Final Fantasy XVI adds blood and grit but doesn’t change the series’ soul

theverge.com:

There’s a moment within the first quarter of Final Fantasy XVI in which Clive, the protagonist, faces an enemy that has withstood his strongest attacks. Beaten and worn out, the game prompts Clive to “accept the truth.” As he does, two limit-break bars (ones that Final Fantasy XIV players will recognize) appear. But they don’t just pop in as though the game was merely updating its UI to introduce a new feature — they burn on as though they’ve been branded onto the screen with a hot poker. It feels like the game wants you, too, to feel the flames that burn within Clive as you press in the thumbsticks to make him go Final Fantasy Super Saiyan. 

I almost destroyed my TV, losing my grip on my controller as I pumped my fist into the air with an excited, “Oh f– yeah,” battle cry. That battle cry happened a lot.

In my first interview discussing Final Fantasy XVI, the game’s producer, Naoki Yoshida, told me that he wanted the game to feel like “a rollercoaster.” 

“We envision Final Fantasy XVI as like a giant, high-speed rollercoaster that will take players on a thrilling ride both story- and gameplay-wise.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. Final Fantasy XVI is a rollercoaster that takes an unforgivably long time to climb the first hill but is well worth it for the drops, loops, spins, and “f– yeah” moments thereafter.

Final Fantasy XVI’s developers have also likened it to Game of Thrones. This, too, is accurate… painfully so. 

Within the game’s first handful of minutes, multiple f-bombs were dropped, with a “cock” thrown in for good measure. There were many instances of nudity or over-the-top vulgarity for titillation’s sake, as well as scenes that evoked the notion of “sexposition,” even if there was no actual sex happening on-screen.