These days, Final Fantasy 16 is causing a lot of discussion due to the default difficulty level of the work, judged by most players as excessively affordable. Although Naoki Yoshida and Ryota Suzuki have never made a secret of their desire to reach the maximum number of people possible, creating a combat system that anyone could master easily, there is a lack of a difficult mode from the beginning, and the situation is further exacerbated by the slowness - for plot reasons - of the progression system.
On the other hand, the developers have chosen - in full respect of the tradition of action video games - to insert a series of higher difficulty levels after the conclusion of the adventure, in order to offer fans the challenge they so desire. On this page we have collected everything you need to know about the New Game + of Final Fantasy 16 and above all about the Final Fantasy mode, or the main options dedicated to veterans of action experiences. What changes in advanced modes? What items can you bring with you? Should we start the new game immediately after the ending? Let's look at the answers to each of these questions in detail.
Before leaving you, have you seen our Final Fantasy 16 guide?
New Game+ in Final Fantasy 16
Because of how Final Fantasy 16's structure works, you have to wait 60 or even 70 hours of gameplay to get your hands on all the available Eikon techniques and abilities; a situation that makes you want to live the experience again to test the depth offered by the combat system, without limiting yourself to experiencing it only at the end of the work. For this reason, Square Enix opted to include a New Game+ mode, and there are a couple of things worth knowing even if you don't choose to tackle the complex Final Fantasy Mode.
First of all, It is not mandatory to start New Game+ right away. After completing the final mission, your rescue will be signaled with the appearance of a classic star, and from that moment on you can safely continue playing to complete the work 100%, while you will be brought back immediately before the final act. To start the New Game +, simply return to the main title menu, select the New Game + item, and then choose the save with the star you intend to bring into this adventure.
There's one very important thing to keep in mind: if you choose to start Final Fantasy Mode, you can never go back, so it's worth thinking about it carefully. Everything you have unlocked in terms of skills, combat and equipment it will follow you on the new journey, while everything else - such as the Chocobo - will be taken away from you for plot reasons. Let's now see in detail everything there is to know about Final Fantasy Mode.
Final Fantasy mode
La Final Fantasy mode represents the experience as it was conceived by the combat designer Ryota Suzuki, and brings a long series of changes that are not limited to simply making the enemies stronger or more resistant, but bring heavy consequences on the gameplay level, changing the behavior of the enemies, the functioning of the equipment and many other details capable of literally overturning the approach to gameplay. Let's see them all in detail:
- Level cap increased: The level cap goes from 50 to 100, allowing Clive's stats to soar and stay on par with the challenging new level of challenge.
- New equipment: All equipment is replaced by more powerful variants. This means that the swords will be stronger than the final weapons of the base game, and above all that there will be new final weapons. There Ultimate Weapon, for example, is present only and exclusively in Final Fantasy Mode. Furthermore, you can obtain multiple copies of the accessories you already know: if, for example, you have an item that reduces the cooldown of an ability by 8 seconds, you can obtain a second copy, in order to further change your strategic approach.
- New enemy behaviors: Even more than the impact of the new enemies, the strategies adopted by the monsters in combat make the difference. Final Fantasy Mode transforms all flying units into Healers, forcing you to play tactically, eliminating enemies capable of taking advantage of healing or spells like Protect first, before being able to clean up the hordes. These changes affect all types of enemies, who begin to exploit complex strategies and force you to approach the battlefield differently.
- New enemies; In addition to using new strategies, the enemies change completely, greatly increasing the challenge rate. Where once there was a wyvern you could find a Chimera, where a simple Lich awaited you you could find a Liquid Warrior alongside him. All the variants you encounter will be replaced by more powerful opponents and accompanied by additional adversaries, turning the cleaning of the simplest hordes into a much more difficult act than usual.
- Strongest Enemies: As if that wasn't enough, in addition to the new opponents and original strategies, the bosses will be much more complex than usual. An overall simple opponent like an Akashic Dragon, for example, can eliminate you with one blow, transforming perfect dodges from a simple habit to a necessary condition for survival. Most of the bosses will be equipped with one-shot attacks and techniques capable of getting rid of Clive in a couple of blows, so it is essential to always maintain maximum attention.
- The Cronolito challenges are completely new: If already in the normal mode the Cronolito challenges represented one of the most difficult appendices of the experience, in Final Fantasy Mode they are completely modified to reflect the changes of the New Game +, essentially becoming the most difficult and complex activity of the entire Final Fantasy 16 , a challenge dedicated only to the most expert players.
- New Trophy: By completing the story in Final Fantasy Mode you will have access to the last Golden Trophy of the work.
To counterbalance the surge in difficulty, Clive Rosfield's arsenal intervenes first of all, which can count on everything you have unlocked up to this point, not to mention the rewards in experience points and skill points for completing skills will grow dramatically with Final Fantasy Mode. Thanks to the new weapons, equipment and the possibility of immediately using the Eikon kit you prefer, you will be able to face the experience as you wish, but we warn you that the level of challenge will still be very high. If, for example, we practically never died during the story, in Final Fantasy Mode we lost up to ten consecutive times against a single boss, constantly finding ourselves without healing during the dungeons.
Finally, only for hardcore players, the Creative Business Unit III has inserted an additional level of challenge linked to the Final Fantasy Mode, namely the Ultimaniac, available in the Arete stone when tackling the levels in the Arcade version, aimed at obtaining points and to the evaluation of one's fighting style. The skeleton, however, always remains that of Final Fantasy Mode, and only the rough level of challenge changes.
