In many ways, spoilers for Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 15.]FF15 was great in its own way, although its flaws seem more glaring now than any of FF16's. Maybe that's just because they're clearer in hindsight; since its 2016 release, players have had far more time to analyze its less appealing aspects. FF15's combat was surprisingly shallow for the Final Fantasy series, which has always attempted to make new advancements in RPG battles. Its automatic in-game camera was often distracting; players spent more time looking at the foliage of nearby bushes than their characters in combat. Perhaps the greatest point of criticism about FF15, though, was its story, or lack thereof where it counted. Luckily, FF16 has already insured itself against the same mistake.
FF16 Doesn't Need DLC To Complete Its Story
Where FF15 relied on other media to explore character backgrounds, tie up loose ends, and even conclude its plot, FF16 is a complete story out of the box. It follows protagonist Clive Rosfield throughout almost his entire life, weaving the absolute entirety of a yarn about regret, redemption, and rebirth. Although there are plenty of other aspects to its world that go unexplored, players don't need this additional context to understand what's happening in the base game. A player's purchase of FF16 and FF16 alone entitles them to experience a whole, finished story from start to finish. As much as it is on release as it will be after DLC, FF16 is a complete game.
FF15 Was An Incomplete Story On Launch
FF15, meanwhile, took a different approach from FF16 when it came to exposition. In order to understand the whole of its story, players first had to watch the two-hour movie Kingsglaive to grasp the political context, and the five-episode animated web series Brotherhood to learn about its characters' backstories. These concepts are never really explored in the base game; while they're alluded to in some dialogue, players are left to infer the details all on their own. Brotherhood was released for free online, but Kingsglaive required a separate fee - players could either buy a movie ticket during its limited theatrical run, rent it from a streaming service, or spring for one of the pricier editions of FF15 that included it.
After FF15's launch, Square Enix announced a round of DLC expansions - sold separately - that would give more depth to its underdeveloped side characters. Episode Gladiolus, Episode Prompto, and Episode Ignis each focused on one of protagonist Noctis' three companions during parts of the main story where they're otherwise absent. They explore not only what the characters did while Noctis was otherwise occupied, but also how their actions reflect their values and upbringing. This was executed with mixed success; while some of these are perfectly able as DLC, more often than not, they left players questioning why this important background was left out of the base game. FF16 certainly learned from this mistake, exploring its characters' backgrounds from the very start.
FF15 also never fully explains the motivations of its antagonist, Ardyn, until the very end of the game. As a result, Ardyn's constant interference with Noctis' journey is confusing, and more irritating than sinister. He comes off as a two-dimensional villain until moments before his death. Afterward, there's no time to reckon with his anger or his intent - the game is just over. The DLC Episode Ardyn attempts to mitigate this, depicting the character's backstory. Knowing this earlier on would've made their final confrontation so much more powerful, but instead, the result feels rushed. FF16, by contrast, saves some secrets for the end, but allows players to unravel the mystery of Ultima's intentions more gradually over the course of the game.
FF15's Canceled DLC Adds To The Confusion
After the initial success of the four Episode DLC releases, Square Enix had more in store. There was the Comrades multiplayer expansion, taking place during FF15's time skip. There was talk of a whole second season of DLC, with an even richer backstory and a diverging timeline providing an alternate, happy ending to the main story. There were promises of an Episode Aranea, Episode Luna, Episode Noctis, and then there was nothing. After Episode Ardyn, no further DLC was released. What was initially planned as the Dawn of the Future DLC series became a spin-off novel under the same title. In fact, even today the story of Final Fantasy 15 remains unfinished, where FF16 is already complete.
FF16 Has Infinite DLC Potential
Since FF16 doesn't have to spend the runtime of its DLC wrapping up plot threads that should've been concluded in the base game, it's free to do whatever it wants with the DLC's story. FF16 can learn as many lessons from the successes of FF15's DLC as it can learn from its failures. To that end, FF16 DLC is likely to focus on its side characters, or on the events that occur during one of its many time skips.
Joshua's years of wandering between the collapse of the Rosarian duchy and his reunion with Clive are ripe for expansion. DLC may instead choose to focus on Cid's younger years, on his relationship with Benedikta and establishment of the Hideaway. It could explore the events that occur after FF16's ending, with Joshua and Jill trying to ease the growing pains of Valisthea as its people acquaint themselves with a new reality. Whether it's one of the above, all of the above, or something else entirely, FF16 DLC should feel like a welcome addition, a bonus on top of its story instead of a crucial element that used to be missing. That's entirely due to the completeness of FF16's story.
FF16 is a Final Fantasy game through and through, learning the lessons of its predecessor's flaws while taking the series in some exciting new directions. While those aren't always to its benefit, the end result is wonderful, a living reminder of how much the franchise has changed in the past decade alone. Whatever its flaws, and come what may with its future DLC, players can rest assured that the beautiful bow on its story ensures that Final Fantasy 16 won't repeat at least one mistake of FF15.
Source: PlayStation/YouTube
