After Final Fantasy 16, the future of the license raises questions. The next episode is already dividing fans following this surprising statement from Naoki Yoshida.
So, Final Fantasy 16 is finally here, after a particularly long wait since it was first announced at the PS5 Showcase in September 2020. This episode, like many installments of Square Enix’s RPG license, seems to divide the community. On the one hand, those who welcome the new, more mature, but also much more action-oriented direction of the title of Creative Business Unit III, a division of Square Enix headed by Naoki Yoshida. On the other, particularly critical players who are sorry for the lack of RPG mechanics, uninteresting secondary content and less tactical confrontations than in the past. Will Final Fantasy 17 follow the same line as FF 16? A statement already shares the community.
A Final Fantasy 17 to gather?
The Creative Business Unit III was on a trip to Malaysia, on the sidelines of the international launch of Final Fantasy 16. In front of the Asian audience, Naoki Yoshida, the game’s producer, made a particularly interesting statement, as Kaoru Kajiura’s Reddit post shows. In addition to indicating that his team ” wasn’t done with Final Fantasy 16 ”, probably referring to the PC port of the game, he revealed that they were ready to create new Final Fantasy games.
What exactly is it referring to? Hard to know. We imagine that for the moment, Square Enix has not yet decided which team will be in charge of the development of Final Fantasy 17, but the Japanese firm could choose continuity. On social media, fans are already split over the idea of a new FF led by Creative Business Unit III. A good part of the players are (already) expecting a renewal and drastic changes between the episode which has just been released on PS5 and a potential FF17.
Maybe Naoki Yoshida just wants to continue experimenting with the license for a spin-off. In any case, the saga does not hesitate to try new things for the time of additional episodes, as evidenced by Stranger of Paradise, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line or even FF Tactics, which could return with a remaster if we are to believe to the latest rumours.
A FF17… turn-based?
In June 2022, Naoki Yoshida casually mentioned the next numbered episode of the saga, a year before the release of FF16, in an interview with GamesRadar. He indicated that the story between turn-based and the Final Fantasy saga was not necessarily over, without directly quoting Final Fantasy 17.
I fully understand the appeal and potential of turn-based games. I still think that Square Enix will have the opportunity to create something like this… Personally I would say that if you create something like this, maybe the graphics should adapt better to this system by going towards a more pixelated type of graphics.
Hard to believe that the next numbered episode of Final Fantasy will take this form. In any case, that those who did not like FF16 are reassured: if ever the Creative Business Unit III is in charge of the development of FF17it would certainly be very different from Final Fantasy 16. Naoki Yoshida is aware”that not everyone agrees on what a Final Fantasy should be“and that it was necessary”keep creating different things to cover everything possible”.