Final Fantasy XVI developers have recently talked about the newly launched DLC as well as the upcoming PC port of the game.
Speaking in an interview with Famitsu, Takeo Kujiraoka talked about the Echoes of the Fallen DLC and also hinted at the length of the upcoming expansion, The Rising Tide.
“The first part of the DLC is about 3 hours if you focus on simply clearing the story. It’s like one dungeon from the main game plus a story. Other titles typically release a substantial DLC about a year after the main game’s release, but as Takai mentioned, we didn’t want to keep the players waiting, ” said Kujiraoka.
“Naturally, this shortened the development period, but even so, we packed the first part with a story and challenging boss fights typical of FF16.”
Regarding the second expansion, Kujiraoka said: “The second part is quite substantial in volume and includes side quests. When I previously played through the main and side quests, it took about 8 hours. With additional content, the second part totals around 10 hours of gameplay.”
The game producer, Naoki Yoshida mentioned how the first DLC is mostly focused on combat with new enemies and stage layouts while the second one will feature areas as large as some of the ones seen in the main game. Yoshida also talked about the setting for the DLC.
“Some players who have played the main game might have wondered, ‘What is that?’ It’s beyond the mysterious mass visible from a certain field, ” said Yoshida. “The setting for the second part of the DLC seems to be north of Northreach, in the Macleod Durow Hills, beyond the mysterious mass visible across the sea.”
The decision to split the expansion into two parts was made from the beginning as it would have taken too long to release it, and they wanted to get it out faster. Levaiathn is also confirmed as a new summon that will be released as a part of the new expansion, The Rising Tide. Kujiraoka mentions the setting for the second DLC.
“The second part of the DLC will have a different theme, so we’re leaving the exploration of the sky civilization at this point. Many people have been curious about the sky civilization since playing the main game, but we deliberately didn’t reveal everything in the first part of the DLC. We scattered hints here and there to peel away layers of mystery gradually, leaving room for imagination.”
He also teases a major battle in the second DLC, The Rising Tide. “The ‘summoned beast battle’ is a must-see, and one boss battle, in particular, is made with great enthusiasm as the final boss fight where Clive is controlled. The content could be considered a culmination of FF16’s boss battles.”
Final Fantasy XVI PC Port Details
Naoki Yoshida also mentioned the PC port during the interview confirming that they are actively working on it. He suggests that an SSD is recommended to have to get the best experience possible for Final Fantasy XVI.
“As Kujiraoka mentioned, it’s common for large-scale DLCs to be released about a year after the game’s launch, so we aim to meet that timeline. We’re also diligently developing the PC version. We hope to have the PC version playable with the DLC, so please wait a little longer for the exact release dates.”
“We will announce the details later, but an SSD is recommended. Even with our efforts to optimize GPU performance, ‘FF16,’ which relies heavily on loading speed, would be challenging on an HDD. We’re doing our best to optimize, but there are limits to hardware, so an SSD is a must. We’ll announce the exact recommended specs at another time.”
Final Fantasy XVI is out now for PS5. It is also in development for PC.
