Final Fantasy 16’s Sex Is A Welcome Break From MCU-Era Entertainment

That’s not really the point, though. Final Fantasy 16‘s sex scenes (such as they are) are significantly less important than the fact that sex clearly exists in this universe. Many of the game’s primary characters are even driven by their sexual desires. Though they sometimes weaponize those desires (or fall victim to them), sex in Final Fantasy 16 is more often treated as not just a part of many relationships but as a part of the human experience. For a game that is clearly interested in making many of its major characters feel like actual people, having those characters discuss, desire, and, yes, have sex ends up being an important part of that seemingly simple goal.

More importantly, Final Fantasy 16‘s acknowledgment of its characters’ sexual desires and activities feels far more refreshing than it should at a time when so many examples of MCU-era blockbusters sexualize their characters without ever acknowledging sex in a meaningful way. As many others have previously pointed out, the MCU is a place where some of the most physically attractive actors in the world go to never have sex or even have their characters express basic sexual desires. Even the most compelling MCU relationships (Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter, Wanda and Vision) have largely been devoid of even the simplest sexual acts or other showcases of physical intimacy. It wasn’t until Eternals that an MCU movie featured anything that was even close to a sex scene. Despite the hype, though, that scene ended up being confusingly basic and somehow even tamer than the smoldering glances the MCU typically relies on.

It’s not just the MCU, though. So many modern blockbusters in the MCU era of popular entertainment have turned to the idea of “sexy, but not sexual.” As noted above, that’s a model that Final Fantasy has also followed for quite some time. Sometimes, the decision to cut certain sexualized content comes down to censorship requests from a rating board or similar governing organizations. In more recent years, though, more and more major pieces of entertainment have simply decided to ignore such subjects out of fear that they may alienate even hypothetical groups of viewers.

Granted, there have been numerous controversies over the years regarding mishandled sex scenes and inappropriate behavior on film and television sets. However, that’s not what I’m talking about in this instance. This isn’t about forcing actors into situations they are uncomfortable with. This isn’t about putting explicit sexual scenes in PG-13 or Teen entertainment. This isn’t even about the immediate return of the kind of explicitly sexual erotic thrillers that were so popular in the ’80s and ’90s. No, my real concern is with the many modern pieces of blockbuster entertainment that are scared to even acknowledge sex, much less portray characters who consider sex to be a noteworthy part of their lives.

I know there are a lot of (often valid) concerns that come with how sex is portrayed in entertainment. What I don’t know is when or why so many people in power seemingly decided that the most acceptable solution to those concerns was to ignore the subject entirely whenever possible. Well, that’s not a solution. It’s a dangerous concession with ramifications that may not properly be felt until the actual solution to this debate becomes much more complicated and far more important. It’s also one of the reasons why entertainment made for adults is becoming an endangered species at a time when the idea of “never growing up” is being catered to and exploited at an alarming rate.

Well, Final Fantasy is finally growing up. Mind you, Final Fantasy 16 is not a perfect example of how to showcase and discuss sex in video games. It may not even be a perfect example of how to showcase and discuss sex in a Final Fantasy game. What it is, though, is a rare step forward for a major franchise that was previously content to do what so many major franchises do about sex: pretty much nothing.