Highlights
- Final Fantasy 16 introduces Clive Rosfield, a likable protagonist with a well-crafted character and story, making it easier for players to get attached compared to Final Fantasy 15's Noctis.
- Final Fantasy 15 requires fans to dive into extra media to fully enjoy its story, with a scattered narrative that makes it challenging to feel attached to the characters.
- Final Fantasy 16 is more well-constructed and self-contained, allowing players to enjoy it as a cohesive experience without the need for additional viewing or extra pieces of media.
Final Fantasy 16 introduced gamers to Clive Rosfield and his group of revolutionaries at The Hideaway. While Final Fantasy 16 is Clive's story rather than focusing on a party of characters, the people he has surrounded himself with are still well-crafted characters. The Final Fantasy series has always been home to some of the most beloved characters in the gaming medium, but Clive stands out because of how much more immediately likable he is than Final Fantasy 15's protagonist, Noctis. While Noctis and his group of friends are relatable, Clive's character and story in Final Fantasy 16 are much easier to get attached to.
Final Fantasy 15 is something of an oddball for the franchise. While most Final Fantasy games are self-contained, FF15 requires fans to dive into extra pieces of media to fully enjoy its story. Kingsglaive is a feature-length film canon to the games. A small anime spin-off, a multiplayer mode, a 2D brawler, and the game's trailers all provide unique story content. Furthermore, the game had an abnormally long development cycle and required DLC to finish telling its story. When director Hajime Tabata departed the company, the remainder of this content was canceled. Final Fantasy 15 not only asks a lot from fans to fully experience it, but it was rushed in development and left unfinished. This scattered nature of the story makes feeling attached to the characters challenging at times.
Noctis Develops Really Slowly
Final Fantasy 15 tells the story of Noctis Lucis Caelum and his three friends trying to reclaim the Kingdom he is the heir to. Noctis is a prince raised with a tremendous amount of privilege, and this shows through his character. His companions split off from the party at points during their respective DLC episodes, and each makes tremendous sacrifices for the good of his mission. Noctis learns to be grateful for these sacrifices towards the end of the game, but for much of it, he reads as entitled. While his story does redeem this behavior to an extent, his behavior until that point is frequently grating. He is not a bad protagonist, simply a trying one for much of the game's lengthy runtime.
Clive Rosfield stands in stark contrast to Noctis. He is of royal descent but is not the heir, which has humbled him. Right off the bat, players see Clive show kindness to one of FF16's branded. His royal blood doesn't lead him to feel entitled or better than others, and one of the priorities of his quest is to free the branded who are, in essence, treated like slaves. Where Noctis is ungrateful for the help he receives, Clive is always looking for ways to support his group of dissidents at the Hideaway. His love interest is also much more fleshed out than that of Noctis, providing players with deeper insight into his personal life.
Final Fantasy 16 Is More Well Constructed Than FF15
Part of Clive's likability also stems from the way each world and story was revealed to fans. In response to the scattered transmedia approach of Final Fantasy 15, FF16 is decidedly self-contained. Final Fantasy 16 DLC is on the way, but it isn't working to finish the main story; the game shipped complete. There are no spin-off movies or shows to watch, either. Because of this, players can sit down and enjoy FF16 as a cohesive experience by itself. This, too, has contributed to making Clive more likable. While things like Final Fantasy 15: Brotherhood make Noctis more relatable, it shouldn't take additional viewing to make the game and its characters enjoyable.
Final Fantasy 16 is a vastly different experience than its predecessor. Square Enix learned a lot from FF15's struggles in development and its mixed reception. Noctis and his story were plagued by the way the development of the game itself was approached. Better pacing could have let him develop more early on, making him more immediately likable in the way Clive is. Next up, the series will revisit one of its most beloved protagonists, Cloud Strife, in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. Given Cloud's enduring popularity, Noctis' struggles are unlikely to be replicated anytime soon.
Final Fantasy 16 is available now on PS5. A PC version is currently in development.
