Is Final Fantasy 16's Story Just "Weird Kingdom Hearts Nonsense"?

Final Fantasy 16 has a complex story with many twists and turns. But now people are complaining and calling it "weird Kingdom Hearts Nonsense".

FFXVI Media Kit 02
Final Fantasy 16's story is now being called "weird Kingdom Hearts Nonsense" | © Square Enix

It's only been a short time since Final Fantasy 16 has been released, and already some people are complaining about the story of the game. But that is not all. According to them, the story is "Kingdom Hearts Nonsense" and it is Square Enix's famous director Tetsuya Nomura's fault... even though he didn't work on the game at all. So the questions is: Are they right?

Warning: This article has spoilers for the following Final Fantasy titles: FF1, FF7, FF10, FF14 Shadowbringers & Endwalker and FF16

Try out Final Fantasy 16 for yourself and discover its secrets!

Final Fantasy 16 Story = Kingdom Hearts Nonsense?

To start this off, let me explain why people are upset. Final Fantasy 16's story is full of twists and turns and some time travel shenanigans. This is a common theme in Square Enix's games, but one franchise is especially famous for it: Kingdom Hearts.

The Kingdom Hearts series is directed and written by Tetsuya Nomura. It is a complex story over many games, and from the outside it might seem super weird to strangers. But as every fan will tell you, the story isn't that complicated if you play the games in order. Of course, after twenty years and over 15 games, you can't simply jump in.

Why not find out for yourself and dive into Kingdom Hearts? Here is a compilation of the franchise .

That isn't the issue, though. The real problem is peopleare now pointing at Nomura and blaming him for story decisions in FF16 that they don't like:

Now let's debunk this, shall we?

Tetsuya Nomura did not work on Final Fantasy 16 in any way, and Final Fantasy has always had weird shenanigans!

This franchise has some of the most fascinating and mind baffling stories, and FF16 fits right in. If you don't believe me, here are some examples:

  • FF1 is one big time loop
  • FF7 is literally about an alien invading and infecting humanity
  • FF10 is one big time travel shenanigan
  • FF14 has two different big time travel events

As you can see, Final Fantasy has always dealt with interesting story decisions, and I haven't even included all the God slaying or people not staying dead, when they should! (looking at you Zenos)

In short: No, FF16 is not "weird Kingdom Hearts Nonsense". Instead, it is weird Final Fantasy Nonsense!

Now let's enjoy Final Fantasy 16 with all its wacky choices and delve into the world of Alisthea.

Susanne Ehls

Susanne grew up in a gamer household, which made her fall in love with video games. She managed to turn her passion into her job, by working as an intern at EarlyGame and later being promoted to Junior Content Creator....