D-willy Rey

I finished FFXVI, which means it was better than 13 or 15. It’s still meh, though. Just because it has chocobos, eikons, and crystals doesn’t mean it is Final Fantasy. This is a button-smashing, hack & slash with terrible pacing. Defeat a boss or finish a quest then put the controller down for 10 minutes while the writers self-indulge, desperately trying to imbue every moment with emotional weight. And I’m saying that as a person who will stop playing a game if the story doesn’t capture me. Your party members don’t matter at any point except in scripted moments. You can change your magic’s element, but there seemed no reason to do so. In fact, using magic (except for the Eikons) seemed pointless as the damage is insignificant. Even the different Eikons seemed there simply for variety, giving no particular benefit over any other in any given fight. Basically, everything that made Final Fantasy is gone. There is no thought or strategy to defeating anything. The enemy doesn’t actually matter. What you do is the same in every fight. This may be a serviceable melee combat game, but it’s not Final Fantasy.