Square Enix has just announced the upcoming release of a new Final Fantasy lore book, Logos: The World of Final Fantasy XVI, and the fans have gone into a frenzy wondering what it could contain. The book has the titular narrator, Harpocrates, the in-game scholar; it describes the distant past of Valisthea while revealing secrets and insights not to be found in the game itself. The icing on the cake: guest writing from the voice cast, including Ben Starr as Clive, Stewart Clarke as Dion, and Christopher York as Gav, making this a must-have for any die-hard fan.
The announcement tweet from the official Square Enix Final Fantasy XVI account immediately sent shockwaves through the Final Fantasy XVI community, with hordes of excited players responding to the post. Uma Flame acclaimed, “I preordered both books and cannot wait for them to release! I’m so happy there’s more Final Fantasy XVI stuff coming out. It’s my favorite FF, and Clive is my favorite FF character.” That kind of energy resonated throughout everything, and JJ 💙 jokingly said, “I cannot wait to lose two days reading this whole thing in one sitting.”
Then came a few less-than-celebratory comments, such as one from June panicking about the possibility that they might not ship to Switzerland (“I’ve got a lot of French friends HAHAH”), whereas Takumi’s husband wondered, “okay but how can i get it in korea?” Meanwhile, some were already feeling the pinch in their wallets: “oh great another book I can’t NOT buy 😩🥹,” mourned Ami.
A handful of naysayers always remind one that no hype train is ever complete. EggfuckingDragoon (yes, that is indeed a username) pondered: “Too bad the story and world building sucked.” That said, those negative voices hardly register against the roaring rally of support, including Ben Starr cultists clamoring for an audiobook: “Ben when will you narrate the audio book version?”
Curiosity lurks behind the wall of hype. Giving a recount through Harpocrates of the history of Valisthea, with some firsthand accounts from Clive and friends, players are excited to finally see how much of the lore comes out. Another player, JJ 💙, jokingly said certain characters (cough Barnabas) wouldn’t exactly be reliable narrators (“I don’t see how Barnabas could have contributed 😅😅😅”).
Pre-orders are flying off shelves, thanks in large part to super-fan Sarina 💫, who pre-ordered both this and the new FFXVI art book immediately. The hype seems extremely personal, seeing as the project is voice-acted by the cast of the game itself. As ProfNoctis said to Ben Starr: “Genuinely, this has skyrocketed to my most wanted item. Thank you for your ongoing work with this character.”
And when is that release date again? The elusive answer is still unknown—twitter replies are made up of memes about a “sort of… in about a year…” timeline, yet no official date has actually been given. Therefore, to fill the gap, players will have to yell into the void (and Square Enix’s Twitter replies) while impatiently refreshing and tracking numbers.
Enough of this talk: this is the deep lore treatment right at the heart of what Final Fantasy XVI has been meant for, and the fans are all aboard. Be it a Clive stan, a Valisthea trivia buff, or just one that never refuses pretty hardcovers, Logos looks to be the next obsession. Now if only Square Enix would hurry up and take our money.
