Final Fantasy is one of, if not the most recognizable Japanese role-playing game series of all time. Final Fantasy 16 continues to carry on the series legacy and evolve it even further. This game was released almost a full year ago, back in late June 2023. Crazy how time flies. In the time since, Final Fantasy 16 has gotten a season pass, with two different DLC expansions that both add different things to the game.

The first DLC expansion is Echoes of the Fallen, and the second one is The Rising Tide. Both of these DLC expansions are similar in their way but have their own goals and content that are unique to them. Echoes of the Fallen was released late last year. The Rising Tide was eventually released in the spring of this year. Both expansions were received well by fans. Let’s dive into what they added to the game, both from a lore and gameplay perspective.

Final Fantasy 16: Echoes of the Fallen

Echoes of the Fallen is the first half of the DLC expansion for Final Fantasy 16. It is honestly a lot of story set up for later in the DLC, as well as going over some plot points in the mainline story. The actual way to even play this DLC is a bit confusing. It tells you what you must do, but to access the Echoes of the Fallen sub-quests, you must have already completed certain side quests that the game lists out for you. 

This is understandable, albeit slightly annoying and confusing. The story of this DLC takes place right before the game’s finale, so Clive and the party must explore the Sagespire, a brand-new dungeon. this dungeon is fun with some fun and unique boss fights and enemy encounters. This DLC is great if you enjoy the original game’s combat because these levels are just an excuse to fight new enemies. Dungeon exploration isn’t the best, since the game is pretty linear, but the waves of enemies and fun boss design make up for it.

Final Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide

The Rising Tide is the big chunk of the DLC here. This DLC expansion has a ton of new story details and implications, as well as some great additions to the gameplay systems. The Rising Tide is structured similarly to Echoes of the Fallen. It takes place before the finale, so the story hasn’t finished yet. Clive and his friends are informed of Leviathan, a new Eikon, or summon as the series calls them. This is interesting because Leviathan is one of the most famous summonses the series has, and it was left out of the original game.

Not only is Leviathan added to this game, but a brand new Eikonic ability is added to the game, being Ultima. This was kept under wraps for the marketing of the DLC and great reason. This was a great unlockable, and upon my first playthrough was a fun surprise. There’s also a cinematic and fun fight with Leviathan in this expansion. It’s on the same level of quality as the main game, which makes this DLC very memorable.

Final Fantasy 16: DLC Overall

The DLC for this game was pretty enjoyable for the most part. I would recommend it if you loved the original Final Fantasy 16, like I did. I would say if you didn’t like it, you’re better off not partaking in it, or at least waiting for a sale. I enjoyed it all. Echoes of the Fallen was a bit short on content. It had a fun dungeon, but it felt way too short.

The Rising Tide made up for it. It had a huge, cinematic boss fight against a fan-favorite summon. It also gave Clive some great new combat options. It even added a new rogue-like game mode, called the Kairos gate. This mode is really fun, and also really challenging. I would recommend it. This new mode is replayable to the point where you can make multiple runs on it. It’s quite fun. The DLC expansion for this game is great, and if you love the original Final Fantasy 16, it’ll make you love it even more.

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