I bloody adore Ultimate Fantasy, however I will be the primary to confess that I have not liked the collection’ trendy course. I am a diehard turn-based gal by way of and thru, and I’ve struggled to adapt to the motion fight of more moderen entries like Ultimate Fantasy 15 and Ultimate Fantasy 7 Remake. I used to be fearful my relationship with the video games had run its course, however I’ve held out hope for Ultimate Fantasy 16. Thank god I did, as a result of I am satisfied it will be among the best RPGs we have seen within the final 10 years, and I am pissed that we’ve to attend for a PC launch.
Enjoying the demo on PlayStation 5 made me realise how lengthy it has been since I felt so invested in a Ultimate Fantasy sport, outdoors of the critically-acclaimed MMORPG selection. It sounds daft, however I used to be fearful it would not really feel like a Ultimate Fantasy sport. However it does. It actually, actually does. Whereas the demo is just a snippet of the primary two hours of the sport, it is Sq. Enix’s finest try but at mixing conventional collection staples with trendy gameplay to reel in a brand new viewers.
Throwing it again to a medieval setting is, funnily sufficient, surprisingly refreshing contemplating we have not seen an old-school vibe within the singleplayer mainline video games since Ultimate Fantasy 12. It is good to get away from all of the futuristic stuff for a change—give me citadel partitions and claymores over fantasy Cadillacs and fluorescent lighting. It is the proper backdrop for the knights and royalty of Valisthea, and a small (admittedly sluggish) phase with grownup Clive earlier than we’re tossed again in time to his 15-year-old self for the prologue.
Roaming across the kingdom of Rosaria and talking to its forged of characters gave me a stunning quantity of attachment (or disdain) in the direction of them proper off the bat. Clive’s mom is a correct dick, whereas his Archduke father takes a much more variety and caring strategy. I used to be stunned at how a lot I got here to love his youthful brother Joshua too, the chosen host of the fiery summon Phoenix and somebody who irritated me a good bit within the trailers. He is really a proper sweetheart, and it took lower than an hour earlier than I used to be feeling protecting of him. There’s additionally essentially the most lovely pupper within the type of Torgal, a canine I’d readily sacrifice my total life for.
Even the aspect characters, like knights Tyler and Wade or Clive’s mentor Murdoch, handle to cement themselves as memorable of us for his or her brief display time. I am not often a fan of a throwback-style prologue, nevertheless it’s gone an extended strategy to do some nice worldbuilding for what we are able to come to count on in Ultimate Fantasy 16.
I am nonetheless not 100% offered on the fight, nevertheless it’s undoubtedly my favorite iteration of the trendy system to this point. Having the ability to hole shut straight right into a melee or ranged assault feels badass, and making use of Clive’s restricted Phoenix powers to unleash a fiery strike dealt some satisfyingly huge harm. The demo even offers you an additional mode that provides an excellent higher thought of what fight will seem like later within the sport, an enormous bonus to dive into as soon as the chunk of story is accomplished.
The one half I had been enthusiastic about was the narrative—I am going completely feral for Ultimate Fantasy summons, so to have a sport so closely centred round them has been an enormous promoting level for me. My expectations had been excessive and the prologue nonetheless managed to utterly blow me away. No spoilers in fact, however I spent the ultimate half-hour of the demo with my mouth extensive open in a combination of disbelief and sheer pleasure at what I used to be witnessing. Ultimate Fantasy 16 wastes virtually no time getting straight into the drama, taking me on a rollercoaster of feelings I have not felt because the opening hours of Nier: Automata.
I used to be apprehensive, however the demo has utterly offered me that this sport has the capability to be one of many greats. If the remainder of Ultimate Fantasy 16 can uphold the usual of the primary two hours, I firmly imagine it will be a sport we’ll discuss for years to come back. Even the demo’s small snippet felt like a return to type for Sq. Enix, and made me really feel that very same pleasure I felt enjoying the collection as a child.
Naoki Yoshida has accomplished a improbable job of bringing the collection again to life, which ought to come as no shock for the way nicely Ultimate Fantasy 14 has thrived beneath his management. I am personally fairly glad he introduced FF14 composer Masayoshi Soken alongside for the experience too, bringing basic Ultimate Fantasy motifs just like the attractive prelude together with his grand orchestral tracks which have made his work on the MMO so compelling.
I am fortunate sufficient to have a PlayStation 5 to leap into the motion on June 22, nevertheless it’s irritating that we’re locked away from so many superb releases for months or years on finish. We needed to wait over two years for Ultimate Fantasy 7 Remake, which I am unsure I may maintain out for with this sport. It was about the identical for equally wonderful longtime console unique Miles Morales too, and we needed to wait 4 years for 2018’s Spider-Man to swing onto PC. With Yoshida making it clear we undoubtedly will not be getting a PC model too quickly after Ultimate Fantasy 16’s six-month PS5 exclusivity is up, it is genuinely devastating that it will be so lengthy earlier than we get to expertise what could also be among the best RPGs within the final decade. Please, Sq. Enix, begin engaged on that port ASAP.
