It took a couple of years, but Final Fantasy 16 finally has its second trailer and a release window. While the game's polishing phase is going to take a little longer than some fans hoped, it still could be released three years after its announcement, which is a lot sooner than some other recent Square Enix projects. The fact that the game is already playable from start to finish is a good sign, and the remaining year of development should give Creative Business Unit 3 plenty of time to ensure Final Fantasy 16 is fully realized on its launch.
The second trailer hammers home a lot of the points made in the first. War is raging in the medieval fantasy land of Valisthea, and whether it likes it or not, the Grand Duchy of Rosaria is being swept up in the conflict. Players take control of Clive Rosfield, firstborn son of the Archduke and the bodyguard for his younger brother, Joshua. Joshua is the future Archduke and Dominant of the Eikon Phoenix, and there are many other Eikons who belong to Dominants of varying allegiances. Fans have suspected that Clive and Joshua's adopted sister Jill will become Shiva's Dominant after a timeskip, but that doesn't explain Clive's own Dominant-like powers. The editing in the second FF16 trailer gives a hint as to what might be going on: Clive may awaken as the Dominant of Ifrit early in the game, which only raises more questions.
Fans Have Been Guessing About Clive's Ties to Ifrit for a While
This reveal did not come out of nowhere for many attentive fans. One of Final Fantasy 16's most prominent promotional images shows a grown-up Clive with Phoenix and Ifrit converging on him in a manner similar to the game’s logo. This in itself did not have any meaning, but Clive's left arm, which he seems to use for channeling Eikon magic, looked like a flaming spiked claw. Phoenix is the Eikon representing fire's warmth and life-giving properties, while Ifrit seems more in tune with a violent inferno. Although both Eikons are seen in the reveal trailer in a dark environment, Phoenix shines brighter and more colorfully than Ifrit, and its powers when used by Clive seem to summon one of its wings. Clive's arm in this art is dark and gnarled in a manner most similar to the more sinister Ifrit.
Considering Clive's demeanor after the time skip, it makes sense that his vengeful personality would be associated with Ifrit's Hellfire. However, the way the trailers have been shot thus far imply that Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant, is killed in combat with a red-eyed Ifrit. There has been no indication of Eikons going out of their Dominant’s control, although two inexperienced Dominants could presumably be tricked into fighting. Of note is that the giant Eikon battle between Phoenix and Ifrit in the trailer shows that the player is in control of Phoenix, and thus Joshua by proxy. Having the player fight their usual avatar as part of a tutorial would be novel, but that's probably not what's happening here.
Final Fantasy 16's Many Mysterious Eikons
The narration and camera cuts used at the end of FF16 second trailer are meant to obscure an even stranger happening in the story. At the end of the trailer, a shot of Clive cuts to a blue-eyed Ifrit charging forward and throwing a punch — at another Ifrit. The shock some characters expressed in the first trailer at there being two Eikons of Fire now seems trivial compared to the confusion over two of the same Eikon fighting each other. Never before in the Final Fantasy franchise have two of the same summon been invoked in a cutscene to fight one another. The Aeons in Final Fantasy 10 are individually granted to every summoner that finds them, so the multiple summoner duels in that game are not without precedent.
All of this new information just goes to show how little the fans actually know about Final Fantasy 16. From what can be gathered from the second trailer's narration, there may be an alliance of Dominants seeking power in Valisthea, and the current Dominant of the dark Eikon Ifrit may have been charged with assassinating the current and future Archdukes and destabilizing Rosaria. This person may succeed, but is waylaid by the surprise awakening of Clive as another Dominant of Ifrit, who is somehow able to keep the blessing offered to him by Phoenix's Dominant. How Clive is able to channel multiple Eikon powers at once is still unknown, but it will definitely help him in his quest to take revenge on this mysterious aggressor.
What Can Be Gleaned from Clive and Ifrit's Link
Thus, the dual meaning behind the logo and Clive's aged-up render becomes clear. The early clash between Phoenix and Ifrit will have ramifications that ripple across the rest of Final Fantasy 16. However, Phoenix and Ifrit also make up the core of Clive's abilities, and probably serve as his first two Eikons. Phoenix is with him from the prologue via Joshua's blessing, granting the ability to teleport, use Fire magic, and employ various special techniques. Clive seemingly awakens as Ifrit's Dominant shortly before the timeskip and, while an Ifrit moveset is never seen, it is the only other player-controlled Eikon shown fighting against summoned beasts. Clive may be reluctant to invoke Ifrit outside of emergencies due to both the political mire surrounding Dominants and his own grudge against the beast.
It appears that fans who were linking Clive and Ifrit were both right and wrong in the end. This raises a lot of questions about how summoning magic actually works in Final Fantasy 16, as Clive using Ifrit against Ifrit after Phoenix has fallen breaks the presumed laws of the setting. With the Blight in the background and a worldwide war in the foreground, Final Fantasy 16 is shaping up to be the most complex mainline Final Fantasy in a while. At the same time, Clive is probably still dealing with regret that he couldn't stop the tragedy in his home, and that he has become what he hates. It will be a pleasure to learn more about Final Fantasy 16's mysteries once it draws closer to its release.
Final Fantasy 16 will be released in summer 2023 for PS5.
