I Have Always Been Proud | Final Fantasy XVI | Pt.23 - End of Main Story
Вставка
- Опубліковано 13 жов 2024
- My heart... just when I thought I'd cried enough in this game. I can't describe how much I loved this game and words can't do it justice even if I tried. So let me just say thank you all for watching and I hope you enjoyed this bittersweet ending as much as I did.
P.S. send tissues
▫️ Watch me live on Twitch: / kastaclysm
▫️ Past Twitch playthroughs: / kastaclysmarchive
▫️ IG: / kastaclysm
▪ List of all games completed and unlisted playlist links: docs.google.co...
▶ Edited by: / @virtrand
Dion is a dragoon. Dragoons get no fall damage. Dion lived. These are the Final Fantasy rules
Idc what anyone says this game was a masterpiece for me and has some of the best characters and storylines in all FF. This , 12, and 10 are my favorites!!!!!
I've played 7 10 10 part 2 12 15 16 7remake and some of the older ones. Personally I enjoyed 15 a bit more. 7 remake is in my top 3 games of all time at the moment.
12 and 10 are also a couple of my favorites
I feel the same
Besides 7, it is my favorite for sure. Amazing game.
7 and 16 is the best
Ben Starr’s (Clive’s VA) father sadly passed away during the making of FF XVI. In interviews he stated that during those end scenes between Clive and Joshua, he channeled his grief from the loss of his father in those moments. So those cries of grief and anguish are sincere and genuinely heartbreaking. Knowing that after I finished the game made me cry all over again. He gave such a stellar performance throughout, as did the other actors. ❤️
Holy shit I didnt know this. That just breaks my heart all over again on this scene knowing that this isnt just only acting but a very real emotion being channeled into this.
Final Fantasy XVI may not be perfect, but it is still an awesome experience, nonetheless. With arguably, one of if not the most epic and full circle conclusions I have experienced playing a video game. The first abilities at your disposal are the Pheonix’s yet Joshua’s eikon is the last one you take. The game opens with Ifrit vs The Pheonix but ends with their powers combined as Ifrit Risen versus the being that separated the brothers 18 years ago. The final battle against Ultimalius sees both him and Clive use the powers of all Eikons pitted against each other as Clive’s friends cheer him on. Halfway through, Ultimalius limit breaks and the same music plays when Clive unlocked his limit break. “All as one” is the final boss music that plays and incorporates leitmotifs from “Find the Flame” and “Prelude” from other Final Fantasy titles. A song that has been stuck in my head for months. When Ultimalius’ health bar is finally depleted, Clive ends it by dropping the sickest title drop ever. “The only FANTASY here is yours, and we shall be its FINAL witness.” Then, he slow-mo punches him and does 999999 damage. FUCKING EPIC! Clive Rosfield is such a badass. I love his character growth from being the edgy lone wolf anime guy hellbent on killing and revenge to becoming a bit of a sweetheart whose cares for those around him and his goal is to provide them all with a better life. Clive Rosfield has become one of my favorite video game protagonists of all time, honestly maybe more so than Cloud Strife. I was so pissed and cried a lot when he died. I really wanted him and Jill to have a happy ending. But at the same time, it feels complete. I guess that’s how it goes with bitter-sweet endings. Just as how bitter-sweet it is that this also marks the end of your Let’s Play Kastaclysm. I genuinely cannot remember the last time I was so excited to see a new video come from a UA-camr I’m subscribed to. I even turned notifications on lol. Your FFXVI episodes were always such a treat every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and I’m sad to see them go, but I’m also looking forward to any future projects you’re cooking up. Funny thing is after I platinumed FFXVI back in July, the next single player video game I played was Alan Wake Remastered. And it seems that’s exactly what you’re doing too. Talk about coincidence!
I want to end this stupidly long comment random midnight adrenaline made me write up by saying FFXVI will forever go down as one of my favorite games of all time. Still debating whether this or FF7R deserves first place. And that this has been one of my favorite playthroughs of all time and you, Kastaclysm, have just recently become my favorite UA-camr.
Also it's Business Unit 3's first AAA single player game. I think next one gonna be even better.
I agree with you up until the “Clive died,” thing. I don’t believe he died. I think he simply lost his powers over the eikons after the origin Crystal was destroyed. The sidequests hint at the possibity that Clive took up Joshua’s name to honor him and write the book, he spoke to Harpocrates about taking up writing after his journey was over. I believe Jill and Clive met again and went off to explore the world together. And the side quests actually suggest this. I know it isn’t completely explicit and it doesn’t answer that unambiguously, but this is how I interpreted the ending. After all, why do you think Clive narrates the game’s opening and ending? Because we are hearing his narration of the book written by “Joshua” rosfield. After all, Clive took up the mantles of someone else’s name before.
@MegaAndyGG Yeah, they knocked it out of the park, I can't wait to see what they create next it's gonna be crazy
glazing
@@Vaquix000 the game is being narrated by Clive, so that implies that he's the one who wrote the book. Also, in one of the final side missions, Clive says that when everything is done, he will lay down is sword and maybe write a book and In that moment, Harpocrates gives a quill to him.
"Can you see it too, Jill" messed me up for dayyyyyys. Congrats Maggie on another awesome playthrough and 60k!
The bit when Última says "Oh," like this is the first time he's been in over his head
If it'll help the heartache. There are Hints through out the game that Clive survived.
The biggest Clue is the book at the End.
-We know Clive is acustomed to using pseudonyms, with his adoption of the name Cid
- Throughout the game Jill, Byron and Joshyua would often mention Clives love for story books.
- The Very start of the game Clive is Narrating and then the game kicks in and we never hear him narrate again.
-At the end of Hypocrates missions, Clive gets a quill and says one day he will put down his sword and pick up a pen.
-We only see Clives hand turn to stone, also we can see that he is right handed.
-Also one key character. We learn that Leviathan is the lost Eikon So not all where accounted for when Ultima reached his final form. One character who alsway appears when a dominant is sick or wounded is the Medicene Girl. Who's name is Kiehl meaning born of the land of water. Hinting Leviathan comes to the aid of the wounded eikons, and no one but dion seems to take her potions, also rumoured to probably be an item in final fantasy called soft which cures petrify.
Sorry for the essay lol
One extra point onto that. Jill goes from great sadness to calm when sun rises. and during the side quest date scene in flower field, she tells clive he always comes back to her with new dawn, and that new dawn is symbolism for that return. As for Kihel (how they spelled it in game), will no doubtibly be leviathon and in one of two DLCs. I bet other one is gonna be either in that time skip, or some more back story on cid etc. I doubt they'll touch the ambiguous ending at all.
One more clue, Clive is heard narrating at the start of the game.
He also narrates the ending! which I think ties into the book thing because he knows the ending then to the book so hes around for that. If that makes sense. Im not very good at articulating sorry. Clive alive club.
One other thing is that the Platinum achievement is called "Clive the Chronicler". Haven't played the DLC yet, so not sure if the Leviathan bit stick after that.
Leviathan bit is false, you can take it into the final battle with Ultima if you do the DLC first. Medicine girl is most likely dead along with Terence. Or maybe they both survived.
The end credits music is incredible
But is also copyrighted!!! Edit it off!
@@Fernando-qd4ur i think it's already edited. I don't hear the original one
OMG It hurts. My Star is devastating, but there are plenty of theories out there, guess we wait for the DLC to maybe clarify. Maggie, thank you so much for this playthough, it is so appreciacted and along with Annas and Frankies have brought so much joy to the game
The scene of Clive looking at his new baby brother hit me right in the guts because I remember standing by brother's crib and dreaming of the future we'd have. Now 40-some years we're adults. He's had to struggle a lot more through life than I, but I'm proud to see the man and father he's become. Some of my favorite memories are of playing video games with his oldest daughter. And now I live close enough I can hang out with him and his kids and play games with them every week. All that to say, this is beautiful game with a beautiful story of family, love, faith and hope that makes me appreciate more the many ways I've been blessed. Thanks for this amazing play through Kasta. I'm sure we'll never meet, but it really does feel like playing a game with a good friend here. Keep up the good work!
That scene released the flood gates for me, I started bawling.
This was the first full playthrough of yours I watched since I found your channel and you deserve such credit for the obvious care you put into your videos. From reading all the lore to not prejudging the story and taking it as it comes. It's such a refreshing way to experience games nowadays and you've clearly built a wonderful community that I'm happy to have discovered. Can't wait for more!
Well said. Her God of War Rag. was my 1st time watching her play, enjoyed that one as much as this one for the same reasons.
The book at the end of the game basically confirms that either Clive or Joshua has survived the events of the final battle. However, it's more likely that Clive survived because the powers of the Phoenix can only heal wounds but not bring back people back to life as it was mentioned in the game. So here's the reason why Clive probably survived:
Right before the final battle, the game drops a TON of side quests on you (why???…..), most with closures on a few relationships encountered in the game. Jill and Harpocrates quests stand out in particular: with Jill, you get the symbolism of the dawn meaning Clive coming back to her, and with Harpocrates you get the quill and his wish that one day Clive puts down his sword and writes a book about his adventures. Both points are alluded to in the ending cutscenes, with Jill seeing the dawn, and the book about Clive’s adventures being written by “Joshua”.
He wrote the book, and attribute it to Joshua. After all, Clive narrates the whole game, including the opening and closing statement. As for the closing statement: 'And thus did your journey end'
Even though it's just a theory, I'm pretty sure that all the hints which were given to us throughout the final sidequests, was a sign that Clive survived (but probably lost his arm though💭)
My first thought at seeing the book by Joshua Rosfield and the mother saying there is no magic is that the post credits scene is implying that the story was indeed a 'fantasy'. Joshua was an author that wrote this fantastic story about magic and monsters and a battle for the end of the world.
I take the opposite interpretation, that it really is Joshua who writes the book/survived. Which I say because:
- You're right about Phoenix not being able to revive, only heal. But at that point, Clive has also absorbed the powers of Ultima: the power of creation. He even comments right after healing (I'd say reviving) Joshua about how Ultima's powers are too much for him and will soon fade.
- So with his limited access to Ultima's powers, and being in the Nexus, Clive makes a choice. To achieve everything they've sought for by ridding the world of magic and all the suffering and discrimination magic has brought with it.
- Previously Mythos was resistant to the curse, but seeing the curse start to take him on the beach suggests either that world-changing spell overwhelmed him, or got rid of his super-resistance as well.
- We then see Jill look out to the sky and see Metia fade, and Jill breaks down as she knows Clive hasn't made it. Same with Torgal's reaction.
The post-credits is presumably many generations in the future, long after any first-hand memories of the 'age of magic' still remain. With the passage of time, the tale of the world that used to be and Clive's heroics have become naught but a fairy tale, but the world is now blight free and people are seemingly free, just as our heroes strove for it to be.
Either way, a truly incredible story and well worthy of the FF name (and with just the right amount of ambiguity that we get to have these discussions!). Loved the game to bits (and then re-enjoyed it watching your vids Kasta!)
@@FJoshE "Jill breaks down as she knows Clive hasn't made it. Same with Torgal's reaction." - I think you might have forgotten other clues from the game where it is clear the magic and everything concerned with it is gone - hence the star fades away on the sky when Jill and Torgal look at it. It's not that they felt Clive was dead alone, but that his "magic" was lost, as was lost from anyone else. Again, we are all speculating here and apparently there "is" an answer, but it's "only with the dev team", about which I read somewhere. It's open ending for us-gamers all on purpose so anyone finds what they like about it. I am, myself, a fan of clear endings and I read all the signs for the closed ending of Clive being alive and using the pen he was given to by Hapocrates in one of the last side quests when he asked Clive when presenting him with a gift to write down those stories one day. Similarly, again, one of the last side quests with Jill where it's emphasized, again, that there is always dawn and new day after the dark, like we see when she stops crying and Torgal stops howling at the end where the sun rises. Similarly, before Clive's, Joshua's and Dion's departure, Jill prayed like she did at the balcony which was hinted many times throughout the game. Finally, at the beach when the curse was seen on his left hand -> again, it's a sign his "dominant" was gone like he said when destroying it towards the end after defeating Ultima. And it was only dominant that was protecting him and since it was gone, as well as his magic, the disease appeared on his hand when he tried to light the fire before it disappeared forever. All in all, an amazing game and I would only wish we had more DLCs post game...
Here we go, I know you didn't care for some of the side quests and pacing. But WOW what a game, what a finish! I know Im going to tear up watching the ending.. So glad to watch this journey unfold and loved every moment of this play-through!
My game of the year
Amazing playthrough!! I love your honesty and emotion for these kind of games. FF16's ending hits hard... Square not only loves making emotional endings, but also loves making some of them "up to interpretation" so some people think Clive dies, some think he lives. I'm personally on the thought that he lives. Evidence? Consider this:
-When you start the game, you hear him narrating about the Mothercrystals in a way as if he was reading the beginning of a history book. And by the end, you hear him say "And thus did our journey end". I think this may be a hint that the whole game was just Clive narrating to us, the players, the book he wrote - Final Fantasy.
1.) It's not the first time Clive took on another person's name.
2.) Harpocrates gives Clive a quill, asking him to put down the sword and take up the pen once he defeats Ultima. - "The only Fantasy here is yours. And we shall be it's Final witness!" Nobody except Clive and Ultima were there to witness that line. The name of the book is "Final Fantasy."
3.) Clive is the narrator of the story. He narrates the beginning and the ending of the game. "And thus did our Journey end." The Platinum trophy is called "The Chronicler" with the subtext "And thus did our Journey end!
4.) Clive is right handed. His left hand turned to stone.
5.) Metia doesn't fade because Clive "dies". It fades because Clive destroyed all magic in the world. This also explains why Jill can't sense him anymore and assumes he's dead.
6.) There's a scene where Jill explains how when the dawn breaks, she knows he'll return to her. (She’s smiling when the sun rises)
7.) Part of Clive's character arc is learning how to save himself. This is directly called out multiple times by other characters, including Jill.
8.) The End Credits song "Moongazing" spells out Clive returning to Jill.
He literally said during the ending scene "And thus...did our journey end." Implying that he most likely wrote the book himself. Clive was only person that fought the last few forms of Ultima, so how did Joshua write that far in the story if he wasn't there? Doesn't make any sense. Joshua could have lived, but we never saw him after Origin blew up.
I was yearning for something, gazing at the moon I was so afraid of the storm, when you appeared before me And l'm so glad it was you It's as if nothing before this moment ever mattered This flame will never go out, ever.
Nah mate, that's pretty cut and dry. Clive returns to her. You also can't look at these points of evidence individually on their own. All evidence, hints, and symbolism about Clive surviving line up and support each other. The book makes the strongest case there is. Clive narrates the beginning and end of the game -> Clive gets the quill to chronicle his journey -> Titles the book the words he used to deliver the death blow to Ultima -> Uses Cid the Outlaw Symbol on the book -> Platinum Trophy is The Chronicler and uses the narrator's (Clive's) closing words as it's subtext -> Circle back to point 1
Yeah, there's a LOT of super heavy wink wink, nudge nudge going on here. The fact that the book at the very end has a combination of things that no other person would combine (or know) says it all.
I really like how the ending is ambiguous to all except those who were really paying attention. Makes it so much more rewarding.
@@TheCactuar124 Yes! Its really important to do the sidequests too cuz if you don't, you miss some of the little but important details that SE loves to sneak into FF games.
In addition to this, here are the quotes from the related side quests. First Jill's, she is saying:
"I realized that no matter how terrible the night, dawn would always come. That you would always come for me, and you have again and again".
That's literally what happens in her final scene, after a terrible night where she thinks Clive died, dawn breaks and she sees the rising sun
and looks relieved. This could mean that Clive actually survived and returns to her. To be fair it could also be some kind of consolidation for her, like a symbol
that Clive is watching over her, is still with her in her hearth or something like that.
Then there is Harpocrates saying:
"One day, you may put down your sword, and pick up that pen"
on which Clive replies:
"Well, when that day comes, I'll certainly have a lot to write about."
This in combination with him narrating the story is the strongest argument for his survival and him being the one who wrote the book, IMO.
But like you said, i think the ending is up to interpretation. If you want to believe that Joshua survived or both died, then you will find hints for that as well. People should acknowledge that there is no definite answer and stop arguing about what the true ending is.
You reaching so much. Clive heals Joshua at the end. On the beach only his fingertips are turned to stone when he points them to sky, literally 2 seconds later he drops his hand to his side and the whole hand up to his wrist is turned to stone but i guess the rest of his body won't turn because "i wish clive lives happy ever after". Clive sacrifices himself for everyone and mainly Joshua fulfilling his duty as the First Shield.
One of the best endings in Video Game history
I agree! It's so good! Also music is 10/10!!
yeah it so good masterpiece , it not GOTY game but , they win the hearts of players. Ost , Actor , cinematic also chereo it good all
when Clive say "i will come back i promise, i love you",and Jill take her time, because she knew that Clive is lying about the part"i will come back" and it's more like a final goodbye, think back of Uncle byron when he said "Clive is a terrible liar" and Jill said "is not untrue"...,Jill knows when Clive is lying...
Just finished it and damn…
Really enjoyed watching your journey in this game! Thank you for sharing your emotions and heart with us all!
30 years of gaming across all genres you can imagine and this is hands down one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had.
This has been one of my favourite playthroughs ever. Thank you so much for giving so much time to this game, flaws and all. It has been a pleasure sharing this story with you and witnessing your emotions through it. Youre an amazing and charming host, like few in this platform. See ya next time! In the DLC!
Didn't think i'd chock up seeing the ending again but my god it hit just as hard. this was my first full fantasy game (outside of FF14) i'd played and loved it.
Great playthrough, Kast!
This ending messed me up for 3 business days lmaoooo I had to put down the remote and go touch grass. What an incredible game! And this soundtrack *chefs kiss* GOTY for me
Really enjoyed your playthrough and your thoughts! I know you’re staying away from FF until Rebirth but after that I hope you’ll still explore the series!
FF 10 would be a cool one, a great balance between what initially made the franchise famous with glimpses of what the series would eventually evolve into. Think you would particularly enjoy it.
FF 10 is still my favorite after all these years
This final fantasy’s ending hit me so much harder than any of the others, I’m glad you made it to the end and HIGHLY recommend X or XV for your next final fantasy title. Thank you for this series, I’m looking forward to future gameplay!
I second X for sure!
That's crazy that you recommended those two because those are the 2 I played after playing 16. Never played FF before and now I have done 3 :) Wish I got into this soon, but hey, better late then never.
Yeah X is a must
This was such a great series. I selfishly really love re-experiencing the games I've played and cherish through other peoples eyes. I stumbled across this channel during your FFVIIR playthrough, and despite having played and then re-watched other people play the game twice, I was quickly all in on following your experience and take on the game. Your FFXVI playthrough is my 3rd time experiencing the game and it was a real treat all the way through. Reactions aside, which are always fun to watch from a wide variety of people, your thoughtful analysis of what's going on the in the game is what I enjoy most (among many things) of the effort you clearly put into these playthrough series'. Kudos.
Final Fantasy devs sure do know how to create a tearjerker. Excellent game and an excellent playthrough! See you for the next
The end depressed me for like a week. I had to play a Kirby game to cheer up lmao
Had such a blast learning about FF16 with you and filled with gratitude for all the hard work you’ve put into the quality of your journey through this experience. Glad I was able to write this comment before my eyes are blocked by all the tears that this episode often brings. GG Maggie o7 You Deed Eet!!! Hype
What a journey! Congrats on finishing the game - I def cried as much when I finished it 😭
23:27 "Since Dion died I feel like it's good chances both of us will make it out." Ah, to be a starry-eyed optimistic youth once more... Life is cruel!
28:05 For me the most emotional moments of the game are the Joshua ones. This + the end scene post-Ultima
31:00 "This hits so hard if you have a sibling." I'm the eldest brother of 4 brothers, so imagine how I feel. This is ROUGH
1:03:21 "Clive: The only fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its final witness!" "Title drop within a sentence!?" Yes, ma'am. Glad you caught that!
1:10:37 What is so sad about these sequence of events is that as his older brother, his protector, his shield he witnessed the birth of his precious younger brother and best friend. And he also witnessed the passing of the same brother due to his heroic sacrifice. There's something incredibly sad about seeing a younger family member pass on before you.
1:15:18 This must have been a real gut punch since you only expected one to die*. NOT ALL THREE.
*implied
1:27:26 "I don't want to say I like one more than the other." It might be hard to compare with only 2 titles under your belt. I think after finishing your 3rd you might have more of a grasp what Final Fantasy is about, and what you like in a Final Fantasy. As someone who's been an FF fan for +20 years now I do think XVI is a good game but I prefer FFVII Remake over it. XVI is the most serious mainline title in the series. Very grounded and dreary. An occasional jab is made and there are more jovial characters like Byron, Gav, Mid but overall, quite somber. What's great about previous Final Fantasies is that it does this amazing balance between goofiness and gravitas. Final Fantasy is serious, characters die, nations fall, but there are also silly mini-games, funny moments. XVI is an outlier in this regard.
Tremendous playthrough young lady! I fully enjoyed watching you play and your reaction to the game. It looked like you had fun as well. The liked the game very much but it barely broke into the top 10 on my list of Final Fantasy games. Hope to see you play another one down the road at some point. Congrats and keep having fun!
I’m watching this late but this game will forever have a special place in my heart. Thanks for playing this game Maggie. My friends don’t play these types of games so it’s really awesome just seeing other people play and enjoy the games I love. I enjoy watching others experience my favorite games ❤
I cried with you too and I've played it a couple of times already. Whilst it does have some pacing issues, its still one of my favourite games of all time. The best voice acting in a game I ever experienced.
Thank you for this entire playthrough!
I strive to be as real of a person as Clive is, one of the best protagonists in gaming imo. Genuinely thank you for this playthrough, Maggie, it's special watching people get so invested like you did. Definitely understand holding off til Rebirth for more Final Fantasy. Just to recommend for something after that, if you want to experiment with a more traditional turn-based combat Final Fantasy, I'd definitely play FF9. It's very much like a mix of this FF16 type fantasy setting but PG-13 tone and with sorta steampunk technology used in it. It reminds me very much of like older animated Disney movies but with a darker tone. I never played it or even ANY Final Fantasy games growing up, but it's weirdly extremely nostalgic, and I think you'd absolutely adore it for your first non-modernized FF game! 🔥
Omg i was so concentrated on this fight the first time, i failed to notice how absolutely amazing the boss music is. This is up there with the best in the series for sure
Very good game! I wish I can experience this for the first time again.
What a heartbreaking conclusion.... so many tears. This was such a touching game, thank you for your wonderful playthrough.
Glad to see you enjoyed the game as much as I and lot of people did. Definitely a roller coaster of a game but one I'll happily play again. Can't wait for the DLC!!
So i think its was clive who wrote the book under joshuas name. Because it was teased that clive would become a writer and chronicler. I dont think he died but idk
Yup those end side quests hint at the true ending of the story
Yeah, he honored Joshua's name writing an insane epic that endures centuries after his time under his brother's name + it's emblazoned with Cid's emblem. It is absolutely a Clive move.
The game is also narrated by Clive at the beginning of the game and at the end which makes me think he was alive in the end to tell the story he wrote in Joshuas name.
@@Vaquix000 It's not weird at all, it's one of the most common things to happen to Clive.
Clive spends years as Wyvern.
Then he spreads years as Cid.
Then he takes on that ridiculous name in a sidequest.
Then he takes on Joshua's name after his passing.
Clive was not conscious for Joshua's explanation that the Phoenix cannot resurrect people, only mend flesh. Joshua DIED. In fact, he was dead for 30 minutes to an hour before Clive klled Ultima and tried reviving him. He remarks that even all the aether he amassed wasn't enough to cast the resurrection spell Raise.
This is why he becomes so determined to destroy the entire system and world that took his brother away and doomed them all. It's why he destroys magic and aether in the end.
That the game's intro and outro is narrated by Clive as if telling a story is telling. That someone named Joshua Rosfield (us knowing full well Joshua died) somehow wrote a book about the entire adventure while naming it something Clive utters AND puts Cid's emblem on the cover.
All this after seeing there's a major sidequest about how Clive should become a Chronicler after all this is over. What hand turns to stone in the ending? Clive's left hand, but we see nothing else turn to stone. Clive is right handed.
And lastly, the curse only exists in a world where aether and magic are a thing. He expressly destroys that in the end. It's almost certain he survived.
56:13 the moment we have all been waiting for!!!!
--
Maggie FINALLY used GIGAFLARE!!!!
After beating this game the first week it came out, I waited another week or two before I started watching streamers react to it. It was clear that a lot of them just flew through the story, and didn't fully appreciate the impact of the final fight and how it was just a love letter to everything that came before it.
You are the first person I have seen who reacted to this so powerfully and emotionally. Its clear you loved each and every second of this journey and I am so happy for you, and I am so happy I got to experience it with you on here. Keep up the awesome content!
girl im begging you
FFX is an absolute masterpiece bring that and i promise you will love it
I lost it when you said it hits harder if you have siblings. I'm the oldest and I can still recall my brother's first steps, changing my sister's diapers... I'm blessed to call them my best friends in adulthood and I can only imagine Clive's pain. But it's also what makes him my new favorite FF lead. Such a strong, inspiring character and story.
I had been waiting for your reaction to this moment, you had me feeling like I was watching this scene for the first time again, got me choked up seeing you choke up...
Ps. my favorite part is when clive punches ultima in the face and says "ITS FINAL FANTASY TIME!"
🥹 I wish this wasn’t the end. I really enjoyed your play through .. this is such an amazing game ❤ hopefully the dlc content comes soon 😊
Did not disappoint.
I think my favorite part about FFXVI was the focus on the brother relationship and how that was so well done.
I think XVI was the first ever FF written with English in mind. And there’s so many neat little nuggets of info in supplemental materials… things like Jote has been Joshua’s attendant since she was 6.
9.5 out of 10 for me. The only thing I would change is maybe a few more rpg elements.
Interested to see if you thought that the end scene with the book was actually written by Joshua himself or maybe Clive using his name… or maybe that the whole story was just the book.
I don’t have a plays station 5 right now but I’m am so proud of you and I hope to be able to follow you on everything you will do from here on out
Yay! I’m glad you finished it!
I had a hard time playing this game, but as I continued to play through the story I feel more in love with it. Definitely one of my favorites from the series!
Plus the music was top tier and cinematically brilliant!
An amazing let’s play! Thank you very much for taking the time out to record these videos & enlightening us with your thoughts & theories! Seeing you get emotional had me getting emotional all over again even tho I knew what happened lol but goes to show how a game is really a work of art & how it can make people feel.
On to binge your next let’s play hahah
"That no matter how terrible the night, dawn would always come
That you would always come back to me"
Clive: "I love you, Jill"
Jill: .... I know "
Maggie: "WHAAAAAAAT!?!?!?"
Jill: I love you too.
Maggie: "oh okay, u're good then"
😂😂
IMO it was Clive who survived and wrote the book. Wouldn't be the first time he took the name of another. We didn't really get any indication that Joshua survived even though Clive tried to revive him at some point. We did see Clive's hand turn to stone when he tried to use magic which might just be the price you pay for using it while it isn't a thing anymore. There are hints throughout the story that mentions Clive would take up a pen after he was done with his journey. There are more hints than this as well!
@@Vaquix000 i feel like he totally would clean him up. it wasnt just a bit of blood it was a huge hole in his chest.
The ending broke me no lie ❤️ I loved this game!
I knew what was coming, and the ending still crushed me. I enjoyed your perspective going through this game. You quickly became one of my favorite UA-camrs.
I've played Final Fantasy games since I was little. This one was very well done. I'd rank it high on my list.
One thing the Final Fantasy series does well in many of their games is character growth. It's main characters tend to not be one dimensional. Clive did not disappoint, and it made that ending hit even harder.
As with the music it was amazing. Early Final Fantasy games such as Final Fantasy III they had to put a lot of emotion into their music for scenes because they lacked voice acting. Now even though they have voice acting they still keep that quality in their musical scores.
There is an actual orchestra that does concerts playing music from older Final Fantasy games and SquareSoft/Square Enix titles. You can find that on UA-cam. The work that goes into everything is just astounding.
Thank you for sharing your journey through these games! I cried and smiled pretty much at the same scenes you cried and smiled while watching. I look forward to what comes next!
“This is your final fantasy” -Clive
That was one hell of a line.🎉
When someone died in FF7R, I felt sad because I knew that it would make the main character sad. When someone died in FF16, I felt sad because I myself was sad. FF16 was touching at a whole other level and this is coming someone who played every single player FF since 6. FF7R is a great remake to be sure but I do think that the nature of the ending of FF16 always makes the first reaction a negative one. I did not truly realize the impact FF16 had on me until a few play throughs later. Thank you so much for making this series!
Final Fantasy 16 is a very unique entry for its series. I could say it is by far the best voice acted and fulfilling but yet enough room to speculate storywise. Playing this, I can't help but to recollect things from Xenogears. Another Fantasy game by the same company from the 90's. Fun fact, Xenogears was rumored to be a Final Fantasy entry but it was considered adult and too dark so they ended up giving it another title instead. I'd like to think it took FF16 to break that mold for the franchise.
1:03:16 Clive literally became the Final Fantasy and Final Fantasied all over Ultima
What a ride this was! This is definitely my favorite game of the year, although I know there are so many good games this year, FF just has a special place in my heart; not to mention its a great FF game. FF16 is not a perfect game by any means but the sooner I came to terms with its flaws the more I found myself enjoying the awesome ride that it was, its truly an experience I would recommend any first timer wanting a great entry point besides FF7R, especially since FF16 is only one game and not a trilogy which may help people getting into. All in all FF16 satisfied me so much as an FF fan with its story being a call back almost akin to FF4 and 5 with some of the best VA in the franchise and of course the combat and bosses! Truly an incredible edition to the mainline franchise with more to come.
Even though, through every episode, I knew what was coming I still felt every emotion with you as it was my first playthrough. You are an amazingly unbelievable person to experience games with, it’s incredible how you suck us in and we’re right there with you. Feels like a conversation every time :)
Now, gotta go make it look like I wasn’t sobbing for the last 30 min of that game 😂
Thanks again for yet another fantastic play through
A good ending is so hard to do that it made me forgive any pacing issues beforehand. Phenomenal story and game.
Finally. I've waited 3 months for this lol. Good to see we made it to the end :)
I really enjoyed this series. Thank you!
Kasta just learned a truth about Final fantasies 😂 the endings are emotional. The last episode and I'm teary 😭 I can't believe it's over. I'll leave you with my spoiler thoughts since it doesn't matter anymore 😂.
The main topic in most final fantasies is freedom. Freedom of something. In this one it was freedom of will, of choice.
What does the ending mean?
Did Joshua survive? Did Clive?
I think there are a couple scenarios that are possible, but like you said it's up to interpretation:
1. Joshua dies, Clive survives
- Clive is the narrator of the game, he can't do that dead right? 😅 He said at the beginning: and thus did our journey begin. And at the end: and thus did our journey end.
- Clive seems to heal Joshua wounds, but thats all it was. Joshua stated multiple times that the Phoenix may only heal the wounds, not revive people.
- Clive got affected by the curse but we do not see it affect all of his body.
- Jill and Torgal felt his Eikon aether disappear. Thus is understandable that they thought Clive died. But it may be that once he ended magic and all that, the connections were lost too.
- Clive did state in a sidequest that he will pick up the pen and write. He may have named the author as Joshua to honor him. Just as he took Cid's name once.
2. Joshua survived, Clive died
- It may be that Última Clive has the power to resurrect. After all that was the spell Última was going to cast to bring back his kin.
- Phoenix is a famous summon in the FF franchise and one of it's skills is to damage enemies as it revives your companions.
- The book did have Joshua name so it may be that Joshua wrote it to remember his brother's tale.
- Clive did say using Últimas power would mean the end of him
3. None survived
- If we take everything as we see then that's it right? They all died. FFs are infamous for having sweet and sour endings 😅
My thoughts of the game. I love it. Despite the fact that I had my issues with the massive changes it had from the rest in the franchise, It still had plenty of final fantasy in it for me. It was certainly missing a lot though so I hope the future of FF (Final fantasy 17 😊) goes back to roots just a bit.
Music was 20 out of 10 in this game. Most FF fans know they always go hard with the music.
This one I would place in my top 7 or 6 I think. The story was great and the graphics, the eikon battles, the music. It was so enjoyable!
Top 10 final fantasies
1. FF9 (My first one)
2. FF8
3. FF7 Remake and og
4. FF12
5. FF10
6. FF16
7. FF13, FF13-2
8. FF6
9. FF4
10. FF5
11. FF15 (The Black 🐑 of the fam 😅 it's not bad but... 😂)
Thanks for your playthroughs Kasta I enjoyed this game through your eyes all over again! Which is always a wonderful feeling.
So many details!
Clive pledges his sword to protect the phoenix's flame.
Then throws that sword through Ultimas' chest, inflicting the same wound that was inflicted on Joshua.
Then a punch to the face for good measure.
Congrats on finishing another Final Fantasy. A great game, I am glad you enjoyed it. It was different from the others as the final fantasy games do usually differ one from the other. I enjoyed it and would rank it in the upper half of the ones I’ve played(all but 11).
If you like the medieval style, I would recommend 12. FF 10 is the best one outside of seven though. They remastered it a few years back and you should be able to play it on the PS5. Twelve is remastered as well.
As for other games….have you ever played any of the Horizon games?(Zero Dawn and Forbidden West). You would like those. Also Nier Automata is a gem that should not be missed. I think it would be great to see you play one of these.
Thanks!! Love watching your vids!!
I love ur take at the end. The pacing definitely was off at times and made it a bit of a drag. But the story, characters, environment were all top tier. Only lacking thing besides the pacing is meaningful gear and exploration tbh. And they both go hand in hand because the lack of good gear means theres nothing good to put in the world thus making exploration almost worthless.
Every time I rewatch the ending, it breaks my heart. The Ultima Bossfight is the most epic battle from all Final Fantasy series. The short cutscenes where his friends/family
cheer for him are my favorite part. Once Clive entered god mode, there was no turning back. I am super sad that he died, but he died as a legend. Hats off to the voice actor Ben Starr; he brought Clive's character alive. A solid 10/10 Game of the Year for me. I really hope that one day we will get more than just DLCs.
1:30:35 for this game, this game’s script was written in Japanese, then was translated and heavily edited into English, which became the master script, then translated back to Japanese. This is the reason why the translation was very smooth and felt natural. Also, the voice lip-syncing is synced to the english version but not the Japanese one. So, the Japanese version is actually the inferior version to play on, which made a lot of controversy in the Japanese market
I am not sure what was more intense to watch during that huge fight at the beginning, your reactions or the fight, lol... But wow,.. excellent video.
How is it possible that although I've seen this part of the game 4-5 times now, and I swear I have cried MORE every single time 😭😭😭
It's just a testament to the unbelievable work that the writers and especially the actors put in to make me CARE so much about these characters. The older I have gotten, I have realized that the best, most impactful stories that I have ever experienced were not the best because of the grand fights, visuals, or even the music, but because of the PEOPLE in them. Now obviously this game is dripping with ALL of those things, but for me personally it's the characters that make it truly remarkable.
Clive is an amazing, complex, sensitive protagonist who goes through a true arc throughout the story that is just so satisfying (aside from dying at the end, but i don't believe that he died, 😝). Ben Starr honestly poured his heart and soul into this performance and it shows. No line feels lazy or out of character, no matter how small. Best VA work I've ever seen next to Charlotte McBurney in Plague Tale.
And then you add in Cid, Jill, Gav, Joshua, Dion, Martha, Byron... I could write an essay about any one of these characters and the journey they go through and how they made the game feel so alive.
THANK YOU for this heartfelt playthrough, Maggie! It was a pleasure to experience this with you! I have not been able to play the game myself since I don't own a PS5, so all my experience of it has been through watching playthroughs and cutscene movies. I love your commitment and investment in the story ❤
Someday I hope to play it for myself, probably only if it goes to Switch or Switch 2. I skipped through pretty much all of the side quests, so there's still some mysteries that I will have to discover on my own 😊
Wow! What a journey! I enjoyed every single one of your FFXVI videos and i was looking forward to your uploads every 2 days. I'm excited for the dlc, FFVII rebirth and all the new games you're going to play.
i wonder why people say the pacing is off. seemed great to me. It had very high highs and then it lets you take a breathe until the next high moment.
Beautiful story ❤️
Edit: Did Clive die though 👀 (if you’ve played the final side missions, there are hints about who wrote the book)
Watching this after finishing it, that hug at 7:11 is a hug from someone who knows he won't be back.
For me this was easily my favorite FF.
The music, characters, interactions, action, themes…
It was a joy to play.
I have never cried in a game for so Long but this game made me cry so much to the point as I have never been so emotionally invested in the characters and Clive’s Journey and his motivation not to mention the relationships are so well written! Really Enjoyed your playthrough and hope you try out the series accessible ones in the series like 10, 9, 15, 13 which are also amazing!
6:46 commenting early just to say: the almost Han Solo moment 😂
22:17 if you actually put it in photo mode at this moment, you could look around and also see their faces.
Edit: alright, just finished watching the entire video. First things first, congratulations on completing your first full Final Fantasy game! So glad you enjoyed it! I say that only since Remake is 1/3 of a full story, though it’s still great in its own right.
For the story, I thought it was great. As you said, there were highs and lows. For the world itself, as you said, the side quests helped create depth to the world and make you feel invested in these towns and people. However, to me the world felt both full and empty at the same time. I don’t know if that’s because of my previous FF experience and knowledge (it definitely wasn’t as bad as FF15 when it launched) but it felt like a lot of what was there in the zones felt very…same. Same monsters, same types of quests that would vary based on the story it was telling but overall talk>fight>talk. A mini game or two would have helped lighten the mood a lot, and while I know they were going for a very dark and serious story and tone, it didn’t mean it couldn’t have some more lighthearted moments to help the player enjoy certain aspects of the game after heavy moments. I think that’s why I liked Cid, Byron, and even Mid. They didn’t take themselves too seriously, understood the burden they carried, but also weren’t afraid to joke around and make light in the heavy moments. Many FF games actually have deep stories that, as you said, players can connect with either personally or find parallels to in reality, but they also take the time to find light hearted moments as well. I feel like that was missing from 16. There were also a lot of other FF monsters that wouldn’t have necessarily fit in with the Game of Thrones/medieval approach, but would have still worked well in certain areas of the map and added some more to the otherwise empty spaces you would sometimes travel through.
I personally prefer the Remake combat system more, but that’s not to say the team that worked on 16 can’t flesh this one out in the future if/when they work on another game. To me, as you mentioned, there was a point where you were just wrecking everything fairly easily, without having to grind out or work on combos too deeply. Things like that. I know you said you probably made it boring for yourself; from my personal experience the game doesn’t really force or challenge you to learn it’s system. There were no enemies that would only be beaten by specific eikons, or element types. There were ways to deliver more damage of course, but even then that made it feel even easier for me, even in it’s hard difficulty, Final Fantasy Mode. The other thing I sorely missed was the party system, which, when I heard that you would really only be able to control Clive and Torgal I was kind of excited for. In the end, though, I ended up a little more frustrated that I couldn’t direct my party on when to attack or who to attack. I also didn’t feel as deep a connection with them because many times when traveling outside a story, they’d just remain silent as if they weren’t there. No joking around, or murmurs about different beasts or creatures, or remarks on things some NPC’s would say. I get why they did it, as we see in the end it was Clive alone in the fight with Ultima, however in some ways they didn’t truly feel as if they were a huge part of our journey, more that we were told they were in some cases.
I agree 110% that Tarja had too few lines and too little screen time in this game. What little she was around, was great though.
Overall, I still really loved the game and would recommend it to anyone. I mean, FF has been about stories to me, and Clive’s is one of it’s better ones for sure! If you enjoy more medieval fantasy style games, when you do pick up Final Fantasy again (I definitely don’t want you to get FF burnout, enjoy at your own pace!) I recommend Final Fantasy IX (9). It does run on the old ATB system, there have been talks of it getting a remake as well (though this one sounds more or less like a full rebuilding of the game rather then what FF7R could be), but it is a great Final Fantasy game set in a more medieval timeline, but with more of a CG style character and artwork then the older pixel installments. I think you’d really enjoy it!
Can’t wait for whatever you have next on the pipeline! I’m sure it will be a fun watch and great journey for all of us!
@@RainmanKD637 I did miss the Biggs and Wedge reference in this game tho. Honestly when I first played the demo I thought Sir Wade and Sir Tyler were actually going to be named Biggs and Wedge 😂
From my standpoint in how you describe and process all of the information in this video I really appreciate you and I also think that you are so beautiful plus you did amazing job on this and I love that you did to make me smile for a Amazing job thank you for sharing this video with me. And you are so talented in what you do for us as the people that are watching. Thank goodness for you and god bless you
Final Fantasy is pain. A good FF installment is one that really makes you hurt.
The end was amazing, intense and emotional 😢❤😢❤
I'm cried 😢❤😢❤
I like that the writer meant to keep the ending open to interpretation. You can, within reason, believe that Clive died and Joshua stayed dead, or you can reasonably believe that they, or at least one of them, lived. We never saw the curse fully take Clive, and with all the power of Ultima, there is a good chance he revived Joshua. He did mention that his brother's spirit was still with him. Given some of the franchise choices in endings, it was great to see an open-ended ending that is the players choice. Which was something the writer was adamant about. Fun fact if you didn't know, this was done by the team that works on Final Fantasy XIV, the fantasy MMO RPG. It's a lot more light-hearted, but I think the universe of this definitely demanded something more serious. The composer for XIV also worked on all the music for XVI. He is a genius.
I def like more medieval fantasy like this over the tech and futuristic stuff of some of the other ff games.
Yeah, same because it makes so much more sense. Idk, tbh I've always loved a medieval setting with magic, or fantasy, it's perfect for me
Any of the FF7 games and 10 are my exceptions for the more technology-based settings.
@Vaquix000 I never said it was realistic. It's just something I prefer
i dont it feels too western. the sci fi is what defines ff imo
I’m 2 videos behind, but wanted to pop in and say I am enjoying your content. Looking forward to what’s next.
oh no it's the last one 😢 let's go 👀
Glad you enjoyed it, you made this really fun! It still breaks my heart seeing the Joshua scene at the end, as I'm an older brother myself. Clive basically lost Joshua twice, and spent 13 years trying to get his revenge before seeing he was alive again, only to lose him again at the very end. From what has been established, Phoenix cannot revive people, only heal wounds.
My theory is Joshua did not write that book, but Clive did. He was the first and final witness to everything that happened in the entire game. His left hand was becoming petrified, but he was right handed and wearing a glove on his right hand. I think to honor his brother, he wrote the book in his name, so that he might live forever in history.
Your critiques are quite valid, especially the pacing... Too many valleys and not enough peaks-- it becomes ridiculous at the end of the game with all the side quests. How do you go from basically fighting a continent (Titan fight) to picking up berries and looking for people 10-15 mins later? The scale is way off for quite a few of the quests and most of them should have been culled.
I think the game on it's own is very solid, but as a Final Fantasy game it is very lacking. The RPG elements that are staples in the series are very much missing. Gear customization is very limited (+Atk, +Defense +HP, I think?), it would have been amazing if Ramuh's sword for example, gave increased lightning damage, or was able to chain lightning mobs when you hit them close together. Maybe have Garuda's sword attacks much quicker than others and can auto combo. Odin's blade to critically damage foes for significantly more damage. You get the idea. Armor could also be improved, giving you more run speed, additional potions, grant you abilities you didn't spec into, reduce damage from elements, or even drain HP from them. 3 slots for accessories isn't great either, considering if you used the accessibility rings, you would literally never replace them the entire game. Where's the fun in that? Those should have been a system toggle, not actual accessories.
While you get Eikon abilities, spells being MIA for the player is also an extremely odd omission for a Final Fantasy game. Stuff like Cure, Protect, Bio, Haste, Poison, ect. You see enemies have these, but why not you? This, again, goes with the armor/weapon customization.
I think my biggest con was lack of stable party members, it is really glaring later on with all the side missions. Sure, you'll have Dion, Jill, Cid, and Joshua at times, but none of them are stable cast mates. Most of the dialogue in the game is with a NPC and Clive. This takes away a lot of the character building that previous games have. You see it with FF7R; take Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Barrett, who are constantly bouncing dialogue off of each other, learning about life, dreams, issues, and general fun stuff. There's always something to keep branching and growing these characters. However, in FF16, Clive is mostly alone the entire game. Torgal doesn't talk and does some ridiculous plot armor things (How did he survive Odin's tower when Odin cut it in half?) When Clive finishes a side quest with most NPCs, there might be one or two more scenes with them, and then it just kinda ends. You don't even get to equip Jill and the others... They all felt like an after thought and disconnected from everything you are doing, most of the time. Clive is built up really well, but everyone else really felt short in development.
Ambrosia being an optional quest was awful. That bird is royalty, and saved Clive's life!
It sounds like I didn't like this game, but I think it is very, very good. It has a lot of great qualities you touched on.
I think Ben Starr deserves a nod for best VA at some award show. He killed it.
And you should be proud for making it to the end. I’m almost done with Lies of P. I’m trying to finish it before lords of the Fallen. Assassins Creeds Mirage is also coming out this month along with Alan Wake 2 and ROBOCOP: Rogue City
GG. You did so well. I hope your having so much fun as I've had. Even though the games old, its still remarkable.
The true ending of the story is explained in some of the end side quests. A couple of them reference the ending scenes perfectly.
Clive survived 100%. description of the evidence
The book is titled "Final Fantasy". During his fight with Ultima, Clive says that Ultima lives in "Fantasy" and will be his "Final" witness. Therefore, only he gave meaning to these two words. Only he could name the book that.
In a side quest shortly before the end, Clive talks to Hypocrates in the hideout and tells him that once he does all this, he will one day write a book about his life. That's what he does at the end. Just under a different name. He took Cid's name to honor Cid's legacy and continue the fight. And he took the name Joshua to dedicate his inheritance to his fallen brother
Clive is also the one who narrates at the end and tells how the journey came to an end. He is also the one who is at the beginning and says that the journey is just beginning.
During one of the final side quests, Jill tells Clive about how she was afraid in the past, but overcame it by looking at the sun and knowing that Clive would come for her just as the sun rose after every night, no matter how long was. Jill cries at the end, but when she sees the sun, she immediately stops. She knows Clive will come back to her
Using magic too often affected hosts in various ways. Their bodies began to turn to stone, but it always depended on how much they used. We saw a child completely turned to stone because he used too much magic. We saw old carriers without a stone. We also saw adults who had large parts of their bodies turned to stone but were still alive - even standing up and fighting on behalf of the people who defended them. At the end we see that only Clive's hand has been turned to stone. That alone won't kill him. And since the magic had disappeared at that moment, the stone curse also stayed on his hand.
the ending can be interpreted in different ways, but there is so much evidence to suggest that not only will Clive survive - but there is also a lot of teases before the final battle that sets up Cliv for the next step after the fight ends. And the ending wasn't presented in a bitter way, where all of Clive's plans and hopes were ruined. In my opinion, he gathered his strength on the beach and then returned to the hideout and lived happily ever after with Jill. He lost an arm though, that's for sure. and I think that the children at the end are his descendants, the older one has dark hair and the younger one has light hair like Clive and Joshua
This is my evidence and that of other players, I hope it helps.
thanks Maggie for this amazing playthrough.
It would be really cool if you would try out the Nier series. The gameplay is similar to FF16 (hack and slash) but much more basic and easier to get into. The story however is some of the best in video games. Nier Replicant is the first one and Nier Automata is the sequel. I promise you won’t regret these if you give them a chance.
She mentioned on her latest community post that NieR Replicant is on her list.
Awesome play through. I think what made this game for me was the incredible combat and fantastic story. I think that if they are able to mesh this with FF7R's combat for the next mainline entry we could see something incredible. Idk if you need game recommendations or not but if you really liked the messages of this story I'd suggest playing Xenoblade Chronicles on switch. if you don't have a switch, another really good series in generally I'd recommend is the Horizon series, completely different type of game to this but one of my favorites.
Xenoblade is really good. I think an argument can be made that the trilogy is even better than final fantasy. Xenoblade's a lot more anime though, so might not be everyone's cup of tea.
@@adrianchan8972 very true, but it's a great game so I thought I'd just put it out there.
The ending of this game absolutely wrecked me. Such a beautiful story.
Completing Priceless sidequest gives us an ambigious ending
In Japanese language: On that special day when they were young, Jill recalled witnessing the flowers reaching out for the sun after the storm; similarly, Clive reached out to her on that day and calmed her down from the "storm" the storm being that she was being ignored as a person when she overheard her marriage potential. Because of that, she gained the conviction that Clive will always be there for her, no matter what (a belief that is confirmed several times in the game, with Clive first coming back to her after many years apart and then saving her in the ship). She said that's a quality she appreciates and likes about him before she confessed to him and declared him as her treasure.
Therefore, end-game seeing the sun rising calmed her down and stopped her from crying any further.
Ik this came out ages ago, but I watched your 7 remake playthrough as it was coming out and I loved it. I had to wait months to watch this one because I myself hadn't played 16 yet, but I finally finished your playthrough and I really enjoyed it. I gotta say, my favorite Eikon to use in combat was Odin, I absolutely love the finesse/parry and timing focused combat style, it reminds me of Devil May Cry, which I feel is the peak of hack n slash games. If you ever see this comment you should keep in mind that the greater community typically regards FFs 7 through 10 as the peak of final fantasy, and overall the best games in the series. My personal favorite is 10.
I ugly cried for minutes at Joshua's death. As the overprotective eldest brother with 3 siblings I could totally relate to them. The scene where Joshua gives him the blessing tore my heart. How highly Joshua thinks of his older brother and how Clive tries to live up to the cool older brother expectations with the wink despite thinking very lowly of himself 😭😭
Loved the emotional journey with you. What a game and what a gameplay very very well done @maggie. Thank you
Thank you for sharing your FF journey with us….
But where one journey ends…
Loved the playthrough, excited for the DLC's. I hope your next playthrough is BG3, cause man are you gonna love that one.
The sidequests do flesh things out a little more and some of them are incredibly hard hitting. But I doubt the writers even know 100% what the concrete fate of the characters are. Thats kind of the beauty of it. There are plenty of theories (some backed by good evidence) but in the end its up to everyone to decide who really lived or died.
Terrible playthrough to not have tissues for though.
What did I take away from it? Well the same thing I take away from every Final Fantasy game (which answers the debate about wether this game is a real Final Fantasy game). At the end of the day every final fantasy game, from the very first to this one is about the power and strength of friendship. The creator of the series who has long since left Square Enix, spoke about how much he loved 16 and about that underlying message which continues to be the core message of every Final Fantasy game. No question the game is far from perfect. The loot and gear system was very subpar, the exploration felt very weak, especially when you look at what they are doing in FF7 Rebirth, and the story as you noted, has some pacing issues. But end of the day, the insanely high points of the game, the terrific action combat, the beautiful story and music and the insanely good voice acting, make this an absolute classic.
Personally, seeing all of the XVI playthroughs on UA-cam recently was my big introduction in to the Final Fantasy universe; I saw playthroughs of VI and IV years ago, and they were really fun games, and I've seen some VII playthroughs as well. This game though, in my opinion, was f***ing incredible; and not just among Final Fantasy games, but this to me is legitimately one of the best games ever. The characters, the music, the graphics, the voice acting, the story was all just unbelievable: The boss fights were especially amazing; the Titan Lost fight, the final battles against Ultima and the Bahamut fight especially were some of the best boss fights in video game history in my opinion. A lot of the criticisms about the game, from some of the side quests and and the pacing I always felt like were really minor criticisms in the grand scheme of things. Side quests are always going to be a subjective and fickle thing; every single player has different opinions on whether or not side quests are too long, too short, not memorable, whether there's too many, the characters, etc. For me; sure some side quests are boring and don't really add much, but a lot of them, especially in the second half of the game, and phenomenal and really just make an already really likable cast of characters even more likable and makes that scene at the end where Clive is saying his goodbye's and looking at all of the people he's met on his journey hit even closer to the heart. The pacing also to me wasn't an issue, I actually thought it was paced just fine. I've always been a patient gamer and have also never been a fan of games that are just non-stop action and just jump from one big story line right to the next; I like that this game allows the players to rest, take a breather, digest everything that's happened, get used to your new abilities, do some side quests, build up some of the other characters and their personalities and then move on to the next major story line when you're ready. I feel like it would be overwhelming for players to go from finishing the Titan Lost fight to suddenly 20 minutes later starting the fight with Bahamut. So where some people may see the points of the game where the story isn't progressing and you're mainly doing side quests as a negative, my mindset has always been "I don't care that the story's on pause for now, I'm having fun." 😁Also, whenever I play games, I tend to pay a lot of attention to the bigger picture; to see all of the amazing things in this game that I listed off earlier, and then for the negatives that I've always seen brought up to be some of the side quests and the pacing, my mindset has always been "You're going to have to give me more than that; what am I supposed to do, say that this game is a mixed bag or just so-so because 95% of it is great and 5% might be lacking a little." That's one of the things that always made me mad whenever I saw people hate on Skyward Sword, my personal favorite Legend of Zelda game. One UA-camr actually did this whole calculation of how much of the game you spend backtracking or re-visiting certain areas of the game and it was like his biggest problem with the game as a whole, and he ended it by saying, very passionately and almost angrily "The amount of time you spend backtracking in this game amount to a whopping 1% of the total gameplay. That is inexcusable!" I'm like "Dude, first of all, you're going to give Skyward Sword shit because there's backtracking or re-visiting certain areas; have you played a Legend of Zelda game before? And second of all; oh no a whole 1% of the game is kind of lacking; what about the other 99%?" So that's my take on it all; there's always going to be subjective criticisms of any game, and XVI is no exception, but for me it doesn't even come close to undoing all of the things this game did well, and it did almost everything exceptionally well. 😊