I spent roughly 34 hours completing Final Fantasy 16, and while I had a positive experience overall, I don't feel that the game lived up to the potential shown in the demo. The graphics look great, especially in the Eikon battles, but there are some significant framerate issues even on performance mode.

The sidequests go nowhere. Up to around the halfway point I was completing all of them, but the fetch quest format and lack of any real reward really dissuaded me from completing them after that point. Really disappointing.

The main story is interesting, but falls off a bit in the final third. No character besides Clive receives any development, and Jill, the main sidekick/love interest, is relegated to the sidelines entirely for the final battle, a move that was honestly baffling after the previous hours spent promising each other they'd fight together and seeing the romance increase. Jill as a character is disappointing; she ends up just a blank slate waifu-bait character that at the end of the day does nothing for the story. 

Where the game shines is in its combat. There's a lot of room to do fun combos, and the Eikon abilities that you unlock throughout the game are fun. It is a bit easy, even with the game set to Action mode and with no assists on. Regular enemies pose no threat at all, and miniboss and boss characters are a bit spongey while also not being particularly dangerous. It's a testament to the core fun of the combat system that I remained interested throughout despite my other issues with the game.

All in all, I enjoyed the game. It kept my interest for 34 hours, and I never found myself bored during the (numerous and lengthy) cutscenes. I'm just a little disappointed that it doesn't quite live up to the demo.