If you’ve seen Final Fantasy XVI lead character Clive Rosfield, you’ve most likely observed he has a black face tattoo on his left cheek. This tattoo links extra extensively to the globe of FFXVI, Valisthea, and also magic’s area in it.
During my cover tale journey to Tokyo, Japan, to talk with designer Creative Business Unit III, I found out a great deal concerning magic in FFXVI and also exactly how it impacts Clive’s life and also every person in this globe. The unique tattoo on Clive’s face is the mark of a Bearer, which shows he can make use of magic. This could look like a terrific capability, however the countries of Valisthea sight Bearers as something besides human. These countries brand name their Bearers to reveal they are confined, and also countries profession Bearers throughout boundaries based upon that requires their enchanting capacities. When Clive obtains this branding, his life is for life altered.
In my hands-on time with FFXVI, I saw different other individuals in The Grand Duchy of Rosaria, Clive’s house at one factor, with the very same mark. They were finishing jobs like bring water, bring hefty things, and also extra. Flashing onward past the game’s opening up hrs, Clive gets on a goal to execute a crucial number in a battle, and also he’s signed up with by a couple of various other soldiers additionally birthing the mark. Before this journey, I assumed Clive’s tattoo was distinct to him, however the mark of a Bearer isn’t as uncommon in Valisthea as I originally assumed.
Valisthea’s dependence on the enchanting job of Bearers talks with its better dependence on magic as a whole. While the major circumstance will certainly drive Clive’s tale onward, localization supervisor Michael-Christopher Koji Fox claims the globe of FFXVI isn’t all national politics, intrigue, and also Clive’s tale regularly, and also CBUIII strove to infuse small, daily issues right into the globe. Those issues talk with something bigger taking place in Valisthea and also the driving pressure behind the game: the deficiency of Mothercrystals.
FFXVI supervisor Hiroshi Takai claims these substantial crystals belong to oil areas in our globe, defining that countries in Valisthea defend control of them a lot in the method our cultures have actually battled whole battles over oil.
Koji claims if you ask, “How do they do that in Valisthea?” the solution is most likely magic powered by the Mothercrystals.
“Why do we need to find a way to make fire hot when we can just use a fire crystal and make the fire hotter? You don’t need to invent bows and arrows in a world where you have magical projectiles that can be shot via a crystal,” he claims. “And so due to the fact that you have these individuals counting on the magic, they don’t discover exactly how to do a great deal of things, and also they depend in some areas way too much on these crystals.
“[This reliance] becomes one of those centerpieces in the narrative: what happens when the magic starts to run out? How are we going to pour our water? How are we going to dry our laundry? And instead of figuring out ways to light their cigarettes without a crystal, the first thing they think of is, ‘Well, we need to go and invade this country and get their crystal because that one is still working.’”
Creative supervisor Kazutoyo Maehiro claims FFXVI placements magic by doing this to clarify its basis in such a way Final Fantasy games haven’t performed in previous launches.
“In the Final Fantasy series, magic is just something that you see in all the games, and it’s never really explained why it’s there,” Maehiro claims. “It’s simply constantly there. It’s constantly been that staple for the collection. People utilize it [and] it’s a daily point. Everyone can utilize it. But we assume in previous Final Fantasies, it hasn’t truly been discussed why individuals have this magic. Why can they utilize it? Yeah, there’s an MP bar, however what is that vacant bar? What takes place to the individual that’s casting it when they make use of magic?
“We wanted to introduce those themes in this story that’s focused around the Mothercrystals. And it’s the same thing with the [crystals of Final Fantasy]. What is a Mothercrystal? What are these crystals that people are using to cast these spells? Why is it an everyday thing for them? Let’s explore their everyday lives with this magic. How does that affect their lives? Bringing this concept of magic and making it an actual part of the narrative was something we wanted to do.”
While magic will, from a gameplay point of view, largely function as a method to harm opponents, it’s interesting to listen to just how much idea CBUIII took into its area in Valisthea, and also I’m thrilled to get more information concerning its function in Clive’s tale.
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