Final Fantasy XVI Complete Edition (PC) Review – Still Masterful

Final Fantasy XVI (PC) Review

When it was released in 2023, Final Fantasy XVI was generally hailed as brilliant, but it was also divisive. Some longtime fans of the venerable franchise were upset that the game ditched decades of turn-based combat for real-time action. Now Final Fantasy XVI Special Edition has made its way to PC. The game was at the top of my favorites list last year. Needless to say, I was excited to play through it again, with the power of a high-end PC driving the graphics and performance.

After its detour into a contemporary story with the last mainline installment, Final Fantasy XVI returns the series to sword-and-magic dark fantasy. As always, it shares some lore and even characters with prior games, though it’s of course a standalone story. The main character is Clive Rosfield, the firstborn son of the Duke of Rosaria. Clive’s younger brother is Joshua, who is revealed to be a Dominant. Dominants channel massive magical creatures called Eikons, each associated with an element. The Duke and Joshua are killed by an Eikon and assassins from Sanbreque, an enemy nation. Clive is captured and forced to serve as a Sanbreque soldier. Years later, Clive escapes and becomes an outlaw, joining forces with Cid— a recurring Final Fantasy character— and the expansive narrative of power, magic, and retribution kicks into high gear. 

Action+Story=Fantastic

There are many action RPGs with paper-thin stories, but Final Fantasy XVI  isn’t one of them. Its narrative is complex, thematically dense, and beautifully written, staged, and voiced by a very effective ensemble. Its cast of characters are varied and lead Clive is one of the best in the franchise. Some people may object to the game narrowing the focus to a single main player character. I didn’t, and besides, Clive goes through many changes and identities. Playing through it again on PC, I still think it’s one of the best stories in the franchise’s history. 

For many gamers, Final Fantasy XVI’s real-time action combat was the height of heresy. While I’m not sure if I want all future installments to follow its lead, in this case, the change was refreshing and engaging. Although it doesn’t have crazy deep RPG systems and a sprawling abilities tree, there are plenty of ways to customize Clive in combat. Between dodging, parrying, cinematic attacks, Eikon powers, and magic, it’s easy to find a style that clicks. At the story-focused difficulty, combat can feel a bit button-mashy. It’s at the normal and new game+ levels that the flexibility and challenge really shine. Obviously, any action-style combat is going to feel better at higher frame rates. That’s where the PC comes in.

Tame the Beast

This past year I upgraded my gaming rig to a serious beast with a Ryzen 9 7950 and a GeForce 4080 super. Final Fantasy XVI popped out a constant 120 FPS in 4K with everything cranked to Ultra. The big exception is during both pre-rendered and in-engine cut scenes, which are locked at 30 FPS. That’s disappointing and a bit jarring, too. There are mods available that fix the problem. I also encountered a few dropped frames here and there at the start of some intense combat sequences or loading into new zones, but rarely. Aside from the long initial shader loading time, everything was fast and seemed well optimized for PC. There’s a wide range of options and tweaks to help dial in the best experience. Maybe best of all, the PC version fully supports all the bells and whistles of the DualSense controller.

In addition to the $49.99 (USD) base game, the $69.00 special edition includes both DLCs, Echoes of the Fallen and The Rising Tide, which add several hours to an already substantial experience.

No Hesitation

While not everyone agrees that Final Fantasy XVI is the best entry in the series, it was certainly one of the standout games of 2023. With its absorbing narrative, memorable characters, great acting, and engaging real-time action combat, Final Fantasy XVI brings to the PC a thrilling experience that does nothing but improve an already stellar game.

***PC code provided by the publisher for review***