Final Fantasy 16 - Story & Ending Explained

Final Fantasy 16 Story and Ending Explained. Final Fantasy 16 has a very complex story so today I'm going to explain what's going on in the game.

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:40 History Lesson
3:28 Main Story
31:25 Ending

Music:
FFXVI - Hide, Hideaway
FFXVI - Duty

Hope You Enjoyed!
#FFXVI #gingy #FinalFantasy

[HatterCat]

One of my favourite things about this game is just how much characters openly love each other. Lots hugging, kissing, touching foreheads and the like. It’s really refreshing to see how much the crew like each other and show with more than words that they hold each other dear. Like I was so happy to see Clive and Gav hug after Gav moved away the first time. I love that these guys love each other

[crisislegacy]

One thing you missed about Jill, she didn’t grow up with the Rosfields because ‘she needed somewhere new to live due to the Blight’. The northern territories rose against Rosaria & after putting the rebellion down, the archduke took a northern Princess back with him as a ‘ward’ (hostage) to ensure they remained docile.

Pretty common in medieval times to do so, often with the expectation that the ward would marry into the royal line thus uniting the factions and prolonging the peace.

[SaberRexZealot]

If nothing else, Clive was a phenomenal protagonist. I loved his struggle, growth and deep relationships with his friends and family. I don’t think I’ve been that invested in a FF main character before except maybe Zack from Crisis Core. Bravo CBU3!

[andylizarralde]

I kept thinking Torgal would meet his demise, but we can all breathe a sigh of relief that he lives!

[kyontv]

you miss to emphasize that 'magical' moment in where the kid start the fire manually using flint. It's the very goal of cid and clive to make a world that does not rely on magic /crystals. A world that will now start to think, invent and innovate.

[harryread]

I believe there are significant hints Clive survived. Allow me to explain.

Jill's wish to metia and the symbolism associated with it. In addition in a side quest she claims Clive returning to her is "her sunrise" and what's the last thing we see Jill doing? Watching the sunrise.

Clive is only explicitly shown as losing his left arm, which is the same arm he used for the final spell. He shows no other injuries.

But the real smoking gun for me is the book in the epilogue. Hypocrates gifts Clive a quill and states his desire for him to write his story to which Clive agrees. We know for certain Joshua died as he did not wake up after Clive healed him. "not even the phoenix can bring someone back to life." So how then could Joshua have written the book? Well we know Clive has a habit of taking names from those he's lost and immortalising his brother through the book is certainly something Clive would do.

Clive also acts as the narrator at the beginning and end of the story. The book reframes this as Clive retelling the events of ff16 through his story.

Rpgs have a habit of giving golden endings based on additional content completed and most of these hints are dropped in side quests.

Ultimately clives fate is ambiguous but I believe there are far too many hints dropped to say he died for certain.

[Narurulla]

The ending cut me deep. Themes like brotherhood and sacrifice for your loved ones always just messes me up. It doesn't help I'm an older sibling so Clive's love for Joshua is extremely relatable to me haha.

[joos]

It is likely Clive didn't die. The curse stopped at his hand as magic was wiped from the world. Sidequests imply Clive wanted to be a writer. It is likely he wrote the book and used Joshua's name to keep his memory alive. Also, it is heavily implied Metia granted Jill's wish (Clive returning with the Dawn) and Torgal holwed (sending a signal to Clive) as opposed to whimpering like when Cid died. Great video.

[iiomniverseiiomniscient]

"The only Fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its Final witness!" - Clive Rosfield FFXVI

[Duskets]

FF16 has one of the best supporting casts in any Final Fantasy game, hands down. There’s not a single member of the Hideaway who feels poorly written or out of place. I enjoyed each and every single one of them. They did the legwork with their writing to make sure players would care deeply for these NPCs, fostering a familial connection with the Hideaway, and it makes moments like Clive, Joshua, and Dion departing for Origin hit all the harder.

[BigPanda]

Gingy makes not only some of YouTubes top quality retrospective\story analysis videos, he also seems to be capable of making the most at the fastest pace, with no seemingly tangible tradeoff in the quality of depth of analysis.

Gingy is truly just built different. Makes me want to give the dude my money.

[ursaber]

DLC focusing on the other Dominants would be great. I would love to play as Barnabas in his trek to become King of Waloed before he became thrall to Ultima.

[abrief]

Ultima is a godly entity that had split his physical body to possess each mother crystal in order to absorb the aeither, so upon breaking each mother crystal released a body of Ultima which would return to the original body in Waelood in order for him to attain much more strength. That isn't confusing, Ultima actually explains this at the end.

[Zeion]

I really think the ending was left open to interpretation so that if they choose to make a sequal or DLC, they can have a route with, or without Clive.

More than likely Clive survived, and the Final Fantasy book was either written by either Joshua himself who clive healed with Ultima's power, or the child of Clive and Jill as its implied with the ending text, and scences through the story the possibility she waa pregnant and named there son after Joshua.


So many ways this story could go. I truly hope we get some DLC or a sequal. I mean FFX got it, we can only hope and if SMRPG can get a remake, anything is possible!

[calvyn]

If a DLC ever comes, i want it to be a dominant of Leviathan, it doesn't make sense but i could see it working. He/she could be like a forgotten dominant and the story could take place somewhere outside Valisthea, since Barnabas came from another land.

[grinningwombat]

It seems you missed the conversation after we deceat Kupka for the final time, between Barnabas and Slepnir where Sleipnir says "kupka gave his life for a womans head." I thought it was obvious that it was her head in a box and obvious that someone wanted Kupka to go after clive and cid. This was all Barnabas doing to further Ultimas plan, he never cared for Benedikta she was just another pawn in Ultimas game.

[corwinchapman]

10:30 due to the themes of will, I think it was their will being broken that prevented them from being able to prime properly. both benedikta and hugo had their wills broken by clive, but dion still had his will to atone for his sins against his people.

[AB-crcu]

what i understood from the ending that Joshua who wrote the book is Clive and Jill Son, let me explain :
there is a quest that you talk to Jill and she say in a scene "no matter how dark the night dawn will always come and that you always come for me..."
why the writers choose Clive to narrate the game in the start and in the end and why the last scene is Jill crying at night then stop and smiling at dawn and then Clive say "thus our journey end"...
also they repeat the same point in 3 romantic scenes between Clive and Jill that they will come back to each other...
and last thing why make Clive confess to Jill at the end i pretty sure there will be DLC about Clive and Jill maybe Happy ending...

[k.c.simonsen]

I hope they do a Final Fantasy XVI-2. Explore other gods like Ultima tryin' to fight over this promised land thing. And those boss battles, my god they're so dope

[Sieghart.]

Clive is definitely alive, the game devs gave all the clues throughout the story dialogues and especially in the side quests. Everyone's picking up some of the points here and there but to lay out the 7 points that basically prove Clive survived:
1. The final crying scene directly references the side quest dialogue. When is Jill crying the sun rises and she stops crying. This is after Jill and Clive have told each other how much they mean to one another in one of the side quests. During the side quest she mentioned how she would cry looking up at the stars at night during dark times. She tells him that no matter how sad and dark the night is, the sun will always return at dawn. And that she knows that Clive will always return to her.
2. Biology: Wolves howl in nature to communicate with their pack mates to tell them where they are and to guide them back. When Cid is dying in front of the group, Torguil whimpers to show remorse and sadness as but actually doesn’t howl even after Cid dies. So the fact that Torgal is howling instead of whimpering is indicative of Clive being alive.
3. The last thing Clive tells Jill is no more broken promises. He had promised her he would return to her no matter what. And we all know Clive is a man who honors his word.
4. Clive tells Harpocrates that after his quest/journey is done he will put down the sword and take up the pen
5. In the final fight with ultima at the end. Ultima tells Clive that 'this resistance is a fantasy he clings to'. Clive tells him that the only one living in a fantasy is ultima and that “this would be his final fantasy” (before Clive finally kills him). In the ending post credits scene, the book is titled “Final Fantasy”. The only one to mention that term was Clive in final battle and he was alone there. So no way Joshua would just happen by coincidence to title it the same thing considering it was based off a isolated conversation between ultima and Clive
6. When Cid died, Clive takes up his mantle and go by his name to honor the life he gave and what he stood for. So in the secret ending cutscene with the book author saying Joshua Rosfield, this would make perfect sense for Clive to do in order to honor his brothers memory.
7. If you 100% the game, the secret ending also has one dialogue line during the final fantasy book scene of audio of Clive giving the final narration saying “and that was the end of the journey”. Which is confirmation by itself that Clive lived to chronicle the story.