Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide DLC - Review

Leviathan the Lost was the final Eikon yet to be encountered by Clive and his cohort. Yet now, a strange message asks for the help of Cid’s Resistance, and things suddenly make far more sense. Mysidia awaits.

The Rising Tide is the second and final piece of DLC content for Final Fantasy XVI. The Rising Tide aims to fix what seemed to be almost an oversight in the original titles release, with us finally getting to encounter a storyline with Leviathan, the only Eikon that was seemingly missing in the original release. The Rising Tide does challenge initial statements from the developers in them saying there was no plans for DLC, as it is clear that there was a story here that was always in need of being told.

The Rising Tide is a roughly four-to-five-hour story experience, coupled with some new gameplay additions, such as a roguelike mode and introduction of series mainstay enemies, the Tonberry. Taking place in a brand-new area exclusively for The Rising Tide, Mysidia, the DLC aims to tie up all loose ends that existed within the universe of Final Fantasy XVI.

For those in the know, Mysidia is a recurring town throughout the Final Fantasy series. First appearing in Final Fantasy II, Mysidia is the hometown of Minwu, as well as being a town full of wizards. It is revisited in FFIV and implies a connected universe between the two with it being a town founded by the great sage Minwu. FFXVI continues this easter egg journey of connection, with Mysidia being filled with many persons able to use magic, as well as some new accessories and items that are direct references to Minwu as well. Though timeline-wise it’d be near impossible to create a narrative connection, it does seem that Yoshi P’s love for the older titles continues in The Rising Tide as well.

The Rising Tide is a substantially more story-filled and fleshed out DLC than Echoes of the Fallen was. For those who are after a strong end to the series this DLC does a generally decent job of this. The story itself would have benefited from being furthered fleshed out, feeling almost rushed due to its position in the overall main story of FFXVI. As a result of that, The Rising Tide seems to be a tale of two parts. A short and snappy main story that crashes the story of Leviathan in almost as an afterthought to the overall story of the game. With a somewhat weak post-story side quest adventure that is mainly focused on menial tasks and use of the Tonberry.

This leads to a case of an impressive, but few mega-bosses, and an over-use of an enemy that had been missing in the rest of the game. The Tonberry design is one of the best in the game, which makes it a shame that there is essentially an hour worth of actually getting to encounter them, with little more than fan-service grabbing. The Rising Tide overall feels like it is attempting to fill gaps of missing content, rather than being a piece of work that had such focus and love on it as the rest of the game did. That isn’t to say it is a poor piece of content, or unenjoyable. In fact, the few boss fights, and the final fight in particular are some of the most brutally tough fights in the game, with some of the best weapon designs added in as a sprinkling on top.

On its own, the main story and addition of Leviathan is interesting. The new enemies are fun but make it painfully obvious some major oversights in original development, that they felt needed to be fixed, rather than wanting to do it. The new abilities that you get, as a result of Leviathan and Ultima are a mixed bag too. Leviathan’s abilities are fun in concept, but pretty unenjoyable and lacklustre in practice. Alternatively, the abilities you get upon completion of the main story with Ultima feel incredibly overpowered and far more impactful than almost any other Eikon’s abilities in the game. There is such a range of quality in the different abilities of the Eikon’s and the new ones make that an ever wider spread.  

The Kairos Gate is the other major addition that comes with The Rising Tide and is where some players will find themselves getting full value out of this DLC. Kairos Gate is a roguelike mode added in, giving us an increasingly brutal round-based combat mode that forces you to learn about all of the different abilities. Forcing players to step outside of their comfort zone and switching up from their rigid lineups. Whilst not for me personally, Kairos Gate is a solidly challenging piece of content that a bulk of players will likely get a kick out of. Taking some of the randomness out with telling you what enemies await so you can prepare accordingly. An interesting addition overall.

The Rising Tide is an interesting little send-off for FFXVI. Littered with sort of weak characters, an array of middling quests, a series of solid boss fights and one of the toughest Eikon battles in the entire game, The Rising Tide is going to be either a love note for some, or a whimper for others. A solid story, but maybe one that shouldn’t have been told in a DLC, filled with little references, and throw backs to previous titles. The Tonberry design is one of the coolest in the series and fits the gritty feeling of FFXVI more fully. A mix in quality of abilities and an enjoyable and strong new roguelike addition. The Rising Tide feels at home, but also feels just a bit undercooked.

The Score

7.0

Review code provided by Square Enix

The Pros

Tonberry design

Leviathan Boss Battle

Ultima Abilities

The Cons

Weak characters

Bland main and side quests

A touch too short for the story it needed to tell