Final Fantasy 16 launched a little over a week ago and has already impacted fans and Square Enix. Along with strong critical acclaim, it crossed three million in digital downloads and worldwide shipments. Of course, given how the game ends, there’s hope for some DLC and perhaps a continuation of the story. How does the ending unfold, though? Spoilers follow, so beware.
The story is set in Valisthea, beset by strife due to the Mothercrystals. Six major realms lay claim to them, each having its own Dominant – who can summon the power of massive entities known as Eikons – to turn the tides.
As part of the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the game focuses on Clive Rosfield, the eldest son of Duke Elwin. His brother, Joshua, is the Dominant of the Phoenix and heir to the throne while war is at the realm’s doorstep. There’s also the Blight, which spreads through Valisthea, rendering the land inhospitable, causing monsters to migrate further towards the towns as residents flee to the major cities.
After being attacked at Phoenix Gate by Sanbreque’s troops, resulting in the death of their father, Joshua unleashes the Phoenix’s power. After seeing a mysterious hooded figure earlier, Clive inadvertently becomes Ifrit, the second Eikon of Fire. Joshua is unaware of Ifrit’s real identity as Clive rampages. After a fierce battle, Ifrit seemingly kills the Phoenix and Joshua. Unaware of his role in all this, Clive swears vengeance upon the Eikon and is bound to the Imperial army after the betrayal of his mother, Annabella.
Several years pass, and Clive is now a Branded soldier for Sanbreque. After getting involved in a fight between the Iron Kingdom and the Dhalmakian Republic, reuniting with his childhood friend Jill Warrick – revealed to be the Dominant of Shiva – Clive meets with Cidolfus Telamon. The former Commander of Waloed’s army (later revealed as the Dominant of Ramuh), Cid has created a Hideaway for Bearers and Branded to live in peace.
The duo venture to Caer Norvent in pursuit of the hooded man that Clive believes to be his culprit. It’s later revealed to be Joshua, still alive and pursuing some unknown purpose. Clive is unaware of this and battles Benedikta, the Dominant of Garuda, and absorbs her power. Of course, he also transforms into Ifrit and fights Garuda, which leads him to realize that he is responsible for Joshua’s death.
Through a series of events, which sees Clive returning to Phoenix Gate to confront his past (while also seeing part of a mysterious mural), he accepts that he is Ifrit. Upon reconvening with Cid and pledging to help the Hideaway, the latter reveals that the Mothercrystals are responsible for the Blight plaguing the land. Clive subsequently travels to Drake’s Head in Sanbreque with Jill and Cid to destroy its Mothercrystal.
Once they do so, a mysterious figure named Typhon emerges, attempting to take control of Clive. Cid is mortally wounded (and later dies) while repelling Typhon, who Clive defeats. However, another entity named Ultima emerges. Joshua arrives in time to protect his brother and seal Ultima. Meanwhile, several more years pass, as Clive takes on the name of Cid, leading the Hideaway and traveling to different places to save Bearers.
Of course, the objective of destroying the Mothercrystals remains. Clive ventures with Jill to the Iron Kingdom, which forcefully uses her as its Dominant, leading to some sweet revenge against her captors and the destruction of its Mothercrystal. Hugo Kupka, the Dominant of Titan, seeks to kill Clive for the death of Benedikta, leading to a showdown between the two and the destruction of Dhalmekia’s Mothercrystal.
While all this is happening, Joshua (who still has Ultima sealed in his body) seeks counsel with Dion Lesage, Sanbreque’s crown prince, who is also the Dominant of Bahamut. The two initiate a coup against Annabella, now married to the Emperor of Sanbreque, the latter dying in the process. Annabella’s son under the Emperor, Olivier, is then revealed to be under Ultima’s control (who then controls Dion). After Clive and Jill destroy the Crystalline Dominion’s Mothercrystal, he and Joshua fight Bahamut.
Ifrit and Phoenix withstand Bahamut’s attacks and combine to form Ifrit Risen, which stops Terraflare from destroying the world. Bahamut is defeated, and Dion returns to his senses. There’s only one Mothercrystal left in Waloed, and after slaying King Barnabas, Clive absorbs Odin and destroys the crystal. However, this is all part of Ultima’s plan.
As it turns out, Ultima isn’t from this world. Several years ago, with his people (later revealed to be the Fallen, whose ruins dot Valisthea), he created magic, which resulted in the Blight destroying their world. They fled to Valisthea on their ship, Origin, and began a plan to create a new world free of the Blight.
Ultima’s surviving kin would become the Mothercrystals and drain Valisthea of its aether to build up the magic necessary to enact this. While creating humanity, their purpose was to give rise to the Mythos, which Ultima would possess and use their power to recreate the world. As they retreated into the shadows, humanity would use the Mothercrystals and magic to wage war against each other while the Blight ran rampant.
It’s revealed that Clive is Mythos, with his ability to absorb different Eikons contributing to his overwhelming power. Ifrit Risen is Mythos’ ultimate form and resembles Ultima Prime (Ultima’s previous form). Ultima plans to use Mythos to cast Raise, destroying Valisthea and ushering in a new world. However, Clive rebels and rejects Ultima, who then ventures to Twinside.
The city is revealed to be Origin, and it turns into a giant crystal, absorbing aether and causing the Blight to overtake the surrounding lands. Clive, Joshua and Dion venture onto Origin to stop Ultima, with Dion dying in the process. Joshua uses the Phoenix to heal Clive at the risk of his life, and the two venture to Ultima’s location. After unsealing and absorbing its kin from Joshua, Ultima readies Raise. Joshua sacrifices his life to give Clive the full power of Phoenix, allowing him to unleash the Ifrit Risen to defeat Ultima.
Aware of the effect of magic on Valisthea and how it led to vast suffering, Clive believes the best option is to destroy it. He absorbs Ultima and uses the power to destroy the crystal around Origin and the ship itself. Severely weakened, he awakens on a beach as his left hand petrifies, seemingly dying. Meanwhile, Jill and Torgal look up at the sky at Metia, a star believed to grant wishes, which she constantly looks to, hoping for Clive to return safely. She then cries, seemingly aware that her wish isn’t coming true.
Cut to after the credits, many years later, where two boys gather firewood for their house. One of the boys tries to light a fire but instead relies on flint, indicating that magic is indeed gone from Valisthea. The two then play outside with their pup in a nod to Clive, Joshua and Torgal, while a book called Final Fantasy, written by Joshua Rosfield, is on the table. The boy wished he had Eikonic magic to light the fire before his mother reminded him the book was just a fairy tale. So while the story of Clive and his friends has faded into myth, Valisthea and its people are finally free to live life.
Of course, there are many, many unanswered questions throughout all this. What became of the Bearers, who could use magic without relying on crystals and were looked down upon by society, eventually petrifying (like Clive did at the end) and dying a painful death? With magic gone from the world and the Mothercrystals destroyed, it’s unlikely that the remaining nobility would accept the Bearers, let alone abide by them seeking freedom.
There’s also the question of Jill. Her arc pretty much wrapped in the Iron Kingdom, and she played a supporting role to Clive, eventually bestowing her powers on him. Perhaps a future DLC or expansion could examine the immediate fall-out from Origin’s destruction as Jill and the Hideaway rally together to bring order to the world. Playing as her wouldn’t just provide a change of pace and expand on her character but also showcase how combat would work without the Eikonic Skills. Perhaps Rosaria can re-establish its identity, and Jill can return home. Of course, Torgal should also play a role and hopefully find some closure from Clive’s death.
While DLC could look at Clive’s fate and maybe keep up the mystery of whether he’s alive or dead, it would be unnecessary. At this point, Final Fantasy 16 deserves a lengthy epilogue, more than anything else, to tie a neat bow to the story’s events. So don’t expect a Final Fantasy 16-2 or Clive Returns anytime soon, though a small standalone game with Jill as the protagonist could work.
Where the next title could go from here remains to be seen, especially with how long it took to develop this one. It wouldn’t be remiss for Square Enix to bank on other titles for longer while slowly working on the next mainline game in the background.
Whether it embraces a real-time combat approach or goes in a completely different direction with its world-building, one thing is certain. Final Fantasy 16 is a major RPG pillar, and will continue to be so.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
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