“Final Fantasy XVI”, the latest installment of the legendary video game license released today, does it set fire to the Playstation 5?

Since 1987 the Final Fantasy series has fascinated gamers all over the world. With 173 million copies sold according to the VGSales site, it is one of the biggest video game franchises. Even if each episode is different and can be played completely independently, there is a common recipe for this success: each time young heroes fight evil while forging relationships with each other and thus developing their personalities. Final Fantasy XVI is no exception and you will embody Clive Rosfield, a dark guardian of the Archduchy of Rosalia during three periods of his life, his adolescence, his twenties and his thirties.

The magic of Valisthea

Back to medieval times for the latter Final Fantasy which takes us through the world of Valisthéa. A set of kingdoms, republics and duchies whose existence is linked to magic crystals and which maintain sometimes tense relations. The six mother crystals allow those who have the abilities and who are in their area of ​​influence to use sorcery. There are also emissaries: humans who can incarnate a Primordial, both a magical entity and a vector of particularly powerful powers.

One of the recurring qualities of the Final Fantasy series remains the beauty of its graphics and once again Square Enix has done a remarkable job. The world of Valisthéa is magnificent, both dark and inhabited by authentic magic, the lighting effects are licked and give the PS5 the possibility of expressing all its power. The textures of the sets and clothing are of great finesse, magnified by high definition. The fights are amazing both in their dynamism and their grandiose choreographies. The characters are also very beautiful and sometimes even a little too much. The influence of manga with its always smooth faces gives the protagonists an eternal adolescent side that contrasts with the realistic aspect of the sets and the harshness of the environment.

A Japanese story

If you like stories Naughty Dog as Uncharted Or The Last of Us, you risk a violent clash of cultures. The humor is not the same, nor the narration. Here the characters are sometimes naive in the extreme, sometimes turned in on themselves but very often tortured by their inner demons. Of course the scenario has its surprises and twists but we can see them coming from afar, especially at the beginning. Blessed bread for fans of the genre who will have the impression by following the adventures of Clive to find themselves on familiar ground.

We will not talk about the story to avoid divulgâchis but know that oBesides the usual plots and betrayals, the elders of Final Fantasy will find a Cid, the recurring name of a character always different in the other episodes, as well as a Chocobo. This strange winged mount, present regularly since the second episode, takes its name from a Japanese candy, the Chocoball, on the packaging of which is a bird. A sort of Proust madeleine for creators and fans.

The game can be viewed as a film or rather as a series as the cutscenes are numerous. Square Enix evokes nearly eleven hours of animated sequences. Sequences at a very slow pace, sometimes contemplative to calm the cardio after scenes of frenetic fights whose speed and violence reach peaks.

At the heart of the action

Warm up your thumbs, Final Fantasy will make you work! Square Enix developers have definitely taken the “action” turn started in previous episodes. The fights have gained in vivacity thanks in particular to the contribution of Ryota Suzuki. This combat director worked on Devil May Cry 5 and it shows at the first stroke of the sword. The melee are fast, wild and interspersed with cinematics that make them grandiose, because in addition to the main hero, you can also embody these legendary creatures that are the Primordials during breathtaking titanic clashes. We find here all the excessiveness specific to the superheroes of Japanese manga with characters who gain in power and develop cataclysmic powers.

The basic moves are simple: one key to attack with the sword, another to send a magic projectile and a third to dodge. But quickly we get the help of magical entities that will bring us particularly effective and brutal special moves. If you quickly become all-powerful in the face of the foot soldiers crossed here and there, it’s a whole different story when you meet a boss. These are devious and vicious with sequences that are often difficult to avoid and it is not uncommon to be totally lost in the middle of a confrontation. But rest assured, Square Enix has everything planned and if this unleashing of violence overwhelms you, you can call on special equipment that will dodge for you or place your best shots automatically by simply pressing the “square” button on your controller. . If you’re not a video game purist who considers a fight, even against a console, to be fair, then you can enjoy the beautiful choreography without overheating your brain and nerve endings.

When there’s no more, there’s still

It takes a week of full-time work or about 35 hours to complete the main story in a straight line and almost double that for all the quests and secondary activities. The first hours are particularly long with a lot of dialogue not necessarily at the top. But the story gains depth as Clive gets older. You must therefore be patient and pass these somewhat sluggish beginnings to take full advantage of this rather dense scenario. Finally, the game environment is not an open world and you will hardly be able to explore, the main plot is very interventionist, impossible to leave the pre-determined paths.

A hidden lair acts as a rest room between two missions. You will find the usual equipment vendors as well as the craftsmen needed to improve your equipment. A stele of excellence allows you, among other things, to train in a virtual arena, a necessary passage if you want to master the many combinations of blows and become unbeatable against all opponents in the game.

Final Fantasy has not forgotten its inveterate players whose game begins once the game is over. You will thus have access to the elite contracts which transform you into a bounty hunter traveling the world in search of particularly powerful targets to eliminate. Different modes allow you to replay any already completed level with additional difficulties like limited time or tougher opponents. No automatic dodging type support equipment is authorized, so you will have to rely on your dexterity alone to accomplish your exploits, but these will be authentic and counted in a world ranking.

“Final Fantasy” for all?

So there is something for everyone in this Final Fantasy, veterans and newcomers should find their account and enjoy the undeniable graphic qualities of the game. The fights are also a real highlight for those who like to face a good difficulty without being controller virtuosos. Be careful though, if you are allergic to manga and tortured characters eternally asking the same existential questions, you could quickly get tired of a story that tends to be long, especially at the beginning. For others, the adventures of Clive Rosfield should meet all their expectations.

Final Fantasy XVI is a temporary Playstation 5 exclusive, the game should be released on PC at an unknown date.