Only certain parts of players' Final Fantasy 16 save games transfer into NG+. After players complete the campaign, FF16 provides the option to start a New Game Plus. This allows players to experience the game from the beginning, carrying over some of their progress. It's a great way to keep the gameplay interesting even after the main story is complete, providing a fresh experience even on a second or third playthrough. Players can now blitz through areas that once gave them trouble, explore places and abilities they missed, or try alternate strategies in boss fights they already know how to win.
In keeping with an effort to make repeated playthroughs feel fresh, FF16's NG+ mode also adds a couple of new features to the game. Players shouldn't always expect the FF16 NG+ experience to be an easy blitz through underleveled groups of enemies; in some ways, the game can be more challenging the second time around. With these changes and new additions to NG+, players can ensure that their second journeys through Valisthea and beyond are still full of surprises.
Related: A "Modern Masterpiece": Final Fantasy 16 Review
All weapons, equipment, accessories, and items collected carry over into FF16's NG+ mode. Purchased abilities and unspent ability points transfer, too, so Clive can launch his most powerful attacks at low-level goblins from the very beginning. Clive will also remain at the highest level he obtained in the player's original save. In short, all of Clive's combat abilities and equipment transfer over into NG+, so players can start with their full combat prowess. There's no need to retrieve weapons or equipment that players already picked up the first time around, or unlock abilities from the beginning of the skill tree.
All obtained Eikons also carry over to FF16's NG+ mode, along with any powers players have unlocked for them on the skill tree. Obtaining these powerful summons while traveling around Valisthea is a big part of FF16's plot, so Clive starting out with all the Eikons at his disposal doesn't quite mesh with the story. However, following the story probably isn't the player's primary concern on a NG+ run. To that end, FF16 lets players skip the lengthy intro on repeat playthroughs and get right into the heart of the game, starting after the timeskip. Of course, it's still possible to play through the first few sequences of the game on NG+ - it's just optional.
Besides the standard Story Focused and Action Focused difficulties players can choose from on their first run of FF16, starting a NG+ save opens up a third, infinitely more challenging difficulty option - Final Fantasy Mode. Final Fantasy Mode makes all existing enemies more powerful and sprinkles a few even harder ones throughout the map. In some levels, it changes how enemies are distributed - players might encounter more opposition in cramped areas. Unlike the other difficulty modes, this one can't be changed mid-game. Once players start a run on this level, they're locked into it until they finish. Starting a totally new game is possible, but none of the player's progress from their first run or their NG+ will carry over.
Related: Is FF16 Even A Final Fantasy Game?
Naturally, there are options to mitigate this difficulty. FF16's Final Fantasy Mode raises Clive's level cap to 100, allowing him to continue gaining power and rising to ever-increasing challenges. Players can also use the additional ability points gained from these extra levels to unlock sectors of the skill tree they've never before explored, giving them new options in battle. There are also new crafting recipes available in NG+ for players who want to gain an edge in a tough fight.
Crafting and upgrading equipment is a big part of leveling Clive up in FF16, and that doesn't stop where NG+ starts. During a first-time playthrough, each weapon can be upgraded up to three times before maxing out its stats. In NG+, however, there are six tiers of weapon upgrades. The final tier not only changes a weapon's stats but also its name, signifying that its upgrades are so extensive that it's barely even recognizable from its original form.
Starting a NG+ save in Final Fantasy Mode also unlocks the ability to craft the Ultima Weapon. This is a kind of catch-all term throughout the FF series for any number of all-powerful or signature weapons, which are almost always very difficult to come by. In FF16, there's no exception: players will have to complete the game on one of the standard modes first, start a NG+ on the highest difficulty available, and gather the necessary materials in order to wield the Ultima Weapon.
To support all the extra crafting FF16 players will be doing in NG+, the loot that enemies drop (and that's found throughout the world) also changes across the entire game. Players on NG+ may find that they now have an excess of materials that were rare during their first playthrough.
In order to get a Platinum Trophy for any PS5 game, players have to complete 100% of it and obtain all the other available trophies. Since one of the gold tier trophies, "Fantasy, Finally," requires players to beat the game on Final Fantasy Mode, FF16 completionists will want to ensure that they make an endgame save after finishing their first run. Getting the platinum trophy for FF16 means playing it through fully twice: once on a standard difficulty to unlock Final Fantasy Mode, and once again on the highest difficulty possible. The other trophies are relatively easy to obtain during the normal course of the game, so this is probably the most time-consuming one on the list.
FF16's New Game Plus feature is more than a way for players to carry over progress from one save to another. While it certainly does just that, transferring all the equipment and abilities players have gained during their first playthrough into a new one, it adds many more options the second time around. Players can challenge themselves with a new difficulty level, or search high and low for the materials to craft the Ultima Weapon. Some will try for the platinum trophy, while others will just sit back and enjoy Clive's story over again from the beginning. However, players choose to experience it, Final Fantasy 16's NG+ mode certainly has some surprises in store, even for the repeat player.
Source: FINAL FANTASY/YouTube