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A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats
The Rising Tide is the latest DLC follow-up to Square Enix's acclaimed 2023 release Final Fantasy XVI. In this new addition, we follow Clive, Jill, and Joshua to Mysidia so we may find answers to the mystery of Leviathan the lost.
Final Fantasy XVI was one of the most unique games in the entire franchise, and also one of the best. With it's fast-paced combat, darker world, and excellent soundtrack, it released to critical and commercial success last year. I, myself, was so engrossed in the journey of Clive (and by extension Joshua, Jill, and the rest of the cast), that I ran through it multiple times to really soak in the world, themes, and music - something I rarely do with long games these days.
As the final DLC for Final Fantasy XVI, The Rising Tide aims to expand upon the worldbuilding introduced in the main story, improve upon some gameplay elements, and let us spend a little more time with the cast we came to love.
The story here is best left experienced - I won't be spoiling anything here - but I really enjoyed it. We get some nice worldbuilding and lore related to the new region, and some great new characters as well. It's shorter than I anticipated - with my story playtime rounding out at about 4 hours - but for a dlc offering at this price, it's a pretty normal length.
We get some minor character moments with Jill, but it seems like less than we were promised/lead to believe in the marketing. We get the answers we're looking for with Leviathan, but Jill is left out in the cold again. At least she has something to do this time around.
Despite my enjoyment, it may come as a surprise to hear me say that the story is a bit of a letdown when compared to the main game. An often overlooked aspect of Final Fantasy games is the length they go to to explore the themes presented in them. Final Fantasy XVI itself explores in earnest topics like systems of oppression- how those systems succeed, how they effect people, and what it means to be free of them.
Much to my chagrin, The Rising Tide doesn't seem to say much of anything new, at all. It's primary focus is to tell you what happened to Leviathan. The sidequests and some plot beats do, in a few ways, speak in concert with the major themes of the main game, but it never feels like the focus in the same ways that it is in the main plot.
On top of that, the DLC takes place just before the final battle, so any implications on the world at large can be conveniently ignored. No mention of the events makes its way into the final sequence, either. All of that is to say - I think it's okay that it is the way it is. Final Fantasy XVI was a complete story, and while something more substantive would have been nice, it doesn't drag the DLC down much.
The presentation is neat. Great cutscenes and music, but peppered with the same style of NPC stare-down dialogues we got in the main game. If you enjoyed the main story or previous DLC, you're going to get more of the same here in this regard. The final run of the DLC is an especially incredible visual treat.
The combat doesn't have any major changes to things like system mechanics when compared to the base game, so if you loved it before, you get more of that. There are some great additions, however, that really improve the experience. New eikonic abilities, accessories, and buffs to some older abilities really open up the variety for playstyles. With the Ramuh and Bahamut reworks/buffs, it is now entirely viable to run a full magic build, if you are so inclined.
There are some exceptional fights here. While I'm not a huge fan of how the eikon battles play, it's hard to understate just how cool they are to experience. The major one in The Rising Tide is similar to all the others in the sense that it is shallow mechanically, but visually incredible. We were told that the fights in this DLC would be more difficult than the main game, but I'm actually not sure that there is anything noteworthy on that front. I had not played since the release of the previous DLC Echoes of the Fallen, but I did not encounter any major difficulty issues, even on Final Fantasy mode (outside of some growing pains trying to remember how to play in the first place).
Much of my time with the DLC was spent on the Kairos Gate game mode. It is a sort mash up of arcade mode and an encounter rush type mode. You get a score for your performance in the fight, that score determines your grade, and you get points to spend within the game mode. Those points can be used to buy things like ability upgrades that are temporary or permanent within the mode. You also receive things like accessories and equipment as rewards in this mode. It's a nice addition overall, but I will say the final fight was a big disappointment for me.
The Rising Tide dropped right after a major update which saw changes to some content in the main game as well. You can now pet Torgal faster, fast travel to quest givers upon completion, and there are new scenes and cutscenes in some of the sidequests. There were also some changes and buffs to the way certain eikonic abilities work, as previously mentioned.
While there may be some shortcomings in terms of the depth of the story, there is still so much to love about The Rising Tide. As a companion piece to Final Fantasy XVI, it succeeds in elevating the base game by virtue of it's gameplay additions. If nothing else, it reminds us that Final Fantasy XVI is a blast to play.
Verdict A great new addition to one of 2023's best games. The exciting, fast-paced fights throughout Mysidia are also a visual treat. And, as always, Soken continues to impress with the new pieces on the soundtrack. Side content is hit-or-miss, and it's only about 5-10 hours long in total. Definitely recommend for anyone itching to spend more time with Final Fantasy XVI, even at this price point.  |
Image Credits: Square Enix
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