Characters of Final Fantasy XVI
The characters and Eikon summoned monsters were designed by Kazuya Takahashi, while Michael-Christopher Koji Fox handled localization and helped with writing.
The main protagonist is Clive Rosfield, a son of the Duke of Rosaria who sets out on a quest for revenge after he is betrayed and becomes host of the mysterious Eikon Ifrit.
With this in mind, Maehiro created the map of Valisthea first, basing the locations of Eikons and nations around those elements, and then writing Clive's story to place within these events and areas.
[15][16] Due to the game's positive responses, a dedicated team created DLC exploring background elements to the narrative related to the Fallen civilization and the Eikon Leviathan.
[15] Two other themes outlined by the team were the interdependence and ambiguity of good and evil, inspired by Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy,[18] and different forms of love, be it for a nation or a person.
He admitted potential representation issues, but foresaw problems with both breaking player immersion in the setting, and problematic stereotypes associated with protagonists or antagonists.
Minagawa described blending Takahashi's light illustration style with the dark tone of the game as his biggest challenge when finalizing the art design.
[27] Yoshida stayed away from the recording process both due to company policy and out of "respect" for the writers, as he would likely contradict their decisions and cause issues.
As a teenager, Clive's mother Anabella betrays Rosaria to Sanbreque and he witnesses the Dark Eikon Ifrit seemingly kill Joshua.
[31] Takahashi created his armor and clothing around the design specification of a country with little power, with his muscular build meant to appeal to the Western market.
[27] Cidolfus Telamon (シドルファス・テラモーン, Shidorufasu Teramōn), also called "Cid" (シド, Shido) by his friends, is the leader of a rebel group within Valisthea seeking to liberate magic users from enslavement and abuse.
He is an outsider who awoke as the lightning Eikon Ramuh's Dominant upon arriving in Valisthea; he initially allied with the nation of Waloed before breaking away due to a difference in vision.
She joins Clive and Cid's cause after they rescue her, helping with destroying the Mothercrystals and taking revenge on the Iron Kingdom's religious leader.
Exhausted from overusing her Eikon and briefly being kidnapped by Barnabas, Jill is unable to prime without risking her life and gives Shiva's power to Clive.
He is later revealed to be a rare Frost Wolf, a descendant of an ancient companion to a royal Dominant of Shiva who can absorb and channel aether.
After Anabella begins influencing his father and pushing for her son Olivier to be made heir, Dion launches a coup against her with Joshua's encouragement and the aid of Terence, his lover and second-in-command.
[7] Bahamut's design was originally much larger than in the final game, with remnants of this goal surviving in the Eikon's large wings and long tail.
Barnabas's design was intended to evoke a "king cloaked entirely in mystery", inspired indirectly by the Dark Knight motif of earlier games.
[38] Hugo Kupka (フーゴ・クプカ, Fūgo Kupuka) is the current Dominant of the earth Eikon Titan, and the political leader and figurehead of the Dhalmekian Republic.
Now seeking revenge, an agent of Ultima tricks him into overusing his Mothercrystal, causing him to transform into a raging form of Titan that Clive kills.
[36][39] Cullen Black of RPG Site positively noted the quality of writing for side characters and smaller quests, and praised the game's incarnation of Cid as one of the best in the series.
He positively compared the game's themes and writing to Final Fantasy Tactics (1997), noting its examination of the cost of uprooting corrupt societies, and praised Clive's portrayal and character development.
[46] Zach Wilkerson of RPGFan enjoyed the cast and their stories overall, with his major complaint being its scarcity and portrayal of female characters, describing them as "thinly developed and far too defined by the men in their lives".
[50] Gita Jackson of Polygon generally disliked the story design and the portrayal of slavery in-game, but enjoyed Clive and Jill's romance and Cid's personality when compared to the writing and dark tone, and praised the voice acting.
[51] A recurring point with both players and reviewers was the perceived lack of ethnic diversity in the cast and in-game world, and Yoshida's response to the issue.
[49] Like Evans-Thirlwell, LeBlanc felt that the all-White cast undermined the early themes and in-game usage of slavery of magic users,[48] a sentiment echoed by Jackson.
[50] In an article on the situation, Ash Parrish of The Verge highlighted common arguments against Yoshida's approach−its fantasy setting and historical proof of ethnic diversity in Medieval Europe−and felt it undermined the game's goals of reaching out to a larger audience.
[54][55] Iain Harris of GamesRadar+, writing about the social media reactions, noted both the explicit romance and casual dialogue found in the world that showed a general presence of LGBT relationships.
[54] Ed Nightingale, writing for Eurogamer, was very positive about LGBT characters being included without emphasizing their orientation, normalizing them within the world of Valisthea.
[55] TechRadar's Cat Bussell saw Dion as a positive step forward for the series, but felt his romance with Terence did not get much open exploration or attention compared to romantic or sexual scenes with female characters.
