There aren’t a lot of major, established franchises out there that are as resistant to the idea of staying still and following the status quo as Final Fantasy is. This is a franchise that reinvents itself time and time again, in more ways than one. Each game has a different setting, story, aesthetic, and set of characters, yes, but beyond that, new instalments also tend to come with radicaly gameplay overhauls, from the way they structure their world and the varying emphasis they put on exploration to the core combat and progression mechanics and more.
Final Fantasy 16 is no different in that regard. After years of sci-fi settings and story, FF16 takes the series back to a fantasy setting- but it also does that in a way Final Fantasy never has before, through the much more mature and gritty lens of an M rating, a first for a mainline numbered Final Fantasy game. It also deemphasizes exploration, drops the series’ traditional focus on party systems, and puts all of its energies into the franchise’s first ever fully real-time action based combat system.
It’s a very different kind of Final Fantasy game, but that’s what you expect from a new instalment in this series- which means it’s fair to assume that when Final Fantasy 17 rolls around, whenever that happens, it will once again head into uncharted waters (or at least waters that it hasn’t sailed into for a long time). With that in mind, however, what lessons can the next Final Fantasy take from its predecessor? There’s a whole lot to love about Final Fantasy 16, while by that same token, there’s also plenty that has room for improvement- so what lessons can the next game in the series take from its last outing, both in terms of what to do and what not to do?
That’s a particularly difficult question to answer for a franchise that changes as much and as radically as Final Fantasy does, but there is, at the very least, one major lesson from Final Fantasy 16 that’s staring Square Enix in the face- one thing that it gets absolutely right, something that Final Fantast 15 failed at. That’s the fact that Final Fantasy 16 is a complete, coherent story, one with a defined beginning, middle, and end. Unlike the mess that was Final Fantasy 16, this is a game where the developers had a story in mind right from the get go, and it was a story they told completely and thoroughly. There’s no reliance on companion movies or animes, no bait left hanging for a direct sequel, no holes left in the story that can be filled in with future expansions. Now, some of that stuff may very well end up happening anyway, but if it does, it’ll be additive, rather than being required reading if you want to fully understand and enjoy the game’s story.
That used to be the norm for Final Fantasy, and it seems like it is once again. At least we hope it is. We don’t begrudge Square Enix’s desire to turn successful iterations of the franchise into subfranchises of their own. Not in the slightest, especially because that means we get sequels that have shorter dev cycles than what you’d expect from a new numbered entry, which will essentially have to start from scratch in every conceivable area. But the approach that Final Fantasy 15 took was the wrong one. Sure, a lot of that was brought about due to the prolonged development troubles that game ran into over its protracted dev cycle, but as Final Fantasy 16 proves (not that we ever thought it’d need proving), a complete story is much more paletable than one that is begging for sequels and spinoffs.
At the same time, however, there’s a few elements of FF16 that we’re hoping won’t show up in the series’ next game, and this is coming from someone who adores FF16. Its uninspired side quests, its larely linear level design, how little it emphasis exploration and optional content, how shallow its RPG mechanics are- all of these are issues that are very noticeable in the game. To be fair to Final Fantasy 16, its biggest strengths help mask some of these flaws quite well – from the rich, dense lore of the world to the stellar combat system – but it’s also easy to see that it could have been an even better game if those flaws did not exist. There’s nothing in Final Fantasy 16 that actively prevents it from having better side quests or level design. Those were choices made by the developers, and they’re choices we hope won’t be made again when it’s time for Square Enix to move on to Final Fantasy 17.
Beyond that, the lessons that Final Fantasy 17 can take from its predecessor start getting a little more nebulous. Take the combat system, for instance. FF16’s combat is one of its biggest strengths, and there’s little doubt that it’s likely going to go down as one of the series’ best combat systems to date (which is ridiculously high praise). But do we want to see something similar in FF17? We certainly wouldn’t mind it- in fact, there are ways that the next game could build on this system to make it even better, and that’s something we’d love to experience. But perhaps iterative improvements like that should be left to direct Final Fantasy 16 sequels, rather than Final Fantasy 17. Again, this is a franchise that has a history of innovating (and sticking the landing) with new combat systems with new mainline instalments, and we’d hate to see it lose that.
The same can be said of the next game’s tone and setting, in fact. Final Fantasy 16’s setting is a stellar one. The world of Valisthea is brimming with dense, compelling lore and captivating conflicts and politcs, and the mature, dark fantasy tone that all of that is filtered through helps it stand out that much more. But again, a big part of the fun with any new Final Fantasy game is experincing completely new worlds with their own histories, personalities, and aesthetics. Would we mind another mature fantasy setting in Final Fantasy 17? Absolutely not. But would we prefer something completely new and different? We certainly would- because that’s the way of this franchise. Maybe it should do sci-fi again. Maybe it should do a different kind of fantasy. Maybe it should do steampunk. We don’t know- and that’s the point. That’s what makes every new Final Fantasy game so special.
Given how much Final Fantasy has changed over the years, and how many different forms it’s taken, it’s fair to say that there’s no one direction a new game could take that would appeal to all sects of the fanbase. There are fantasy Final Fantasy fans, and there are sci-fi Final Fantasy fans. There are turn-based Final Fantasy fans, and there are action Final Fantasy fans. There are linear Final Fantasy fans, and there are open world Final Fantasy fans. It’s impossible for Square Enix to conjure up a game that will appeal to every single one of those groups, which Final Fantasy 16 proves all too well. But there’s plenty that FF16 does (and plenty that it doesn’t do) that the series can learn from as it heads into its next mainline entry, even if that’s in the distant future right now.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.