DuringFinal Fantasy 16’s worldwide media tour, various media outlets were able to experience hands-on gameplay with the game, andcourtesy of Gematsu, lengthy gameplay videos were provided showing the protagonist Clive battling the wind-dominant Benedikta, as well as an Eikon vs Eikon battle featuring the fire Eikon Ifrit and the wind Eikon Garuda.
In thefirst gameplay footage, we witness Clive Rosfield, his trusty hound Torgal, and his companion Cidolfus Telamon, the Dominant of Ramuh, infiltrate a keep currently under the control of the Royal Waloeder Army. Their goal is to rescue the Dominant of Fire, who is being held captive within the keep. The video highlights the use of thePlayStation 5’s haptic triggers, which add a sense of weight to interactive elements such as gates, and how Torgal helps Clive navigate the environment.
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Thesecond gameplay videofeatures a long cutscene depicting a conversation between Cidolfus and Benedikta and how it evolves into a cinematic battle between the two as they unleash the power of their respective Eikons, ultimately resulting in Cidolfus' defeat. The demo shown is confirmed to be five hours of the game’s story, with a total of 11 hours of real-time cinematic cutscenes interwoven into the game experience, and many similar vibes toGod of War, as thedirector himself told Gamespot in a recent interview.
Prior to her confrontation with Clive, Benedikta will summon her harpies, Suparna and Chirada, to attack him, and fighting them will require the player to use Ifrit’s Phoenix Shift ability to bridge the gap between Clive and the flying harpies, as well as get used to the color-coded QTEs (red for dodge and blue for attack). In addition, the devastating power of Clive’s other dominant, Titan, has been demonstrated, dealing significant damage to the Harpies and helping to block their attacks.
Thethird gameplay videofeatures a two-phase battle between Clive and Benedikta herself. The first phase is a typical action gameplay sequence between the two, while the second phase pits Clive against a transformed Benedikta who has regained her full health. In this phase, Benedikta’s attacks become fully ranged, and staggering her becomes crucial to victory. The battle ends with Benedikta’s defeat and Clive absorbing her Garuda powers.
In the final video, we see Clive encounter a mysterious man responsible for his brother’s death, sparking the main tale of revenge. Clive then confronts the Eikon Garuda. The battle has two phases, withClive first battling the colossal Garudaalone, using a variety of Eikon abilities. In the second phase, Clive transforms into the fire Eikon Ifrit, which controls similarly to Clive in standard action movement, but feels slightly heavier.
According to the commentary, each Eikon vs. Eikon battle will be unique, and no cinematic battle scenes will be used twice in the same story. The battle between Ifrit and Garuda is said to be designed by the developers to mimic the feel of a pro wrestling match, but other battles may be drastically different and use other mechanics, such as shoot-em-ups.
