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Final Fantasy 16‘s release has been met with very positive reviews, taking the franchise in a new direction. Recently, however, Final Fantasy 16 has been the subject of review bombing from dedicated fans. Unhappy with the direction of the series, these Final Fantasy fans have been bombarding Metacritic with extremely low reviews. This slowly lowers the game’s review average, effectively skewing the game’s original score. Overall, this creates an inaccurate score that doesn’t wholly reflect the views of the entire public. Instead, it manipulates the system, skewing the new Final Fantasy game’s review in one group’s favor. Although some players may see this as correcting an inaccurate review, others may see it as attempting to cover the opinions of other players.
As many reviewers have pointed out, Final Fantasy 16 is not a bad game. Holding an 88 and 8.0 for critic and fan reviews on Metacritic, Final Fantasy 16 is currently one of the best PS5 games available. Sadly, with a series as beloved as Final Fantasy, players are bound to be hyper-critical of every new entry. Many players have found the fast-paced action to be fun and the story to be very interesting overall. It seems that the latest Final Fantasy game has a broader appeal than previous entries. After the success of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it makes sense the Final Fantasy games would continue in a similar direction.
Final Fantasy 16 Review Bombers Say The Game Betrays The Series
However, one of the main criticisms of the Final Fantasy 16 review bombers is that the game betrays the Final Fantasy franchise. Currently, many players have criticized the game’s design, stating that it feels nothing like a true Final Fantasy entry. This includes combat, world design, and characters, each of which has spawned some debate among fans. Final Fantasy 16’s combat takes the series in a slightly new direction, focusing more on action and less on team-based strategy. Additionally, players will only be able to control Clive the protagonist, with other party members being AI controlled. On top of this, fans have also stated that the world and characters are a bit too boring and plain.
Final Fantasy Combat Evolves Between Every Entry
While these are valid criticisms of Final Fantasy 16, none of these criticisms point to FF16 betraying the franchise. While the new combat is unlike previous entries, Final Fantasy combat has been evolving since the beginning of the series. For example, Final Fantasy 1 combat was very different than Final Fantasy 7’s, evolving traditional turn-based combat to a real-time system. FF16 itself wasn’t even the first Final Fantasy game to have pure action combat. Both FF15 and FF7 Remake have done away with Final Fantasy’s traditional combat well before Final Fantasy 16. While it may be disappointing to see things change, Final Fantasy 16 hasn’t done anything too different from other Final Fantasy entries.
Final Fantasy 16 Continues The Series Evolution Despite Review Bombers
Overall, Final Fantasy is a series about evolution. In almost every entry, the game takes risks and changes many things in almost every entry. Based on this, Final Fantasy 16 doesn’t betray the series at all. Instead, it captures the true heart of the Final Fantasy franchise. Final Fantasy 16 tries many new systems, creates new worlds, and tells unique stories. Without changes like this, Final Fantasy 7 would have never made the massive jump into the future that makes it one of the best games of all time. FF7 updated the graphics, style, and combat of the series, causing it to feel nothing like the original games. Although some changes in Final Fantasy 16 do fall flat, it at least stays in line with previous entries and doesn’t warrant review bombing.
Final Fantasy 16 doesn’t betray the series, as review bombers say. It follows the natural progression of evolution that the series has always had. Seeing the evolution of Final Fantasy 7 Remake evolve from FF7 or the FF15 take on a never-before-seen style has always been the best part of the series. One of the most fun parts of playing Final Fantasy games is discovering the new and interesting worlds and styles that each entry brings. Evolution is the heart of Final Fantasy. It’s why the series has been able to stay on the cutting edge of JRPGs for so long. In the end, players come back to the series not to see the same game repeated. Instead, seeing the changes and growth of the series is what has always made Final Fantasy so special.