Final Fantasy 16 is incredible when it doesn’t try to say anything meaningful

polygon.com:

After 16 mainline installments, it’s hard to say that any one thing defines the Final Fantasy series. There are certain immutable pieces of symbolism that must carry over from game to game — chocobos, Cid, moogles — but the shape in which they appear is always different. In my mind, I see it as a series of dials that get pushed up or down depending on who is in charge of each installment. Some people prefer the game when the angst dial is turned all the way up, and others want to see a little more volume on the dungeons or puzzles. Every Final Fantasy is someone’s favorite Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy 16 will certainly be someone’s favorite Final Fantasy. It isn’t mine, as thrilling as it often can be. I gravitate toward the sweeping, melodramatic stories of Final Fantasy. FF16’s story is sweeping and plenty melodramatic, but it’s also boring and tedious, leaving me feeling like the game was wasting my time. What a shame that this is the story that accompanies the compelling combat design and encounters that I couldn’t get enough of.

Final Fantasy 16 is a fast-paced action game that begs to be played over and over again. You play as the main character Clive Rosfield, once a prince of a duchy and now an enslaved soldier, and you puppet this man from combat encounter to combat encounter between scripted scenes that drive the story forward and excursions to check out the side quests. Ryota Suzuki, the combat director for 16, also worked on Dragon’s Dogma and Devil May Cry, and it shows — not only in its electric combat, but also in the ability to replay every stage in pursuit of a higher grade.

Rather than summoning characters like Garuda or Shiva to fight for him, Clive is imbued with the elemental power of these Eikons.