The 'Final Fantasy' time

2023-05-29T07:30:42.891Z

Highlights: The latest installment of the saga, number XVI, aims to be one of the games of the year. The story (very well written, with dialogues at times brilliant) is located in Valisthea. The protagonist, Clive, develops a journey that covers several decades, and we will control it from adolescence to maturity, something new in the saga. Each of the opposing nations has a human being capable of becoming eikon, which makes them a weapon of mass destruction when it comes to facing or geopolitically reorganizing the world.

The latest installment of the saga, number XVI, aims to be one of the games of the year

This May 4, when the great producer Naoki Yoshida visited Madrid in a preview event of Final Fantasy XVI, he left a pearl for the mnemonic memory: "To remember the date of the end of the embargo of this preview, it is easy: on May 12 the new Zelda comes out; 10 days later the embargo is lifted," he said with a laugh, in a rare outburst in the world of video games of recognition of the adversary.

It is understood. That meteorite called Tears of the Kingdom has come to revolutionize the world of video games, ahead of all the great games that had been marking an extraordinary year. And they are not few: Resident Evil IV Remake, Hogwarts Legacy, Jedi: Survivor, Hi Fi Rush, the beta of Diablo IV and many others. The new Zelda is great in every way, and yet the truth is what it is: if there's one game that could compete for the position of best game of the year, that seems to be Final Fantasy XVI. That these two colossi fight the same year only speaks of a 2023 that, in a long time and when we look back, we will remember as one of the best in history.

The expectation is huge for the new game of the Square Enix franchise, one of the most important (and beloved) in history, whose deliveries VII, VIII, IX and X touched the sky and then began a progressive decline. The XII, the XIII, the XV, were not bad games, but they were not what was expected of them. The XIV, an online MMO, had a disappointing start that went back with several expansions that raised the story to narrative heights rarely reached; and the architect of that resurrection (which came to snatch the crown of MMO most played to World of Warcraft) was none other than Yoshida. That's why the expectation is so great.

Image from 'Final Fantasy XVI'.

After several hours of play of Yoshida's work, which hits the market on June 22, the conclusion is clear: it can't look better. The story (very well written, with dialogues at times brilliant) is located in Valisthea, a world that abandons certain visual pirouettes of the saga (vertical cities, flying ships) to embrace a darker and medieval aesthetic, more indebted in principle to Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings than to steampunk or other recurring tropes. The protagonist, Clive, develops a journey that covers several decades, and we will control it from adolescence to maturity, something new in the saga.

Invocations have always been a trademark of the house. Gigantic beings that helped us in our adventure and used their elemental powers (the monstrous Ifrit, of fire; the deadly Shiva, of ice; Titan, gigantic and made of rocks). For a long time they were special attacks that, when the power of the consoles allowed it, included a 3D cinematic scene that became a distinctive sign of the saga. Throughout the different deliveries, the invocations have been assuming different roles, and in this installment (here they are called eikons), the evolution of these already mythical figures reaches paroxysm because they will not be alien beings that intervene punctually, but we will become them and control them to engage in giant combats with clear reminiscences of Godzilla or Shingeki no Kyojin . Undoubtedly, it is one of the most profound changes in this installment, and its deepest hallmark because they are not only a new playable element, but also directly affect the narrative: each of the opposing nations has a human being capable of becoming eikon, which makes them a weapon of mass destruction when it comes to facing or geopolitically reorganizing the world of Valisthea. in which the adventure will take place.

Leaving room for all the surprises that may come in the coming months, everything seems to indicate that the colossal fight of the eikons will be a reflection of the fight that will be waged by Zelda and Final Fantasy XVI, Aonuma and Yoshida, for the throne of the best game of the year. Two ways of understanding the adventure as, in the end, complementary when it comes to making players happy. Welcome be your fight, no matter who wins, because it will sign this 2023 as one of the most extraordinary years in the history of video games. And that's not saying much, precisely.

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