What is the essence of Final Fantasy? It’s a question that has frequently come to mind during the preview period for Final Fantasy 16, due out next month.
While the game returns to a medieval setting and retains certain hallmarks of the series, it’s also something of a departure with its action combat and streamlined modernisation. Some fans have lamented the lack of turn-based combat; others feel this game just isn’t the Final Fantasy they know and love.
At a recent hands-on preview, I had the chance to interview producer Naoki Yoshida, art director Hiroshi Minagawa, and localisation director Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, so I had to ask them this question.
Final Fantasy 16Publisher: Square EnixDeveloper: Square EnixPlatform: PS5Availability: Out 22nd June on PS5
Amusingly, they all had different answers.
“For me, I think it’s about challenging something new,” said Minagawa. “If you look at Square Enix’s IPs Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, the biggest difference between those two, I think, is if you look at the Final Fantasies, they’re always trying to challenge something and try something new. And as a developer, I think: ‘ok, if I’m going to work on Final Fantasy, I have to follow in those footsteps. I have to challenge something and try something new as well'”.
“It’s one of those really hard questions in that, you want to have that Final Fantasy feel. So what is the Final Fantasy feel? Is it the characters? Is it the monsters? Is it the dialogue?” posed Koji Fox.
“There are things that are different every time. But I think in the end, it’s about having a unique story with each one, but still have them feel like they’re somehow connected, which is a very difficult thing, because the worlds are all different, characters are all different, the settings are all different. But when you play a Final Fantasy, you know it’s a Final Fantasy”.
And why is that?
Said Koji Fox: “It’s because you have these threads that go throughout the series, you have your Moogles, you have your spell names, you have your weapon names, and there are all those callbacks to everything that don’t require any prior knowledge, but for someone that has played the past ones, they can enjoy it doubly.”