Final Fantasy 16 is introducing a brand new world to fans of the ever changing franchise, and with it comes a brand new cast of characters. At the center of everything is Clive, the newest Final Fantasy protagonist to join the long list of brooding boys. Not much is known about Clive just yet, but the trailer and what little information has been shared paints him to be an interesting character. In a way it is unfortunate, but his legacy is directly tied to those that came before him, and it will be impossible to discuss the character as a whole without at least bringing up how he stacks up to other Final Fantasy protagonist.
For those that may have missed it, Square Enix shared more information about each of the characters on the official Final Fantasy 16 website. Here it is shown that Clive is the first son of the Archduke of Rosaria, but despite this it was his younger brother that inherited the Phoenix’s flames. Instead, Clive is tasked with protecting his brother Joshua, and is imbued with the ability to use some of Joshua’s power in combat. The First Shield of Rosaria is also hinted to be forced down a darker path at some point in the story, but it’s still unclear what this means.
When one thinks about Final Fantasy protagonists, the first one to come to mind is almost certainly Cloud from Final Fantasy 7. Ever since that game’s release, Cloud has been an icon of the franchise, and this role has only grown as prequel games, sequel movies, spin-offs, and remakes continue to bring the character back to relevance. Outside of him, many are probably familiar with Noctis from Final Fantasy 15 as the most recent installment, and some hardcore fans tend to love Terra from Final Fantasy 6 and Xidane from Final Fantasy 9.
All of these characters are unique from one another in the way they fight and behave, but they typically share similar personality tropes. With each main entry Final Fantasy game, there’s a new diehard group of fans that believe it the best game in the series or the best protagonist of the bunch, and with 16 entries now the competition is fierce. If Clive is going to stand out amidst the sea of protagonists and potentially even shine brighter than the likes of Cloud and Squall, he’ll have to bring something new to the table.
At first glance, Clive seems to be very similar to the other protagonists. His appearance is that of a young adult with long dark hair that covers part of his face. That loose description could also represent many other characters as well, showing the similarity right off the bat. That said, from the trailer, Clive’s disposition seems to be much cheerier than that of recent Final Fantasy protagonists, with Noctis, Lightning, Squall, and Cloud all being on the edgy side compared to him. This could be a major part of what sets him apart from the others, but it could also quickly change after whatever traumatic event that sets him down a darker path takes place.
Clive also uses what appears to be a standard one handed sword, which despite its relative mundanity actually works to make him different from others. He isn’t throwing teleporting weapons around like Noctis, using a massively oversized sword like Cloud, shooting bullets out of a gunblade like Squall, or even dual wielding daggers like Zidane. Instead, he fits the archetype of a typical fantasy hero more, with the added benefit of being able to channel the power of Final Fantasy’s summons in battle.
The use of summoned Eikons is yet another feature of Clive’s that will help to differentiate the character from others. Since their introduction in Final Fantasy 3, summons have been a popular part of the Final Fantasy franchise, but they aren’t always used to their fullest potential. Most of the time, they act as plot elements like in Final Fantasy 15, or as one-hit wonders that players can infrequently summon into battle to deal massive damage like in Final Fantasy Tactics. More recently, Final Fantasy 10 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake allow them to become temporary party members, but their use still feels somewhat contrived at times.
By contrast, Final Fantasy 16 is looking to imbue the power of summons directly into its main character. Clive won’t be calling forth Ifrit like Cloud does in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but instead he can use the power of the Phoenix to better fight his enemies. The Eikons will certainly be an important aspect of the story as well, and it looks as though Clive may eventually be able to draw power from other summons as well outside of Phoenix, with the trailer showing him using Titan’s fists.
If all else fails, Final Fantasy 16, and by extension Clive, has the added benefit of being the first in the franchise to release on the next generation hardware of the PS5. Often this gives games in the franchise a huge edge over others, as the technical leaps are perceived in a way that makes the game seem better than its predecessors. Whether or not that is actually the case is a debate for another time, but it can be argued that the generational leaping games are typically better received than others.
As an example of this, one of the most popular Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy 7, was the first to release on the original PlayStation console. This brought the ability for more detailed character models, 3-dimensional spaces being represented during combat, and more advanced musical capabilities. Likewise, Final Fantasy 10 brought the franchise to the PS2, also marking a huge graphical leap when compared to Final Fantasy 9. With how promising Final Fantasy 16 on PS5 is looking, it probably won’t need this extra boost to its reception, but it will certainly help Clive stand out amongst other protagonists that came before him.
Final Fantasy 16 is in development for PS5.
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