Echoes of the Fallenis a fun but brief expansion toFinal Fantasy 16.Square Enixonly asks $10 for it, so I’m not surprised that this downloadable content boils down to one quest and a handful of new boss battles as Clive Rosfield and friends climb a monolithic tower in search of an artificial mothercrystal. Once conquered, you return to the main game and prepare for the final showdown once again. Clean, simple, and fun. The big guns are obviously awaiting in the second expansion due in 2024.
Despite claiming that it would age terriblyafter publishing myotherwise glowing review of the game, it’s been surprisingly enjoyable returning to Final Fantasy 16 and the ugly yet strangely beautiful world of Valisthea. I jumped into an existing save where all the side quests and hunts were done and Clive was approaching maximum level, while I had already crafted the best gear and put a bunch of skill points into upgrading my favourite spells. Our traumatised boy was a certified powerhouse, but taking down Omega and his laundry list of cronies still proved to be a beefy challenge. The thing is, all the new weapons and gear I was earning throughout Echoes of the Fallen felt superfluous at best, and downright useless at worst. They just don’t matter.
God of War Ragnarok is more of an RPG than Final Fantasy 16, and has a better gear system to boot.
Despite belonging to a series of beloved RPGs, Final Fantasy 16 isn’t much of one. I’d call it a mediocre RPG, but in sacrificing deep party management and intricate equipment, it grows into one of the best character action games of all time. It sits proudly alongsideBayonettaorVanquishas one of the most ferociously cinematic blockbusters this medium will ever see, making my jaw drop more times than I’d care to admit with its perfect mixture of epic battles and finely tuned anime melodrama. But when you start to break down the foundations of its combat mechanics and precisely what the player can put into it, it underwhelms.
Clive has three equipment slots, and each item tends to come with distinct modifiers or skills that should act as an incentive to use them, but unless you’re pedantic about statistics or are chasing the higher difficulty settings, the only thing you ever need to pay attention to is each number and how high they are. Keep equipping whatever has the higher value and rarity, and you’ll be golden. There is no reason to look beyond that because everything else is pointless.
The lack of storefronts and items to manage doesn’t help matters either. The Stowaway is home to a single merchant and a single blacksmith, both of whom are supporting characters with great stories to tell, but only ever having them to turn to when it comes to upgrades is a surefire way to make the whole ordeal predictable and boring. Most of the towns you visit are populated with shops too, but serve no other purpose than to restock on potions and picking up Orchestion Scrolls needed for 100 percent completion. They exist, and that’s all I can say about them.
Final Fantasy 16 has only a single attack and spell button, with variety in combat coming from three assigned Eikons each with a duo of skills that can be used on cooldowns and chained together in combos. It is visually spectacular but mechanically simplistic, reaching its full potential only after you’ve got a handful of gods under your melt to mix and match. It presents a strong offering for a character action game of this ilk, but whenever it tries to be an RPG like any other game in the series, it falls apart. In turn, this makes the gear system an irrelevant addition that could be stripped out, and you wouldn’t notice at all.
Echoes of the Fallen not only gifts you with some additional gear and cosmetics before diving into the quest proper, it also hides new accessories in chests and after completing battles, but not once did I bother checking what these items did, let alone ever equipping them. The base game taught me that gear makes such a small difference that auto-equipping everything and focusing on spells was the best approach, because I’d be wasting time doing anything else.
Next:Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Is Already Bringing The Dead Back To Life
