The following contains spoilers for
Final Fantasy 16
‘s Rising Tide DLC.
Final Fantasy 16‘s Rising Tide DLC is the latest expansion to the base game starring one of the RPG genre’s best protagonists, Clive Rosfield. As Clive, Jill, and Joshua travel to the island of Mysidia to investigate The Surge and the Dominant who is believed to be trapped inside it, a tragic story unfolds that sees Clive eventually gaining the powers of the Eikon Leviathan and even battling the legendary sea serpent near the end of the story. The fight with Leviathan is both thrilling and challenging, especially when playing on Final Fantasy Mode, as even the slightest error can result in a Game Over for players. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile addition to Final Fantasy 16, and one that veterans and newcomers alike can enjoy.
The Rising Tide provides Clive with several new abilities to master once he absorbs the power of Leviathan. Leviathan’s abilities effectively complete Clive’s arsenal of skills, as all of them are ranged attacks, unlike the other Eikonic abilities that Clive gains in the base game. However, despite these new abilities providing Clive with a fresh set of skills to take onto the battlefield with him, Final Fantasy 16‘s Rising Tide DLC missed the chance of a lifetime to improve one common criticism of Clive’s combat.
Why Final Fantasy 16’s ‘Cascade’ Music is Such a Big Deal
As one of the main themes of Final Fantasy 16’s second DLC, The Rising Tide, ‘Cascade’ is a piece that serves as a fitting bookend to the game.
The Rising Tide Missed a Chance to Improve Clive’s Basic Attacks
Clive’s Basic Attacks Are a Button-Masher’s Dream
Since Final Fantasy 16 was released in 2023, its combat has been divisive, despite offering a fresh approach after several decades. This divisiveness has primarily revolved around the fact that players can essentially repeatedly press one button if they really want to, especially if they have all of Final Fantasy 16‘s accessibility items equipped. When it comes to Clive’s basic attacks, there are very few combos to speak of, and some might hesitate to refer to the ones that do exist as “combos” at all. Unfortunately, none of this changed in The Rising Tide, even though the game had yet another chance to do something about this very common criticism.
The Rising Tide Could Have Improved Clive’s Basic Attacks
The Rising Tide undeniably improved Clive’s combat arsenal by giving him new water-based ranged skills based on the sea serpent Leviathan. This is one of its best features and certainly not something to wince at. Unfortunately, while Leviathan’s abilities give Clive a wider range of special skills to use, his basic attacks remain untouched. When he’s not performing an Eikonic ability, Clive is simply swinging his sword left and right with the press of one button. As such, a longer list of attack combos might have served to give his basic attacks more variety and require a little more thought from players, even those taking advantage of the accessibility rings.
When it comes to Clive’s basic attacks, there are very few combos to speak of, and some might hesitate to refer to the ones that do exist as “combos” at all.
Final Fantasy 16‘s Rising Tide DLC took several opportunities to introduce some improvements to the base game, even down to giving players a fresh set of visuals to look at in Mysidia, as its lush greenery starkly contrasts the dark, gray skies of the base game. Still, not every feature of Final Fantasy 16 was touched by The Rising Tide’s influence, and that includes Clive’s basic combat maneuvers. Still, The Rising Tide succeeds in the ways that matter, by providing players with two of the game’s most exciting boss fights, a fresh set of abilities, and new items to collect and craft. Even without new basic attack combos for Clive, The Rising Tide is a worthwhile reason to get back into Final Fantasy 16.
Final Fantasy 16
Final Fantasy 16 is an action RPG developed by Square Enix. Set in the land of Valisthea, six different factions are on the brink of war due to a spreading disease known as the Blight. Much of the plot revolves around summoned monsters called Eikons, who are controlled by unique humans called Dominants.Â
- Released
- June 22, 2023
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 36 Hours
- Metascore
- 87
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
