I beat Final Fantasy XVI

Below are some general thoughts about Final Fantasy XVI that I wanted to get out of my brain.

• My one major complaint is that the game typically sidelines women in favor of men throughout most of the story. Not to say the women don't have some great moments, but there were certainly times I felt Jill should have been a part of something and was instead sidelined. This is the only place the game really misses the mark IMO.
• The overall story is good. In some places it's great, others it has pacing issues or the emotional beat misses the mark. At times, it has that really cheesy JRPG moment that reminds you that this is a video game. It's nothing new, but overall it's done well and a lot of fun.
• Most naked people I have ever seen in a Final Fantasy game
  I have zero complaints from a technical or gameplay perspective. The game looked great, ran well, there were no bugs, and the gameplay was excellent all the way through.
• There fukin’ HUGE crystals baby I'm talkin’ BIG Final Fantasy CRYSTALS
• two men kiss each other
• The side quests started weak but got a lot more interesting partway through the game. These really helped flesh out the world and important NPCs. The NPCs felt like full characters with their own goals and motivations. I saw a few of the NPCs in a very different light after doing their quest. These side quests are one of the game's strongest points, especially the ones you can do later in the game.
• "Rutherford, bring me my cutlass!"
• The combat in this game is very fun. All the turned based stuff was thrown out the window with this entry. It honestly reminded me of Genshin Impact in the way you switch between sets of skills to achieve a string of moves to do as much damage as possible.

It's not perfect, but it's a great Final Fantasy game. I for sure recommend checking it out if it looks at all interesting to you. This game is a bit less than the sum of its parts. That being said, I had a lot of fun.

Bitter Media Score of 4 mothercrystals out of 5