The Final Fantasy 16 reveal trailer offers a lot about the game’s characters, mechanics, world, and story, but left out a lot of the finer details. It was also visually unfinished, despite representing the intended product. Press releases contained further information, but many fans still feel they need to see more in order to fully comprehend the game. Not helping matters is Final Fantasy 16’s delay, pushing the game’s next appearance to spring 2022. Fans are cautiously optimistic based on the strong track record of Final Fantasy 14's director Naoki Yoshida, but uncertainty remains.
At least fans have some story details to latch onto. Final Fantasy 16 takes place in the medieval fantasy land of Valisthea, where many people live comfortably thanks to mountains of crystal called the Mothercrystals. Six primary nations have risen around these crystals, and they are frequently at war. Conflict also comes from the presence of Eikons, summoned monsters controlled by humans called Dominants, as well as some manner of Blight sweeping the land. Amid all this, the story focuses on the struggles of Clive Rosfield, a soldier of noble birth who is trying to avenge his home nation.
Clive Rosfield’s Backstory
Clive appears to be a fairly plain starting character at first glance. He hails from the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, and is the first son of the Archduke. It is tradition in Rosaria to enthrone the Dominant of the Phoenix, Eikon of Fire, when they come of age. While Clive was not blessed with this privilege, his younger brother Joshua Rosfield was. Clive instead honed his warrior skills and won the right to become the First Shield of Rosaria, charged with protecting his brother. While the Blight has been gnawing at Rosaria’s strength, things are relatively peaceful.
All of that changes with some kind of military incursion or incident. Joshua is killed or otherwise rendered indisposed by the dark Eikon Ifrit, and it seems like the rest of Rosaria may have gone with him. After a time skip in Final Fantasy 16, Clive is seen with an older and more gruff design. Joining a mercenary group that may accept work from rival nations, Clive is single-mindedly searching for the culprits behind his misfortune. An early time skip is new territory for Final Fantasy, and it will be interesting to see how the more cynical Clive interacts with the complicated world of Valisthea.
Clive Rosfield’s Relationships
While the beginning of Clive’s story is clear, there isn’t a lot about him yet known. It’s quickly established that he loves his nation, and his family and friends even more, but how he acts at any given moment will need to be seen in-game. Still, those relationships, and how Clive acts when they’re taken away, inform much of FF16’s protagonist. Clive, Joshua, and their adopted sister Jill Warrick are close, and Clive strives to be the group’s fearless protector. Clive’s vengeful fury is all that remains when they’re gone.
In his family’s place, future Clive has a band of mercenaries. It’s not clear what sort of relationship Clive has with these people, though if his face tattoo is a sign of membership, he presumably has some loyalty. This may be where Final Fantasy 16 draws its party members from, if it does have any besides Clive. There’s no doubt that Clive is a valuable asset to the group thanks to his magical abilities and combat prowess, though his noble birth may be meaningless to them.
Clive Rosfield’s Abilities and Powers
Speaking of Clive’s magic, he has a unique set of abilities that seem to lie outside the realm of Final Fantasy 16’s Dominant and Eikon system. Clive is initially able to wield part of Phoenix’s fire thanks to Joahua’s blessing and Clive’s role as the FIrst Shield of Rosaria. Clive can wreath parts of himself in flame and warp around the battlefield in a manner not dissimilar to Final Fantasy 15’s Noctis. He can also use standard magical attacks, matching the fire aesthetic that many of his more fantastical actions use. For some special attacks, Joshua can call a full Phoenix.
However, things are different once the timeskip occurs. Clive still has access to Phoenix’s fire alongside elemental powers that call to mind Final Fantasy’s other summons that he can switch between. Clive is not a Dominant, and gaining the blessing of so many Dominants at once is potentially impossible. It isn’t clear how Clive is able to fight like this, though he may have some method of draining an Eikon’s power directly from their Dominant. That sort of ambiguously moral action is fitting for someone willing to throw their life away for revenge, but there isn’t enough information to be sure what’s going on. Whatever the case, Clive Rosfield is an interesting new addition to the Final Fantasy franchise, and fans should find out more about him when FF16 is next shown.
Final Fantasy 16 is in development for PS5.