Final Fantasy 16: Release Date, Story, and Everything Else

Gamers, are you ready to hop back on Chocobos? The next installment in the world-famous franchise, Final Fantasy XVI, will have its premiere on June 22, 2023. Initially, the game will be released only on PlayStation 5, but the PC port is expected to arrive sometime in 2024.

In the meantime, be sure to check out another entry in the series, and simultaneously one of the best MMORPGs on the market, Final Fantasy XIV Online.

Also, don’t forget to check our tier lists on the best stuff in Final Fantasy XIV Online (there, you can also create & share your own lists too).

Final Fantasy XIV Online – tier lists.

The Story of Final Fantasy 16

If you haven’t played previous games in the franchise, don’t worry! Each one of them takes place in a completely different world and follows entirely different characters (except Chocobos, which appear in nearly every Final Fantasy game).

Final Fantasy XVI isn’t an exception here. The game’s story takes place in a land known as Valisthea, precisely on its two continents: Ash and Storm.

Valisthea

Valisthea is scattered with so-called ‘Mothercrystals’ – mountains of precious magical crystals that provide people substance known as ‘aether’. Six kingdoms of Valisthea are at war over this resource. These include:

• The Grand Duchy of Rosaria
• The Holy Empire of Sanbreque
• The Dhalmekian Republic on the Storm continent
• The Kingdom of Waloed (dominating faction on the Ash)
• The Neutral Crystalline Dominion (sitting between both continents)
• The Iron Kingdom (isolated nation overseen by the Crystalline Orthodox)

It’s also worth mentioning that 1500 years before the events from Final Fantasy XVI, the sky-based civilization ruled over the world, but the great war caused it to collapse, and nowadays it’s treated as a legend.

Eikons

Speaking of something straight from legends, Valisthea is also a place of residence for Eikons. Each of these powerful beings of mass destruction lives within a body of a selected human. In exchange for becoming a vessel, the mortal host can summon Eikon and use its power.

These individuals are known as Dominants. In some realms, they are treated as celebrities but in others, Dominants are forced to be living weapons of war.

Clive Rosenfield

The story of Final Fantasy XVI follows the life of Clive Rosenfield (the main protagonist), through his teenage days, 20s, and 30s. Clive is the firstborn son of the Archduke of Rosaria, who was supposed to inherit Eikon of fire, Phoenix.

But fate decided otherwise, and his younger brother, Joshua, became Dominant – something that he strongly regrets, as he deeply admires Clive.

Clive eventually lived enough to become the First Shield of Rosaria, the bodyguard of Joshua, who is able to partially use the power of Phoenix.

Ultimately, the dark Eikon, Ifrit, destroys Clive’s life and career. This event sets him on the path of revenge.

Companions

He isn’t alone, though. His loyal companions are always there for him, like childhood friend Jill Warrick, or wolf-buddy named Torgal.

Clive will also meet a bunch of other interesting characters, like Hugo Kupka – Dominant of the Eikon Titan and Economic Advisor of The Dhalmekian Republic – or mysterious Benedikta Harman, Dominant of the Eikon Garuda.

The Gameplay in Final Fantasy 16

In June 2022, the producer of Final Fantasy XVI, Naoki Yoshida, revealed that the team hopes to bring new players on deck (via IGN):

“We’ve found in our extensive user research that many of the younger generation of gamers have never played a Final Fantasy or don’t have any interest in the series.

To create a game that might excite and resonate not only with our core fans, but also with that new generation, we played a lot of games ourselves, and so yes, in FFXVI you’ll find inspiration from recent triple-A open-world RPGs.”

Changes in the franchise

Final Fantasy XVI will dump the traditional turn-based combat system in favor of real-time clashes. Moreover, unlike in previous Final Fantasy games, in the coming installment players will take control solely over Clive – his companions on the other hand will be steered exclusively by AI.

The game will also offer a few open areas, which players can explore to obtain better equipment and complete numerous side quests. But it’s worth mentioning, that Final Fantasy XVI won’t have one big open world like its predecessor, Final Fantasy XV from 2016.

Eikon battles

Clive will also participate in epic Eikon battles. Each one of them will be distinctive from the rest thanks to its own unique mechanics. Some fights of Eikons might resemble 3D shooters, while others look like wrestling matches.

Remember to get familiar with Final Fantasy XIV tier lists. In your spare time also visit our ever-growing Discord community. GL&HF 😉