If you’ve paid any attention at all to Final Fantasy XVI, you likely already know how action-forward this game is. It’s easily the farthest a mainline Final Fantasy game has ever been from its traditional turn-based roots, with FFXVI being easily the most action-heavy yet. That’s not surprising, though, considering the game’s combat director is Ryota Suzuki, a former Capcom developer with nearly 20 years of experience designing the action in games like Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Devil May Cry 4, and most recently, Devil May Cry 5. 

With such a personal connection to Devil May Cry, I couldn’t resist asking: Who would win in a one-on-one fight: FFXVI protagonist Clive or Devil May Cry 5 lead Dante? Suzuki had to answer this question with two of his bosses right beside him – FFXVI director Hiroshi Takai and producer Naoki Yoshida – so perhaps we should take this answer with a grain of salt. But I don’t know, having played both Devil May Cry 5 and two hours of FFXVI during a recent hands-on preview (read about that here), I’m inclined to believe him. 

His answer, with a sly smile and a laugh: Clive. 

Suzuki says Clive’s Eikonic abilities, which allow him to tap into the power of Eikons like Phoenix and Titan, give him the ultimate edge. And just for fun, I asked who would win in a fight between Clive and Nero. 

“Clive.” 

There you have it, very specific fans of both Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry 5 like me; Clive wins.