Fans ofFinal Fantasyhave to wait a little longer for the eventual release of the upcomingFinal Fantasy 16. As per what the trailers revealed, it seemsSquare Enix’s new entry to the hit franchise will try to go back to the series' high fantasy setting. In the story, six factions arrive at the brink of war through Eikons, monsters summoned by gifted humans called Dominants.
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Additionally,FF16gameplay seems to combine the tactical premise of older titles with the real-time elements of recent games. However, given the scarcity of details on the full extent ofFF16’s gameplay features, just what exactly would be must-haves and must-skips of the upcoming title?
10Must Have: Crystals Take Center Stage
Stories of the firstFinal Fantasygames made a mark because of their unique takes on a persistent trope surrounding elemental crystals. Somehow, Warriors of Light gather to find and protect crystals, all of which evil empires plan on exploiting one way or the other.
Sadly, modernFinal Fantasygames tried to explore crystals again but failed to add to their relevance. For instance, despiteFF13’s setting that featured crystals, its story still focused on overwhelming lore surrounding the l’Cie and the Fal’Cie. InFF16, its story revolves around sixfactions on the verge of warbecause of crystals. Hopefully, this time around, crystals take center stage in the plot once more. That way,FF16can thematically serve as a “return” to previousFinal Fantasystory hooks.
9No Thanks: Flashy Aesthetics Ruin Immersion
Aside from its storyline, perhaps fans loveFinal Fantasyfor its impeccable choice in character design. After all, legends such as Yoshitaka Amano. Akihiko Yoshida, and Tetsuya Nomura gained popularity for their iconic designs across titles in the franchise. However, a constant reason for divide among fans would be the game’s choice for aesthetic and visual design.
Some fans argue that theflashy designsof some characters add to the otherworldly appeal of the franchise, as compared to other more medieval RPGs. For instance, Sephiroth’s rather unrealistically-long katana has become both his signature and a meme. However, such a concept might not work forFF16. After all, Valisthea’s high fantasy setting seems to demand a more grounded take onFinal Fantasy’s unique approach to character design.
8Must Have: Linear Isn’t Always Bad
Interestingly, despite the popularity of open-world titles, some hit RPGs are surprisingly linear in nature. For instance,God (Dad) of War, 2019 Game of the Year Awardee, won the title for its storytelling despite its straightforward approach to narrative. Likewise,The Last of Us 2foregoes massive exploration for its dynamic but linear narrative.
In fact,Final Fantasyfans against a linear approach might look at the contrast between the success ofFF10and the middling reception ofFF13. Given the critical reception ofFF10, it seemsFF16can achieve the same memorable narrative with linear storytelling, provided that each section has various offerings for players to begin with.
7No Thanks: Massively Empty Open World
Despite the middling reception ofFF15, one can’t deny that being able to explore the vast biospheres of Eos in a sports car with a boy-band troupe is nothing short of breathtaking. Sadly, aside from repetitive quests, bounties, fishing, and taking photos, there’s not much to do when free-roaming inFF15.
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In turn, this made the game’s rathersuddenly-linear second-halfa bit infuriating for some fans. Hopefully,FF16decides to do away with an open-but-empty world. Instead, they can rely on standard explorable “zones” as featured in previous titles. IfFF16doesn’t want to have a linear take on the story, perhaps the small-but-interactive zone system inFF12could makeFF16feel both open but fairly-restrictive at the same time.
6Must Have: Impactful Tactics With Active Battle Time Variation
Interestingly, three modernFinal Fantasytitles give fans the opportunity to compare three vastly-distinct battle systems. On the one hand,FF15boasts a fast-paced Active X Battle system. Meanwhile,FF14uses the Real Time Battle system to integrate the MMO’scooldown-resource balance.
Unlike recent titles,FF16seems to rely on both careful movement and pinpoint strikes. Interestingly, this game seems to resemble more ofFF7Remake’s Active Time Battle variation. In theFF7 Remake, battles happen in real-time but characters can only make impactful actions with enough ATB charges. In turn,FF16should probably adopt a similar system. Hopefully, the game allows players to switch between a “tactical mode” to plan actions or direct allies and a “real mode” to execute commands.
5No Thanks: Useless Grind, Missions
As an RPG,Final Fantasytitles always face the constant challenge of balancing character progression with an unnecessary grind. For instance, some players find certain spots notorious for lengthy grinds inFinal Fantasytitles. Moreover, even fans criticize the firstFinal Fantasygame for its excessive grinding to defeat its higher-level enemies.
Hopefully,FF16manages to create a decent character progression system that diversifies level-up options for players. After all, despite the potential of Valisthea as a location, things get pretty dull when players need to stick to the same area and tear through the same mobs. For instance,FF12has a Trial Modethat provides grinding opportunities for players by loading their Save Game state in a special arena.
4Must Have: Endgame Challenges, New Game Plus
Thankfully, some RPGs introduce diverse endgame challenges and concepts that provided reasons for players to stay even after finishing the main story. These include New Game Plus, harder modes, or better loot across playthroughs. Interestingly,FF16can improve the overall player experience by simply introducing endgame challenges and a comprehensive New Game Plus mode.
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In relation, fans praiseFF10’s endgame due to the challenging nature of Dark Aeon battles. Moreover, despite the middling reception,FF13offered more secrets and bosses to fight past the main story. Due to how Valisthea itself has six potential warring states, it makes sense for endgame content to at least explore some of these areas in-depth.
3No Thanks: Microtransactions For A Complete Experience
As mentioned, fans ofFF15feel divided when the need for updates and DLCs implied the “unfinished” state of the base game. After all, why settle for an unfinished gamewith required DLCsand updates instead of just taking more time to release a finished game?
In turn, some fans can get reasonably concerned aboutFF16getting a similar experience. Given its intense premise, fans hopeFF16has a base game that explores the story as a whole and only getting DLCs for optional content. Perhaps these DLCs could contain side stories, add quality-of-life features, or offer extra but optional new gameplay options.
2Must Have: A Sequel
Thanks toFF10andFF10-2, Square Enix realized that an impactful title could expand its story into a sequel. Granted,FF10-2(and evenFF13-2) didn’t make as much impact as its successful predecessor. However, the game made Square realize the potential of telling a new story featuring the same world and related protagonists.
If Square Enix is planning to expandFF16’s story in any way, perhaps the team could settle for a sequel with a complete story. Instead of relying on a sub-franchise with a whole host of spinoffs with no guarantee of success, hyping a sequel with complete content could probably retain theFF16fanbase for a long time. That way, Square could also completeFF16’s story with an ending twist that feels complete on its own but is still open for a sequel.
1No Thanks: Another Sub-Franchise
Hit titles of the franchise often expand into their own sub-franchises. For instance,FF7eventually got theCompilation of Final Fantasy 7metaseries that expanded lore on the Planet,the Shinra Electric Power Company, Midgar, and Lifestream. Likewise,FF13got itsFabula Nova Crystallisseries that focused on the game’s overarching mythos surrounding the world crystals. However, Square Enix hopefully doesn’t plan on withholding content fromFF16for the sake of expanding it into its own sub-franchise.
Remember, sub-franchises didn’t always work forFinal Fantasy. For instance, fans might barely remember thatFF15actually expanded its content into theFinal Fantasy 15 Universe. Sadly, the sub-franchise didn’t make as much impact as the aforementioned ones above.
