Is Final Fantasy XVI’s sprawling medieval epic not enough? After the game’s release was met with critical acclaim, fans are already begging Creative Business Unit III to keep the good times rolling and make DLC for the latest entry in the long-running franchise.
While the developers have kept quiet on if we will see DLC, there is one major mystery the game leaves unanswered that would be the perfect expansion — Leviathan.
In Final Fantasy XVI’s world of Valisthea, special people called Dominants hold the ability to turn into powerful Eikons. These are giant kaiju-like creatures that take the form of Final Fantasy’s many summons and are also the central part of the game’s stunning boss battles. Eight Eikons are seen throughout the game. While a ninth Eikon, Leviathan, is mentioned players never see it or its Dominant. This may partly be due to the large role Leviathan played in Final Fantasy XV, as the star of one of the game’s most stunning sequences.
Leviathan has shown up throughout Final Fantasy’s 35-year history and appears as a giant sea serpent. The water summon has two major teases in Final Fantasy XVI. The first is a large mural that shows Ultima and the many Eikons Clive and company encounter throughout the plot. Leviathan is depicted on this mural and Joshua comments that “Even Leviathan the Lost is here.” The mystery of how an Eikon could disappear from the world is a tantalizing plot thread and would be perfect for post-launch DLC.
In an interview with Game Informer, producer Naoki Yoshida said that “while we always want to consider DLC or spinoffs ... first we want to see if Valisthea and Clive are really things players around the world want to see more of and then make that decision.” Well, fans have loved the game, and the cry for DLC is loud and clear.
There are several possible ways that DLC could flesh out and reveal more about Leviathan’s whereabouts in Final Fantasy XVI. The first question is where did Leviathan go? An obvious answer would be that Leviathan was somehow completely erased as an Eikon. Though this is a complicated task due to how the game establishes through Phoenix’s connection to the Rosfields that Eikons live in bloodlines and will reincarnate themselves in a new Dominant when the past Dominant dies.
If Leviathan truly is gone then an entire bloodline would need to be wiped out. If the lore embraces this answer then DLC could take the Final Fantasy XV route and put players in the shoes of a new character — in this case the last Dominant of Leviathan — and reveal how the Eikon was defeated.
Another, and potentially more interesting option, comes in the moniker Joshua gives Leviathan. By calling it “the Lost” it could mean just that, Leviathan disappeared. Since it has been established that Eikons reincarnate themselves, the absence of Leviathan could point to its Dominant still being alive — just missing.
Considering the game implies Leviathan has been MIA for a while we could be introduced to a Dominant much later in their life who has seen much more of history play out. It is also possible the Blight has infected the waters of Valisthea and Leviathan is somewhere in the oceans attempting to combat this or has succumbed to some kind of slumber. DLC could have Clive setting out on a new adventure to search out the lost Dominant.
While we still don’t have confirmation that DLC is happening, Leviathan and the mystery of its whereabouts show that there is potential for more stories to be told in the world of Valisthea.
