During the Game Awards 2022, Square Enix released a new trailer for Final Fantasy 16 titled ‘Revenge’, also announcing the game’s release date to be June 22nd, 2023 exclusively for the PlayStation 5.
The new trailer showed massive summon battles, more combat, and the companions that will be joining Clive on his journey. In the beginning, we see the possible death of Joshua, the Dominate of Phoenix, and Clive’s desire for revenge in a voiceover. Clive struggles internally with his revenge controlling him while he goes out in search of the truth. Based on the official page for Final Fantasy 16, we do see the basis for Clive’s revenge is the Eikon Ifrit. This game will tell a story that spans many years, as Clive is shown as a young teenager and later as an adult.
Along with story elements, fans were shown some of the companions that will be joining Clive. We are shown a much older Jill Warrick, a Ward who grew up alongside Clive and Joshua, now possibly seeking the same revenge as Clive. We also see Joshua’s pet dog, now much bigger, fighting alongside Clive and Jill. There is a fourth person shown fighting alongside Clive, but as of now, it’s unclear who this person is. This game furthers the real time battle elements of recent Final Fantasy games with Clive being shown fighting with his one-handed sword while using Eikon-based magic attacks with his other hand.
Final Fantasy 16 will have a major focus on Dominates and their ability to summon Eikons to be used in war. A massive battle is shown with Eikons decimating large portions of armies in a single sweep. It is also revealed in this trailer that Clive will at some point become the Dominate of Ifrit, a usually antagonistic god in previous Final Fantasy games. With the main character being able to turn into this Eikon, players will control combat as both Clive and Ifrit. Eikon battles were at the center of the previous trailer, and are further shown to be playing a big role throughout the game.
Final Fantasy 16 is set to release exclusively on Playstation 5 on June 22nd, 2023. It was also announced this game will not be available on other platforms until after December 31, 2023.