Warning: full spoilers observe for the occasions of Final Fantasy 16.
As you’d anticipate of a recreation on this collection, the ultimate hours of Final Fantasy 16 go to some wild locations. This is a recreation that options huge monsters beating the heck out of one another, in any case, and so naturally the finale needed to go tremendous measurement. If you’ve accomplished the sport and desire a detailed breakdown of what all of it means, or don’t plan on enjoying it and need to skip straight to the top, you then’re in the proper place. We’re about to disclose the whole lot that occurs in the previous couple of hours of Final Fantasy 16, so put together your self for the largest spoilers.
Ultima’s Plan
Long in the past, the god Ultima and his kin created magic. It allowed them to flourish, however it additionally got here at a worth: the world-destroying Blight. The gods had been powerless to cease it, and so sixteen survivors fled to a brand new world: Valisthea. But the Blight adopted them to this new land, and so the gods realised there was just one choice: to construct an entire new world.
Casting the spell to create this new world would require an enormous quantity of magical energy, and a vessel sturdy sufficient to wield it. To achieve that energy, the gods sacrificed their very own bodily types to create the Mothercrystals, big buildings that may drain the pure aether that flowed by Valisthea’s soil. To purchase the vessel, they created humanity. After many generations this new race would finally produce the Mythos; a human able to harnessing unimaginable energy. The Mythos may then be inhabited by Ultima, who would use the facility harvested by the Mothercrystals to forged the world-creating spell.
Such a plan would take a thousand years to unfold, so Ultima and his kin went into hibernation. But by abandoning their godly duties over humanity, the brand new individuals of Valisthea had been misplaced. Forced to fend for themselves, they finally gained their very own will and self-determination. That led to the invention of magic, which in flip led to battle and struggle, and in the end the world-devouring Blight. In brief: humanity repeated the failures of their creators.
Ultima was awoken when Clive and Cid destroyed Drake’s Head. While Joshua managed to make use of the facility of the Phoenix to cage Ultima’s spirit, the god had already recognised that Clive, who can harness the facility of a number of Eikons, was the Mythos. And so Ultima started the ultimate phases of his plan. By influencing King Barnabas and Emperor Olivier, Ultima ensured that Clive got here into battle with the most important powers in order that he would kill their Dominants, take in their Eikons, and steadily construct the facility of the Mythos. He additionally used his affect to drive Clive’s quest to destroy the Mothercrystals, as each shattered meant one other god’s spirit was freed.
Now that Clive had absorbed the facility of each Eikon, the Mythos had virtually reached full potential. It was time for Ultima to arrange “Raise”; a spell he reveals will permit the gods to ascend to paradise however destroy all of humanity and Valisthea within the course of.
Mythos and Ifrit Risen
The Mythos’ last kind is Ifrit Risen, a colossal creature that may be a mixture of Ifrit and Phoenix. The picture of Ifrit Risen will be seen throughout Valisthea as a part of non secular murals, however it’s not till Joshua visits Gjallarhorn in Waloed that he discovers the total model of the mural.
The portray reveals seven Eikons – Garuda, Ramuh, Shiva, Titan, Bahamut, Odin, and the misplaced Leviathan – all wanting up in adoration at Ifrit Risen. The absence of Ifrit and Phoenix of their solo types means that they, and by extension Ifrit Risen, are usually not Eikons in the identical method as the opposite summons. This is additional hinted at when Clive and Joshua come throughout Ultima Prime, a decaying physique that appears like Ifrit, in The Interdimensional Rift. It is smart that Ultima’s vessel would have the same look to his personal former bodily kind.
While Ultima’s plan revolves across the creation of the Mythos, he additionally predicted the opportunity of the Logos; the corrupted model of Mythos that has its personal will. This is what Clive has successfully develop into. Because humanity was deserted by their gods, they gained their very own will, and thus Mythos was born with the self-determination to make their very own decisions. Furthermore, within the generations since Ultima deserted Valisthea, human religion in him has light, which in flip has weakened him. But Clive, strengthened by the religion of his pals, is in a position to withstand Ultima and put an finish to his apocalyptic plans.
Stopping Ultima
After a battle at Stonhyrr fortress in Waloed, through which the final of Valisthea’s 5 Mothercrystals is destroyed, the defeated Ultima retreats to Twinside. The metropolis is revealed to be constructed on high of Origin, the ark through which the gods got here to Valisthea a thousand years in the past. Ultima lifts Origin into the sky and encases it in crystal, which instantly begins to empty aether from the land. As it does so the Blight spreads sooner and aether floods the land, turning individuals and animals into senseless servants of Ultima often known as Akashic.
Clive, Joshua, and Dion determine to launch an assault on Origin. Dion transforms into Bahamut and flies the brothers by Ultima’s military and into the Origin crystal. Inside, the three use their Eikons to create a large explosion. The blast solely stalls Ultima, however Dion is killed and Clive gravely wounded. Joshua makes use of the facility of the Phoenix to heal his brother, however this severely weakens him, leaving him barely in a position to stroll.
Clive carries Joshua to the Core of Origin, the place Ultima awaits. The god merges with the spirits of his kin who’ve been free of their Mothercrystals, after which pulls the ultimate piece – the spirit trapped again at Drake’s Head – from Joshua’s chest. With all of the gods mixed right into a single consciousness, and Origin full of all of the required aether, the spell to create the brand new world is primed. All Ultima must do now could be inhabit the Mythos.
In his last moments, Joshua provides Clive the total energy of the Phoenix in order that he can develop into Ifrit Risen on his personal. Clive then fights Ultima in an enormous, three-phase battle the place each use the facility of the Eikons to do colossal injury to at least one one other. While Ultima does all in his energy to drive Clive to submit, he’s finally defeated by his personal creation.
As he lies dying, Ultima asks Clive what he’ll do together with his newfound freedom. While Clive recognises that humanity is imperfect and there’ll doubtless be generations of hardship forward, he explains that it’s price these struggles to be free. He then absorbs Ultima’s energy, and eventually turns into the Logos.
Clive’s Sacrifice
Having realized the poisonous results of magic on not simply Valisthea however the world that got here earlier than it, Clive realises that to avoid wasting humanity he should eradicate magic fully. The solely method he can do that’s by utilizing the total energy of Ultima’s vessel to burn away the guts of Origin and destroy the ultimate Mothercrystal.
“It seems Ultima’s power was too great for this vessel all along,” Clive says. “But while I am it, perhaps I can use it to set things right, and see Ultima’s legacy consigned to the flames. Even if it means the end of me.”
It’s an act that may kill him. But, understanding that it’s the solely method, Clive makes the last word sacrifice. The last Mothercrystal is destroyed, and the world is freed. Later, Clive washes up on a seaside. There, he seems as much as a newly clear, star-filled sky. He watches as his personal magic fades, after which slips away right into a hero’s dying.
Or does he? We later see Jill and Torgal seeking to the evening sky, the place the star of Metia burns brightly. Among the individuals of Valisthea, it is believed that wishing upon Metia will make your heartfelt wishes come true. Seeing the star causes Jill to interrupt down crying and Torgal to howl, however it could be that they’re crying in aid reasonably than unhappiness. Jill often prayed to Metia for Clive to come back again to her, and so maybe the wish-fulfilling powers of the star have saved Clive? Our hero’s destiny is left unclear.
Post-Credits Scene
After the credit have rolled, we’re handled to a brief post-credits scene which acts as a candy epilogue to the journey. A younger boy who resembles Clive is seen making a hearth with wooden and flint, and he says to his mom he needs he had the flames of an Eikon. She tells him that magic is only a fairytale. As the boy goes off to play together with his blonde-haired brother and trustworthy canine, the digicam strikes to point out a e-book: Final Fantasy, written by Joshua Rosfield. It appears that Joshua wrote a semi-complete account of his journey earlier than heading into Origin. But whereas the actual occasions of the sport had been recorded, however lots of of years later they’re considered little greater than a fable. The two brothers and their canine, in a cheerful echo of Clive, Joshua and Torgal, play within the backyard and recreate moments from their favorite e-book. They stay free lives due to the brothers’ sacrifices.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.
