Final Fantasy XVI has a lot of hope in him, especially because Naoki Yoshida heads the production. To satisfy a large audience, while appealing to fans of the saga who may have been disappointed by Final Fantasy XV, the team behind the project had to make crucial choices regarding the direction to take for this episode, such as orienting the gameplay more towards action, or abandoning the idea of building an open world. Naoki Yoshida precisely explains these choices in a new interview published in the Famitsu, and translated by VGC.
Action-oriented gameplay for a younger audience
The more action-oriented turn of the game will have been talked about, especially with the last trailer which shows us very choreographed fights. We are therefore very far from the classic turn-based series, already undermined by many episodes before, and which will therefore not make its return here. And it’s not because the system is no longer good, but because this episode must attract a wider audience for Yoshida :
“ I’m part of a generation that grew up with turn-based RPGs. I think I understand how interesting and immersive it can be. On the other hand, over the past decade, I’ve seen quite a few opinions saying “I don’t understand the appeal of selecting commands in video games.” This opinion is only growing, especially among younger audiences who don’t typically play RPGs. »
He then explains that this gameplay change is also linked to the evolution of technologies and consoles, which allow you to do much more than a turn-based system :
“ For several generations of consoles now, everything can be done in real time. Actions such as “press the trigger and your character will fire a gun” and “press the button and your character will swing their sword” can now be easily expressed without going through a command system. It is now common for players younger than me to like these games. As a result, it doesn’t seem to make sense to go through a command like “Combat” to make a decision during a battle. It’s not about saying what’s good or bad, but there is a difference depending on the preferences and age of the player. »
No open world because there’s just no need for it
As for the absence of an open worldYoshida says he wants to make the experience more cinematic, and therefore better control the actions of the players:
” When I played the first Final Fantasy, I thought “this is a movie-like gaming experience”. The production, the dialogue timing, the story, the sound – they all combined to create the best gaming experience possible. Once a Chocobo or Moogle was included, I thought it was already a Final Fantasy experience. This gaming experience should also be felt in Final Fantasy XVI. In addition, it is necessary to understand the outline of the design of the game taking into account the strengths of the team itself. Thinking about it, I thought, ” I believe an open world would not suit what we are planning now. » »
What he was aiming for was a story where one could find ” a hero who saves the world, because it’s Final Fantasy. I want a summon that can rampage and destroy the map. I want to release this game as soon as possible. I can’t release this game in multiple parts. »
A little not very discreet nudge towards Final Fantasy VII Remakewhich is justified by the lack of possibility to make this experience an open world, quite simply because the team has neither the desire nor the means to build an open-world for this particular game:
“ If we had a development period of around 15 years, we might have had the opportunity to challenge ourselves with an open world […] I thought the dev team would be worried about this. Delivering what we believe to be the best story, in an experience that mixes games and movies, doesn’t require an open world. »
But as he has already said, this will not prevent Final Fantasy XVII to be whatever he wants with potentially turn-based and an open world, if the idea is there. But for Final Fantasy XVIyou will have to get used to Naoki Yoshida’s vision, and wait until the summer of 2023 to fully discover it.