Ultimate Fantasy 16 preview: A brand new starting

• Grittier and extra medieval
• Safeguarding his Dominant brother
• Easing into fight
• Solo combating however in a bunch
• A devoted canine companion
• Open-world sequences
• Sky-high manufacturing values

Whereas you might have learn a good bit concerning the return of a certain Japanese fantasy action-adventure game just lately, one other genre-defining, equally long-running Japanese RPG (JRPG) franchise can also be poised to make a long-awaited comeback.

On June 22, Sq. Enix’s Final Fantasy 16 (or Ultimate Fantasy XVI should you’re feeling correct) will arrive, seven years after Ultimate Fantasy 15. And within the context of the general Ultimate Fantasy collection, it is a vastly necessary recreation.

That is partly as a result of it is a collection which, in recent times, has been at risk of upstaging itself. Ultimate Fantasy 15, whereas completely serviceable, was by no means acclaimed as a basic instalment, not like the remake of Ultimate Fantasy 7 (the second episode of which is due in summer season 2024).

So Ultimate Fantasy 16 comes with a sure sense of duty – not least a mission to set the venerable franchise up for a gilded future within the trendy gaming age, to match its revered previous. To be able to assess whether or not it might try this, we spent over 4 hours taking part in it (on the PlayStation 5) – and the ensuing early indications are very promising certainly.

Grittier and extra medieval

One facet of Ultimate Fantasy 16 instantly stands out: it has averted an apparent lure afflicting such long-running franchises, by refusing to pander to previous instalments. It is nonetheless recognisably a Ultimate Fantasy recreation – the hair-modelling, for instance, is commonly outrageous, magical crystals are as soon as once more key and there are many chocobos. However even these chocobos have misplaced their faint air of ridiculousness – many are closely armoured – and the final vibe is markedly completely different: grittier, and displaying nods in the direction of the likes of Recreation of Thrones and Elden Ring.

Sq. Enix

It opens with an surprising on-rails motion sequence, through which you management an enormous phoenix battling with one other fire-breathing titan – a sequence that may be revisited at better size in the end. That set the final fantasy-forward tone, however felt barely odd till we realised {that a} honest quantity of scene-setting cut-scenes would inevitably observe within the recreation’s early phases. Ultimate Fantasy 16 is ready in a brand new world for the franchise – Valisthea – so has a definite lore that should be established.

The preliminary scenes additionally leap between two time intervals, and the character you play, Clive Rosfield, options in each. When Ultimate Fantasy 16 correctly will get going, you play as a 28-year-old, battle-hardened Clive (at one level going by the identify Wyvern to cover his id), however the important thing story-establishing scenes happen 13 years earlier, when a 15-year-old Clive, having established a status as a promising swordsman, should earn his spurs.

Sq. Enix

Clive is – not unusually for a Ultimate Fantasy recreation – one thing of a blue-blood: his dad is the Archduke of the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, in Valisthea’s Storm continent. Rosaria is a reasonably idyllic place – you could possibly think about the fort Clive was introduced up in being run by the Nationwide Belief – however storm clouds are gathering. Valisthea is “Blessed within the mild of Mothercrystals”, which maintain away a creeping blight, however Rosaria has no such crystal of its personal. In consequence, it’s making ready for a skirmish in opposition to the neighbouring Iron Kingdom, which has a Mothercrystal in territory Rosaria views as its personal.

Safeguarding his Dominant brother

Preliminary bucolic scenes in Rosaria introduce numerous characters. Clive’s youthful brother Joshua, though a sickly youngster, is the anointed inheritor to the Grand Duchy. It is because he’s a so-called Dominant: a wielder of elemental fireplace energy and capable of rework into an enormous Phoenix Eikon. Clive’s mom surprisingly appears to disdain him – for causes that can turn into clear later within the recreation – and Clive, who has been imbued with a few of Joshua’s Phoenix fire-magic, swears to guard his little brother.

Sq. Enix

Nevertheless, treachery is in play, and after Rosaria’s combating forces are terminally ambushed, Joshua should face one other, surprising fireplace Eikon (there’s solely speculated to be one among every aspect). Unprepared, and unable to wield his energy correctly (regardless that you do get to play as him each pre- and post-transformation), he’s killed.

Clive, left for useless, is conscripted into an elite unit of the military of neighbouring province Sanbreque, and vows to pursue revenge on the mysterious Eikon who killed Joshua.

Easing into fight

As an interlude earlier than that frenzy of exposition, Ultimate Fantasy 16 introduces you to its fight system by sending Clive and two fellow troopers on a tutorial-style mission, to rid a marshy space of Rosaria of monsters (that are primarily goblin-like, though there are some pretty untaxing bosses, too).

Beforehand, although, he should defeat his fight teacher, in a sequence which teaches you the bare-bones fundamentals, and confirms that Ultimate Fantasy 16 has lastly expunged any franchise legacy of turn-based battling. Its fight system is totally real-time, and primarily melee primarily based, though Clive can cost up numerous magic-enhanced particular assaults too.

He may also parry and evade, and as he ranges up, he acquires an array of latest, more and more spectacular talents reminiscent of aerial and follow-up strikes, and the flexibility to launch himself off opponents.

Sq. Enix

Ultimate Fantasy 16’s fight system feels spot-on: it is quick, flowing and responsive, and provides you the form of instruments that may deal the bursts of spectacular injury that you’d count on from a Ultimate Fantasy recreation. In some way, regardless that it has deserted its turn-based aspect, it nonetheless manages to really feel distinctively Ultimate Fantasy, so ought to please most followers, bar the whole turn-based adherents.

Tools, as ever, is important, and a very important new a part of Clive’s fight array is the idea of rings – dubbed Well timed Equipment by the sport – which might be geared up to a minimum of partially automate these fight duties which you discover least interesting.

Throughout our play-through of Ultimate Fantasy XVI’s first two chapters of their entirety, we acquired a Ring of Well timed Strikes, which automated combo-chaining, a Ring of Well timed Evasion, which introduced a measure of auto-evasion, and a Ring of Well timed Focus, which added a context-sensitive time-slowing aspect which, for instance, purchased further time, together with on-screen prompts, for evasion when main strikes got here in from enemies.

The online impact of these equipment was to make you are feeling like essentially the most agile drive on the battlefield, and there was energy and magic so as to add, significantly when Clive began to stage up – which he did incessantly. We ended chapter two at stage 13.

Staggering enemies in order that you could possibly deal a flurry of injury proved to be a key mechanic, too. Clive has a magic strike – an Eikon Means – which powers up throughout battles and might be unleashed utilizing the R2 button as a modifier.

There are additionally two different Eikon abilities, which result in various kinds of assaults, and whereas he begins (as defined within the story) with entry to the hearth Eikon Phoenix’s abilities, he later turns into capable of faucet into different Eikons’ containers of tips.

Solo combating however in a bunch

Whereas Clive fights with others, he does not straight management them – however there’s loads of helpful assist on provide. In chapter two, the sport flashes ahead to the older Clive, combating with a Sanbreque military unit which is principally gatecrashing another person’s combat, and has been tasked with capturing an ice Dominant named Shiva.

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Shiva – apologies for the spoiler, however it occurs very early within the recreation – seems to be Clive’s childhood buddy Jill, so Clive feels unable to hold out his order to execute her.

At this level, a Ultimate Fantasy hardy perennial, the character Cid, rescues the pair of them, and whereas Jill recovers in Cid’s hideout (a hub which is the supply of assorted side-missions and residential to an Arete Stone, which helps you to hone your fight abilities in a jeopardy-free setting and replay earlier sequences), Clive embarks on his true mission – to avenge his brother Joshua by monitoring down the second fireplace Dominant.

A devoted canine companion

Cid’s look reintroduces Clive to his canine, Torgal, who cutely seems as a pet in Clive’s early teenage sequences. Besides now, he has turn into a combating assist machine – he can auto-heal Clive when his well being will get low, and has different canine abilities, reminiscent of a capability to scout out hidden pathways.

Sq. Enix/Pocket-lint

His presence reinforces the sensation that, though in Ultimate Fantasy 16 you solely management Clive, you continue to have a bunch round you offering precious backup. That is an necessary consider the way in which the sport manages to make important gameplay adjustments, but retains its franchise id.

Open-world sequences

After ending Ultimate Fantasy XVI’s second chapter – which entails navigating by means of a monster-infested forest in Cid’s firm – we got a short glimpse of one of many recreation’s open-world areas. This time, Clive and Torgal have Jill for firm, who primarily gives therapeutic assist in addition to long-range ice-magic assaults.

Once more, its gameplay felt like that of a Ultimate Fantasy recreation, as we meandered by means of a lakeside map with a marshy shoreline, taking over monsters and selecting up side-missions – together with one from a service provider whose overturned cart was being menaced by wild chocobos.

Sq. Enix/Pocket-lint

Sky-high manufacturing values

Ultimate Fantasy 16 can be a PlayStation 5 console unique, which appears to be like like a clever resolution if you keep in mind its impeccably excessive manufacturing values. It appears to be like incredible, accommodates some music that’s destined to turn into iconic and serves up unbelievable consideration to element in its ambient sounds.

Manufacturing-wise, there isn’t any doubting that it’s a very elegant recreation certainly, and what we skilled of its story arc additionally impressed – though even 4 hours of preview play can by no means present a stable impression of how properly a recreation will dangle collectively as a complete.

Sq. Enix

It is going to be fascinating to see what Ultimate Fantasy followers make of it, since it’s a departure, clearly designed to set the franchise up for the longer term. Its fight is actually completely different, but one way or the other nonetheless feels recognisably Ultimate Fantasy, which is a few achievement. And its vibe is unquestionably extra critical than that of many earlier instalments, with a markedly darker undertone and scant proof of some extra frivolous characters who featured in earlier iterations.

Ultimate Fantasy 16’s distinction from its predecessors might alienate a part of the franchise’s fan-base, particularly these wedded to turn-based gameplay, however it also needs to appeal to it to new gamers, specifically those that take pleasure in Soulslike video games.

Its developer, Sq. Enix’s splendidly named Inventive Enterprise Unit III, ought to be counseled for greedy the nettle and making a decisive break with the franchise’s creaking legacy, whereas nonetheless managing to protect its id.