Final Fantasy XVI
Yoshi P Explains Why Final Fantasy XVI Is Not Turn Based

Final Fantasy XVI has some big hype surrounding it, and some big expectations. Final Fantasy was once the darling of the JRPG world, and for a long time... it looked like the series could do no wrong. The franchise pumped out hit after hit, releasing one of the best selling games of all time with Final Fantasy VII. Depending on who you ask, you'll get a different answer for when the series started spiraling downwards. But almost everyone agrees that they dislike the shift the series has taken to action combat.

The producer behind Final Fantasy XVI, Naoki Yoshida, also the genius who saved Final Fantasy XIV recently gave an interview about exactly that. Yoshida sat down with Famitsu, where he spoke at length about the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI, but what was particularly interesting was his comments on turn based combat.

It seems like Yoshi P has been spending some time online, where he's noticed certain gamers questioning the place of turn-based games in the industry. In fact, he seems to think it's mostly the older generation of gamers who miss the turn-based combat of the original entries in the Final Fantasy series.

I'm one of them, but I have to say... he's not wrong.

“For several console generations now, all character expressions can be done in real-time. Actions such as ‘press the trigger and your character will shoot a gun’… can now be easily expressed without going through a command system. “It’s now common for gamers younger than me to love such games. As a result, it seems that it does not make sense to go through a command prompt, such as ‘Battle’, to make a decision during a battle.” he told Famitsu in regards to turn-based combat. The interview was translated by VGC.

This may be disappointing to some Final Fantasy veterans, but we shouldn't despair just yet. Yes, turn-based is king... but that doesn't mean action combat is bat. The series has struggled with it since Final Fantasy XV made the switch, but that may all be about to change. Ryota Suzuki was brought on for Final Fantasy XVI as the combat designer, and he worked on Devil May Cry 5. That game had a pretty freakin' awesome battle system, so not all hope is lost! I trust Yoshida, and to a lesser extent Square Enix.

Final Fantasy XVI will release in summer of 2023 for the Playstation 5, and potentially other consoles and PC later!

Alexander Ouellet
Alexander is passionate about everything related to gaming, comics, television, and film. You can usually find him watching some kind of DC show.
Alexander is passionate about everything related to gaming, comics, television, and film. You can usually find him watching some kind of DC show.