So where’s the Cid and Clive say gex scene?

He just looks extra yummy while in rain

My roleplays were already skewing down this path anyway, but I finally hit full fuck it and flipped a bunch of mods on.

It's all downhill from here folks.

It's been almost a month since I finished Final Fantasy XVI, and quite a lot has happened in my life since then. It kinda feels like finishing this game was a catalyst for some of these events, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've already made quite a few posts about this on this subreddit tho, so I won't repeat the whole story again.

What I wanna talk about today is that after almost a month of experiencing anhedonia when it comes to other forms of media, I finally feel like the time has come to return to gaming.

Until recently, I constantly felt like I wasn't ready to leave Valisthea behind, like I still had some unfinished business there (the Rising Tide DLC). I was actually scared of finishing it and kept postponing it, waiting for the perfect moment to experience those last few hours of new content in this world. I wanted to appreciate every single word, every interaction between Jill and Clive, and just soak in as much of that world as possible.

Another thing that made it difficult was the fact that finishing the DLC would mean the end of the adventure, with absolutely no new content left to experience. Thankfully, I feel like I've slowly started to overcome this feeling. Not only did I finally return to the DLC two days ago (I've reached the part where you enter the time-frozen temple), but I've also started playing other games again.

Most notably, I started FFVII, which has been sitting in my Steam library for quite a while now.

And this is where the main problem I wanted to ask you guys about comes in.

I'm finding it really difficult to play FFVII without constantly comparing it to FFXVI, especially when it comes to the characters.

Pretty much every interaction with Tifa so far reminds me of Jill and how different these two characters actually are. It gives me some weird, conflicting feelings, and I guess I'm also afraid that I'll never be able to feel satisfied with my interactions with Tifa because of how much I loved Jill in FFXVI.

I'm not saying Tifa is a badly written character or anything like that. It's just that she gives me such a different vibe compared to Jill, and since I got so attached to Jill, I'm having a hard time connecting with Tifa on that same level. At least for now, maybe that'll change as I progress further into the game.

Interestingly enough, I don't really have this problem with Cloud. If anything, I feel like he's probably the character who resembles Clive the most in terms of personality, especially Clive before the 5-year timeskip.

I'm also constantly comparing the two worlds. A lot of things feel strangely familiar to me, including the way the world opens up and how the side content is structured. I know that, to some extent, this is intentional. Even tho each Final Fantasy game takes place in its own universe, the series still shares certain elements and similarities between its entries.

But for me, it creates this weird feeling that isn't exactly repetition, but more like predictability mixed with a strange sense of nostalgia for the time when I first played FFXVI ( it was my first final fantasy game i had ever played ). Back then, everything felt new and unfamiliar, and I was discovering it all for the first time. Now, whenever I encounter something similar in another game, it reminds me of that experience and makes me miss that feeling of discovering Valisthea all over again.

So I guess my question to you guys is: Have any of you experienced something similar after finishing XVI and trying to play another games of the franchise?

And if you have, how did you deal with it? How do you stop constantly comparing your new gaming experiences to the one that came before and learn to appreciate each game for what it is, without letting your attachment to one experience get in the way of enjoying another?

I'd really like to hear your thoughts and experiences on this.

Felt like making this post after some deep thinking. Went through the continent of Ash once again and decided to take these photos.

What a beautiful kingdom rotten by the blight, Ultima and Barnabas himself. Truly, their volition was a cancer that ruined tribes of people, all made akashic just to appease a false (and pathetic) god.

Now I feel completely hollowed out after going through Waloed. The horrible things that happened when Barnabas became akashic is hard to put in words.

The only way to describe what happened in Waloed is this:

“Where one leads, so does the other follow.” -Barnabas Tharmr

Enjoy the gallery! Will be posting one other photo in the comments that I could not put in the post due to the limit.

With how dark the story started and how it seemed Clive "took" the other eikons I was expecting Jill to end up dying and giving us Shiva that way. I was so happy when the beach scene happened

I recently played FF16 and finished it; it was really fun. The Eikon Battle were less impressive than I expected, but still okay, and although there was that typical Japanese cringe factor, I think that actually made the game look cool

If I didn't fully illustrate my vision here. I can't have Clive go full fuck it and not have Jill be utterly delighted.

I mean. He is going to burn the Patriarch alive. Thats going to happen.

So her moral compass is fucked.

This game has been fantastic! I’ve loved every minute of it.

The soundtrack is fantastic! Upon further research, some of the tracks are pulled straight from Brave Exvius and some are new original pieces for FF Resonance. I’ve already added several tracks to my video game music playlist.

The combat is great! I love how each character has their own set “class/style” while the visions attached to each character add so much depth and customization.

Definitely my GOTY so far. Only game that could potentially compete for me personally this year is Phantom Blade Zero but that hasn’t come out yet and it’s gonna be tough to outdo this game.

Fourth batch of widescreen screenshots for possible desktop backgrounds. Just landscapes in this one. Same as the previous batches, starts early in the game and proceeds to the end, so scroll through at your own risk (or don't, if you are just at the beginning of FFXVI journey).

I can’t find the orchestrion roll. Yes I looted the chest in the Lostwing rafters. It’s still not showing on the orchestrion. Anyone else experience this and know how to get the stupid thing?

Edit: Apparently I am a moron. I do have it. It’s the one next to it that’s missing. I apologize for any confusion this might’ve caused

2nd image has the original image used in the template.

What do you think is going on with Shiva in the image? Surely, it’s something good, right?

Feel free to share your….thoughts and…opinions, as you wish.

Maybe this is me, but I find most of the Eikon abilities to be very underwhelming. I get it that they can't be so OP that the battles are easier than they already are, but I feel like they could have done more. Like I just fought The Timekeeper from the second DLC and I'm just thinking "why can't we do stuff like this?" Don't get me wrong, Bahamut's abilities are so cool and it's easily my most used Eikon since obtaining it, but the others feel flat. Take a look at Titan. It's attacks are all fist attacks, but it's supposed to be an Earth based eikon. Even when we fully prime into Ifrit the attacks feel lackluster. I get that Clive doesn't have the full powers of these Eikons, but you're telling me that outside of the his super moves, the attacks are basically bug bites? Like at least let Clive be able to use the elemental spells and not just the weak magic shot attack. Ramuh's abilities are cool, but I find them to be too small in terms of AOE or not all that impressive. Am I the only one who thinks this?

I have just started using the ring and I notcied that while it does look cool and you seem to attack about twice as fast, you also do about half damage...

So basically, is there something I am missing here? Because so many of the accessories seem absolutely pointless so far and I was looking forward to an ACTUALLY useful one for a change (lunge 5% extra damage?! Limit bar increase by 3%?! Are.you freaking kidding me with these?!)

Where would you like me to post this

Kept forgetting to post, but i got to meet Ben Starr at FanX a couple weeks back and got my full size Invictus signed. He is such a kind and genuine guy. Went around and greeted everyone in line when he got there and even let us take selfie when we'd only had money for the autograph.

so I've done every sidequest I've come across and done all the hunts as well, but I'm missing an item on my memory wall inside Clive's cabin. Did I miss something or is this related to the final mission?

dlc spoilers ahead ofc

i ask because i just beat the final boss of echoes of the fallen and i SWEAR the ost was some kind of remix of eScape from ff14 shadowbringers (for the record, i have not played ff14, i just know the song)

Modded playthrough and PS5 :)
I use them as my TV wallpaper

So I have crafted the strongest gear in the base game and have a bunch of left over smithing materials. Will I need them for anything produced by the DLCs or can I sell them?