Final Fantasy 16is a wild ride from top to bottom. However fans feel about how the game operates, they cannot deny the bombastic cutscenes feeling right at home. The Eikon fights in particular will assuredly make some of the greatest moments of 2023 lists once the year wraps up.
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Final Fantasy 16should end with fans wanting more because there are still things left on the table. Will they get answered in DLC, a spinoff, or maybe even a sequel? Based on past entries in the series, either one of those possibilities could happen even though Square Enix has said the contrary. It happened forFinal Fantasy 10viaFinal Fantasy 10-2, for example. For now, let’s sum up those burning questions.
WARNING! Spoilers ahead.
8Unaccounted For Events In The Time Gaps
There are two large time gaps unaccounted for in the game. First, things flash forward thirteen years between Clive being a teenager and his adult self. After that another five-year time gap occurs right after this game’sversion of Ciddies.
When Clive was a teen, he thought Joshua had died sending him on a rollercoaster of emotions. What occurred with Clive in this time and moreover, what happened with Joshua? It turned out that he was alive after all and eighteen years is a long time to hide away for.
7How Big Are The Undying?
There is one clue as to how Joshua survived for as long as he did. He had a steward with him, Jote, who is part of an organization known as The Undying. This group is sworn to protect the realm behind the scenes like the brotherhoodinAssassin’s Creed. How big was this organization when the country was still around versus how big are they when the true game takes place?
Besides Jote, a few others pop up like Cyril but there has to be more than a dozen people to make this work. Also, why wasn’t Joshua’s uncle, Byron, at least informed about his safety since he too was secretly aiding in his old kingdom’s restoration?
6Was Ultima An Alien?
It’s hard to gauge exactly what Ultima was and what his true intentions were. His language was flowery and he never speaks plainly to Clive or anyone else in the game. It seems like, from context clues, that Ultima was an alien that came from another world.
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This series has had alien lifeforms before such asJenova fromFinal Fantasy 7. So, it wouldn’t be that weird if Ultima was another Jenova situation. It’s a mystery for now inFinal Fantasy 16.
5Who Are The Fallen?
The Fallen were an ancient civilization that thrived in a golden age within the game and that’s about all players are given. There are big, white structures strewn throughout the various open-world locations that used to belong to them. There are also several dungeons that players can traverse supposedly built by The Fallen.
The Fallen and Ultima’s civilization could be connected if indeed Ultima is an alien. That is one theory, but ancient dead civilizations are all over this series. So, this one will probably remain a mystery like theCetra inFinal Fantasy 7, to bring that one up again.
4Three Deaths Unaccounted For?
Dion, Clive, and Joshua all fall in the final battle with Ultima. Dionturns into Bahamutand fights valiantly, but the last shot of him shows Dion falling through the sky. Since his body is not shown splattered on the ground, Dion could be alive. Joshua has a definitive death until Clive absorbs Ultima’s powers.
It seems like Clive uses this power to give his life for Joshua, but again, the game never says Clive dies and never shows Joshua getting back up. The only clue that Joshua is alive again is the book at the end. Anyone could pose as Joshua to write that book though just like Clive posed as Cid in the game after he died.
3Clive As Mythos
Ultima and his pawns, like Barnabas, all refer to Clive as Mythos. What this means never comes to light. Clive canturn into Ifrit, the second Eikon of fire. This is the only element in the game that has two Eikons attached to it.
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Mythos may be a rebel within Ultima’s race that possesses Clive and gives him the power of Ifrit. After all, Ultima’s true form seems to also be an Ifrit-like creature. Is that the case or is there more to the name, Mythos, and why Clive could absorb powers?
2Where Is Leviathan?
Leviathan is one of the classic stand-ins for a water-based Summon in the series. It typically takes on a giant serpent-like form like inFinal Fantasy 15. Leviathan is referenced inFinal Fantasy 16, but it is never shown. The Dominant for it has apparently not surfaced for ages either.
It seems weird to leave something like this up in the air especially when the game is kind of about collecting Eikon powers for Clive to use in battle. Was the mention of Leviathan a hint as to where DLC could go?
1Who Are Those Kids At The End?
The aforementioned book written by Joshua, simply calledFinal Fantasy, belongs to two boys living in a cottage. There is a woman with them as well, presumably their mother. Are these two boys the children of anyone players have come across inFinal Fantasy 16? Are they, perhaps, the children of Joshua?
Also, how far in the future does this scene take place? Everything is brightly colored as if nature has once again reclaimed the planet, which could have presumably taken years if not decades.
Final Fantasy 16was released on May 17, 2025, and is available on PS5.
