Final Fantasy XVI Hands-on Preview – For King and Country

wccftech.com:

In what will presumably herald the beginning of a months-long media blitz, Wccftech was invited out to attend an on-site preview event marking the first time Final Fantasy XVI has been openly playable by Western media. Square-Enix invited me to attend a brief session with four hours to dive in and play as much of the preview build as we could in that time. During that timeframe, I had the pleasure of playing through multiple chapters and getting a first taste of the massive Eikon battles. Square Enix requested that we inform our readers that this is a special version made for media to experience, and contents may differ from the final version.

The Final Fantasy XVI media preview event opened with a brief presentation conducted by Producer Naoki Yoshida with an interpretation by Koji Fox, both gentlemen intimately involved with Final Fantasy XIV and prior titles in the series. In this briefing, the general setting of Valisthea, the world of Final Fantasy XVI along with the six territories and factions that make up the dual continents. The main character that players take control of is Clive Rosfield, the older of two siblings where the Eikon of Phoenix resides and is passed along to Joshua Rosfield rather than the older sibling that would rightfully be its heir or Dominant. 

Final Fantasy XVI’s preview opens up with a brief tutorial session as younger teenage Clive. As with all proper character action games, the first steps in Clive’s boots are that of learning the basic ropes of combat at the ripe age of 15. Players quickly get thrown to the wolves, so to speak, with a one-on-one combat instructor that teaches the player and Clive all about the finer arts of basic combos and how to properly counter an enemy attack