Naoki Yoshida and the Square Enix teams are back for the release of Final Fantasy XVI. The next game of the flagship license promises to be titanic, in every sense of the word. Here are the essential things to know about it.
[Mis à jour le 29 juin 2022 à 17h56] Final Fantasy fans got their money’s worth during Summer Game Fest 2022. After a Playstation State of Play and a long Square Enix conference, it’s now Naoki Yoshida’s turn to speak about Final Fantasy XVI in a Playstation blog post. The Japanese star producer unveiled the many novelties and new features of this sixteenth installment of the famous RPG franchise. There is a lot of information, especially in terms of gameplay and the various features of the game, enough to make the mouths of fans so much this ultimate opus only reserved for the PS5 seems beautiful and ambitious.
New story and gameplay updates
Although Final Fantasy 16 has been pushed back to next year, Naoki Yoshida gave us something to wait for during his interview for the Playstation Blog. The Japanese producer spoke first about the story of this next release, which should be more ambitious than ever: “We want to give players the feeling of stepping into an epic movie by providing a jaw-dropping experience through an engaging story, dramatic cutscenes, and real-time combat.“The idea being to provide a breathtaking experience for players while expanding the possibilities for the franchise.
Of course, the game leans towards very action-focused gameplay, with long and epic real-time battles. By choosing to shelve the turn-based system so dear to the saga, Yoshida is aware of frustrating a large part of his more mature community, but justifies this choice by the desire to broaden the horizons of the game to address to a younger audience, sometimes having never gotten their hands on a previous Final Fantasy game. Also note that the game will not be an open-world, and that only one playable character has so far been confirmed: Clive. It will, of course, have fully AI-driven companions that will give the player different options if they want to take on a more support-oriented role.
At the center of the plot of this new Final Fantasy, we also find the Eikons, these creatures of colossal power controlled by Dominants. Yes, because in Valisthéa (the name of the world of FF16) humans can become masters of titans, and take advantage of their power to influence the world around them. In the new Final Fantasy trailer above, we’re introduced to two new characters, both Dominants from “Primordials.” Benedicta Harman and Hugo Kupka played their respective powers to gain influential positions in the kingdom. And their opposition could have titanic proportions with incredible cinematic potential. You can of course consult the full interview with Naoki Yoshida on the official Playstation blog.
A new trailer
A major novelty at the beginning of June: new images of Final Fantasy XVI. Called “Dominance”, this short sequence teaches us a little more about the plot of this sixteenth opus. We can discover some images of the medieval fantasy world of Valisthéa, which will welcome our protagonists in an adventure of titanic proportions. We can also learn more about the “Primordials”, these gigantic creatures linked to certain characters whose faces we also discovered last night. You can learn more about blog post (in English) from Playstation.
But that’s not all, we also had the right to a message from Hiroshi Takai, the director of the game: “To start, allow me to apologize for making you wait so long for new information on Final Fantasy XVI. But the good news is that the game is finally here! In our new trailer, we show you new Eikons, as well as a look at our new action-packed combat system and the freedom it offers the player. And regarding the development progress of the game, I’m happy to report that it’s fully playable from scratch, but still needs optimization and tweaks. There is still a mountain of challenges ahead as we enter the final phase of our work. In the meantime stay connected, we will do our best not to make you wait too long for new information.“
What is the release date for Final Fantasy XVI?
Failing to provide us with an exact release date during Sony’s recent State of Play, Square Enix offers a window. The game is scheduled for summer 2023 on Playstation 5 only. Difficult to include the PS4 in the equation of this titanic RPG, which may require technical skills to match its ambitions. In any case, the first visuals of Final Fantasy XVI are quite impressive, and show PS5’s ability to deliver top-tier performance. Hoping that by the summer of 2023, it will be available for all those who wish to obtain it.