Final Fantasy 16is one of the darker stories in the series. It begins with a battle as a younger Clive witnesses his brother, Joshua, getsdemolished by Ifrit. Not even the power of the Phoenix could protect Joshua from the blaze.
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That’s howFinal Fantasy 16wants players to think but this is a false narrative. Joshua is actually alive which is one of the game’s bigger early reveals. So, since young Joshua doesn’t bite it, fans may be wondering who does die in the game. There are plenty of real deaths to get to.
WARNING! Spoilers head.
7Benedikta
Benedikta was one of the earlier villains in the game. She was working hard to retrieve Jill from Clive and Cid from the resistance. Her kingdom wanted to harvest Shiva within Jill for all the power that she had. She was a devious witch but she did have her reasons for being so cutthroat.
Benedikta did some terrible things, but she was also human in the end. All she wanted was Cid’s love and respect, but her romance with him fell on deaf ears causing her to go berserk withGaruda inFinal Fantasy 16.
6Tiamat
Tiamat is a character who most are probably going to forget. He was one of the Branded soldiers that accompanied Clive at the start of the game. He’s also the one that saved Clive’s life after a boulder nearly killed him in an explosion while Titan and Shiva were fighting. Despite all that, Clive cut him down when Tiamat wanted to kill Jill.
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Clive did the right move to protect Jill, but he could have explained things better. If he told Tiamat that she was a long-lost love then maybe things would have played out differently. It’s so odd that Tiamat was a throwaway character when he had such a historic name that referenced one of the Four Fiends from theoriginalFinal Fantasy.
5Cid
Cid’s passing has to be the most tragic death in the game.Cid characters typicallydon’t die in this series, and if they do, it’s usually not this early. He was one of the most likable characters inFinal Fantasy 16who always lit up the screen with that sly smile of his. He was wise beyond his years but that did not stop Typhoon from absolutely wrecking him.
It was a sad death, but at least he did not die in vain. Cid would go on to be the symbol of the resistance as Clive took on his name kind of like a title. That aspect of the plot didn’t make a lot of sense since most knew he was still Clive, but the gesture was sweet enough.
4Anabella
If any character deserved to die, it would be Anabella. She was hungry for power and would do anything she could to get it. She sacrificed her husband and used her son, Clive, as a pawn to wage war across the land. She didn’t even care that much for her new husband, Sylvestre, and was more obsessed with naming her third son, Olivier, the new Emperor so that she could puppet his every move.
In the end, she got what was coming to her via a self-inflicted slit across the throat. Still, at that moment, it’s hard not to feel a little pity for her. If Joshua hadn’t “died” or if Clive was chosen as the Phoenix from the start then maybe she wouldn’t have been so bloodthirsty. Olivier’s death also did not help the situation.
3Kupka
Kupka is one of the dastardly villains in the game, but there are tragic portions of his death. For example, he probably would not have come after Clive and his friends at The Hideaway if he had not been tricked into doing so. Somebody went to the battlefield where Benedikta fell after her Garuda form was destroyed inFinal Fantasy 16.
They then cut off her head, mailed it to Kupka, and slipped a note in there saying it was from Cid. Given how things left off, it seems implausible that Cid would go back and do that. So, someone tricked Kupka, probably Ultima, and forced his hand to fight Clive. Then, in the end, he was defeated asTitan inFinal Fantasy 16and was left as a crumbling statue in the high heat of the desert.
2Sylvestre
Sylvestre is the Emperor of Sanbreque. He isn’t given a lot of limelight in the game, but his son Dion implies that he used to be a noble ruler. After marrying Anabella and conceiving a son, his mindset changed. He was being manipulated by Anabella who was being manipulated by Ultima to wage war across the land.
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This led to Dion killing his father after Sylvestre jumped in to save Olivier. It was a mistake that ultimately led to Dion going berserk andturning into Bahamutwhich then led to the destruction of homes and hundreds of innocent lives.
1Three Tragic Deaths, If True
This last entry is complicated because there is no concrete evidence that these characters are either alive or dead. If they are dead, it is tragic, and if they aren’t, it’s glorious. Let’s start with Dion who is last shown falling through the sky after fighting Ultima. His body is never shown hitting the ground, so it is possible Dion got saved. Death after a redemption arc is noble but still sad.
Joshua concretely dies during the battle with Ultima but then Clive gains Ultima’s power. It seems like he uses it to revive him. There is a book written by Joshua in the end scene but Joshua as a person is never seen again. Is he really alive? And what of Clive’s sacrifice? His death is the most tragic of all asClive is the main character ofFinal Fantasy 16. This is howFinal Fantasy 15ended too which shows that this series has become so somber as of late.
Final Fantasy 16was released on July 29, 2025, and is available on PS5.
