Final Fantasy 16's Torgal Is Driving Real Dogs Barking Mad

Final Fantasy 16's Torgal, who's a giant grey dog for those unfamiliar, is driving dogs in the real world barking mad.

Torgal is one of protagonist Clive's companions in the game, and when players aren't fighting savage monsters or evil knights, an option to pet Torgal becomes available.

Clive will kneel down and pet Torgal if players press X nearby, and it's this mechanic that's causing such a fuss for dogs in the real world.

I'm watching my brothers dog and she won't let me pet Torgal. Loses her mind if I try. She barely accepts him being on screen right now. pic.twitter.com/k4sqbGoSah

— Alan (@LastGunslinger9) June 26, 2023

Reddit user Luthalis was the first to share their dog's reaction. Posting a video on Reddit titled "Torgal keeps making my dog jealous", Luthalis showed their dog getting antsy when petting Torgal in the game.

"I'm watching my brother's dog and she won't let me Pet Torgal," added a Twitter user (above). "Loses her mind if I try. She barely accepts him being on screen right now."

Another user follow up with a similar video, in which their dog runs across the room and jumps towards the TV when Clive kneels down to pet Torgal on the screen.

"I too would be jealous of another dog with near human intelligence and Digimon powers", said one user in the replies. "You versus the dog they told you not to worry about," said another.

Petting Torgal has otherwise been a hot topic in the Final Fantasy 16 community as only around 40% of users have so far achieved the trophy tied to doing so. While this does require five separate pets, some players can't fathom why this trophy tally isn't higher.

"This is even worse than it seems because the dog is with you throughout the whole game and can be pet anytime," said one user in the replies to the aforementioned tweet. "Why wouldn't you pet Torgal after each successful hunt?"

Final Fantasy 16 launched June 22 to generally positive fan reception, with players obsessing over Cid's voice actor and a new feature called Active Time Lore. The game also shows a lot of love for the franchise's past, with its intro being directly inspired by the original 1987 game and a reference to a beloved character.

In our 9/10 review, IGN said: "Featuring fast, reflex driven, action heavy combat, Final Fantasy 16 is certainly a departure from what fans may expect out of a Final Fantasy game, but its excellent story, characters, and world building are right up there with the best the series has to offer, and the innovative Active Time Lore feature should set a new standard for how lengthy, story-heavy games keep players invested in its world."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.