Final Fantasy 16's Clive know you're incredibly down bad for his character.
Speaking at the Voices from Valisthea panel at PAX 2023 over the past weekend, actor Ben Starr, who plays Clive in Final Fantasy 16, was asked which part of his character resonated with fans the most. Starr spoke about trying to pour his heart and soul into the character, before admitting defeat and realizing that everyone just loves his character's chest.
"The two things that have resonated with people are his chest," Starr said to rapturous applause from the live audience. "But it's not just his chest," Starr continued, every word playing on the audience's humor. "It's his waist. It's his ass. Because it's quite well documented that I do watch people stream the game, and believe me, I have watched you all."
"I have watched you all pause the game, I have watched you all screengrab pictures of his crotch to your thousands and thousands of viewers. You are shameless, and I love you all," Starr concluded. "That's your answer?" retaliated lead localizer Michael Christopher Koji Fox, seemingly unable to believe what he was hearing (which is rich coming from the guy responsible for the Caulk and Bawl quest).
For a great example of how Starr loves to lurk in streams of Final Fantasy 16, check out the clip below. The streamer, predictably, asks for a soundbite of Clive saying "thanks girl" to Ambrosia the Chocobo, to which someone referred to as "Mr Starr" delivers a digital bonk on the head to the streamer.
#FF16 fans never forget that ben starr is always lurking in the shadowswe're never safe pic.twitter.com/7LTrWuAFvlSeptember 1, 2023
Yes, that is Ben Starr, watching someone be desperately down bad for his character, and by extension, his voice. There's countless other examples of streamers and Twitter users being down bad for Clive, and the amount who've been greeted by Starr himself on their streams is unbelievable.
Elsewhere at the panel, game producer Naoki Yoshida announced Final Fantasy 16's PC port was finally in the works, alongside with two DLC instalments. Yoshida hopes he can deliver more news about the two announcements before the year is out.
Last month in August, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said we'd "hear more" about Final Fantasy 16 on Xbox Series X/S soon, keeping hope alive for millions around the world.
