Final Fantasy is one of the longest-running gaming franchises to date, with tons of numbered entries, spin-offs, supplemental material, and the like. As such, it's hard not to compare one entry to another. Whether it's in terms of plot details, plot twists, or characters like Clive and Cloud, there's a lot to unpack from the surface level to the hardest. This also means that Final Fantasy 16 will be inheriting this big legacy, indubitably being compared to those that came before it.

Right now, there's very little known about Final Fantasy 16. The main characters have been shown, including Clive, Joshua, and Jill, and some of the politics and world of Valisthea have been shown. Yet, still, a lot remains unsaid. One interesting thing is how the marketing is seemingly glancing over certain aspects, such as Jill's role in the Final Fantasy 16, to divert attention. There's another place that it does this, one that sounds a lot like Final Fantasy 15, and that's the blight.

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Final Fantasy 16: The Blight of Valisthea

Some fans believe that joshua will turn out to be the antagonist of final fantasy 16

 

In the very first Final Fantasy 16 trailer, there is a reference to a Blight in the land. It seems this Blight is pushing the six factions to war as it is a spreading, physical illness or sickness of some sort. The effects thereof are not directly shown, but it should be mentioned that the war, resulting from this Blight of sorts, does seemingly happen. As Final Fantasy 16 seemingly features a time skip, it goes from Joshua and the summoning of the Dark Eikon Ifrit to a War with Eikons that Clive is involved in (and the physical changes to Joshua could hint at the Blight perhaps). That's really all that's known, but that in and of itself has a few implications for a Final Fantasy game.

First off, the Blight is a big issue and will likely be featured in the story; however, it seems likely that this Blight is somehow related to the Dark Eikons or, at least, to the Eikons themselves. As they play a part in the war and Dominants are shunned (or celebrated) based on where they go, there may be some connection between Final Fantasy 16's Joshua, Ifrit's summoning, and the Blight.

Secondly, the idea of the crystal, or Mothercrystal, is very apparent in Final Fantasy 16, and it's likely that this Blight can infect them somehow. Perhaps that's the explanation for the Dark Eikons, perhaps a character is intentionally spreading the blight, or perhaps humanity's relationship with the Mothercrystals leads to it.

Ultimately, it's there and will likely play a big role, but its cause and effects are unclear. It may refer to a general sickness or physical plague infecting people, but the question becomes, then, why that leads to war. On the contrary, some connection, infection, cause, or effect related to the Blight, the Dark Eikons, and the Mothercrystals seem likely. And if all of this sounds somewhat familiar, that's because Final Fantasy 15 features a similar plot point.

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Final Fantasy 15: The Starscourge of Eos

 

In a similar vein to Valisthea's Blight, the setting of Final Fantasy 15, Eos, had the Starscourge. Described as a plague, a mutant strain of Plasmodium malarie, the Starscourge has been for eons. That's one difference, at least it seems, because the Blight appears to be relatively new in FF16, while the Starscourge's history predates FF15 quite a bit. It could be more similar here, but that remains to be seen.

Either way, what this particularly does is infect and basically turn said infected into Daemons. It's got some sort of organism-level explanation about photosynthetic beings that drink light before it reaches the ground, creating a relationship with daemons (again, of sorts) where perpetual darkness empowers them both. The Oracle, in Final Fantasy 15 Lunafreya, is capable of getting them at bay, but due to events of Final Fantasy 15, her death accelerates the Starscourge plummeting the world into darkness. All of this being caused by Ardyn Lucis Caelum, an ancestor to Noctis.

Ardyn tried to save the world as The Crystal's Chosen by taking the plague into his body, though this could not destroy it. As such, the Crystal cast Ardyn out due to his connection to the Starscourge, and he would later be imprison for millennia. This banishment effectively turned Ardyn against the FF15 world, and with his return, he manipulated countries into war (which, admittedly, seemed quite easy). With his presence, the Miasma and Starscourge is able to spread, leading to the end of the game.

Comparing Eos' Starscourge to Valisthea's Blight

final fantasy 16 valisthea

Any comparison right now comes with the caveat of how little is known about the game, but based on Final Fantasy 15, it seems fair to extrapolate a few details. First off, the war due to the Blight and the war due to the Starscourge may not be a direct result, but an indirect one. This likely means that, as Ardyn spreads the Starscourge, something is spreading the Blight. Exactly who or what remains to be seen, but there's likely a villain using this Blight somehow, somewhere.

It's unknown what the Blight does, but it's unlikely to be the same miasmic, Daemon-related force meant to plunge the world into darkness. However, just as the Starscourge is effectively an enemy to the crystals and Astrals of Final Fantasy 15, the Blight is likely an antagonistic force to the Crystals and Eikons of Final Fantasy 16. With that in mind, it remains to be seen if Clive is at the center of some Chosen One prophecy, but the crystals and Eikons will likely be huge aspects of story and gameplay related to ending the Blight, just as they were in FF15.

All things considered, returning to certain plot points or tropes is normal in storytelling, so it's less about how similar they are and more about how Square Enix uses them. The Blight and the Starscourge may, at this basic level, have similar elements, but how the former impacts the world will likely be the huge determining factor. For now, fans have to wait and see what Final Fantasy 16 news comes next.

Final Fantasy 16 is in development for PS5.

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