Dispatches from Tribeca and three thoughts on Final Fantasy XVI
Benedikta Harman deserved better.
We are just getting over the busy season of game announcements at Summer Game Fest et al. To make things even busier we saw the release of Final Fantasy XVI, one of the biggest games of the year so far.
In the past couple of weeks, I have been running between my apartment and Tribeca where I took in the festival’s official selection of video games as well as catching a special event or two, such as the Hideo Kojima documentary.
But of course, I still had time for some thoughts (serious and unserious) on Final Fantasy XVI. Here are five stories from the past couple of weeks to check out.
The most impressive game out of Tribeca is without a doubt Chants of Sennaar, a translation-based puzzle game that has the single most interesting mechanic in a game since Return of the Obra Dinn. [Article]
The new documentary Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds fails to give any meaningful insight into the artist at its center. Instead, it meaninglessly builds up his identity as gaming’s “best” auteur (cringe) without actually saying anything new. [Article]
There is a lot of talk about Final Fantasy XVI being the darkest entry in the 35-year-old franchise. That is bullshit. Final Fantasy has always been about mature and often violent stories. Every Final Fantasy is the darkest Final Fantasy. [Article]
I have always been a Final Fantasy XIII defender. It’s a good game that has some flaws but mostly gets unearned hate because it has a female protagonist. With the release of Final Fantasy XVI, it is clearer than ever that XIII is the most influential title in the series, and with so many similarities to elements of XVI receiving praise, we need to talk about what made XIII great. [Article]
While I have a lot of more critically-minded thoughts on Final Fantasy XVI (I just don’t like it!) I can appreciate great character design. I also like to have fun in my articles once in a while. Hence a tier list of Final Fantasy XVI’s main cast based on hotness. [Article]
See you next time!