Recurring conventions grow on long-running game franchises like ivy, gradually becoming traditions. Oftentimes, the full merits and drawbacks of these tropes are only fully appreciated after a fresh installment makes a sharp break from what came before. This dynamic, a balancing act between reverence for the past and future reinvention, is especially evident in theFinal Fantasyfranchise. After a series of experimental titles, compilations, remakes, and futuristic outings,Final Fantasy 16’s crystal-saturated medieval setting is poised to serve as a return to form.
But not everything that is old is new again. The gameplay on display inFinal Fantasy 16seems to closely resembleFinal Fantasy 15andFinal Fantasy 7 Remakes' action-oriented combat systems. At time of writing, there is no evidence as to whether the game will make use of menu-based combat or ATB bars at all. This begs a simple but potent question: What hallmarks from pastFinal Fantasytitles should make a comeback? And what new affectations should be laid to rest?
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Final Fantasy 16has already shown off several franchise staples, including the concept of nation states built around magical crystals—Mothercrystals, in the game’s parlance—and individuals known as Dominants who are capable of summoning the series iconic, elemental deities referred to as Eikons. The trailers that have been revealed so far also show off other familiar fixtures, including the faithful Chocobo bird-steeds and noxious Malboro plant enemies. But there are other, bigger features the game should borrow from priorFinal Fantasytitles.
Putting ‘Role’ Back into Role-Playing Game
Early installments of theFinal Fantasyfranchise revolved around variations of the “job system,” which itself was a riff off ofDungeons & Dragons’character class framework. In certain titles, likeFinal Fantasy 4, characters were largely locked into classes based on the game’s predetermined narrative, but in other games likeFinal Fantasy 5, the player could change characters' classes on the fly. Apart from their stellar implementation inFinal Fantasy 14, jobs have fallen to the wayside in recent main series installments, andit would be refreshing to see classes make a comeback inFinal Fantasy 16.
One of the problems with a fully customizable class system, however, is that characters can end up feeling fungible. If everybody has the potential to become everything, nobody has a meaningful mechanical identity.Final Fantasy 6,7, and8circumvented this problem by allowing the player to customize characters magic and equipment freely while giving them special, character-specific skills to make them feel distinctive and suitable for specific roles.Final Fantasy 16could mix both of these systems, giving characters changeable classes with learnable skills that supplement character-specific abilities.
It must be acknowledged there is currentlyno guarantee thatFinal Fantasy 16will feature a playable party, as all the screenshots to date show Clive in solo-combat. Therefore, it might seem pointless to have a robust job system, as certain classes excel based on their ability to synergize with others. But classes should return even if Clive is on his own, as they would present the game with an opportunity to differentiate itself from other action games likeDevil May Cry,Demon Souls, and even Square Enix’s ownFinal Fantasy 7 Remake.
A Medieval World to Get Lost In
The sharpest, most consistent criticism that has been leveled against recentFinal Fantasytitles is their comparatively linear story-telling. Rather than developing a large, open world that is ripe for exploration, the player proceeds from one corridor or playground-like level to the next. This is a huge missed opportunity, as one of the reasons fans adore olderFinal Fantasygames is their capacity for immersion and exploration, andplayers have asked for more freedom sinceFinal Fantasy 13launched.
Earning an airship in a classicFinal Fantasytitle was thrilling, because it meant the player was finally free to explore the entire world map. Finding a secret area that held valuable equipment, magic, or best of all, an optional party member, gave those earlier adventures a sense of personal discovery and made the experience feel more like a virtually realized tabletop game than a playable blockbuster.
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Hopefully,Final Fantasy 16will give players the chance to explore, because the game’sapparent time-skip gives exploration a whole new dimension of potential. If players have freedom to explore the world, Clive’s actions as a teenager have the potential to lead to lasting changes in those regions when he is an adult. There is no need for a complete focal shift toFable-esque “all actions have consequences,” causality, but seeing Clive make a choice in act one that ends up paying dividends in act two or three would be a brilliant evolution for the series, and another way to make the game feel immersive.
A Self-Contained Quest
While freedom is intoxicating and appealing, there is one respect where Square Enixshould attempt to reignFinal Fantasy 16in. Since the launch of the three-partFinal Fantasy 13saga, every main installment of theFinal Fantasyfranchise has been fragmented in some way or another.Final Fantasy 14’sstory is phenomenal and poignant, but divided between expansions, and as an MMO, the story never really draws to a close.Final Fantasy 15was released with a transmedia barrage of crossover storiesand DLCs, but rather than expanding that game’s world, each disparate piece of content contains information that is absent or under-developed in the main narrative.
More than anything else, whatFinal Fantasyfans want to see from the next game is a completed story. Something whole unto itself, with a well-built beginning, middle, and, most importantly, a definitive ending. There are few things more frustrating than reaching the end of game, especiallya mind-bending conclusion likeFinal Fantasy 7 Remake’s, only to know that answers, and the next instalment, are years away.
No matterhowFinal Fantasychanges throughout the years, the best-loved games that have gone on to expand, spin-off, and crossover, first started out as self-contained narratives. And that is a trend that desperately needs to return to the franchise. Square Enix has yet to announce a release date forFinal Fantasy 16,so the title is still likely a long ways away. Fortunately, eager players haveseveral compelling options to get reacquainted with theFinal Fantasyfranchise, and the general state of JRPGS in the interim.
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