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6 Ways Final Fantasy XVI Could Have Been Even Better

The ever-popular Final Fantasy series has once again released another hit title with its sixteenth installment, welcoming longtime fans and newcomers alike. Even those who have played for just two hours will see its brilliance as you immerse yourself in Clive’s enthralling journey. However, despite its successes, there are a few ways Final Fantasy XVI could be even better, making the overall experience more epic than it already is.

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twinfinite.net
TheColbertinator705d ago

A proper Steam version would have been nice.

CrimsonWing69704d ago

It’s coming though 🤷‍♂️

GhostScholar705d ago

If the side quests weren’t “go there, fetch this, return it” they would have been much better. It doesn’t come close to Witcher 3 as far as meaningful side quests.

VersusDMC705d ago

Can you explain how the Witcher's side quests were different?

CrimsonWing69704d ago

Sure thing!

*ahem*

So, one of the side quests called Wild at Heart was about this werewolf that you have to hunt. You’re tracking it and you end up getting entangled in a unique narrative with optional characters that lead to a confrontation with the werewolf in a boss battle, and you’re given several dialogue options at the end.

Witcher 3 side quests stood out because they felt as fleshed out as something you’d do in the main quest line. It offers more into Geralt’s character, add more to his role as a Witcher than just what he’s doing in the main narrative, and the quests just have more depth behind them and feel more thoughtfully designed than “talk to NPC, fetch flowers, go back to NPC to hand them off and finish the quest,” like you’d find in FF16.

Here’s a video for you to check out:

https://youtu.be/ysp-ZEomz_...

Rocketisleague704d ago (Edited 704d ago )

Not only that but each quest normally had a boss enemy or so that had specific weaknesses or things you can do to.plan ahead. If you research monsters before hand it gives you an advantage in the quest and makes you interested in the lore more.

Also, quests make you thing. You don't follow a quest marker to some battle, do another generic battle and leave.

They're just a bit more involved. One that really stood out to me was one in skellige when you a find a loal jarl who has been possessed by a demon. It's a good 20 or 30 mind until you figure that out. Onlya small fight in that quest but it was great, made you think. Could have easily been a main quest.

Not to say ff16 is pure bad. Its just a...percentage things. Maybe 20% of ff16s side quests are okay. About 60% of witcher 3s are good. Some just as good as the main quest.

Ff16s main quest is above and beyond anything else in the game. Kinda wish they dropped poor quests and just left in the few good ones

andy85704d ago

Only have to see the side quests like the bloody baron to see the difference

VersusDMC704d ago

@ crimson

That side quest video was talk to NPC's, follow glowing path, kill enemy, quest finished.

I am using your FFXVI reductive way of seeing things as well.

GhostScholar704d ago

Yes I’d be glad to. If you have access to it go okay “the bloody baron” side quest. There are tons of side quests in that game that are just amazing stories. I haven’t ran across one side quest in ff 16 that wasn’t just mundane filler. It’s still a great game for other reasons, but not the side quests for sure.

GhostScholar704d ago

@ CrimsonWing69 absolutely! Well said.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 704d ago
victorMaje705d ago

Agreed. They get better but the comparison with Witcher 3 is just wrong, it’s not even close.

@VersusDMC
The writing & involved setting around side quests in TW3 keep you engaged & invested more than here, at least for me.

I played it again lately for the next-gen update to check out the changes, couldn’t stop, played it all over again complete main & side quests, having done the same 7 years prior. It just captured me & transported me completely.

Then again it may also be a personal preference in TW3 setting, characters, looks, style, environment, mood & atmosphere & how they all come together fused with its writing to deliver the golden standard I consider it to be.

I can count on 1 hand (maybe 2) the number of uninteresting side quests in TW3, I need more hands for FF16.

Ryuken1985705d ago

Both have great writing in both XVI and TW3.

Different is that TW3 has a little more of the better written ones and some branches into the choices of the main story.

Both games have fetch quests too. I can't recall how many of the quests are using witcher senses to find item x, learn someone being murdered etc and then return to the quest giver.

XVI has some fetch quests in the beginning, but the majority of them enhances the lore and world building with the characters.

Personal opinions aside they both are very similar.

VersusDMC705d ago

It has to be a personal preference as i felt the same about the FFXVI side quests as you did TW3's. And i did the quests again in NG+. They had good writing, good lore, good upgrades, unlocked hunts, new swords, new gear and new locations.

-Foxtrot704d ago

I’d rather have had like 7-8 meaty meaningful quests rather than what we had

There was only a handful that were meaningful like Jill’s mission, Dions or Torgals which developed the characters more

godofiron704d ago

one way I could think of to make the game better... was if it was roughly 20 hours longer, because the game is so damn good!

The story just flew by for me because I was so enchanted with everything in Valisthea, I don't even feel the 70 hours it took me to finish the game... which is why I'm now in Final Fantasy mode with NG+

-Foxtrot704d ago

Quality of life improvements

Toggle a mini map, especially in dungeons when you can’t even view the map

A dedicated sprint button, especially in villages or towns

Let us summon and ride Chocobos in towns

You have the Phoenix dash ability, why not repurpose it outside of battle as a quicker way of traversing long distances or getting up to places rather than taking the long way round

More obelisks to teleport to, there’s some areas so big and there’s nothing around. So you need to go all away to a town, walk through a town to the other end as you can’t f****** sprint, summon your chocobo and then ride there.

Side missions needed to be reworked, we needed quality over quantity

Too many items with little to no purpose

Honestly it’s mostly traversal if anything else, especially getting around the hideaway as it’s like a circle with no paths in between. If you want to get to a place you need to pick a side to go all away round.

CoNn3rB704d ago

I'd also add elemental weaknesses and strengths to that list. It always struck me as odd that a combat system that essentially resolves around Eikon abilities that have their own elemental alignments didn't offer bonuses or weaknesses again enemies.
Would add that extra layer complexity to the combat

Rocketisleague703d ago

One of the stragest things was shooting fire at a bomb enemy, for the first time is the series is it that this does not heal the bomb?

I mean - it would only add to the combat not take away from it in any way

VonAlbrecht703d ago

Elemental weakness is a no go for obvious reasons if you think about. All of the eikons are locked behind story. Beyond that, you can't change your loadout mid battle.

The whole point of the combat is to keep you out of menus. I just don't see it being feasible when you look at the game's overall design.

That being said, it *could* have been implemented, but not without subtracting from other areas that the devs felt were more important. Honestly, having beaten the game, I can't say I miss it.

210°

Final Fantasy XVI Maintains 60 FPS on Xbox Series X via FSR, but With Lower Resolution Than PS5

Final Fantasy XVI runs at a lower resolution on Xbox Series X compared to PS5, maintaining stable 60 FPS but with visual compromises.

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twistedvoxel.com
raWfodog1d 18h ago (Edited 1d 18h ago )

"While the PS5 version maintains superior resolution and visual fidelity, it cannot consistently deliver the same frame rate stability, especially in its Performance mode. Even the more powerful PS5 Pro struggles to keep frame rates within its VRR window when the action intensifies.

For players who prioritize performance above visual quality, the Xbox Series X version may offer appeal due to its stable frame rate. However, those seeking the best graphical presentation may find the lower resolution and various graphical compromises on Xbox a drawback. Digital Foundry concluded that while the port is serviceable in its current form, several issues, such as broken foliage rendering and contrast imbalance, remain in need of technical refinement."

----

As someone who prefers better framerate over visuals, it seems the X has the edge over PS5 in that department. But it apparently comes at the cost of more degraded visuals than one would imagine in this case. Perhaps it has not been fully optimized for the X yet, as the article also pointed out that this port perhaps derived from the PC version rather than the PS5 version. We'll see what the future brings (if anyone cares lol).

Obscure_Observer1d 17h ago

I´ll take performance over graphics, thanks.

raWfodog1d 16h ago (Edited 1d 16h ago )

That's always my preference as well. More importantly, I prefer a smoother, stable framerate more than simply hitting higher framerates. But I do like it to look pretty as well lol.

Lamusiqa1d 16h ago

That's usually my preference. But at 720p in 2025 with a 4K TV? Yikes.

CrashMania1d 11h ago

I wonder if you had the same energy with Hellblade 2.

PhillyDonJawn1d 9h ago

Yeah im not really a graphics 304. I feel like graphics has hit its peak and prioritizing graphics over gameplay has made games less enjoyable.

andy851d 9h ago

I took performance mode on the PS5, genuinely didnt look bad even at a low resolution

Snookies121d 5h ago

@andy85 - Yeah, the performance mode was definitely the way to go. I guess with everything going on in battles, I never noticed the lower dynamic resolution kicking in. I was kind of stunned to hear how much the resolution drops when in battles.

I just wish the PC port had been good... I was getting 100 FPS in some areas, and under 30 in others no matter how I configured settings. Sad that Square-Enix has such an awful reputation for their PC ports.

gold_drake1d 3h ago

it depends.
720p on my 75 inch tv aint pretty at all lol

but this is hardly a hardware issue but a square enix issue.
the games pretty but there isnt a whole lot going on in general in the game, outside of battles

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 1d 3h ago
Elda1d 6h ago

Nothing worse than looking at & playing a nice looking game with good graphics but the visuals are blurry.

badz1491d ago

12TF for 720p 60fps in 2025...WOW!

50°

LOGOS: The World of Final Fantasy XVI and The Art of FF XVI: Echoes of the Rising Tide Announced

Square Enix has announced two new books which expand the lore and world of Final Fantasy XVI.

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nettosgameroom.com
240°

FINAL FANTASY XVI - Available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox PC today | Xbox Games Showcase 2025

The legacy of the crystals has shaped our history for long enough.

4d ago Replies(1)
Kurisu4d ago

Great news for fans of Final Fantasy on Xbox.

raWfodog4d ago

I’m sure Xbox gamers are also looking forward to FFVII Remake dropping this fall/winter, probably more so than FFXVI.

Kurisu4d ago

I didn't realise that had been announced as well!

Scissorman4d ago

But will it sell well? Let's see if everyone that was bemoaning this title as a PS5 exclusive now has the balls to back it up and purchase this game on Xbox. This game sold over 3 million copies in three days on PS5 alone. Let's see how many Xbox players will show up.

Elda4d ago

I'm curious to know if only XB Series owners will buy the game as well.

tay87014d ago (Edited 4d ago )

They are not gonna buy them.

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Christopher4d ago

Why do we even ask this when the facts will speak for themself in the future? Let's just be happy the game is more available to more gamers. We can discuss the sales of the game when they actually happen.

Terry_B3d ago

^^ this. Good third party games should be available on as many platforms as possible.

SPEAKxTHExTRUTH4d ago

Why do you care so much about how well this game sells on Xbox? What do you gain by learning how well it sells? Maybe you should focus more on why the game STILL runs like crap on PS5…

tay87014d ago

Runs like a dream on ps5 pro. Man the s is gonna struggle big time.

Traecy3d ago

Why do you care why some people care if it sells on XB or not? What do you gain by trying to call them out for wanting to know that info. The pot calling the kettle black.

kpgs3d ago

"Maybe you should focus more on why the game STILL runs like crap on PS5…"
Isn't that on the devs to fix?
And if it can't run well on PS5, isn't Xbox in trouble too?

SPEAKxTHExTRUTH3d ago

@KPGS couldn’t the same be said about him worrying about sales? Shouldn’t stock holders be the one worried about that not consumers?

@tay8701 unless you’re playing a completely different version of FF16 than everyone else it still runs like crap on PS5 and on Pro so I’m not sure what dreams you be having…

At Traecy Oh you’re one of those guys i see. Ok I’ll play along, why are you worried about me be worried about someone being worried about sales? See what I did there…

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3d ago
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Petebloodyonion4d ago

It's not about selling, it's about mending bridges.
Honestly, a huge chunk of ppl owning an Xbox do own a PlayStation console, something that Phil Spencer alluded to before the release of the Series X with why releasing a Series S console.
https://www.gamedeveloper.c...

And true Final Fantasy fans probably bought a PS5 when they announced only on PS5.
So don't expect a lot of sales for these games.

Pickledpepper1d 5h ago

I was a true final fantasy fan up until the game turned to a hack n slash. Turn base was much better and gave the game more depth and challenge

thesoftware7304d ago

So, and old game that was later called "not really a FF" game and many concluded that has annoying gameplay issues(no real elemental structure)which everyone know about..and you expect it to seel super well.

They hype has been gone for this game, and the fact that there are so many other newer stellar RPG currently available.

Extermin8or3_4d ago

Thry don't buy games hardly at all anymore. It won't sell well. Will likely leave square Enix scratching their heads and thinking "oh shit, maybe taking money and dev assistance from Sony for it to be exclusive is the better financial move after all"

Workshyskiver4d ago

It won't really be a true reflection of what marketshare the Xbox platform would have of the game if it had released day and date. I would have been a day one buyer but its been out for so long I've since bought it on my PC and I can't imagine I am alone in that.

On the game itself I thought it was extremely disappointing and such a dull game outside of the big boss moments. Had a potentially great story and I just don't think they delivered on its potential.

FF7 remake is another one that whilst I liked and I loved reunion, cutting out a lot of the waffle they introduced and having those two games as one entry would have been better. Chadley is a horrible addition to those games.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 1d 5h ago
Hereandthere4d ago

Bought for 55.16, have to support blockbuster games like this.

Levii_924d ago

I’m replaying this game right now on Ps5 and while i like it a bit better this time (cause i knew what to expect) some of the choices made in this game gameplay and traversal wise are still mind-numbingly baffling to me.

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