JRPGs almost always live and die by the story. This sentiment is one echoed throughout the decades upon decades of this genre, and its pretty much become synonymous with it. Which if you’ve played one, shouldn’t surprise you. Stories in JRPGs, Final Fantasy especially, will clock in at 30, 40, 50+ hour experiences. And whether it be action or turn-based, these stories should build upon the gameplay and help elevate the game overall; something that recent, and even beloved entries into the Final Fantasy franchise have struggled with out the gate. This article will serve as a bit of a retrospective into the recent years of Final Fantasy. Focusing on the early few hours of the previous games, and helping answer the question: is the opening of Final Fantasy XVI slow?
It’s a Marathon, not a Sprint
The main points will center around the story elements, but that’s not to say gameplay in the starting hours don’t have their trip-ups. It’s also worth mentioning that just because a game starts out slow, narratively or otherwise, doesn’t mean that it’s automatically a bad game. As stated, due to the sheer size and scope of some JRPGs that can even span multiple entries, setting the stage can take a relatively long amount of time. A recent example of this can be seen in Final Fantasy’s last main title entry, Final Fantasy XV, where after beginning the game in media res, and cutscenes with the boys detailing your journey’s purpose, you’re treated to the games first gameplay: pushing a car up a hill.
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From here the game will ease the player into the game’s open world by having you brave the wilderness while your car is in the shop. A bit of a dull point by anyone’s standards, and a large reason as to why many might give up on the game before it truly begins. And despite the small bias for the boys, this (among other things) helped contribute to FFXV’s disinteresting start to players, leaving many unwilling to pick the game back up.
Getting your Vehicle Ready for the Long Ride
In other mainline FF games, you weren’t even lucky enough to have a whole party during the opening sections of the game. This type of storytelling can slow the pace down, but is necessary for those games that want to do a bit more worldbuilding. Final Fantasy XII is an example of this, as you are placed into the game and tasked with grabbing some veggies throughout the market, before being sent off to grab power converters all on your own. And while the Zodiac Age is held in extremely high regard and most players were able to push past the opening section, it still leaves something to be desired by new players when they first boot up the game.
For those people who have been playing JRPGs for a while, all of this might seem trivial in the grander scheme of their games, and might not even warrant thought by the time the credits end up rolling. However, it’s hard to have that mindset for players who are new not only to the series, but the genre as a whole. This is something that we believe the developers of Final Fantasy XVI thought about a fair amount when working on the latest entry.
Is the Opening of Final Fantasy XVI Slow?
Now, if you’ve already gotten a chance to try out the demo or even experience the full game for yourself, this question might have already been answered for you. But for those of us who haven’t, it’s safe to say that the opening to Final Fantasy XVI starts with a thunderous BANG! Allowing you to experience the opening two hours of the game in its entirety, the demo showcases not only how enticing the gameplay and combat will be over the course of the game, but also just how much the story starts to move. Without going into to much spoiler territory, yes there are a plethora of cutscenes to help set the stage of this high fantasy adventure, but even with those the game aims to throw you directly into the conflict.
With a succinct and quick tutorial of combat, to it’s Active Time Lore system, which we believe to be one of the main reasons the opening of this game works so well. A gameplay feature where at any time, players are able to pause the game and read up on any and every new piece of story information that you are currently in the middle of. From important characters to their settings, it gives those who might not remember or don’t want to waste too much time with the cutscenes another way of staying in touch with the narrative.
Forge Ahead
Final Fantasy XVI is a true turning point for one of gaming’s longest and most beloved franchises. The dramatic shift in gameplay when compared to the overall series, combined with new ways of learning about the story and those encompassed within the game, provide new ways for people to become engrossed in the world of Valisthea. While it’s only just released, the game has received glowing praise and reviews from almost every corner of the gaming industry, receiving a 39/40 from Famitsu, and a respectable 88 Metascore from 100 reviewers on Metacritic. Surprisingly, many reviews focus on the story as some of its drawbacks. This could be attributed to a generic premise, or even how the story begins to unfold. Though, not much has yet been said since many feel they can’t talk about their issues with the story without spoiling some things.
Only time will tell if the larger gaming community will agree with this or not. However, it seems that Final Fantasy XVI has aimed to do the impossible. To break the mold of most JRPGs, to forge ahead and bring the story straight to you without having to worry about pushing a luxury car up a hill or grabbing some vegetables. But most importantly, if you find the game to be everything that people don’t, there’s no reason why you should want to change your thoughts. You must walk tall, and enjoy these games for what brings you enjoyment. Not what others tell you to enjoy.
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