Final Fantasy XVI’s Character Designer Originally Wanted to Give Clive Rosfield Silver Hair Raised Upward

Famitsu recently interviewed the character designer for the recently released action RPG Final Fantasy XVI, Kazuya Takahashi. He discussed his thought process regarding the designs of several characters, though his reveals about Clive provide some…interesting comments.

You can view the translated exchange below via our team’s Ryuji:

Interviewer: Clive goes through three phases in the story: Childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. What was your design concept for each, and what were you conscious of when designing?

Takahashi: I was given the context that Rosaria, the country he’s from, is a small country that is not financially rich, and for his clothes and sword to be in a normal medieval setting. So even though he is a prince, I wanted him to be able to fight solidly, not flamboyantly.

[…] The muscular body of his adult model was designed with an overseas perspective in mind. Furthermore, as an initial idea for Clive, I was thinking of silver-colored hair with his hair up. However, when I reviewed the plot after it had been properly finalized, I realized that the character had a lot of difficulties with that kind of design, so I changed him back to his dark black hair to better portray the shadowy atmosphere that was closer to the story.

We’re obviously hamming it up a bit, but that initial design choice for Clive’s hairstyle does seem at least somewhat similar to Vergil from Devil May Cry. I guess the similarities to that series extend further beyond combat.

You can download the official Final Fantasy XVI demo now.

Check out the game’s official launch art and message from the developers.

In case you missed it, check out our review.

Final Fantasy XVI is a more action-heavy entry than its predecessors, with a Devil May Cry V designer even taking the helm. Throughout the title, players will control the protagonist, Clive, as he confronts various Dominants, humans who have been cursed with the power to become Eikons.

Clive is the “First Shield of Rosaria,” sworn to protect his younger brother Joshua, who’s the Dominant of Phoenix. However, following a certain tragedy, Clive swears revenge on the Dark Eikon Ifrit.

The producer, Naoki Yoshida, describes this game as akin to his experience with the first Final Fantasy, as “playing the lead in an epic motion picture.” The reasoning for this title’s action-oriented approach and more classical fantasy setting was to “appeal to as wide a range of gamers as possible.” Moreover, “there will be a “comprehensive support system in place for players who aren’t too confident with action games.”

Final Fantasy XVI is now available for PlayStation 5.