Final Fantasy 7 is still an extremely special game. Despite being over 25 years old at this point, it’s still beloved by many fans and touted as the Final Fantasy game. So much so, that people were excited by a PlayStation 3 tech demo showing off a Final Fantasy 7 remake, and it, well, never arrived. At least, until a remake was actually announced in 2015, and finally released in 2020, once again proving the world loves Final Fantasy 7. There’s even going to be a third edition of the remake trilogy once the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth release date arrives. But, after Final Fantasy 7’s remake trilogy is up, I think Final Fantasy 16 deserves the same treatment.
If you’re unaware of Final Fantasy 7, and I appreciate some new fans might be, it has received plenty of tie-in content, which is dubbed the Compilation. It’s a subseries which features four games, one movie, and a few other books and comics, with the major tie-ins being Crisis Core and Advent Children, a prequel videogame and a sequel movie respectively. It even got a Snowboarding mobile game. Yes, I couldn’t believe it either.
Before we go any further, we’re gonna touch on some spoilers, especially regarding the end of FF16, so if you haven’t got up to speed, bookmark this to come back later or read our Final Fantasy 16 ending explained guide so you’re up to scratch.
I don’t think I can confidently say that FF16 is technically better than Final Fantasy 7, but I think I prefer it. And, I do believe it’s one of the best RPG games I’ve ever played. Much like FF7 (and its expanded universe), Final Fantasy 16 is filled with lore, and the world of Valisthea is brimming with stories and tales to be told. Whether they decide to focus on new games that show new characters or find a different way to continue Clive’s adventure, I want to know more about this world within the confines of a game or a movie, and not have my nose stuck into the FF16 Active Time Lore feature (despite how great it is).
I respect that there is one glaring issue with bringing Clive back again, and that’s the fact that he dies at the end of the game. However, there’s a 13-year gap between the Fall of Phoenix Gate, which features in the intro of FF16, and the main start of the game. There’s also a further five-year gap between Cid’s death and the next era of Final Fantasy 16’s story. There must be plenty of side stories within these time periods that can progress Clive’s narrative. Maybe some operations that Clive worked on as part of an elite squad in the Empire’s army. Or some adventures he had with Jill when he takes the mantle of Cid the Outlaw.
But, even without Clive, there are plenty of tales that could be told in movies or games within Valisthea. Firstly, there were many Dominants and varying kingdoms before Clive was born, with the game being set during the 8th century of the continent. There’s also the fact that the post-credits scene points to a Valisthea without magic, and the Eikons being nothing but a kid’s fable. What if someone suddenly became a Dominant in a world that doesn’t believe in magic? That would be fairly exciting to me, and I expect it to be an interesting twist in FF16’s world.
Final Fantasy 16 also lends itself to a TV adaptation fairly well, with the entire game being very cutscene-heavy. If a game or a movie tie-in is out of the picture, I imagine a TV series that sets up a new story within FF16’s universe would be great. We even spoke about the story and the drama being very similar to Game of Thrones in our Final Fantasy 16 review, so as long as an FF16 series could actually land the ending unlike GOT, then we’d be golden.
Of course, this depends on what the teams at Square Enix and Creative Business Unit III want to do with the game going forward. It’s possible they’re happy and satisfied with how FF16 wraps up, leaving it ambiguous and closing the book, so to speak, on Valisthea. But I think that would be a waste of a great world that is brimming with content and tales to further explore, even if they only decide to bring us a DLC that expands the world.
While I do hope that Final Fantasy 16 gets the FF7 treatment with its own Compilation, I’m pretty happy with the game as it stands. In fact, I think it’s one of the best PS5 games. If you’re hoping to sink your time into the game, you can check out our Final Fantasy 16 walkthrough for plenty of guides that will help you conquer the Eikons.