Since its inception, theFinal Fantasyseries has tinkered with various party configurations. Over time, we have gotten acquainted with several active parties of varying shapes and sizes, witnessed the ebb and flow of many guest characters, and even played monster-taming withFinal Fantasy 13-2’s Sarah.
But for me,Final Fantasy 16’s decision to focus on a single protagonist speaks more to me as a player and adds to the camaraderie in a more meaningful way than any entry with a full-fledged party.
First of all, I adore how making Clive the sole protagonist keeps him in the spotlight all the time. Unlike many characters in previous Final Fantasy games, he is never overshadowed by more compelling or story-relevant characters like in Vaan’s case fromFinal Fantasy 12, and he doesn’t leave the stage halfway through likeFinal Fantasy 7’sCloud (despite the powerfulexecution of his extended break). He also doesn’t stop changing and evolving once his character arc is over; a flaw of manyFinal Fantasy 6characters and their mini story arcs.
In Final Fantasy 16, I never feel like the storytellers are looking in separate directions or prioritizing different things. Whether Clive is grappling with his past misdeeds, striving to fulfill his obligations, or challenging societal norms to forge new paths, I am always in the driver’s seat, fully engaged. I don’t have to fix the lives of random strangers—such asFinal Fantasy 10’s Kimahri—before I get to the heart of the story, or find catharsis for a certain plot point after I’ve already forgotten about it (why was I chasing after Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7, again?). Final Fantasy 16 always channels the emotions you cultivate with the protagonist at ideal times, rather than trying to capture someone else’s emotions at a completely inappropriate time when your interest has waned.
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But wait, don’t you literally build a hub for random strangers in FF16? Yes, but it’s not like you are going out of your way to deal with their irrelevant issues all the time. Both of themain guest characters—Clive’s mentor, Cid, and his romantic interest, Jill—go through inner journeys that parallel Clive’s, driven by similar factors such as the burden of being bearers and Dominants, the struggle to overcome attachments to the past, and the quest for redemption and a fresh start.
Even guest NPCs like Gav and Byron share a common bond with Clive, whether as bearers, family members, acquaintances of Cid or simply individuals who have experienced similar discrimination and wartime hardships. They actively engage in main missions with you, and enjoy a kindred sense of relief after each of your victorious moments.
Though few in number, each companion in Final Fantasy 16 has a strong reason to exist inyourstory and can easily identify with the emotional challenges you face through Clive. They aren’t just some NPCs you interact with for a short while, or party members who came along for the ride without a similar grand purpose. I praisedChrono Cross' 45-member ensemble castbecause I could see how each of them carried a weight not unlike that of the player or the main character, and Clive’s interpersonal relationships are no different; the people you get to know here never cease to feel relevant, no matter the situation.
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This unified purpose between you and other characters is also what separates Clive from Final Fantasy 15’s Noctis (the only other solo main character in the series). Clive’s story feels like the story of the entirety of Valisthea and its inhabitants, while Noctis' story is much more about the bros' road trip and their relationships, not the world. And at the very least, Final Fantasy 16 doesn’t abruptly remove your party or guest characters at oddly unconvincing times like FF15, only to sell their stories as DLC later, and leave you to wonder what the hell what that even for.
I would like to see Final Fantasy take a similarly focused approach in the future. While I understand that the lack of tangible party members in FF16 may not be very engaging, I find it equally uninteresting to invest time in boring characters or ones with uneventful payoffs. And if subsequent games and their hypothetical casts can make every party character as consistently relevant as Clive is in his world, then I would wish for nothing more.
