I was not expecting Square Enix to release the first DLC of Final Fantasy XVI so soon. Nor was I expecting them to shadow drop it on the night of the Game Awards. Well played, Square Enix.
If you were trying to entice players to go back to Valisthea. You have succeeded. In turn, I will be diving deep into my review of Echoes of the Fallen.
Story
Premise
Echoes of the Fallen takes place near the end of game just before the final battle at Origin. Lady Charon informs Clive that someone is selling dark colored crystals. There crystals are known as dusk crystals.
Dusk crystals are similar to their lighter counterparts. Unlike the lighter crystals, the dusk crystals provide one spark of magic. After that, they go out. However, it doesn’t stop the market for the dusk crystals.
Fearing worst from the influence of the dusk crystals, Clive, Joshua, Jill and Torgal investigate the dusk crystals. Clive and the party’s investigation leads them to Sagespire. Awaiting them in Sagespire is the something the gang could never imagine.
The Fallen
The bulk of the DLC’s story is centered around the Fallen. Prior to Echoes of the Fallen, there was no major lore or story associated with the Fallen. But, Echoes of the Fallen provides some much need context of the Fallen. The DLC truly shows how far the Fallen have come before their eventual end.
Combat
While I deeply love the combat of Final Fantasy XVI, there are a few issues that I had with the game. Those issues have been addressed in the DLC. And this elevates the high level of Final Fantasy XVI’s combat even higher.
Bosses
I will admit that I found FFXVI’s combat to be easy once I found my groove. Heck, I even found Final Fantasy mode to be easy after a while. Sagespire changed all that.
There were some challenging enemies boss fights in Sagespire. The bosses in Sagespire require a lot of strategy and attention to defeat. You have to observe the bosses’ attacks and patterns. Also, the bosses in this tower have some insane AOE attacks and unpredictable tactics to watch out for.
I couldn’t just use my normal builds to beat these bosses. Angra Mainyu and Omega beat me several times, so I had readjusted my strategy a lot to beat these bosses. Honestly, I haven’t done something like this since fighting the Thirteen Darknesses in Kingdom Hearts 3 Limited Cut.
The crazy part is that I fighting these bosses in Action Focused mode. And they still gave me a challenge. But I really appreciated the increased difficulty. Because I had a lot of fun fighting these bosses.
Enemies
Even the enemies were tougher in Sagespire. I couldn’t easily take out the goblins in the tower. The magic goblins would cast Hearthflame, a spell that provides protection in the form of flames. Attacking them with melee attacks will only cause damage to Clive. Dispelling Hearthflame involves casting magic on the one who has the spell active.
With challenging bosses and tactical enemies, I found combat to be even better in the base game of FFXVI. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy XVI’s battle system. FFXVI’s battle system is one of the best combat systems of Final Fantasy. There just wasn’t enough challenge to fully embrace this system. And now there is thanks to Echoes of the Fallen.
Equipment
Echoes of the Fallen even had better equipment. The treasures in Sagespire had some of the best equipment in the game. The bit accessories found in the treasures are a godsend. And I feel that some of these accessories should have been in the main game.
A lot of the accessories in the base game provide minimal stat changes. Or they would provide reduction in cooldowns for Eikonic abilities. The most useful accessories were the ones which increase the potency of your potions.
Having accessories like the Revival Bit is a game changer. The Revival Bit saved my hide a bunch of times going against Angra Mainyu and Omega. Without this accessory and the other bit accessories, I would have seen the Game Over screen a lot more.
Conclusion
Echoes of Fallen only lasted about a few hours. But I was impressed with how it turned out. The DLC provides a lot of Fallen lore, challenging battles, and much improved accessories.
Granted, the DLC was limited in dialogue especially with Jill. It was still great to get the Rosarian crew back together again. And if you weren't a fan of the base game. Then, the DLC may not change your mind about Final Fantasy XVI. On the other hand, Echoes of the Fallen is great addition to FFXVI fans.
I am happy with Echoes of Fallen. The DLC will tie me over until the Rising Tide comes out in the Spring. Until then, I will be playing my Final Fantasy mode save so I get my progress up to the end of the game. So, I can play the DLC on that mode.
Score: 9/10
Have you played Echoes of the Fallen? If so, what did you think of it? Leave your comments below.
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