The Rising Tide is the second and final expansion to be released for Final Fantasy XVI that adds something we missed in the previous expansion; Echoes of the Fallen. For The Rising Tide is in many ways an expansion aimed at those who have already completed the game, but want to dive even deeper and hone their skills. Exactly how, I’ll save for later, but at least Square Enix has an ace up its sleeve this time.
In the new expansion, Clive and his companions Jill, Joshua and Torgal set out to sea to reach the northern region of Mysidia. A place completely isolated from the rest of the world, and where the mighty Eikon, Leviathan, is said to rest. Here we are introduced to the completely new character Shula, who leads the small group in Mesydia, and who, like Clive, wants to save the person from whom Leviathan derives his powers.
The story is a decent story that contains several touching moments, but unfortunately Shula feels like an extremely flat and boring character who never settles down. The way Square Enix has managed to weave in the new Dominant (the person Eikon belongs to) and what has happened to the region are highlights. It is the mystery and the atmosphere that contribute to the tension, while the character additions do the exact opposite.
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The side quests introduced in The Rising Tide are mostly completely uninteresting and feel more like a chore than something of value. One of the first side missions involves running a few tens of meters to collect a bouquet of flowers to give to the village blacksmith, just because the blacksmith’s wife thought it was a good way to introduce us. It’s totally uninteresting and pointless when players have already played Final Fantasy XVI for dozens of hours. It’s only towards the end of the three-hour expansion that we get a couple of more sensible side missions where we’re tasked with killing the Tonberry King to stop an invasion by the Tonberrys.
What Square Enix has mainly marketed the expansion with is that we will of course get the chance to control a brand new Eikon. Early in the adventure, Clive manages to absorb a large enough portion to harness the water monster’s abilities, which adds something new to the game. From before we can control wind, fire, thunder and ice, but now we can also blast enemies with water. With Leviathan, the player is encouraged to create distance to their target and blast them with water to quickly drain the enemy’s stagger meter and put them out of action for a while. I didn’t think I would like the powers as much as I did. When you’ve already played the game for over 80 hours and switched between six other powers, it can be hard for a new power to make an impact. But Square Enix manages to do the impossible. Because as I mentioned at the beginning, the developers have an ace up their sleeve.
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With The Rising Tide, not only a brand new story is presented, but also a brand new game mode reminiscent of roguelike games. This is called Kairos Gate, found in Clive’s headquarters, and when the player embarks on this experience for the first time, they are given a gift from the game’s main villain, Ultima. Namely some of his powers. Thus, the expansion not only gives access to Leviathan’s abilities, but also Ultimas, which almost feels a little overwhelming, but oh so welcome.
In Kairos Gate, the player faces the challenge of making it through all 20 levels, where every fifth level consists of a boss from the main game. Here, your equipment is predetermined, and the only thing you can change are your Eikon abilities. The only way you can improve is to do well in the matches (varied attack patterns, time, etc.), which gives you rewards in the form of improvements and blessings. The former gives you permanent upgrades for the current round you’re playing, and the latter gives you one or two levels of benefits. I’m not going to lie – Kairos Gate is really hard and will really test you on everything you’ve learned. All in all, this is something for those who want a challenge after the scrolling text. Square Enix has even created a leaderboard where you can compete against other players and get as many points as possible. The only thing I would have liked was the ability to save in the middle of a playthrough, as 20 levels takes its time, but unfortunately that option isn’t available and you have to quit and start over instead of being able to continue at that level you were on.
The Rising Tide is an excellent conclusion to the saga of Final Fantasy XVI that offers exactly what the first expansion did not. Thus the game now feels complete, and together with the two expansions this feels like a magical journey. I really want to emphasize that this season pass is well worth investing in if you want more and really want to be challenged. The Rising Tide offers approx. three hours of story and two hours extra if you want to do the side quests in the expansion. It’s hard to put a time frame on how long you’ll be entertained by Kairos Gate, though, as there’s a lot of replay value. If this game mode didn’t exist, the price of the new adventure would be hard to justify, but now there’s no doubt that it’s definitely worth every penny.
