenetrable Dominants. Unquestionably, these cutscenes are a few of the greatest within the business and make the sport a pleasure to each play and watch. These cutscenes and Eikon battles are a few of the greatest gameplay and cinematic segments I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing, and I’ll always remember a few of these moments.

“Come To Me, Ifrit”

Ultimate Fantasy 16 combines the flashiness of video games like Satan Might Cry 5 with a compelling story about household, hardship and eudaimonia. It’s not with out flaws, with its formulaic facet missions, pacing points, and inconsistent open-world design. Nevertheless, Ultimate Fantasy XVI remains to be among the finest video games within the Ultimate Fantasy collection. With a few of the greatest cutscenes and animation within the business, together with compelling characters and mesmerizing moments, Ultimate Fantasy 16 is undoubtedly among the finest video games to play on the PlayStation 5.