Barring any delays, Final Fantasy 16 fans have about a year to wait until its release. The recent Final Fantasy 16 dominance trailer confirmed its summer 2023 release window, and it’s going to be a really good year for Final Fantasy fans if it and FF7 Rebirth, scheduled for holiday 2023, both hit next year. The trailer revealed several new details about the game, such as Eikon battles, but a series of interviews hosted afterward gave an even closer look at the game.
It's no secret that Final Fantasy 16 features a time skip, as players have seen two versions of Clive: one younger, the other older. However, it turns out that there are two-time skips in the game, as Yoshi-P has confirmed that it takes place over three parts of Clive’s life, his teens, his twenties, and his thirties, as revealed in an interview with GameSpot. Interestingly enough, it’s pretty clear that the younger Clive is a teenager, but the older Clive seen thus far could pass for twenties or thirties. One part of his life has yet to be shown, but this overall three-party structure is good for the darker story turn.
Final Fantasy 16: Clive’s Pursuit of Revenge is a Lifelong Quest
In recent years, JRPGs have begun moving toward more mature and dark stories. That’s not to say there haven’t always been serious consequences, but many are framed through hopeful, happy-go-lucky narratives/protagonists. Final Fantasy 10’s Tidus is a good example of this. The move toward darker storytelling is meant to draw in more western audiences, and indeed, western-styled dark stories combined with the unique qualities of JRPGs truly help a title.
For example, Tales of Arise is arguably one of the best titles in the franchise, and it brings many western elements into its JRPG set-up. Final Fantasy 16 appears to do the same, and it seems this dark story isn’t just a moment in time, but a defining aspect of Clive’s life. It’s worth mentioning that Final Fantasy 15’s Noctis undergoes a time skip, but it’s near the end of the game. It’s more of an end-all-be-all moment than a constant impact.
Exploring three parts of Clive’s life means that, even if the final one happens near the end of the game, these time skips in Final Fantasy 16 are all super important. It hopefully isn’t just that Clive is captured, falls asleep for so long, or something of that nature, but there are plenty of directions here. They all point toward an ultimate end goal, though.
From the very first Final Fantasy 16 trailer, it’s clear Clive wants revenge (seemingly for Joshua’s death). Whatever it is, he is dragged into world intrigue, wars, and battles against other Eikons. This means that Clive’s pursuit of this revenge, of this power, isn’t limited but all-encompassing, hopefully driving the darker story home.
Final Fantasy 16 releases summer 2023 for PS5.
Source: GameSpot