The Final Fantasy XVI Discussion thread! Total Sales top 3 million!!!

[Runa216]

I just wanna say, for anyone complaining about FFXVI not being 'final fantasy' in the traditional sense, I just realized something.

Final Fantasy 1-9 (the most traditional era) were made and released between the years of 1987 and 2000. 13 years.

Final Fantast 10-16 (The more recent ones that people tend to be most critical of for changing things up) happened between 2001-2023.

We've been in a 'non-traditional' era of Final Fantasy longer than we've been in a 'traditional' era by a pretty wide margin. At a certain point you really gotta recalibrate your perception and stop letting Nostalgia get in the way of enjoying new, awesome things.

Like, yeah, there are a few things I wish were in XVI, or subtle ways I feel they could have incorporated more 'traditional' elements, but that isn't stopping me from loving what's there. I love the combat. I love the world. I love the exploration. I love the characters. I love waaaaayyyyy more about the game than I dislike. and as I said before, the minor quibbles I have are only quibbles because they're compared and contrasted against my expectations or hopes based on prior games I love, not because they're actually better or worse.

Like, I was super disappointed in Final Fantasy VIII when there was no place like the Golden Saucer to play all the mini-games, but I got over it. I Was also disappointed when IX's card game wasn't as good as VIII's, but I got over it. I also was sad when X lacked a world map but I got over it. I was also sad when XII changed up the formula and failed to make a narrative that was as compelling as the others, but I still got over it. all of these games are among my favourites, and each one has a thing or two I missed from prior or following entries. Again, Final Fantasy has ALWAYS been about switching things up, trying new things, and changing the formula with each new entry.

So this not being like Final Fantasy in the past is in some ways the best example of how it IS Final Fantasy. and, as I've been there since 6/7, I can also say that complaining that the new game isn't the same as the old games is the most 'final fantasy fan' it could possibly be.