The Final Fantasy series has always been heavy on its narrative and lore, and that is no different in Final Fantasy 16. With both new players and series veterans set to step into the boots of Clive Rosfield and the rest of the characters involved in the war between Dominants, Eikons, and kingdoms, the tale that will unfold will surely include plenty of twists and turns.
Rather than risk losing players over narrative developments, relationships, and pivotal events, Square Enix has made it much easier to keep track of things thanks to the Active Time Lore mechanic in Final Fantasy 16. Functioning as a compendium of everything that is happening on-screen, it is indeed a useful tool to count on when trying to make sense of matters at hand.
What is Active Time Lore in Final Fantasy 16?
At any given point during the game, which includes cutscenes and gameplay scenarios alike, players can pull up Active Time Lore to help them understand what's going on. This can be done in two ways: either by pausing the game and pressing the Touchpad on the DualSense controller, or simply holding the Touchpad.
Once that is done, the game will pull up a compilation of important information that is most relevant to Clive's current storyline progression. This means any character that has any significance, locations of note, and even events are given more context, with text entries helping to provide a quick summary.
Entries about the same characters will also get updated as the plot continues to unfold, reflecting changes in their status as well as any actions that they might have taken. This will help to keep players up to date with just about everything important in Final Fantasy 16, ensuring that no one will ever get too lost to keep going in the JRPG.
Moreover, all of the entries can be accessed later in the game, even after a particular scene, so players can truly take their time to reflect and gain a better understanding of both the overarching plot and the intricate events that take place in between. Active Time Lore also ties into the system of The Thousand Tomes and Harpocrates further into the game, all of which do a great job of keeping players connected to the compelling narrative of Final Fantasy 16.
Final Fantasy 16 is available now exclusively for the PlayStation 5.
