Journalists Are Desperate To Destroy Final Fantasy 16

Final Fantasy 16 is officially out, and thus far, people are enjoying the game. Unfortunately, in today’s deeply divided climate, simply enjoying a game can no longer be tolerated. Every piece of entertainment needs a theme, message, and a solid political stance. In addition, you better be ready to represent every group in existence. If you do not comply, you will be destroyed. At least, this is what the media is trying to do. Sadly, they simply no longer have the influence they once had. Final Fantasy 16, by this point, has been accused of about every terrible thing you can think of.

Last week, the media started their smear campaign with the lack of diversity within the game. To be clear, most people support representation within the video game space. There is a wide range of people from all walks of life, and they should feel represented. Whether you are a woman, black, gay, or queer, you should feel welcome. The entertainment space should do more to ensure a welcoming site for everyone. However, you also have those pushing back against what they deem forced diversity.

This is a very contentious topic, and the internet is deeply divided. Instead of laying out both sides of the argument, I will hop off the fence and give you my opinion. Over the years, we have taken significant steps toward achieving more inclusion. However, there is still a long way to go. The topic of diversity, though, is more than just about inclusion. It has become the media’s way to smear anyone who disagrees.

Is Final Fantasy 16 Too Easy?

Let’s start with a minor one before we get to the series of Allegations levied against Final Fantasy 16. Recently, a clip was shared online of a person having an effortless time beating the game. They were eating while simply smashing one button to beat a boss within the game. This clip quickly gained steam online and was eventually covered by a few internet journalists. Those covering this story were also not just your random nobodies. A few significant publications used this clip to claim the game was easy to beat.

It is worth pointing out that these journalists always cry about an easy mode for the Darksouls games. However, framing Final Fantasy 16 as too easy did not sit well with many people due to its dishonesty. The original clip that was shared about the player simply pushing one button was highly deceptive. The reason why this player had such an easy time was because he had assessability mode enabled. Square Enix always goes out of their way to make gaming more accessible for disabled people.

Thus, they included this easy mode for people who might otherwise have difficulty playing it. Final Fantasy is also very story-driven; therefore, the accessibility mode is available for those who want to follow along. Using this mode to push a narrative is why people no longer trust online publications. Sadly, these types of publications get all of the early review copies. They are allowed access to all the events and can even cast their vote for the game of the year.

It Is Never Enough

No matter how hard you try to please everyone, for some, it will never be enough. Final Fantasy 16 is finding this out the hard way. They decided to include a gay character in their game. However, some in the media are still unhappy with what they see. Some claim that although queer representation within the game is excellent, they could have still done more. It is still being determined precisely how much more the media expect. Some journalists claim that the queerness of this character should have been front and center within the story.

They want more leading characters to be gay instead of just side characters. They also want the characters’ entire personalities to be centered around how gay they are. This is where most people, including myself, have a problem. Video games can certainly have more queer leading characters. However, I do not believe that their sexuality should dominate the story. A character is not interesting because they are gay. They should be interesting because of who they are as a person. Reducing people down to their sexuality does nobody any good.

If you focus more on writing a good story with good characters, most people won’t care what their sexuality is. When you make a person’s entire identity who they sleep with, you end up otherizing the people you claim to represent. We should work towards normalizing the LGBTQ community, not using their sexuality to sell video games or smearing people we do not like. If your entire storywriting ability revolves around how gay your lead character is, then you are not a very compelling storyteller.

As The Hate Grows

Final Fantasy 16 is currently going through a hate campaign online. Although many will dismiss all of this as extremely small, the effects of the online media campaign have undoubtedly been practical. Although it is not widespread, it certainly has a few people talking. Over on Metacritic, the game faces a slew of reviewers currently voting the game down. Most of the top reviews are incredibly negative, and it is easy to attain that bad actors directly affect the game. To be clear, these people are entitled to voice their opinions.

Review bombs from both sides happen all the time. This is a big reason why I no longer take online reviews seriously. I have a handful of content creators that I listen to, and that is it. Despite all the negativity, the game is off to a good start. They debuted at number 1 in the UK and have grown since then. Notably, physical game sales for this title are down 74% from Final Fantasy 15. However, the predecessor launched in 2015 when physical sales were much more prominent. Digital sales will tell us this title’s actual failure or success.

Based on most reviews, most people are enjoying this new Final Fantasy 16. They completely revamped their style and offered players a new way of playing the game. Instead of providing their conventual turn-based style, you can move around more freely during combat. Although this was initially a controversial decision, most are enjoying this brand-new way of playing the game. As the weeks progress, I am confident that more people will pick up this game.

Conclusion

The reactions of some in the media are fascinating to observe. Game companies will be far better off if they make the games they want. Just tell your story and ensure your game is working well. The bar for video games is so low now that if you release a game that works on day one without excessive microtransactions or insane deluxe additions that should have been in the original game, you are already miles ahead of the competition. The worst thing you can do as a developer is listen to online publications.

It is always a good idea to take criticism and listen to online comments from gamers. However, limit that to gameplay input and overall direction. If you take your diversity queue from Twitter, you will permanently lose.