While someFinal Fantasy 16players are unhappy with the game’s focus on action gameplay over RPG mechanics, with some turn-based fans even review bombing the Square Enix title, even the game’s biggest detractors can agree on one thing:Final Fantasy 16’s spectacle is unmatched. Filled with visually stunning boss fights that are unlike anything else in the video game industry, players are unlikely to forget their clashes with Titan orBahamutanytime soon. Unfortunately, even the game’s best fights make one big mistake when it comes to difficulty.
The difficulty ofFinal Fantasy 16has been heavily debated, and understandably so. Outside some optional hunts inFinal Fantasy 16, the only times that players will really be challenged are in some of the game’s main story boss encounters - that is if they aren’t wearing any of the overpowered accessories that essentially make the game play itself. Overcoming challenging main story bosses should be a moment of triumph, but one strange design decision makes the battles trivial. Specifically, the wayFinal Fantasy 16handles mid-fight checkpoints leaves a lot to be desired.
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Final Fantasy 16’s Boss Fight Checkpoints Are Entirely Unnecessary
SinceFinal Fantasy 16players will get through most fights with ease, as protagonistClive Rosfieldis overpowered in an incredibly fun way, it is all the more exciting when players run into a wall and actually need to play carefully. There are a few encounters where this could happen - Benedikta, as players will not have any Eikon beyond Pheonix when they fight her, the grueling matchup with Odin, and the final boss battle with Ultima. Sadly, players are rewarded for dying against these foes.
Part of the fun in other games with great boss fights, likeElden RingandGod of War Ragnarok, is failure. Getting a boss within an inch of their life and dying is tragic and infuriating in the moment, but getting back into the fight and applying what has been learned from the previous run can be immensely satisfying. Finally getting that win and moving forward after dying several times gives players a sense of accomplishment, something that a proper boss fight should always deliver. Sadly,Final Fantasy 16does not do that at all with its boss fights, as players can cheese their way through all of them once they know their fatal flaw.
WhenFinal Fantasy 16players die during a boss fight, they will find themselves respawning during a later phase of the fight. This means that while Clive’s health is restored, the boss may just be a few Eikonic abilities away from death, letting players have a free victory since their abilities have cooled down and are all ready to go. For battles that are not overly long likeBenedikta, this mechanic is truly strange, as it defeats the very purpose of the boss battle. While checkpoints make sense for extremely long encounters like the one with Odin, there is another problem: they refill potions.
If players respawned with just a potion or two, or even a damaged health bar like what the boss has, a checkpoint system would be understandable. For whatever reason, though, they will respawn with a full lineup of potions alongside a recharged health bar and a weak boss. This system basically rewards failure, as if players let themselves die during the middle of Clive’s war with Barnabas, they will come back as strong as they were when the fight began. WhileFinal Fantasy 16is a great game, and its jaw-dropping boss fights are a huge strength, this bizarre choice ensures that they are 100% spectacle and offer only an illusion of challenge.
While this setting would make sense for those who chooseFinal Fantasy 16’s story-focused difficultyand lack the mechanical skill needed for action games, players on action-focused do not need this kind of handholding. Having a truly challenging main story fight inFinal Fantasy 16is rare, so it is a shame that players will accidentally get themselves a cheap win if they die at any point when such a fight does appear. Ultimately, this makesFinal Fantasy 16a lesson in what to do and what not to do when crafting a boss battle.
Final Fantasy 16is available now exclusively on PS5.
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