Final Fantasy XVI was released last month and is packed with epic and satisfying moments. In my review of both the demo and the full game, I rewarded the action RPG with high scores.
However, there was one specific moment that I had higher expectations for. Warning: this article contains spoilers about important events in Final Fantasy XVI. If you haven’t finished Square Enix’s game yet, I advise you to stop reading this. Instead, you may want to check out my spoiler-free review of the game below.
Still here? Alright, here we go. The demo, which offered players the first 2 hours of the game, concluded with the betrayal orchestrated by Duchess Anabella Rosfield. It wasn’t entirely surprising. The mother of the protagonist, Clive Rosfield, had been making a horrible impression since the first moment we met her. She treated Clive poorly and looked down on him because he wasn’t born as the Dominant of the Phoenix. Joshua, the actual Dominant of the Phoenix, is her favorite and receives preferential treatment.
She would also often badmouth Clive to his father, Archduke Elwin Rosfield, behind his back. Fortunately, the latter didn’t tolerate that sort of behavior, so Clive at least had one loving parent (even if it was for a short time).
Back to the ending of the demo. Rosaria is invaded and conquered by the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, thanks to Anabella’s betrayal, who hands Rosaria over on a silver platter. As Rosaria goes up in flames, she encounters her barely surviving son, Clive.. She orders some soldiers to execute him but hesitates at the very last moment. Thankfully, otherwise, it would have been a very short game.
Instead of executing Clive, she captures him and forces him into slavery, makes him a branded and places him at the frontline of the Empire’s army.
The demo ends with that moment. And from that point on, I couldn’t wait to give this witch what she deserved. Even if I had to play for a hundred hours, slaughtering army after army and monster after monster, I would wipe that nasty grin off her face.
Final Fantasy XVI was released in its entirety on June 22. Between the 10 days of the demo’s release and the full game, my thirst for revenge grew. I was curious about how sweet the taste of revenge would be. Anabella had pressed the reset button and completely shattered Clive’s life. We had to come from the deepest depths, climb our way up, and put her on our sword.
Well, maybe I got a bit carried away there. However vile she is, Anabella is our mother, and it won’t be easy for Clive to take matters into his own hands and get rid of her. But still, I hoped for more than what we eventually got.
The Actual Conclusion of Anabella’s Arch
We fast forward to about three-quarters of the adventure. Finally, we stand face to face with the snake that has made our lives a living hell. By now, we possess a handful of different Eikon powers. We are the Dominant of the dreaded Ifrit. We have proven her wrong in everything and exceeded her expectations. Granted, those expectations weren’t very high to begin with, but it doesn’t diminish the satisfaction.
When we encounter Anabella, she’s already quite unhinged. She recently lost her husband, the Emperor, at the hands of Dion’s spear. Her world has rapidly fallen apart. She has lost everything she “worked so hard” for. Only her new favorite, son Olivier, remains.
Clive poses the question he has been waiting for so long: ‘Why did you betray us all?’ For us, the answer is already clear: because Anabella is a greedy, power-hungry, and cruel wretch. But Clive might have missed that note.
Jill then adds her piece, placing her sword at the fallen Empress’s throat. Still, Anabella continues to speak defiantly, demanding respect. She spews her venom about Archduke Elwin and how the well-being of a country and its inhabitants is of no relevance. Everything revolves around preserving their bloodline, which has produced so many Dominants.
She turns her attention to Clive once again. The Phoenix should have chosen him, not that ‘weak’ Joshua. Clive’s voice actor, Ben Starr, convincingly retaliates, confronting her with the truth of her betrayal and how she left Joshua to his fate
.Anabella utters the dreadful words: “Why did you survive when the only one I truly cared for died?”
Clive informs Anabella that Joshua is in fact alive, and currently engaged in battle with Bahamut. When the fight concludes, Joshua and Clive reunite for the first time. It’s an emotional, rewarding moment we’ve been eagerly waiting for.
While we witness a reunion on one hand, we also see a farewell. Dion impales Olivier (or rather, Ultima) with his spear, leaving Anabella with absolutely nothing.
Anabella’s world crumbles, just like the capital city around them. She gets what she deserves, but what makes it unsatisfying is that it’s not at our hands. Not at Clive’s hands.
Illustrative of this is her decision to end her own life. While Joshua tries to calm her down so they can escape the capital together, she puts the knife to her throat. She robs us of any chance to make her pay ourselves. Out of all her vulgar deeds, this one might just take the cake.
As mentioned, Clive isn’t the type of person to take matters into his own hands when it comes to his mother. It wouldn’t have been a very realistic portrayal either. However, in the end, we never had direct influence over her downfall. That honor belongs mainly to Dion.
For almost a month, I looked forward to making Anabella pay. The fact that someone else settled the score is not as satisfying as I had hoped. But it just goes to show that feelings of revenge often transcend cold logic. The path the writers chose is the right one. It opts for a kind of ‘what goes around comes around’ karma-type revenge, without turning Clive or Joshua into kinslayers. But oh, how I would have loved to become just that, a kinslayer.
