Nine years after our analysis of the trailer for Final Fantasy XV, we’re doing it again, this time for Final Fantasy XVI and its gameplay not stung by beetles. It seems very generous in terms of mechanics of all kinds and we are finally approaching more of a Devil May Cry than a Final Fantasy XV: it’s even more punchy and nag than Final Fantasy VII Remake, it’s to say. Despite game sequences that must be 1 minute put together, out of the 3 that the video lasts, there is still a way to learn a lot about the game systems, from the famous Eikon to the skills associated with them.
Eikon change in FF16 = Style change in DMC
Placed in the upper left corner of the screen, next to the life bar, you can see the selection window for Eikon, aka the different elemental deities that Clive can equip in the middle of a fight. This allows you to swap skills in the middle of a fight by pressing L2, which will have the effect of completely changing the hero’s range of actions. Given how complex and comprehensive Clive’s gameplay is, there’s little doubt that this will be a solitary adventure, with no allies actively involved in combat. With a good mastery of the blows of each primordial and good skill sequences, we can see that the player will be able to keep his enemies in the air for a considerable period of time: the juggle sequences should be much easier compared to FF7 Remake, the other reference A-RPG from Square Enix.
Eikon progression theory
The screen of the primordial Odin presented a few seconds in the trailer presents a gauge which increases as Clive strikes and which is absent from the HUB of the other Eikon. Two possible hypotheses: either Odin has a different functioning from other summons, or (and this is the most probable) each Eikon will have its own dedicated skill tree, adding new actions and new functionalities to their use.
Primal Skills
Now we look at the bottom right of the screen, to see how the range of moves of each primordial is presented. We notice that it is separated in two steps by an oblique line: the diamonds on the left concern the combat techniques that Clive can chain, the one that is the most on the right seems to be a special attack dedicated to an Eikon and the one at the bottom systematically the jump. We even wonder if it will not be possible to switch between several skill sets for the same Eikon thanks to R2 : we can see the famous touch appear on some images with the Garuda palette.
Emissary fights
We do not yet know exactly how these dantesque clashes between deities will take place, one thing is certain however: there will be big numbers and the show is likely to send severely. We cross our fingers so that the interest is there and that it is not simply a question of window dressing with QTE slammed in all sauces. They seem inevitable to us given the degree of staging displayed in this trailer, but maybe the developers will find good compromises, like Asura’s Wrath for example, which often managed to mix interesting fights and spectacular choreography.
Stagger Gauge
Square Enix fell in love with it since Final Fantasy VII Remake and it is back once again, to our delight: the famous stagger gaugewhich conditions a Stun of the adversary, will be part of the game again in Final Fantasy XVI. One can imagine that it will be necessary to equip oneself with the good Eikon and to swing the sauce on the weak point so that the yellow bar melts like snow in the sun. On the other hand, this one is divided into 2, so it’s not impossible that the designers of the fights keep a few tricks up their sleeve by adding one or two subtleties of this effective system, but which we are starting to get the hang of.
Passive bonuses (perks)
Visible above the life bar, the perks bar lists the buffs activated by Clive during combat. Each gray box represents a particular passive bonus and if we had to guess their nature, it would seem that the sword increases strength, the second increases movement speed, etc. Very classic, however it will be necessary to see how these bonuses are applied: armor and weapon abilities, Eikon skills that also equip associated passive sets, cooking and consumables, or all of that…
Notes and sequences
For the moment, it’s the thing that jumps out in your face and could do the trick on arrival: the screen is puking with numbers and if it can pass on games with more static confrontations like Xenoblade Chronicles, it’s really annoying in a purely action title. The display of the damage of each hit leads to a mush of numbers on the fastest combos, we hope that the developers will find a way to better hide this in the long term (even if it means making them disappear purely and simply). In any case, we always wonder what the stars are for each skill that Clive swings: will it help to reward in XP or AP the most stylish combos? It seems that the harder the attack to place, the higher the star rating
Consumables
Nothing special to add to this window, placed at the bottom left of the screen: each consumable is associated with an arrow of the multidirectional cross and decoctions providing statistical bonuses will obviously be present to help Clive in combat. Now we don’t know if the consumption of the popo in question will immobilize the hero during the fight, or if their application will have an immediate effect.
fyng
We replay the FF16 trailer on a loop in search of the smallest detail on what awaits us on PS5 in the summer of 2023. There are a lot of things to say and deduce from these few minutes of gameplay, but before that, let’s see why last night’s State of Play trailer has something to smile about.