The following article contains spoilers forFinal Fantasy 16.
Despite offering closure in many ways,Final Fantasy 16ends on a note of ambiguity. After the climactic battle against Ultima and the destruction of the final Mothercrystal, Clive Rosfield is left on a beach with a petrifying arm. Whether he survives or dies remains unknown. Meanwhile, Jill’s quiet moment under the stars and the post-credits scene of two brothers playing suggest the possibility of rebirth or a new era, but it’s never made explicit.
That uncertainty has sparked countless fan debates. WhileThe Rising TideDLC provides new content and further context for Clive’s journey, it stops short of adding anything meaningful to the game’s conclusion. Without a definitive answer, the legacy ofFinal Fantasy 16remains open-ended. A direct sequel wouldn’t just satisfy curiosity, it would strengthen the lore, give weight to player investment, and serve as a foundation for howFinal Fantasy 17might evolve.
Final Fantasy 16 Lore Deserves A True Continuation
A direct sequel would allowFinal Fantasy 16to explore the full impact of a world without magic.Valisthea’s entire historyhas revolved around Mothercrystals, Dominants, and Eikons. Removing those elements is not just a thematic decision, it’s a tectonic shift in how the world operates. A sequel could dive deep into how societies adapt, how political powers restructure, and how people survive without magic or the tools they once depended on.
Take Rosaria, for example. InFinal Fantasy 16, it’s portrayed as a proud and noble nation, devastated early in the game by betrayal and conquest. If the world is remade without magic, Rosaria could see major changes in its rebuilding and potential new forms of leadership rising.
The post-credits scene shows a book titledFinal Fantasyauthored by Joshua Rosfield. If Clive truly dies, this could indicate a preserved history that the sequel builds upon, allowing players to see how legends become myth, or how myth becomes twisted.
Moreover, a sequel could finally confirm Clive’s fate. Whether he died as a martyr or lives on in hiding, having that closure could make the themes of sacrifice and rebirth more resonant. Square Enix has an opportunity to define what thelegacy of Clive Rosfieldmeans to the future of the franchise.
Final Fantasy 16 Sequel Could Shape 17’s Future
Final Fantasy 16has already departed from many franchise norms, such as being a mostly solo-character action RPG with real-time combat and no party system. A sequel could act as a narrative andgameplay bridge toFinal Fantasy 17, which has yet to be officially announced. If Square Enix intends to bring back squad-based combat, aFinal Fantasy 16sequel could ease that transition by introducing party mechanics that feel earned through the story.
Clive spent most of the original game working alone, but he wasn’t without support.Characters like Jill, Cid, and Gavwere emotionally significant and frequently present in combat sequences, albeit as AI-controlled allies. A sequel could fully realize a party dynamic where the player controls multiple characters, allowing for more complex team synergy and even strategic planning, all without breaking the tone of the narrative.
Square Enix has done this kind of transition before.Final Fantasy 13-2followed a much less linear, focused story with more open-ended gameplay and party options, building directly offFinal Fantasy 13. A similar path could work here, giving returning characters more agency in battle while maintaining the heavy, mature tone that defined Clive’s journey.
Gameplay evolution could be paired with darker worldbuilding. A magic-less world could give way to new threats, such as remnants of Ultima’s ideology still lurking in the shadows. These are the types of questions that a sequel could answer whilepaving the road towardFinal Fantasy 17.
Final Fantasy 16 Ending Needs Definitive Closure
A major reason for a direct sequel is emotional and narrative payoff. The original ending, while poetic, arguably left too much unsaid. Jill’s moment with Metia is poignant, but it’s interpretive. The two boys in the epilogue may suggest rebirth, reincarnation, or metaphor, but without confirmation, it leaves players in limbo.
Rather than opting for a vague, thematic conclusion, a sequel could give characters like Jill, Torgal, and evenDion Lesagea proper epilogue. Watching Jill process her grief or joy, and the restructuring of political systems that were built around Dominants, would be an integral element of this type of game.
Additionally, it opens the door for new antagonists who oppose the changes Clive brought. If Ultima was the embodiment of absolute control, then a future enemy could be chaos incarnate — someone who sees the loss of structure as an opportunity for domination. Such conflicts would be deeply connected to the themes of legacy, power, and human resilience thatFinal Fantasy 16was already exploring.
This would also bring thematic closure to Clive’s arc. Whether he’s alive or remembered, showing the effects of his sacrifice on the world makes that choice meaningful. A world reborn deserves to be seen in full, not left as a footnote in a credits sequence.
