The main protagonist of Final Fantasy 16 is called Clive
Crystal clear.
Square Enix has pulled back the curtain on Final Fantasy 16's setting and setup, and confirmed the name of its main protagonist: Clive.
Clive Rosfield, to give him his full name, is the young knight and the tattooed man in the Final Fantasy 16 Awakening trailer, producer Naoki Yoshida confirmed in a post on the PlayStation Blog.
"The firstborn son of the Archduke of Rosaria, Clive is a Shield who protects his younger brother Joshua, the Dominant of the Phoenix," Yoshida said.
"Joshua bestowed the Blessing of the Phoenix upon him, giving Clive the ability to wield a part of the Eikon's fire. However, as the story unfolds, he is swept up into a great tragedy."
So far so very Final Fantasy. And it gets even more Final Fantasy as 16 takes place in a land called Valisthea, "which is studded with colossal mountains of glittering crystal called Mothercrystals."
That's right, more crystals!
"These Mothercrystals have towered over the realms around them for generations, blessing them with aether. This blessing of the Mothercrystals has allowed these realms to thrive, and their people to live in comfort," Yoshida explained.
"Countless wars have been fought over the Mothercrystals all around the land, leading to the rise of nations such as the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, the Kingdom of Waloed, the Dhalmekian Republic, and the Iron Kingdom, each with their own culture and ideology. Ongoing skirmishes have forged an uneasy peace between these nations, but with the emergence of the ruinous Blight, that fragile peace is starting to deteriorate."
That's the setup. Back to Clive. The aforementioned Joshua Rosfield is Clive's younger brother and also the Dominant of the Phoenix - Eikon of Fire. Dominants are special beings who have the power of an Eikon inside them. And as a Dominant, Joshua transforms into the Phoenix and fights to protect his nation. We see this happen in the trailer.
"Even though he was born into royalty, Joshua treats everyone with kindness, but he does have his childlike side, too, with a particular dislike of carrots."
Now that I can get behind. Carrots suck.
Clive and Joshua find a "confidant" in Jill Warrick, who was raised alongside them. This is starting to sound like a 90s British sitcom. Perhaps set in a bedsit.
"At an early age, Jill was taken from her homeland in the Northern Territories - a nation that swore loyalty to the Grand Duchy of Rosaria - to become a ward of the duchy, securing peace between the two realms. She spends her childhood years with Clive and Joshua as a member of the Rosfield household."
The Eikons, of course, are the Summons of Final Fantasy fame. In the Awakening trailer, we see Eikons such as the Phoenix, Titan, Shiva, and Ifrit.
Yoshida said Square Enix's next big Final Fantasy 16 announcement will be made at some point in 2021.
Until then, here's to Clive and chums!