Will Final Fantasy XVI and Its DLC Ever Make Jill Feel More Important?

I hated how Final Fantasy XVI handled Jill. Despite being a Dominant, for most of the game she feels like she exists to elevate Clive and provide motivations for his actions. Now that I’ve gone through the Echoes of the Fallen DLC for Final Fantasy XVI, it feels like another reminder that the game’s heroine isn’t getting her due.

Jill’s existence as an accessory for Clive kicks off in the story’s beginning. While she’s shown growing up alongside Clive and Joshua and being present before the events that set things in motion, she’s quickly left behind. She’s there to act as a foil to the more important Rosfield brothers during their introduction, then quickly disappears onto the sidelines while the two of them head to the life-changing events at Phoenix Gate.

Throughout the main game, I always felt like Jill is sort of there. She reflects attention back onto Clive, rather than getting moments of her own. In other Final Fantasy games, I can remember memorable quotes or moments where heroines got to say something meaningful or they really stand out. (I still remember Yuna’s “I’ve learned how to smile, even when I’m feeling sad” and Tifa’s “Words aren’t the only way to tell someone how you feel.”) That doesn’t happen for Jill. Which is funny, because it does happen for Benedikta, another female character here who appears far too briefly, but gets to be the focal point and great lines like “Know your place little lamb. Fool is the shepherd that heeds every bleat of the flock, and I will suffer yours no longer.”

Jill doesn’t even get to be the focal point for her arc of the story. When Jill and Clive head to the Iron Kingdom, we see her sort of lead the way through and a brief interaction with Lady Marleigh. However, I was hoping for a more cathartic moment for Jill. For her to get to turn on her oppressors or perhaps even be playable for that boss fight before the smashing of the Mothercrystal. Except… she isn’t. Square Enix had a perfect moment for her to be the star of her section of the story and get justice for things that happened to her, and instead she steps back, puts up some ice walls, and lets Clive be the one to do it all again. One of the few things we know about her is that when she was the Iron Kingdom’s captive, the Patriarch of the Orthodoxy and his minions forced her to fight while threatening to kill and abuse children and harm her, she allowed herself to be their slave to protect them, and we don’t get to see her protect and avenge them that final time.

When I realized one of the prerequisites to starting the Final Fantasy XVI Echoes of the Fallen DLC was to complete her “Priceless” side quest, I hoped maybe that meant that her being present meant Jill would get some real development here that wasn’t in the main game. But, unfortunately, that isn’t so. This first add-on is satisfying, in its way. Especially if you wanted more strong fights to undertake. It’s just so she can yet again be an accessory. Someone to fight alongside Clive and offer extra support to him, rather than get meaningful dialogue or character development all her own. We definitely learn about the dusk Mothercrystal, see the inside of new Fallen ruins, and learn about the tribe that relied on those crystals to survive. But instead of anything new to add to her story or even the lore in general, we find this new group of people will “find a way to survive” and are left wondering about the fate of the world again.

It also makes me less optimistic about The Rising Tide DLC for Final Fantasy XVI, in a way. Because it’s already been established it will send us to Mysidia and deal with Leviathan, the missing Eikon. In my mind, that makes me think Leviathan and its Dominant will be the stars of the story-focused expansion. Which is good! More story is always a great thing! But it could be bad for Jill, as it means yet another person to push her further out of the spotlight.

I did enjoy Final Fantasy XVI and liked Echoes of the Fallen, but I’m losing faith in Creative Business Unit III possibly redeeming itself when it comes to Jill. The character deserved so much more, and the main and supplemental storyline never gave her any chance to grow and stand tall as an independent, unique character in the way Clive, Joshua, and supporting cast members like Dion and Benedikta do.

Final Fantasy XVI is available for the PS5, with the Echoes of the Fallen DLC out now. The Rising Tide DLC will appear in Spring 2024. A PC version of the game is also on the way.