Recent reviews by Akiro

Game of year, awesome combat, story is solid, and visuals are stunning. No BS woke ♥♥♥♥. Just a good game, made for good gamers. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ beware, you'll get your cheeks clapped 24/7 if you don't hit those dodges.

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: Final Fantasy XVI is my favorite real-time JRPG I've ever played, and I've played A LOT!

Spoiler-Free :-)

Between the super-fast, flexible, and adaptive combat, FFXVI excels in keeping players on their toes. The story is solid, with some genuine tear-jerking moments — especially if you knock out a few side quests. Seriously, don't skip them. They add a lot of depth, and some even hit harder than you'd expect. It's not just "go here, kill this." The side quests actually contribute to the world and story in meaningful ways, and there's usually only 2-4 of them at a time, so you're not drowning in a to-do list. They're quick, fun, and worth doing for the extra context they give.

Now, let's talk combat, because it's easily the best part of the game. The real-time action is next level — fast, fluid, and it evolves as you go. The boss fights? Absolute fire. They’ve got these insane cinematic transitions that make you feel like you're playing a full-on movie, but in a way that keeps the gameplay engaging. Every boss feels epic, and the action just keeps ramping up. Plus, they give you the freedom to reset your skill tree whenever, for FREE, which means you can experiment as much as you want. You don’t have to stress about messing up your build, so you’re really encouraged to just have fun with it.

The world is gorgeous and full of detail, and the amount of voiced NPCs is impressive. Most of them have something relevant to say depending on where you’re at in the story, which is a nice touch. Yeah, some lines repeat, but it’s still cool that even random side characters feel like they belong in the world.

Speaking of voices, the acting in this game is top-tier. The main cast nailed it, especially the lead actor, who I had to look up because I didn’t recognize him. Turns out, he’s not super famous in the U.S., but man, he crushed it. The villains sound spot-on too, no cartoonish over-the-top stuff here — just solid performances all around.

Now, I’ve got to mention the music because it's seriously one of the best parts of the whole experience. During boss fights, the orchestra just goes off — it’s all classical epicness that hits you right in the chest. Then, when you’re chilling in The Hideout, the music is totally different. You get this soft, peaceful harp music that makes you feel like you’re home. It’s calming, and you can just feel the change in atmosphere. And when you’re out in the wild, the music picks up again, giving you that adventurous, “let’s go explore” vibe. It really fits every moment of the game and elevates the whole experience.

Now, I’m running this on a Ryzen 3950X, RTX 4090, 64GB DDR4 RAM, and a 4K 120Hz LG monitor with G-Sync enabled and Settings maxed out completely with DLSS on Quality. My CPU is definitely showing its age — looking forward to upgrading to the 9800X3D when it drops — but this setup still works great. At 4K with variable G-Sync, I typically pull 45-90 frames per second depending on where I am. In areas with lots of NPCs or heavy logic, my CPU holds back the frames a bit, especially in big cities with a lot of detail. But when I’m out in the wild or in boss fights, I’m averaging a solid 60 FPS, which is really impressive considering the bottleneck I’ve run into with other games at 4K.

What’s really great is that this game is well-optimized. Even with my aging processor, it runs smoothly thanks to DLSS and all the latest features. I've seen a drop of 15-20 frames in other games due to CPU limitations, but FFXVI keeps things steady, which is saying something. I bought the full collection with all the DLC, and I think it’s totally worth the price, though I'd say it depends on how much you’re into the game.

Final Thoughts:

Final Fantasy XVI hits all the right notes, from its story and combat to the world-building and soundtrack. If you love JRPGs or action games, you need to play this. It respects your time, lets you experiment freely, and delivers an unforgettable, heart-pounding experience. Performance-wise, even with some bottlenecking, it’s incredibly optimized and makes full use of modern features like DLSS. For me, this is a 10/10 all day. Sure, there might be some complaints out there, but I’ve had a flawless experience.

Best RPG in the last decade. New Standard for proper turn based role playing games. Starfield sucks.

Awesome awesome game. JRPG fan? Buy it, you won't regret it. First time in a long time I've completed a game in my library. We all know how many of those sit unfinished lol.