When I first loaded up Final Fantasy 16 on my Xbox Series S, I felt lost within the first five minutes. As a total newcomer to Square Enix’s beloved franchise, I’d expected as much. But even with my notepad and pen handy for scribbling notes when faced with confusion – like “what the hell is a chocobo?” – the one thing I was not prepared for was Final Fantasy 16’s gameplay.
I’ll be completely honest with you: the main reason I’m playing this game is because of Ben Starr. More specifically, his performance as Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I’m loving turn-based games right now, and figured I might as well stay on that JRPG-adjacent hype after rolling credits on Sandfall’s stunning debut.
But Final Fantasy 16 is a very different JRPG – touted as more of an action RPG hybrid – when it comes to combat encounters, and I’m surprising myself by how quickly I’ve managed to fall under its spell now that I can finally play it on Xbox… even if I didn’t quite know what I was in for.
Humble beginnings
“Stands alongside the series’ greats”
Read why GamesRadar+ gives Clive Rosfield’s journey a whopping five stars in our Final Fantasy 16 review
First, let me catch you up with my JRPG journey so far. After playing and loving Persona 3 Reload last year, I decided that perhaps I’d been excluding a whole world of games for no good reason.
This is something I sought to change, and with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 being a JRPG-inspired French RPG with turn-based combat, I count it among my genre conquests as well as being my favorite new game of 2025 so far.
But JRPGs are not a monolith. I know that not all of them feature turn-based combat, despite it being prominent in many. It’s just that, as one of the franchises which popularized the genre, I’d expected Final Fantasy to be the textbook example of a JRPG. I was suspicious already when my colleagues told me that 16 was “more action heavy” than previous series instalments. I didn’t even know that most of the games are standalone experiences, that’s how little prior exposure I’d had to Final Fantasy going in.
But it was only after scrolling through a list of the best Final Fantasy games a few hours into my playthrough that I learned something crucial: Final Fantasy 16 is the first game in the franchise to take an unexpected turn toward a more classic third-person combat approach. In a way, I guess that kind of makes it perfect for a newbie like me.
Meet the Wyvern
The theatricality of it all is something I am deeply enjoying about the tone of JRPGs – and games inspired by them…
Sparring as Clive, I feel a rush of familiarity. Sword combos, ranged melee spells, target lock-on… this is the bread and butter of a great fantasy combat system.
A little thrill goes through me when I get to experiment with dodges and perfect dodges for the first time, bringing me right back to my Lumiere adventures as I hear Maelle scream “PARRY IT” in my head, much as she now does in my nightmares. There’s a certain balletic ebb and flow to Final Fantasy 16’s combat that makes it feel effortless, intuitive and slick as I send Clive soaring across the sparring grounds in a flurry of flames. At this point, I’m still not too sure why he has these fancy powers, but just like everything else about exploring a brand new video game world, I’ll have to trust the process to grasp it. Hopefully.
Fast forward a few more cutscenes – a wicked mother here, a simpering little brother there, a barrel-chested archduke dad who totally isn’t primed for a tragic demise imminently – and I’m facing a horde of goblins.
The soldiers assisting Clive look more like a pair of butchers who just came running out of Rosaria’s local abattoir (what’s with the leather aprons?!) and honestly I don’t think I really need their help. I’m loving how skilled Final Fantasy 16 has me feeling already, even with such a scant few abilities unlocked at this early stage.
When quick-time events like cinematic strikes and explosions come into play, I feel like even more of a badass; Clive flies into the air like a superhero to drive his sword home into the gaping maw of some blobby, acid-spewing foe called a morbol, I’m filled with glee.
The theatricality of it all is something I am deeply enjoying about the tone of JRPGs – and games inspired by them – so far. It’s a level of high camp that’s rare in other genres, utterly over-the-top and showy stuff that makes each moment feel like an action movie. Paired with the edgy fringe and stylish leather getup, Clive Rosfield may as well be Bayonetta – and I love that for him.
It’s still early doors for me in Final Fantasy 16, having just arrived at the hideaway after meeting Cid, butI can already feel myself falling in love with this game. It’s kind of heartening that where Western developers – like Clair Obscur’s Sandfall Interactive – are starting to bring JRPG combat staples to Western RPGs, Square Enix is flirting with the total opposite here.
It might not be the turn-based combat experience I was expecting, but Final Fantasy 16 is teaching me about the breadth of JRPGs, action-RPGs, and all the shades between. That said, it’s nice to see at least one consistency between them: I’m always in the shoes of an angsty, tastefully dressed hot person with a cool haircut and a weapon in hand, and I’ll use it to fight for my imperilled loved ones as long as I can do a pirouette or two. And who wouldn’t want to live that (hopefully not final) fantasy out, really?
Check out all the upcoming PS5 games slated for 2025 and beyond for your next RPG fix
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