Have You No Normal Enemies?

[rionaleonhart]

More thoughts on Final Fantasy XVI! I've just finished the batch of sidequests that becomes available at the start of the quest 'Across the Narrow'.



Clive looks pretty good when he's spattered with blood and has a sword held to his throat. Just saying.

Torgal carries my sword in his mouth when I don't have the strength to carry it myself! Good boy!

I think this game might have too many sidequests. A lot of the sidequests give interesting detail on the world or characters! But, every time there's a plot development, three or four sidequests spring up and destroy any sense of momentum. Clive needs to learn to delegate. I must be nearing the end of the game, but it doesn't feel like it when I'm still getting sent on fetch quests!

Clive is so fond of Mid. It's very cute.

Clive taking a moment to hug Jill before he rescues her is also pretty cute.

Nice vulnerability in this nude scene, but I'm very distracted by the fact that I thought Jill was suffering from the curse; surely we should be able to see signs of it when she's not covered up?

Also slightly distracted by the fact that it looks to me like Clive has been shaving his legs.

I love the item description for the spherical echo: 'No doubt the Fallen had some other purpose in mind for these contrivances than to stud them in a smelter, and would ridicule us for doing so, just as a man of the present day might laugh at a goblin using a carefully filed cogwheel to enliven his hat.' Tell me more about how people of this world think of the Fallen! I'm so interested in how they look back at this civilisation that they don't truly know or understand, but which has left inescapable marks on their world.

Ooh, I like this quest where L'ubor is exposed as a Bearer; that's really interesting. Invite him to the hideaway, Clive; he's fun!

I'm not sure how to express this in a way that doesn't sound horny, but I like it when Clive says 'fuck'. I just think 'fuck' on its own is a great curse; it conveys a lot! He fell into low health while I was battling, he said 'fuck', and that really got across the fact that this was a bad situation. 'Oh, God' is also a low-health quote of his I like. I suppose I just like feeling that the character I'm playing as is scared when I find myself struggling in a battle.

I think at some point I decided that Theodore was in love with his sister Eloise, but I cannot now remember where this impression came from. It's just a weird headcanon floating around during their scenes, making everything slightly awkward.

I was afraid the game would make me kill Theo in front of his sister. I'm glad I didn't have to do that, but this outcome is ALSO TERRIBLE.



This batch of sidequests feels like a tour of all the people we've met throughout the game, which makes me think it'll just be plot from here on. I'm ready for it. Of course, there's always the possibility I'm just going to get plunged into another fifty fetch quests after this mission, but we'll see!

Comments

[wolfy_writing]

Clive looks pretty good when he's spattered with blood and has a sword held to his throat. Just saying.

Torgal carries my sword in his mouth when I don't have the strength to carry it myself! Good boy!

These two sentences right next to each other are extremely you.

[rionaleonhart]

I laughed aloud at this. My enthusiasm switch does flip very easily between 'yay, cute things!' and 'yay, pain and terror!', now that I think about it.

[thenicochan]

Clive is a hottie, even if he shaves his legs.

Jill's body being perfection is peak Male Gaming Gaze. At least she's treated with dignity despite being nude all scene. I generally liked that scene between them a lot.

I was pretty sure Theo and Eloise were a couple. They've hardcore got the vibe.

[rionaleonhart]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who looked at these incredibly minor NPC siblings and went 'huh, something's going on here.' I'm not just imagining things! Or, if I'm imagining things, at least I'm not alone.

[artabria]

Yeah, the side quests showed up at weird points in the story. I still did them because of the armour/weapon materials and the money for music, I mean, money for potions.

I totally didn't expend 90% of my gil in music rolls. Nope.

EDIT: Brain is tired and I wrote "where points" instead of "weird points", lol.

[rionaleonhart]

I can't resist a sidequest; I want to see all the story available! But I often find myself desperately wanting to progress the plot. Stop throwing all these sidequests at me!

Why is music so expensive? I'm reminded of the weird economy in Final Fantasy XV, where a stay in a hotel costs 500 gil and luxury cat food costs 20,000.

[lavendre]

Ahaha, so many side quests! And during times when I'm craving plot!

Also slightly distracted by the fact that it looks to me like Clive has been shaving his legs.

I laughed aloud. He does look Extremely Smooth and Buttery. XD

[rionaleonhart]

Clive, the world is ending; surely someone else can deliver these gysahl green seeds!

[lassarina]

Theoooooooooo

that broke my heart so bad.

also I love Clive in all situations but especially when he is wrecked and overpowered, yes.

[rionaleonhart]

Because Theo's death happened in an optional quest, I feel weirdly responsible for it. I'm sorry, Theo; I didn't know doing that sidequest would get you killed!

especially when he is wrecked and overpowered, yes.

Excellent taste!

[rionaleonhart]

Oh, that's interesting; I hadn't thought about the XV comparison! I suppose the sidequests in XV didn't bother me because of the general 'messing around with your friends, doing whatever' theme and tone of the game, whereas XVI's 'you are actively endeavouring to save the world' means I'm constantly feeling urgency to move the plot forward. In XVI, I feel all the sidequests are preventing me from progressing the story. In XV, sidequests are part of the story, because it's the story of our roadtrip!

I also ended up well over the recommended level early in XV on account of all my sidequesting, but I didn't end up feeling it made the game trivial, if that's any reassurance!

[necrophilia]

I think at some point I decided that Theodore was in love with his sister Eloise, but I cannot now remember where this impression came from. It's just a weird headcanon floating around during their scenes, making everything slightly awkward.

Nope, that makes perfect sense. He is quite abnormally fixated on her.

[rionaleonhart]

I'm glad to know other people picked up on a strange vibe there!

[necrophilia]

Like, from the Doylist perspective, he was providing the very necessary information of What Eloise Did Previously because god knows I wasn't going to care enough to remember. But from an in-universe character perspective, it seems like Theodore devotes 100% of his braincells to Eloise.