The JRPG Final Fantasy 16 receives two additional DLCs, Echoes of the Fallen and The Rising Tide. So far, only the first of the two expansions is available, but especially fans of Final Fantasy 14 should take a closer look at the DLC.
What is the DLC about?
- Suddenly, so-called Twilight Crystals appear, which do not last as long as normal crystals. They suddenly flood the black market as inferior goods.
- Clive investigates the origin of the Twilight Crystals and ends up with a group that mines the crystals in a tower in Rosaria.
- Together with Joshua and Jill, Clive enters the tower and realizes that a lot of enemies are waiting for him there. He tries to uncover the mystery of the tower and the Twilight Crystals.
What does the DLC offer? In Final Fantasy 16, a tower full of monsters suddenly appears, where you must fight your way from floor to floor. Clive is available to you with his entire Esper arsenal.
The tower contains various enemies that look different than in the main game. Some monsters were “recycled” and have their techniques, but they have been given a new appearance.
Among all the enemies, the mid-bosses stand out particularly. One mid-boss especially pleased me as a player of Final Fantasy 14. In the second third of the game, Angra Mainyu awaits you. It is a flying eye that performs a kind of death roulette around it. Anyone standing in the wrong area takes damage.
This eye took me back to my time in Final Fantasy 14 when I often found myself at level 50 in the Crystal Tower. The Crystal Tower contains three different contents where several bosses must be defeated.
One of these bosses is also a flying eye that starts a roulette around it. Anyone who stays in the blinking area takes a lot of damage. The mid-boss from Final Fantasy 16 reminded me exactly of this enemy and, therefore, gave me a nice nostalgia flashback.
Below you can watch the trailer for the main game:
Warning, Spoilers: Here follows a description of the final boss of the DLC for Final Fantasy 16.
But the big highlight is a boss that players of Final Fantasy 14 should also know. At the end of the game, Omega awaits us. The boss provided such an exciting fight that I haven’t had in a long time.
The enemy is divided into two main phases. There are challenging mechanics where you have to dodge attacks. Accompanying this is an epic soundtrack, for which I turned my TV up loud.
The fight was intense until the last moment. In my battle, I actually used all healing potions and was barely able to defeat the boss. The spectacular fireworks and the upbeat soundtrack definitely left a lasting impression on me.
How do I start the DLC? “Echoes of the Fallen” offers a new side story. You can only start the additional quest if you meet certain requirements. The game already gives you the hint that you need to complete two different missions beforehand. However, there are other quests that you must complete first for these two quests.
These include the following quests:
- City of Madness (Main Quest)
- The Phoenix’s Sorrow (Side Quest)
- Where There’s a Will (Side Quest)
- Concern for Jill (Side Quest)
- Flowers for a Smile (Side Quest)
If you are not a diligent side quest lover, you will need to spend some time catching up on the side quests. Since I did not have this knowledge at the start of the DLC, searching around cost me a full 2 hours. And that for a DLC that lasts only 3 hours.
Who is the expansion worth it for? If you enjoyed the action-packed battles in Final Fantasy 16, you will definitely have fun with the expansion. There are new enemies that appear in different designs. Especially the mid-bosses are particularly fun, as they bring new mechanics that were not present in the main game.
If you are hoping for another exciting story for Final Fantasy 16, you will be disappointed with this DLC. A story is present, but it is not a big deal if you miss it, as it only minimally expands FF16. There are twists here and there, but they are not staged as dramatically as in the main game.
If you are interested in the MeinMMO review of the main game, you can check out the following article by our author Marie Friske: Final Fantasy 16 in Review: Like Game of Thrones, if it had a great finale
