Players’ hearts are pulled by the sad backstories of the characters in Final Fantasy 16.
There is a lot of sad stuff in the Final Fantasy series. The idea runs through all of the stories and character histories. Longtime fans will remember that Aerith died in Final Fantasy 7 and that Vivi found out in Final Fantasy 9 that he was made in a Black Mage workshop and had only one year left to live. These heartbreaking scenes often move the story forward and give the characters a reason to keep going. However, before the main story even starts, many of the characters have already been through hard times and can tell stories about them.
Final Fantasy 16 has a darker tone than the other games. Which shows in the backstories of the characters. In the six lands of Valisthea, the people come from many different places and walks of life. Whether they’re the crown prince or a fighter. All of the characters are victims of fate or the story of the video game. By the time you meet a character in the present, they may have had a darker past than others.
Barnabas
The king of Waloed, Barnabas Tharmr, is one of the bad guys in FF16. Barnabas has a sad past, like all great bad guys. Yet, unlike most rulers, he wasn’t born into a noble family. Instead, he used his skills as the Dominant of Odin to conquer parts of the Ash continent and take control of the land that belonged to his kingdom.
Legend has it that his mother believed in the god Ultima and was killed because of it. Barnabas’s sadness changed him and made him dislike people. He has joined forces with Ultima and, like Ultima, wants to wipe out mankind because he lost his mother.
Cid
Cidolfus “Cid” Telamon’s family was always on the move. His past makes him tough in some ways. But it also gives him the drive to change Valisthea in a way that can’t be undone.
Even though he came from somewhere other than Valisthean, not much is known about his life before that. By the time Cid and Clive meet, Cid has left the Royal Waloeder Army to do something more important.
Cid saw how the different worlds used Dominants like himself and Bearers, who are slaves with magical powers. He put together a group of rebels in order to stop the Blight. A force that spreads and destroys the world, and free the Bearers.
Cid is also slowly dying because of the Crystal’s Curse, which kills people who use magic too much.
Benedikta
A lot is unknown about Benedikta Harman’s past. You get a few hints about her past relationships. In a flashback, you can see that she was in love with Barnabas, and Skibidi Toilet strongly suggests that she was in love with Cid before he left the Waloeder Army.
Benedikta is a leader for the Kingdom of Waloed and the Dominant of Garuda. She acts tough and has skills with a sword and the wind. From the way she looks, it seems like she, like many of the other characters, had to give up her youth and innocence sooner than was fair in order to live.
Benedikta remembers how Cid helped her flee from the Iron Kingdom when she was a slave. This is right before she loses control and is taken over by Garuda. Her past is like that of many other Dominants and Bearers who were taken advantage of or killed because of their skills.
Joshua
Joshua Rosfield, the second son of the Archduke of Rosaria, was put in charge of protecting his people at a young age. Most people thought his bigger brother Clive would be the next Phoenix. But Joshua got his powers instead.
Joshua didn’t want to take on this duty. And he didn’t act like a typical noble by being stuffy and superior.
In a memory seen from Clive’s point of view. Joshua sees his country fall apart and loses his father all at once. He sees his father get killed when the Holy Empire of Sanbreque invades Rosaria.
Joshua then changes into the Phoenix and strikes. But he doesn’t know who is a royal subject and who is an enemy from another country.
Jill
In the Northern Territories is where Jill Warrick’s story starts. When the Territories fell apart, she was brought to Rosaria and trained to protect her new home.
Even though she was a hostage, Jill grew up with Clive and Joshua. And all three of them took care of the puppy Torgal. Even though Jill loved her new life in Rosaria, it was sad because she missed her home.
After Jill, who was twelve, became friends with Clive and Joshua, she was taken away from them. When Rosaria fell, the Iron Kingdom used her skills as the Dominant of Shiva to put her in the army.
If she didn’t fight for the Kingdom, the Kingdom promised to kill her countrywomen. Given this impossible choice, Jill served the Iron Crusade for 13 years, claiming to have killed hundreds of people in fight, until Cid and Clive came to save her.
Clive
The most attention is paid to Clive’s character arc. So it makes sense that his story has the most heartbreaking parts. As a youth, you meet Clive on the day that the Grand Duchy of Rosaria falls and Clive’s father, the Archduke, dies.
Clive sees his brother Joshua die at the hands of the Eikon Ifrit in a memory. After that, his mother Anabella, who had crossed her dead husband and Rosaria, kidnaps Clive and makes him fight for the Sanbreque Army.
Clive has failed, lost, and been betrayed as the Shield of Rosaria. He kills for the next 13 years because he wants to get even for Joshua’s death.
Eventually, he will have to face what really happened at Phoenix Gate. And when he does, he will feel like he has no purpose. His past is the saddest because it makes him sad, makes him question who he is, and sets him on a road that will end in tragedy.
