Final Fantasy 16's trailer produced a ton of hype among fans of the series, but it also left many Final Fantasy fans with more questions than it did answers. Particularly when referring to the game's summons, there were so many different terms thrown around that casual fans are probably not familiar with. Throughout the trailer, the characters talk about Eikons and Dominants, but they never take the time to explain what those terms mean. Of course, this short trailer isn't meant to give fans the entire back story of the game, but a little bit of insight on these words would have been helpful to fans.
These aren't the only questions that the Final Fantasy 16 trailer left fans with. The two playable main characters, for example, have caused a divide among viewers. Some that watched the trailer think that the game takes place in two time periods, with the second playable character being the older version of the first, while others think they may actually be two separate characters. There's also speculation that there were a lot of cuts made to make the trailer a bit misleading, especially during the scene where Joshua seemingly transforms into Ifrit.
Final Fantasy 16 - Eikons
The word Eikon is used in the trailer a few times, but it is very clear that it refers to the summons in the game. Ifrit, Phoenix, Titan, and Shiva are all directly shown in the trailer, and twice characters refer to them as Eikons. The first time is during the battle against Titan, where one of the men with tattoos announces that "they've summoned their Eikon," and the leader of the group responds with "Eikon? that thing's a bloody mountain!" From this scene alone, it becomes clear that Eikon is simply the in-universe word to refer to a summon in its true form.
The word Eikon actually is fairly new to Final Fantasy as a franchise, only being used before in Final Fantasy 14, the MMO installment directed by Naoki Yoshida. This connection is an important one, as Yoshida is serving as the Producer for this game, so fans can expect to see Final 14 influence Final Fantasy 16 more moving forward. In that game, the term Eikon was mostly synonymous with the term Primal with a few differences, another word used to describe Final Fantasy 14's summons. The exact difference between an Eikon and a Primal is a point of contention among fans, but both represent different kinds of traditional Final Fantasy summons like Ifrit.
Final Fantasy 16 - Dominants
On the other hand, the term Dominant is only used once in the Final Fatnasy 16 trailer at the very beginning, but the rest of it gives enough context where fans can guess at what this means in universe. At the very beginning of the trailer, the first spoken line refers to "Shiva's Dominant," as the leader of the tattooed group claims that she is their only target. It's unclear whether or not they are seeking to protect, kill, or otherwise capture her, but she's definitely their main priority.
By all accounts, it seems that a Dominant is either a person capable of controlling a Summon (Eikon) or the human form of one. The word dominant itself makes it clear that these people hold some kind of power over the Eikon they represent, but Joshua's transformation sequence at the end has lead some to believe that a Dominant is actually a human that can transform into an Eikon in some way. Exactly how this works is still unclear, as these humans could simply house the souls of the Eikons, or they could be the Eikons assuming a human form. Regardless, Dominants are clearly an important member of each kingdom.
Final Fantasy 16's Main Characters and Summons
There may yet be a third class of summon-related people, as a select few characters are shown to be able to use the summons' power while in Human form. Joshua is the first to exhibit this, seemingly healing the younger main character, but this is likely due to his connection with the Eikon Phoenix as many suspect him to be Phoenix's Dominant. Final Fantasy 16's combat supports this idea, as later both the younger and older main characters are shown using powers from the Eikons, including a Phoenix wing attack, Titan's fists, and what appears to be either Garuda's or Valefor's talons.
At the moment no one knows how these characters attained these powers or if there is a special requirement to getting them, but it could be linked to those strange face tattoos seen on the faces of the characters at the beginning. One theory posits that these individuals can only use the Eikon's power if they are bestowed upon them by a Dominant, which would explain the group's intention of finding Shiva's Dominant and also why the younger main character seems to already have Phoenix powers of his own.
Final Fantasy 16 - Is Joshua Phoenix or Ifrit?
The big question looming on everyone's mind is whether Joshua is related to the Phoenix Eikon or Ifrit Eikon, as the trailer could be interpreted to mean either. Hopefully, fans won't have to wait long to find out the truth, as Final Fantasy 16 may release sooner than expected. On the one hand, Joshua's healing capabilities and the main character's reliance on Phoenix powers imply that he is the Dominant of Phoenix, but the ending sequence does its best to convince viewers that he turns into Ifrit. There are at least two potential explanations for this, but one is more compelling than the other. The first (and less exciting possibility) is that Square Enix simply cut the trailer up to mislead fans.
The second option is that Joshua is somehow a Dominant for both Eikons of fire. During his transformation, one of the royal guards falls backwards and cries out "A second Eikon of Fire? But that's impossible!" Some have taken this line to mean that there is only supposed to be one Eikon of Fire in the world at a time, and since Phoenix was already known to be around, Ifrit shouldn't be there. Instead, this could mean that it should be impossible for Joshua to house two Eikons despite being a single dominant. Square Enix promised a more mature experience in Final Fantasy 16, so perhaps the second Eikon is awakened in him after experiencing something traumatic. If this were the case, the battle between Phoenix and Ifrit shown on the game's logo could be a symbolic, inner battle that Joshua is facing as well.
Final Fantasy 16 is in development now for PS5.
