Awesome / Final Fantasy XVI

Warning: Spoilers Off applies to this page. Proceed at your own risk.

"The only fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its final witness!"

It's a Final Fantasy game, so of course it has plenty of moments that will leave your jaw hanging in awe of what is going on.

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Main Story

Prologue

A Flame Summoned

• A minor one. Elwin tells Anabella what we were all thinking when she criticizes Clive of not being Phoenix's Dominant and acting more like a soldier: "If not for men like Clive, your precious noble blood would have long since graced the gutter."
• It turns out that Wade decided to become a Shield because Joshua once saved his life from some fallen lumber. Bear in mind that Joshua was probably younger than 10 at the time.
• Clive and Murdoch finding an Imperial Captain and three soldiers finishing off the castle's guards, with the captain flicking blood off his sword before ordering his men to take them. Unfortunately for him, what ensues is a Curb-Stomp Battle as Clive and Murdoch made short work of them.
  Clive: Let none escape.
  Murdoch: As you command.
• The Dragoons are introduced in the game through the Knight of the Blinding Dawn boss battle, who makes his entrance by striking the iconic Kain pose atop the castle before using Jump on Clive, triggering a Cinematic Evasion as the battle finally begins in earnest, and it is awesome.
  Knight of the Blinding Dawn: May I have this dance?
• The fight between Phoenix and Ifrit, the first of the game's iconic Eikon battles, begins with Phoenix ramming Ifrit so hard they go underground. You control Phoenix as he flies through the air, bombarding Ifrit with fire blasts as the other Eikon of Fire jumps and leaps from walls and towers to avoid it and close the distance, occasionally grappling and tangling in melee before the chase continues, all set to awesome music. The battle ends with Ifrit charging Hellfire and unleashing it on Phoenix, seemingly killing him... before Flames of Rebirth kicks in, restoring Phoenix to full health before he once again rams himself into Ifrit, this time blasting him all the way back up.
  Joshua: I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE.
  • Really, everything after his father’s death is a moment of awesome for Joshua. He's officially fed up with events, and takes on the full form of the Phoenix, essentially rescuing himself and swearing to do his duty and protect the Duchy. And as the above entry shows, he probably would have won against Ifrit if he didn't get careless.

Year of the Realm 873 (Part 1)

To Kill a Dominant

• The opening gives us a Big Badass Battle Sequence between the Dhalmekian Republic and the Iron Kingdom, culminating in a face-off between the Eikon of each nation, Titan and Shiva. Seeing just how much destruction and collateral damage the two Eikons caused as they are duking it out is as awesome as it is terrifying.

Headwind

• The fight with Benedikta in her Garuda-empowered form seems like Clive's way in over his head but slowly yet steadily making progress, and Torgal's been put out of the fight temporarily. When it seems like Clive is almost down for the count himself, the two manage to rise back up together, get one up on Benedikta, and then Torgal bites her by the neck, loops her body and hurls her like a ragdoll.

Awakening

• The battle between Ifrit and Garuda, two absolute wrecking machines focused on nothing more than breaking each other completely. Garuda continuously hurls blasts of wind and summons tornadoes near Ifrit, and if he closes the distance she'll switch to swiping with her wings and talons, or summoning a maelstrom right on top of them for massive damage. Meanwhile, Ifrit is able to toss fireballs of his own, lunge across huge distances, and if he gets close he can pummel Garuda into submission before literally wiping the countryside with her face. As the fight progresses the two just get more and more destructive, hurling each other across the glade, severing each other's limbs (and each then regrowing them because they can), before the combat devolves into a straight up slugging match. Over time Ifrit gains the upper hand and begins subjecting Garuda to a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown before locking her down and setting her ablaze with a point blank Hellfire so powerful that it might as well be a nuclear blast.
• Before this, there’s the fact that Clive managed to fight Garuda at all. Cutscenes show warriors and casters alike being killed just by collateral, and Clive manages to hold ground with a full Eikon without priming at all.
• Cid putting Ifrit down after Garuda is defeated and the remaining Eikon threatens to go on an uncontrolled rampage. He fully manifests Ramuh onscreen for the first time and casually knocks Ifrit down with a single blast of Judgment before reverting to his human form and continuing on as if nothing had happened. It's pretty clear that the only reason Cid lost to Benedikta initially was because he wasn't even trying.

Buried Memories

• The mid-boss of the dungeon ends up being none other than an Iron Giant one of the iconic recurring monsters in the series.

• Clive's Battle in the Center of the Mind against his Evil Doppelgänger, the Infernal Shadow/Eikon. First Clive fights against the Infernal Eikon himself. Then he fights the Infernal Shadow. Not only does Clive finally accept the truth that he is Ifrit's Dominant allowing him to finally control his transformation he also finally unlocks his Limit Break, first kicking ass on the Shadow and then transforming into Ifrit himself, taking the Infernal Eikon apart before finishing off the Shadow with one blow.
  Clive: Enough. I know the truth of it now. You are not Ifrit. I am.

Year of the Realm 878 (Part 2)

The Gathering Storm

• The dying Bearers of Glaidemond Abbey throwing themselves at the Black Shields, giving the last remnants of magic they have to protect Martha for the kindness she showed them. While they are tragically unable to save the abbot, Martha is able to escape due to their sacrifice.

Capital Punishment

• Torgal finally revealing his heritage as a Frost Wolf in order to save Jill.

• After all the horrible things the arrogant Kupka has done Clive finally facing off against him and beating him is quite satisfying even if Clive is unable to finish him off.
  • The confrontation alone is worth the price of admission. After Kupka Kicks the Dog one more time by destroying the Rosfield throne and telling Clive that he did all of his recent acts to avenge Benedikta upon Cid (who he believes killed her), Clive sets him straight on who actually killed her — Clive himself — before telling him that he doesn't give one shit about his so-called dream after everything he's done, and that he can expect no pity or mercy from him.
    Kupka: We...we shared a dream! I would be the king of the world! [starting to prime] She would be my queen, and together, we would rule like the gods we are! But you crushed that dream — ground it into dust! Hear me, Rosfield! You will pay for what you've done! I will crush you with my bare hands!
    Clive: And what of you? How many people have you killed? How many dreams have you crushed? [draws his sword] You're not the only one who has seen their world fall apart around them. You'll get no pity from me, Kupka. No pity...and no mercy!
    Kupka and Clive [in unison]: Now DIE!
  • The battle itself, which tears apart the palace around them and eventually has the two throwing down in the lower level, ultimately ending with Clive cutting off Kupka's hands.

Into the Darkness

• Just before the boss fight against Titan Lost, Clive starts to have another migraine. But this time, it's treated as Clive finally coming to terms with his power, and summoning Ifrit without any trouble.
  Clive: (puts his sword on his back and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes) Find him. You've done this before. You can do it again. Let the flames burn within you. No... Let them burn without! (Clive opens his eyes) Come to me, Ifrit!
• The epic multi-stage fight against Titan. The first part is a typical Eikon battle. Things really heat up when Titan absorbs the aether from the Mothercrystal and goes full blown kaiju growing into Titan Lost, who completely dwarfs the mountain and makes Ifrit look like an ant in terms of sheer size. Clive is at first shocked then takes it all in stride running full speed at him while the normally orchestral music turns into a hard hitting rock/metal song. And that's all before the final phase, where Ifrit and Titan proceed to have a one-on-one throwdown to the finish in the air, ending with a titanic Pummel Duel worthy of PlatinumGames's best. The whole section feels like something out of God of War, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Astral Chain, and the most epic parts of the Bayonetta series.
  • The lyrics of the final phase's theme, "Heart of Stone", further add to how epic the fight against Titan feels.
    Fury and rage
    Now the gods below, shall know thy name
    Suffer this fate
    From the crumbling walls no one can escape!
    Sky black with rain
    Still against its weight his shoulders strain
    Rise, crownless king
    For a reckoning soon shall begin

Fire in the Sky

• The whole fight with Bahamut. The music, the atmosphere, and top it off Clive finally reunites with Joshua. Together as Ifrit and Phoenix the Rosfield brothers proceed to lay the smack down on Bahamut including fusing into Ifrit Risen to take the fight to SPACE and stop Bahamut from using Teraflare to vaporize the entire planet.
  • When Bahamut ends up on the losing side of the space battle he uses the ultimate last ditch attack, Zettaflare, to try and destroy both Ifrit Risen and the planet itself. However, Ifrit Risen is so powerful it punches through the Zettaflare and Bahamut.
• While Clive was able to defeat Garuda and Titan by himself, Bahamut is so powerful that he needs Joshua's help to even stand a chance.
• A short flashback shows how Dion began his attempted coup to save the Empire from Anabella's manipulations, starting with his "The Reason You Suck" Speech against his own father for allowing himself to lose sight of the compassionate man he once was in his quest to gain absolute power for his newly crowned son. Notably, even though he is directly threatening the young emperor in his own throne room, NO ONE - not even the royal guard - so much as raises a word in condemnation of his actions. Though it turned out horribly for everyone involved, it shows just how committed Dion is to serving the people first and highlights the tragedy of the Empire's fall.
• In the aftermath of the battle, Dion uses the last of his strength to kill Olivier, who turns out to have been nothing more than a vessel for Ultima (and as the manual reveals, ever since he was born). While it does very little to hinder Ultima's plans, the act is still nothing short of cathartic as it completely vanquishes the remainder of Anabella's ambitions and renders it all for naught, leaving her with less than nothing. Considering how the woman had belittled Dion for quite some time, on top of everything she did to Rosaria and to her previous family, it was a slap to the face that she more than deserved.
• As the icing on the cake, Anabella's mind snaps after seeing Olivier die, and she ends up being Driven to Suicide. Given how much of a royal Hate Sink she was in all of her appearances, her demise is nothing short of cathartic.

Through the Maelstrom

• Barnabas cutting the ocean in two with Odin's sword parting it long enough for him to fight Clive on the bottom. The sheer power shows how dangerous Barnabas is. The battle against him is also a Hopeless Boss Fight.

• A more subdued version is how Joshua survives a direct hit from aforementioned ocean splitting attack. There is nothing to suggest Barnabas was pulling his punches, and yet he says himself that it probably wasn’t lethal.

The Last King

• Clive's rematch with Barnabas atop the tower. Despite Barnabas throwing everything he can at him Clive is now able to hold his own which causes Barnabas to slowly fall into a Villainous Breakdown as the fight goes on. Barnabas eventually loses his already fragile mind and becomes even more unhinged.
  • Barnabas does get an understated moment of awesome; despite going completely mad during his final confrontation with Clive, he never once loses control of Odin, thus showing the sheer strength of his willpower compared to Benedikta, Hugo, Dion, and even Clive himself.

Streets of Madness

• When Clive, Joshua, and Torgal encounter even more Akashic after already facing a grueling gauntlet, Mid smashes the Enterprise into a wall, allowing Jill, Dion, and Gav to jump into the fray. Despite both of them having transferred Shiva and Bahamut's powers to Clive, Jill is still able to freeze some of the Akashic in place, allowing Dion to perform a jump attack and release his version of Impulse as a follow-up.

Of Gods and Men

• During the whole Ultima Risen fight Ultima tries to break Clive with a bitter Hannibal Lecture. Clive is having none of it and simply proceeds pound into the arrogant god as Ifrit Risen.

• During the final fight Ultimalius periodically begins throwing every ultimate Eikon ability at Clive, who counters with his own showing Clive's mastery over his powers. Ultimalius's confidence begins to slowly crumble leading to his Villainous Breakdown.

• Clive indirectly Title Drops the series' name before he delivers the Coup de Grâce on to Ultima in the final boss fight. Said Coup de Grâce deals 999,999 damage, and Clive manages to do that with a fire-enhanced punch to the face.
  Clive: The only fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its final witness!

Unsorted

• The idea behind the Dominants. Unlike the previous characters who interact with their summons, they become the summon, acting as bastions of power with the intelligence of humanity, leading to rather creative techniques.
• The fight between Odin and Bahamut is short-lived but reveals the nature of war involving primals on either side. The level of devastation on the country side and their armies incited as collateral damage from fighting each other is so prohibitive that they stalemate each others presence and pull back before nothing is left. The presence of Dominants on both sides of two opposing armies are treated the same way real superweapons are, the threat of one often negating their use by the other.
• Joshua's Big Damn Heroes moment against Ultima in Drake's Head, where he battles against it. Ultima tells him his attacks are fruitless, but Joshua shows he has Taken A Level In Badass by imprisoning him in a circle of fire and sealing one part of Ultima inside of his chest, demonstrating that he is now strong enough to protect his brother in turn.
  Joshua: Have you forgotten who I am?

Echoes of the Fallen DLC

• The DLC's final boss, Omega, proves to be a challenge for Clive, Jill, Joshua and Torgal. Especially once it shifts into its Aionios phases, further putting its bulk and speed to use against its intruders. And Clive and company still manage to defeat it before it can crush all of reality around them!
• One for the Fallen, a lost civilization of humans that had attempted to emulate Ultima to dethrone him. Their achievements had culminated in the creation of a Magitek Mothercrystal heart, and the Eikonoklaste "Omega-1" as its protector. While their motives were nothing to admire, one cannot fault the Fallen for managing this much.

Side Quests

After first Time Skip

• Upon reaching the village of Moore, Clive is accosted by a haughty nobleman and asked to save his son, who is currently being savaged by a wolf. Upon reaching the child and killing the beast, the boy...proceeds to chew Clive out instead for killing "Wolfie", and not being the one to die. Then he examines a pile of dead Bearers next to where the boy was "attacked"... Upon returning to the nobleman, he proceeds to lose his shit at Clive for failing to "entertain" him. Turns out, the nobleman and his son regularly hire Bearers to "save" the boy, only to have the wolf turn around and maul them to death instead. Despite Clive chewing them out of this, the nobleman will not have it and opts to purchase a bigger wolf to continue their "entertainment." Clive simply walks off to bury the dead Bearers when he's approached by a friend of the Dame, Raymond, who helps him bury them. After burying the Bearers, in the distance, you can hear the nobleman and boy scream and cry out in pain - along with the barks of a wolf. Turns out, their bigger and badder wolf arrived after all, and only did what was expected of him. Raymond heavily implies he might've had something to do with that. When Clive returns to their cart, all that's left are bloody stains on the dirt. Asshole Victims if there ever were any, and their passings will decidedly not be missed.
• Joshua vs Ultima. After engaging them in a Wizard Duel, he uses some phoenix feathers he shed when approaching them as a trap to seal the abomination. While it ends up being only a mild inconvenience, this completely blindsided Ultima and led to a clear victory in Joshua’s favor.

After second Time Skip

• A late game quest has L'ubor revealed to be a Bearer. The Dalimil citizenry, previously almost electing him Mayor, begin to slew racist venom at him. When Akashic come calling to attack the village, L'ubor attempts to get the townspeople to flee, and is greeted by a torrent of insults and rocks, alongside them accusing him of lying to take over the town for Bearers - until L'ubor's young protégés, Drika and Rens, rush in to defend him, launching a magnificent and very deserved "The Reason You Suck" Speech at the entire town about how ungrateful all of them have been. This actually prompts the town to see reason and they actually listen to L'ubor yet again.

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