Final Fantasy XVI’s Ending Seems a Sendoff to the Series More Than Its Celebration

Final Fantasy XVI has a great story that revolves around the brotherhood of Clive and Joshua Rosfield trying to save all of humanity. However, the ending of the game seems to completely destroy the world of Final Fantasy as a whole. Let’s dive deeper into this article to find out why there might not be a sequel to Final Fantasy XVI.

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The Story of Final Fantasy XVI

The Final Fantasy XVI story starts with the God Ultima and his kin creating magic, which allows them to flourish and become more powerful. However, alongside magic came the world-destroying Blight, which was out of the control of the gods and almost killed all of them. A total of 16 gods survived and fled from the effects of the Blight to a new world: Valisthea. 

However, the Blight eventually followed them there as well. Seeing that they had no other option, the gods decided to create a new world and destroy the one they had created. However, casting a spell of such magnitude would require a colossal amount of magic power and a vessel strong enough to cast it. 

The gods thought of a way to acquire both. They sacrificed their physical forms to huge crystal structures that would soak up the natural aether flowing in Valesthea’s soils known as Mothercrystals. To obtain a suitable vessel, they created humanity in the hopes that the Mythos, a human capable of harnessing such power, would eventually come from the human race. Thus the story begins with a plan that took thousands of years to unfold while the gods of the world lay in hibernation since they had placed their souls inside the Mothercrystals. 

The Evolution of Humanity

With no one to watch over them, the people of Valisthea acquired their own free will and eventually discovered magic. This led to wars and struggles for power as everyone wanted to become as powerful as they possibly could. Eventually, beings that were able to summon the power of the Eikons, the original summons introduced in Final Fantasy III, like Garuda and Ifrit, were born and were known as Dominants. 

Clive and his brother Joshua are also Dominants, with Clive being able to call on Ifrit and Joshua able to summon forth Pheonix. Further, Clive had the ability to harness the power of multiple Eikons, which made him the all-powerful Mythos the gods had been waiting for, or so they thought.

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Ultima Awakens

As Clive and his brother break a Mothercrystal during a war, a god named Ultima awakens. As soon as he awakes, Ultima begins putting the plan of the gods into action. He intends to create Ifrit Risen, which is a creature made from the combination of the Ifrit and Pheonix Eikons. 

Ultima’s plan mainly revolves around turning Clive into the ultimate Mythos. Rather, Clive has become a “corrupted”, version of the Mythos known as Logos with his own free will and intentions, as most humans would. This leads Ultima to try to defeat Clive and his brother in order to use Clive’s body as a vessel.

Nonetheless, since he has only just awoken, he is not as powerful as he used to be and has to retreat once he is beaten by Clive and Joshua the first time. As such, Ultima waits for the other Mothercrystals to be destroyed one by one and absorbs the trapped soles of his kin to regain his godly strength.

The Final Stand

Once Ultima has absorbed the power of his kin, the first requirement has been met; he has enough magic to cast the world-ending spell. All he needs to do now is claim Clive’s body as a vessel. When Clive and his brother face off against Ultima, Joshua gives Clive the full power of Phoenix Eikon inside him. This enables Clive to harness the power of both his own Eikon: Ifrit and Joshua’s: Phoenix to become Ifirt Risen on his own. What follows is a monstrous battle between Clive and Ultima, with both unwilling to give up. Although the fight is long and hard, Clive prevails in the end and defeats Ultima.

The End of Final Fantasy XVI

After finally vanquishing Ultima and saving the world from the god, Clive absorbs Ultima’s power and adds it to his own, which basically makes him a god. Seeing the effects of magic on not only Valisthea but even the world before, Clive decides the world would be a better place without magic in it.

However, the only way to accomplish that is to unleash the full power of Ultima’s vessel to burn the Heart of Origin and destroy the final Mothercrystal. The only issue is this will most certainly kill Clive, a sacrifice he is willing to make for the sake of the greater good.

Clive dies a hero’s death and removes all magic from the world of mankind.

Is the Ending to Final Fantasy XVI a Sendoff to the Series?

The ending cutscene of the game shows two brothers playing in a garden. One of the brothers tries to light a fire with some wood and flint and says to his mother, “I wish I had the flame of an Eikon”. The mother simply dismisses the question saying it is no more than a fairytale. 

Finally, we see a book by the name of Final Fantasy, written by Joshua Rosfield, as a recording of the account of the things that happened before their final showdown with Ultima. The entire story of Final Fantasy XVI in the book is assumed to be no more than a myth in this time as the brother recreate fight scenes from the book and enjoy their time. 

This ending seems like a farewell to the Final Fantasy Series for two main reasons: the absence of magic from the world means that any sequel of the game cannot have magic usage in it, which cannot be left out in a Final Fantasy game. Secondly, the long time of joy and peace after removing magic from the world indicates no new threats have surfaced for a fairly long time.

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Conclusion

The ending of Final Fantasy XVI seems more like a farewell to the series because of two main reasons: the removal of magic, a vital game mechanic in Final Fantasy games and the absence of any new threats for a long period. However, this is just speculation at this point, and the game’s developers have confirmed nothing so far.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Clive Summon Multiple Eikons?

Clive cannot summon multiple Eikons and can only fully harness the power of Ifrit. However, he can use certain skills and attacks from every Eikon once he has absorbed them.

How Many Eikons Are There in Final Fantasy XVI?

There are a total of eight unlockable Eikons in Final Fantasy XVI, each of which provides Clive with their own set of skills and abilities to aid him in his quest.

What Is the Strongest Eikon in Final Fantasy XVI?

Bahamut is considered by many as the strongest Eikon in Final Fantasy XVI. This is due to his abilities dishing out some really heavy damage that can be used to take down enemies easily.