Final Fantasy 16 is a mammoth experience reportedly taking anywhere between 40 to 60 hours to see the main storyline through to completion, including the odd side quest and supplementary activities. For some though, 60 hours just won’t be enough. The developers have crafted such an intricate, detailed world in FF16’s Valisthea; if that wasn’t reason enough to revisit once the story is over the raft of post-game play modes and upgrades will certainly tempt players to spend more hours in this remarkable game.
Start again in alternative play mode
There are two main difficulty modes in Final Fantasy 16, both of which are accessible from the off and switchable during a first playthrough. Story Focused Mode soothes the heat of battle allowing players to focus on Clive Rosfield’s odyssey through Valisthea without the need to master the game’s complex combat systems. The flipside of this, Action Focused Mode, allows players to take full advantage of the game’s combat, and it’s arguably the more challenging of the two. It’s likely players will mostly stick to one mode during their initial playthrough, so starting again in the alternative mode seems like a worthy thing to do, especially if the other more difficult play modes accessible after completing the story aren’t favoured.
New Game Plus
In keeping with many an RPG, the developer’s latest game features a fully-fledged New Game Plus mode that is unlocked once players have seen protagonist Clive Rosfield’s journey to completion. Starting a new campaign in New Game Plus mode grants players access to all the items, abilities, weaponry, and equipment acquired during Clive’s first foray through Valisthea. Furthermore, whatever level players have reached with Clive will carry over too, alongside ability to push Clive’s limit beyond level 100. Beginning a game again with a fully stocked weapons cabinet theoretically makes the experience much easier, but thankfully the developers have thought of this already with Final Fantasy 16’s New Game Plus mode also including a raft of extra difficulty modes for hardcore players to sink their teeth into.
Final Fantasy Mode
Most headline grabbing of Final Fantasy 16’s post-game content is its Final Fantasy Mode. Only accessible in New Game Plus, FF16’s Final Fantasy Mode begins with data carried over from a previous playthrough, except this time the game will be significantly more challenging, with tougher enemies, remixed combat, and random monster placement. By mixing up the action, it’ll push players to really hone their skills. Furthermore, says Suzuki, waves of enemies which previously wouldn’t attack Clive simultaneously will now unleash their firepower in tandem in Final Fantasy Mode, surely ramping up the challenge for even the most seasoned gamer.
Craft the Ultima Weapon
To assist players on their challenging replays in Final Fantasy Mode, the developer has seen fit to make the Ultima Weapon craft-able from the off. The Ultima Weapon is the game’s strongest weapon boasting 700 attack and 700 will, easily outclassing every other weapon in the game. When beginning a Final Fantasy Mode playthrough, the game bequeaths players an item vital for crafting the Ultima Weapon alongside 1x Ragnarök and 3x Ultima Weapon Crafting Material. It’ll automatically sit in a player’s inventory until the other items are acquired. And rest assured, Ragnarök, upgraded to Gotterdammerung +1, and Ultima Weapon Crafting Material are easily obtained during a normal playthrough of the game’s storyline if not loadable from a previous save file, requiring only a quick trip to Cid’s Hideaway Forge to meld these items together.
Arcade Mode
One of Final Fantasy 16’s most memorable boss battles features an awesome, arcade-style freefall section against the Titan. Further supporting FF16’s arcade sensibilities is the unlockable Arcade Mode, accessible from the Arete Stone in Cid’s Hideaway. This mode grants players access to already completed sections of the game to attempt a rerun with pre-determined gear and items in pursuit of high scores and grades. Eikonic abilities can be customised before each run through Arcade Mode, with accessories completely free of equipment restrictions. Arcade Mode is playable in Final Fantasy Mode too, making the challenging significantly higher, with a place on a global leader board for bragging rights the end goal.
Ultimaniac Mode
Okay, so for those most extreme, intensely hardcore players who really want to test their mettle, Final Fantasy 16’s post-game Arcade Mode also ships with an insane Ultimaniac Mode, presenting a challenge at such a high level presumably mere mortals have zero chance of succeeding. There are no rewards for playing through Arcade Mode in Ultimaniac difficultly save for a special global leader board enabling the cream of the crop to rise to the top. To rank highly in all Arcade Modes players must execute specified battle techniques during each run, a task those mode hardcore will have little difficulty achieving.
Complete all pending hunts
Hunts in Final Fantasy 16 require Clive track down monsters dotted throughout the landscape in exchange for crafting materials, gil, renown, EXP, and the assurance that wiping the environment of these notorious marks prevents them from causing more harm. As far as side quests go, hunts in FF16 are some of the most exciting, with these notorious marks providing deeper challenge that the usual foes encountered during exploration. Visiting the hunt board after each story chapter presents new targets, so it’s always worth a chat with hunt quest overseer Otto to see what else stalking the land needs taking out especially if completing a subsequent playthrough at a more challenging difficulty. Hunt rewards far outstrip any other side quest so may prove vital in seeing Clive through to another completed story.
Stage Replay
If all this extra challenge isn’t your cup of tea, then fear not, as FF16 also features a standard stage replay option, again accessible via the Arete Stone in Cid’s Hideaway. This option is most welcome, as it gives players chance to revisit already cleared stages to re-watch missed cutscenes, earn EXP, collect missed items, score ability points, and retry any failed achievements. Whilst players can keep a hold of currently equipped gear, equipment, abilities, and Eikons, the enemies slain in Stage Replay mode drop loot less frequently whilst dishing out inferior EXP when compared to the main game too.
Upgrade accessories
A significant gameplay addition when playing a campaign in New Game Plus is the ability to duplicate accessory synthesis, enabling the same accessory effects to be stacked into one. Now, accessories in Final Fantasy 16 are intended to make gameplay easier; they’re tools that can be equipped to assist less experienced players or those wanting to focus on story and not challenge. Carrying a handful of accessories can make tricky aspects of combat such as timely dodges, combos, and rapid-fire QTEs much more manageable, and they’re equipped automatically when playing through FF16 in Story Focus Mode. In the post-game Final Fantasy Mode though, these accessories are upgradeable, which will surely be a saving grace for those wishing to dip their toe into a more difficult second play through.
Further upgrade weapons
In New Game Plus, maximum weapons upgrades are upscaled from level three to level six. Known as reinforcing in game, upgrading a weapon up a level comes with obvious stat boosts and benefits, but these reinforcements are capped at level three in the base game. Playing again in New Game Plus gives access to double the number of levels, which will presumably come in very handy when playing through NG+’s more challenging modes.
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