Now that the demo is out, it feels like the time is right to make a catch-all for FF16.
It's out June 22 (10 days away!)
Watching FightinCowboy play.
And he talks about R1 being dodge - I am going to have to remap the buttons. Why can't the all just use the same layout? It is really annoying.
The description in the PS5 store indicated as much, but it's definitely the case that this demo will carry over into the full game?
I think it is as definite as can be before the game is actually in our hands. They have said it will be in interviews and media.
But we have all seen updates which break game saves so it is possible the final build will be different.
Downloading this demo now! Excited to be confused by the default button layout and eager to see how a non-party-based Final Fantasy might feel.
I just finished the first mission from the demo. I'm was already pretty optimistic based on the few trailers I'd watched. Now I'm sold. Introductory combat feels great, and the presentation is outstanding.
I really love the character and lore explanation prompts that appear when you pause a cutscene. I will be using that all the time.
!!!
I didn’t know they were doing a demo. Kid needs to hit the sack now!
The description in the PS5 store indicated as much, but it's definitely the case that this demo will carry over into the full game?
The demo states it outright when you start the game. You can be as confident as you can be for a game that's out in less than 2 weeks. I don't think they would say it otherwise.
Downloading this demo now! Excited to be confused by the default button layout and eager to see how a non-party-based Final Fantasy might feel.
Looks like there are three built in control configurations. While the default uses Square for attack and R1 for dodge, one of the others uses R1 for attack and Circle for dodge. I'm not sure yet which one I'll go with.
It's a very pretty button mashing game. 
I hope there are some more systems present. Made it through the demo and was on the fence. Until the cliff hanger at the end of the demo. Sucked me right in.
The brutality of the murder of Phoenix really got to me for some reason. I also assume because it's the Phoenix, and because of some comments during that battle, not really dead....
I did try the extra part after the demo that allows you to play with a bit more of the powers. Still felt like a button mash, now with cool down timers.
Will be curious to see reviews
I just finished the first mission from the demo. I'm was already pretty optimistic based on the few trailers I'd watched. Now I'm sold. Introductory combat feels great, and the presentation is outstanding.
I really love the character and lore explanation prompts that appear when you pause a cutscene. I will be using that all the time.
Yup, finished the demo, and I'm sold too.
Look, I was always going to play it. Aside from just by virtue of it being another primary numbered Final Fantasy game, Naoki Yoshida and his creative team have earned at least one free pass thanks to reviving my love of the series through their work with Final Fantasy 14. Not that I haven't had fun with other more recent entries, but I definitely felt like what I wanted from a Final Fantasy game and what Final Fantasy games were delivering were progressively diverging in the games subsequent to Final Fantasy 10 and 10-2, but Final Fantasy 14 and (especially) its expansions were laser targeted right back on it for me.
But, the trailers kind of hadn't grabbed me. The more muted design aesthetic and grim tone just really weren't speaking to me, and the presentation of Clive was especially not working -- which was particular concerning, given that (ostensibly?) this one is likely to lean much more into him being a sole leading protagonist than previous games might have.
Just a little too much, I dunno, angry edge lord frat boy himbo energy or something? But, I was very, very happy to find that (at least as far as we see get to see in the demo) that's very much not the case at all. Er, well, it definitely WAS the case on the himbo side of things, but very happily it was a kind of sweet, sad, earnest himbo that I instantly found myself deeply caring for.
(Although, maybe his younger version is a bit uncomfortably hot for a 15 year old, despite his truly silly haircut? I swear I didn't know he was a minor, officer.)
Anyway, I'm now very much here for Clive (at least as portrayed so far), I'm here for dense, dark, sociopolitical landscapes, I'm here for convoluted time jumping narrative, I'm here for wicked not-even-step-mothers, I'm here for asshole soldiers screaming "Oh, f*ck!" just before an ignominious death, I'm here for a very good chocobo, I'm here for what maybe will actually be pretty solid English writing and voice work, and I'm EXTREMELY here for another Masayoshi Soken Final Fantasy soundtrack.
---
On another note, I suppose maybe this has been spoiled in other trailer or preview content, and that's fine if so, but I just just want to have fun speculating to pass the time before the game's launch with other folks who have mostly avoided any information about the game other than the demo:
Ifrit was manifested out of Clive somehow, right? That whole sequence was brutal as hell, but also very strangely cut with Clive's voiced (or maybe just internal monologued) reactions but very explicitly no visible reactions.
There was one moment we were maybe supposed to think was his first hand view from the ground, but I suspect the misdirect there might be that he was sharing sight with the dog (or something similar) after losing control of his body to Ifrit.
I know the description of the jump forward section of the demo says something about hunting down the dominant of Ifrit, but that also might be a misdirect? Ie, maybe it turns out to be a person responsible for triggering the manifestation out of Clive or something? The concept just seems just too dark and full of f*cked up implications for there not to be something to it, you know?
Regarding the spoilers,
I was quite confused initially about what happened - and I think its an intentional fog of war to set up a misdirect for an early game revelation that Clive is Ifrit's Dominant and that he killed his own brother. It tracks with some stuff I know to be true mechanically - that Clive will have powers outside of the "phoenix powers" that start the game. This could also be why he's critical in taking out the Dominant in that initial scene from when he's 28 instead of 15.
At any rate, I found the scene brutal and the lack of agency felt awful in the moment. I appreciate the way its built a lot more after some reflection. It definitely got me - I wasn't expecting to be so invested and upset. There is part of me that wants to do a Final Fantasy demo spoiler section lol, because there's a lot to unpack here. I love the idea of fighting your own avatar during a perspective shift.
I'm also impressed with the amount of nuance in the performances. I was expecting a Cloud-esque edgelord main character, but making a sweet, earnest guy with a surprising amount of emotional intelligence is so much stronger. The world itself is the edgelord, with Clive being by nature at odds with it. That's a lot more interesting to me than grimdark bro in a grimdark world. It creates a more authentic alienation.
Speculation based off the demo
I think they might be going with one of the usual archetype/hero tropes...
Clive is a conduit for all Eikon, or has some sort of ability to absorb/channel all of them. As opposed to the rest of the dominants that can only channel one. Ifrit was Clive, but Clive had no control over it. Just like when he said his brother had "lost control" when they saw the Phoenix. Also tracks with the poor commander who got crisped right when he said, "2 dominants? Impossible."
Some of the story will be about Clive learning how he is different from everyone and will take on the quest to learn how to control this power. He will then travel around the continent collecting Eikon like pokeman. (Given that the extended demo sample has him flipping between 3 Eikon).
A villain will be introduced that has similar powers setting up a conflict at some point.
I'm also impressed with the amount of nuance in the performances. I was expecting a Cloud-esque edgelord main character, but making a sweet, earnest guy with a surprising amount of emotional intelligence is so much stronger. The world itself is the edgelord, with Clive being by nature at odds with it. That's a lot more interesting to me than grimdark bro in a grimdark world. It creates a more authentic alienation.
Yes! That is exactly it, and is exactly the subtle thing that the trailers couldn't communicate that took me all the way from being somewhat disinterested to being very eager to see where this actually goes.
Also, it's exactly the sort of thing I should have anticipated would have been the case given the surprisingly thoughtful and sweet "optimism in the face of grim reality" approach to storytelling that resonated with me so powerfully in the overarching Final Fantasy 14 narrative.
As for the spoiler chat, if all three of us had a similar read on the final scene of the demo, there's almost certainly something to it.
At any rate, I found the scene brutal and the lack of agency felt awful in the moment. I appreciate the way it's built a lot more after some reflection. It definitely got me - I wasn't expecting to be so invested and upset.Yup, same.
Like, everything about that sequence (both before and after the transformations happen) was just so intensely emotionally devastating, and the out of control brutality of how the eikon fight resolved even more so... and then you add in the creeping suspicion (that builds throughout the fight sequence) that this in some shape or form the two brothers unwittingly fighting each other?
Absolutely heart rending, especially given just how well the opening hours of the game succeeded in making you genuinely like and care for both brothers and their deep connection to each other.
Probably the most effective opening sequence to Final Fantasy game in a very long time.
Also, one more way I'm happy to have my expectations from the trailers disproved -- I thought the heavy focus on eikon combat was going to just be about filling the game with spectacle and bombast. After all, that's generally what summons and other interactions with the pantheon of summoned monsters typically are in these games -- big splashy moments whose purpose is to make you go wow, and that's about it.
But, at least from what we've seen in the demo, this game might actually be a lot more interested in loading them up with emotional weight and narrative significance, and maybe actually grappling with the truly overwhelming and upsetting implications (both immediate and metaphorical) of such entities existing in a world and being available as instruments of human conflict.
Yeah, like zero I'm sure no one is surprised that I was positively inclined toward this, but I myself was surprised just how much I enjoyed the demo. The combat felt really good, with dodges, combos, and Eikonic abilities all combining together into a system that felt intuitive but expansive, and with room for different playstyles and self expression. You can just button mash, but someone way more skilled than I can be really technical with their dodges, blocks, and counters. Whether or not you feel like the stronger enemies are too tanky will probably come down to personal preference. The boss fights lasted long enough to have multiple mechanics to learn, without being so punishing that a single hit would one-shot you. It felt like there was time to get to grips with both the fights and your combat abilities. Time will tell if that starts to feel exhausting after a while.
The Game of Thrones influence is very strong, with the rather grim world, very serious characters, and even the way dialogue sounded and the way scenes flowed. The prologue itself felt a lot like you're in Winterfell, with these grim but generally honorable nobles. That of course made the later betrayals sting all the more. The blood and violence felt straight out of the show too.
As far as whether or not this feels like Final Fantasy, the music played a big part in getting that feeling across for me. Whether exploring the castle, walking through the bog, or fighting goblins and dragoons, the music seemed perfect in every moment. Masayoshi Soken is truly Nobuo Uematsu's heir. Wandering around the castle early on felt like the early moments of FF1, FF3 or FF4 when you're running around the castle looking for treasure chests.
I too was confused about whether or not Ifrit was Titan, but I think I agree with everyone here that it seems like he did in fact kill his own brother. That scene was awful, and I'm almost inclined to call it overly gratuitous, but it does effectively convey how traumatic it is for Clive. It makes sense that he's so bitter and angry and out for revenge.
I'll be spending time with the combat demo in the next few days, but I cannot wait for June 22.
Masayoshi Soken is truly Nobuo Uematsu's heir.
1000%
I mean, FF14 firmly established this over and over again, but this game is going to really make old school Final Fantasy fans who couldn't do the MMO thing VERY happy in that regard.
Like, the subtle roll of the main theme of Final Fantasy and the Prelude in the background of the big battle sequence? Just absolute chef's kiss. And the demo is so short, we've only really got the first hint of things. Expect some all time bangers, folks -- Soken is the real deal.
Any word on a PC release?
Any word on a PC release?
No. There is a 6 month exclusivity window to PS5, but the devs have said it's going to take longer than that for the game to come to PC. I suspect they've only just started work on the port.
Any word on a PC release?
The exclusive window is supposedly half a year, but in a recent interview the game's director said not to expect it immediately after that window expires -- that the focus has been solely on making the PS5 version as clean as possible, and that once they start working on the PC port the goal will be a solid release rather than hitting a specific timeframe. (Ie, as was the case with FF15 and FF7R, it could be a while.)
EDIT: I type too slowly, apparently. 
I liked it but I kept thinking - this doesn't look that great. I feel like The Witcher 3 looked better in a similar setting. I am sure others would argue but I would say they are really quite similar in terms of setting, 3rd person view combat with melee and magic but W3 managed to look a lot better to me than this did.
I think this video echoed my views.
Interesting. I had the opposite thought (mostly the foggy/swamp environments). A few times I said to myself, "Witcher would look great in this"
Honestly when looking at images they appear quite similar - but the Witcher 3 came out in 2015.
I've been seeing folks say that the demo is a year old build of the game, and the released version will have better performance. I'm having trouble finding a source for that info, but something to keep in mind.
I have already ordered it so I am not put off by the look. I just don’t think this we be a poster child for next generation graphics
Is this one of those PS4/5 and Xbox One/Series games?
Is this one of those PS4/5 and Xbox One/Series games?
Playstation 5 (timed) exclusive, with no previous gen version.
Ok. I should give this demo a go. It’s the only way to see if the combat is going to be for me.
I was going into the demo expecting good things & now this is a day one for me. The biggest surprise is just how good the combat felt, those precision dodges feel so satisfying.
The extra abilities like the lunge are great for closing the distance to strike enemies. The power up of both the sword & fire magic attack just feel great. There's a lot of nuance here, even the fact that there's a parry via striking your weapon just as the enemy is about to land their melee attack. You probably can button mash to an extent but the depth is there, I felt like there were loads of options, it was really tight & polished.
Visually it looks really good, I think to Farley's point The Witcher 3 has a lot of micro detail in its environments which is probably why it looks graphically a bit superior but FF16 still looks great, the effects, characters & monsters etc are high fidelity. I did notice at the start (when your the older version of Clive) when your on the mountain path the sky looked like a 2D texture in places but maybe that's just a one off thing like the door in FF7R.
I was really into the story & how focused it felt, the build up of Clive learning the ropes from the captain of the guard, going out to clear the Goblins, the scene at the castle. I got goosebumps at one part at the end of the demo
Joshua turning into the Phoenix
that was a jaw dropping scene.
The Eikon fight at the end was pure blockbuster material in a fantastic way, like a God Of War 3 type epic battle. Can't wait for this!
Finally fired up the demo last night, and I'm pretty much sold on the full game. I enjoy the combat, despite being a fan of the more 'traditional' style of turn-based battles.
Graphically it looks good, and the voice acting is pretty much on the ball.
I enjoy the medieval setting more than some of the previous J-Pop / Sci-Fi settings we've had.
June 22 can't come soon enough.
It has been a few days since I've played the demo, and I'm getting a very strong itch to just play through it again. I will probably hold off until release, but I think I might just play through the whole thing again the day before to keep things fresh.
I did watch bits and pieces of someone else playing through the whole thing on YouTube while doing other stuff, and something that struck me while watching was how ridiculously well implemented the camera is for cinematic stuff during combat. I don't think I've seen another game transition more seamlessly between gameplay, QTEs, and boss phases.
Another awesome small detail that I missed during my run is the dynamic pause screen during combat. It zooms in on Clive and shows him on the side of whatever menu screen you're on. When you tab through the other pause screens, it rotates around Clive to show other angles of whatever attack he's currently in the middle of. So cool.
That might just be the most effective demo I've ever played for a game. I am so flippin' excited for this thing now.
I've been slowly making my way through the Giant Bomb night shows from last week, and I was pleasantly surprised to encounter Ben Starr, the voice of Clive, as an interview guest in the first segment of day 2.
They are very careful to avoid all but the broadest and lightest of spoilers (ie,
the names of Eikons, and the fact that the story is told at various different times in Clive's life
), so it should be a safe watch even for folks who are trying to stay as fresh as possible with the game.
However, I will spoil one very big thing about the interview itself: you will fall in love with Ben Starr.
Aside from being an absolute thirst trap in every possible way, he's charming, friendly, thoughtful, and has a lifelong love and interest in the video games industry as well. It's palpable just how absolutely delighted he is that he got to be a part of a game series he's loved since he was a kid, and how genuinely proud his is of the quality of the final product.
Clive. Claugh. Clove.
Pages