Japanese role-playing games specialise in grandeur. Epic tales of warring nations that often involve the direct intervention of godly beings, the genre usually entertains even if the execution doesn’t match its lofty ambitions. Final Fantasy XVI is one such game. Despite a grimdark fantasy setting that stumbles on multiple fronts it’s the combat and overall spectacle that truly exhilarates.

Sharing more in common at times with the Devil May Cry series and God of War reboots than its predecessors, Final Fantasy XVI is a fascinating shakeup of a long-beloved franchise. Many legacy touchstones persist, like the summons system – in addition to adorable Chocobos and Moogles – but the epic action-based combat is an unlikely highlight.

Series admirers Adam Christou (SIFTER, Triple R) and Persephone Ranson (GamesHub) join this episode of DROP RATE to discuss just how the Final Fantasy series got to this point, and why despite its problems, XVI captivates more than it grates.

We don't even mention naked chain-bound muscly protagonists, but that we were all definitely thinking of them.

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A copy of Final Fantasy XVI on PlayStation 5 was provided to SIFTER for the purpose of this review discussion.

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SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou , Omi Koulas and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.