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  During our Final Fantasy XVI cover story trip, I played a few hours of the game much of the press experienced. But I was also given an exclusive tour of FFXVI\u2019s endgame and other supplementary content by creative director Hiroshi Takai and combat director Ryota Suzuki.\u00a0\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
It\u2019s safe to say there\u2019s plenty to play, especially if you enjoy chasing numbers in combat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
              <section class=\"type:slideshow\"><figure><img src=\"https:\/\/www.gameinformer.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/entity_browser_thumbnail\/public\/2023\/05\/15\/1478b08a\/suzuki_ryota_combat_director_.jpg\"><\/figure><figure><img src=\"https:\/\/www.gameinformer.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/entity_browser_thumbnail\/public\/2023\/05\/15\/8dc03bed\/hiroshi_takai_director_.jpg\"><\/figure><\/section>\n      \u00a0\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
FFXVI features an Arcade Mode, allowing players to run through stages they\u2019ve already completed, this time with an on-screen score calculator and combat grader. But a New Game+ playthrough opens up two additional versions, and both are more difficult than the game\u2019s base Story Mode and Action Mode difficulties. It\u2019s important to note you can play through New Game+ on one of these base difficulties if you\u2019d like, but you\u2019re missing a lot of features intended for New Game+. If you\u2019re after treasures you missed or PlayStation Trophies you didn\u2019t collect, Stage Replay might suit your needs better. And if you\u2019re after some combat training or a speedy, destructive action fix, there\u2019s a special training mode, accessible through a statuesque Arete Stone within Clive\u2019s main hub.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New Game+ lets you play through FFXVI with all of your previously unlocked abilities and gear from the jump, but the highlight is Final Fantasy Mode. This increases the game\u2019s difficulty, changes monster placement, and remixes which enemies might appear in combat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main design philosophy is that the first playthrough is about learning Clive, learning the controls, and then enjoying the story,\u201d Suzuki says. \u201cThe second playthrough, we want to shift that focus \u2013 because the story hasn\u2019t changed \u2013 to the action. For example, in Story Mode, while players may encounter waves of enemies, a lot of times, enemies don\u2019t attack at once to allow players to be able to handle everything. In the harder modes of the game, we have removed these limitations so that you have multiple enemies all attacking Clive at the same time.<\/p>\n
        <img src=\"https:\/\/www.gameinformer.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/body_default\/public\/2023\/02\/22\/51326db7\/ffxvi_rings2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"image-style-body-default\" \/>\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
\u201cBasically, what we\u2019ve done with [Final Fantasy] Mode is give players controlling Clive the sense that they\u2019re always in danger, that death is around the corner, and that you\u2019ll need to really, really pay attention to be able to clear the content.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a Final Fantasy Mode New Game+ playthrough, by interacting with the Arete Stone in your hideaways, you can complete Final Fantasy Mode difficulty stages in Arcade Mode or an even more difficult variant called Ultimaniac Mode. Arcade Mode\u2019s global leaderboards will only be active in these two modes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[These modes were] pretty much created solely for the hardcore players, those players that pride themselves on their skills in action games,\u201d Suzuki says, noting that the only exclusive reward players can earn from these modes is pride. \u201c[It\u2019s] a challenge that, even for them, is going to be very difficult to complete.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
        <img src=\"https:\/\/www.gameinformer.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/body_default\/public\/2023\/02\/22\/bacdcbe4\/ffxvi_rings1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"image-style-body-default\" \/>\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
And Final Fantasy and Ultimaniac Mode are just two things awaiting you in a more challenging run of New Game+. A New Game+ run also allows you to upgrade your weapons further beyond what you can in your initial playthrough. You can also upgrade accessories, which is only possible in the game in a Final Fantasy Mode playthrough in New Game+. You\u2019ll also gain access to the Final Chronolith Trials, or if you\u2019re not in Final Fantasy Mode, just Chronolith Trials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These trials are the most difficult challenge in FFXVI, Takai says. They consist of multiple stages, each with four rounds of enemies. The first three rounds will be standard waves of monsters, each increasing in difficulty as you progress. The fourth round, however, will feature a boss. Chronolith Trials are also time trials, and every stage contains a list of moves, combos, and objectives you can execute to gain more time. However, pulling these off won\u2019t be easy because there\u2019s no healing in these trials, save for recovery that immediately begins after activating any Limit Break move.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each Chronolith Trial is based on an Eikon. I watch Takai and Suzuki play through Phoenix\u2019s Trial by Fire. In it, you only have access to Phoenix\u2019s Eikonic abilities, forcing you to play much differently than you might outside these trials, where you can mix and match Eikonic abilities on the fly. And like Arcade Mode, the Chronolith Trials contain a global leaderboard but only in Final Fantasy Mode. As you play through the game, you\u2019ll find stones similar in appearance to the Arete Stone, and interacting with these unlocks Chronolith Trials for you to complete.\u00a0<\/p>\n
        <img src=\"https:\/\/www.gameinformer.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/body_default\/public\/2023\/05\/15\/f8a8e5af\/phoenix_in_game.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"image-style-body-default\" \/>\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
I can\u2019t go hands-on with any of this endgame content, but what I watch\u00a0Takai and Suzuki play is blisteringly chaotic, fast-paced, and sure to bring the challenge fans of Devil May Cry might expect, as Suzuki also helped design combat in Devil May Cry V for Capcom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For more, be sure to check out Game Informer\u2019s exclusive FFXVI coverage hub by clicking the banner below.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
Source: Game Informer<\/p>\n


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During our Final Fantasy XVI cover story trip, I played a few hours of the game much of the press experienced. But I was also given an exclusive tour of FFXVI\u2019s endgame and other supplementary content by creative director Hiroshi Takai and combat director Ryota Suzuki.\u00a0 It\u2019s safe to say there\u2019s plenty to play, especially […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":61331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thisislevelup.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/eikonic_ability.jpg.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"yoast_head":"\n