Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide review: A tidal wave of new adventures
Review:
NOTE: This review is only for The Rising Tide DLC. Nothing about Echoes of the Fallen will be present.
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As with Echoes of the Fallen, the Rising Tide DLC is also a good example of how a DLC can make any existing game even better. Not only did the first DLC give the game an extra look, but The Rising Tide also focuses on new lands, new monsters to fight, a new story, and new skills as well. I've been more excited to play this than the first expansion, so let's see if it lives up to the hype.
The biggest update for this DLC is the addition of Leviathan, who was said to be lost as per the game’s lore, but has come into play after a long time. The abilities you get from the Eikon of Water include a lot of high-velocity ranged attacks that can easily force the enemies to line up perfectly for a single strike. It’s an easy-to-understand moveset and can easily chain with other elements for the perfect victory.
The story behind the DLC follows Clive and party as they gain some info about Leviathan’s Dominant needing help at the lost nation of Mysidia, which has not been touched by the other nations’ greed towards magic and racism towards bearers. Through twists and turns, Clive breaks the curse of Leviathan the Lost and makes sure that the Dominant of Water is free after a very long time. There's so much I wanna talk about in the story in detail, but I will refrain so you can experience it for yourself; it’s a very well-told story.
Leviathan becomes the DLC's final boss, and it's the most challenging fight in the game, even harder than Echoes of the Fallen’s final boss. With frame-perfect combos under a time limit and attacks coming from all sides, this wasn't a fight you could brute-force through. It needed strategy to overcome these watery obstacles. This fight took many, many tries until I got how it worked, and there's a sense of relief that washes over when he's defeated. The music for this boss, Cascade, also helped improve the fight with its themes of liberation and hope. It was present from the earliest trailers of the game, and we finally get to hear it in one of the most inspiring fights in the game; honestly, it made me smile hearing it at long last.
While you’re saving the Dominant of Water, the village you visit is filled with brand new collectables, tools, side quests, and monster hunts, making this into a more interactive DLC than its previous content. The weapons you forge have some amazing stats; the challenges around are hard to overcome, but they are worth it, and the monsters drop some pretty pricey valuables. And some of these monsters include iconic foes, the Tonberries, and they are just as scary as any other iteration of these foes. These quests not only help the people of Mysidia, but they also connect its lore to that of the rest of the game, not just Leviathan. There's a sense of relief in helping the folk out with their duties while everything is calm for the moment.
Another major update added is a gauntlet arena mode called Kairos Gate, where it tests your abilities to their limits. This mode can only be obtained once you beat the main story and the Rising Tide DLC, so depending on where you're at with the story, it might not be unlocked immediately after defeating Leviathan. But once it’s unlocked, you gain something extra you weren’t expecting: a bonus eikon ability. With it, the gauntlet mode is unlocked, and you are free to challenge it. There's a set level and stats for Clive to be stuck at, which makes the mode all the more difficult to get through. There are 20 levels in total that use every bit of combat experience you gained through the game and the bonus DLC stories, complete with upgrades after each level. Even I can’t seem to beat this mode, but I will come back to it one day and finish what I have started as my final trial to finish the game once and for all.
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Like Echoes of the Fallen, The Rising Tide also grants players free content that can be used even before you begin the DLC. The legendary sword from Final Fantasy XIV, Curtana, can be used in combat right away, and brand new music tracks can be heard from inside the game’s hideaway. This was a nice little touch that they didn't have to do, but did it anyway.
Overall, The Rising Tide has been a new wave of content that was well worth the money. Would I have loved for this to be part of the base game? Yes, because Leviathan is one of the 8 Eikons of legend, but I feel like the way they wove his lore into the overall picture made this DLC very well worth the price. It was the right amount of challenging and entertaining, which helped elevate the story of Final Fantasy XVI to new heights. The addition of Kairos Gate was also a nice little bonus for expert fans to face while mastering their skills. The Rising Tide feels like the final curtain on one of the best games of the 2020’s.
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10/10