Cracking the action-RPGįinal Fantasy has long tried to break away from traditional turn-based combat in favor of real-time action, to varying degrees of success. In that sense, Final Fantasy XVI is completely in line with the rest of the series in taking a new approach to RPG gameplay … and it’s that gameplay that will ultimately make the reinvention a lot easier to swallow once fans actually get to feel it in action. It has to have a unique battle system, great graphics, great sound … and then chocobos and moogles! Final Fantasy XVI has all of those, so I think we’ve made something that feels like Final Fantasy.”ĭirector Hiroshi Takai perhaps puts it best when he points out that Final Fantasy games are about “challenging something new.” Mainline entries have always been completely separate games that explore their own worlds, characters, and systems. “It has to have that complex game experience. “For me, a Final Fantasy has to have that deep story,” producer Naoki Yoshida tells Digital Trends. Rather than drilling into specific references or systems, everyone on hand had a broader definition that they felt XVI fully conformed to, just like any other entry. During a roundtable interview with some of the game’s creative team, I asked what linked the project to other games in the series. Final Fantasy’s history is still present in summons and spell names, but it’s otherwise shocking to see bloodied bodies lining the castle floors or to hear characters dropping F-bombs. The deeper I get into the demo, the more I feel like I’m playing an action game with its own distinct identity. Instead, it compares it to a roller coaster ride, which is the feeling I get as I zip between combat encounters with my wolf companion like I would in Bayonetta 3 or Hi-Fi Rush. I’m not sure how indicative that is of the final game, but the development team on hand emphasized that Final Fantasy XVI is not an open-world game. It’s a surprisingly linear “dungeon” filled with square rooms, stone hallways, and only a small handful of extra corners to explore. During my demo, I find myself trekking up a dreary castle tower as I slash through rooms full of guards and watchdogs en route to a rooftop boss fight. That premise has me interested to see how both the hero and world will evolve over the course of the adventure.Īside from its high fantasy setting, the adventure quickly parts ways with the wider series once I go hands-on. What’s most intriguing about the narrative setup is that it’ll be told over a 30-year span, following Rosfield in his teens, 20s, and 30s. Instead, his younger brother, Joshua, is chosen to be Phoenix’s keeper, which appears to end in a tragedy worthy of vengeance. Rosfield was supposed to be born a “dominant,” which is a warden of the elements and the summons (dubbed “Eikons” here) associated with them. The grizzled swordsman is on a complicated revenge quest that weaves in classic Final Fantasy lore. The demo itself (which takes place about five hours into the story) didn’t reveal too much narrative, but I’m fully introduced to its protagonist, Clive Rosfield. The massive emphasis on story will include over 11 hours worth of cutscenes - and that’s not counting anything related to subquests. It’s about everything I’d expect from a classic entry in the series, with a multi-empire conflict set in the world of Valisthea that revolves around giant blue crystals and the people who seek to wield them. In a presentation before my hands-on session, I’m given a grand overview of the standalone game’s high fantasy setting. What’s particularly funny about Final Fantasy XVI is that it’s both a total departure and a return to form. Just don’t expect it to cater to your RPG nostalgia you have to be willing to meet it on its own modern terms. It’s a loud, thrilling spectacle anchored by the series’ best stab at hack-and-slash gameplay yet. Based on my short time with the demo (an unfinished slice of gameplay custom-built for press), Final Fantasy XVI feels like the confident cannonball the series has needed after dipping its toe into action for well over a decade. The good news is that developers at Square Enix’s Creative Business Unit III have not taken their responsibility lightly here.
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