During the Final Fantasy XVI cover story journey, I played a few hours of the game that experienced a lot of press. But I also got an exclusive walkthrough of the FFXVI endgame and other supplemental content by Creative Director Hiroshi Takai and Fighting Director Ryota Suzuki.
It’s safe to say there’s a lot to play around with, especially if you enjoy number-chasing in combat.
FFXVI features an Arcade mode, allowing players to run through stages they have already completed, this time using an on-screen score calculator and combat classifier. But New + playthrough unlocks two additional modes, both of which are more difficult than the game’s base Story Mode and Action Mode. It’s important to note that you can play through New Game+ on one of these base difficulties if you wish, but you’re missing out on a lot of the features meant for New Game+. If you’re looking for treasures you missed or PlayStation trophies you didn’t collect, Stage Replay may suit your needs better. And if you’re after some combat training or a devastating quick fix, there’s a special training mode, accessible through the Arete Stone statue inside Clive’s main hub.
New Game+ lets you play through FFXVI with all abilities and gear previously unlocked from the jump, but the standout feature is Final Fantasy Mode. This increases the game’s difficulty, changes the location of monsters, and rearranges the enemies that may appear in combat.
“The main design philosophy is that the premiere is about learning Clive, learning the controls, and then having fun with the story,” says Suzuki. The second offering, we want to shift that focus — because the story hasn’t changed — to the action. For example, in story mode, while players may encounter waves of enemies, more often than not, enemies don’t attack all at once to allow players the ability to deal with each Thing.In the more difficult game modes, we’ve removed these restrictions so you’ll have multiple enemies attacking Clive at the same time.
Basically, what we did [Final Fantasy] The mode gives players controlling Clive the sense that they are always in danger, that death is just around the corner, and that you’ll need to really pay attention to be able to clear the content.”
In Final Fantasy Mode New + playthrough, by interacting with the Arete Stone in your hideouts, you can complete Final Fantasy Mode difficulty stages in Arcade Mode or even a more difficult variant called Ultimaniac Mode. Arcade mode global leaderboards will only be active in these two modes.
“[These modes were] It was very much created only for hardcore gamers, those players who take pride in their action game skills,” says Suzuki, noting that the only exclusive reward players can gain from these modes is pride.[It’s] A challenge that, even for them, would be very difficult to complete.”
And Final Fantasy and Ultimaniac Mode are just two things that await you in a more challenging round of New Game+. New Game + run also allows you to upgrade your weapons more than you could in your initial game. You can also upgrade accessories, which is only possible in the game by playing Final Fantasy Mode in New Game+. You’ll also get access to Final Chronolith Trials, or if you’re not in Final Fantasy Mode, just Chronolith Trials.
Takai says these experiences are the toughest challenge at FFXVI. It consists of multiple stages, each with four rounds of enemies. The first three rounds will be standard waves of monsters, each getting more difficult as you progress. But the fourth round will feature a president. Chronolith Trials are also time trials, and each stage contains a list of moves, combos, and objectives that you can perform to gain more time. However, pulling it off won’t be easy because there is no cure in these trials, except for the recovery that starts immediately after any limit-breaking move is activated.
Every Chronolith Trial is based on the Eikon. I’m watching Takai and Suzuki play through Phoenix’s Trial by Fire. In it, you gain access to Phoenix’s Eikonic abilities, which forces you to play much differently than you might play outside of these experiences, as you can mix and match Eikonic abilities as you go. And just like Arcade mode, Chronolith Trials has a global leaderboard but only in Final Fantasy mode. While playing the game, you will find stones that are similar in appearance to the Arete stone, and you will interact with unlocking Chronolith Trials to complete them.
I can’t rehearse any of this game’s endgame content, but what I’m seeing Takai and Suzuki play is outrageously chaotic and fast-paced and is sure to provide the challenge Devil May Cry fans might expect, as Suzuki also helped design the combat in Devil May Cry V for capcom.
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