Earlier this year, Square Enix released a stunning trailer that showcased bits of Final Fantasy 16’s story and setting, interspersed with gameplay systems and flashy combat animations. Unlike past Final Fantasy titles, but certainly in line with the franchise’s modern trends, Final Fantasy 16 will be leaning fully into a more action-oriented style of combat.

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Producer Naoki Yoshida expects that players will be able to preview exactly what this means next month – when Final Fantasy 16 presumably unveils a new trailer. Furthermore, Yoshida implied that the game’s release date would also be dropped in the coming months. It makes sense that Square Enix would want to dedicate next month to showcase its upcoming flagship title after Final Fantasy 16’s absence at the Tokyo Game Show 2022, which focused more on Final Fantasy 7 Reunion and Final Fantasy 14.

One of the leading philosophies when it came to developing Final Fantasy 16 was to appeal to a newer generation of video game enthusiasts. As a franchise, Final Fantasy has remained loyal to its turn-based roots – sticking with its iconic JRPG combat system for most of its multi-decade history. Despite a significant part of the fan base hoping for a new Final Fantasy game that would return to its classical turn-based combat, Naoki Yoshida hasn’t been shy in stating that the future of Final Fantasy was in real-time action.

The franchise is defined by more than its turn-based combat, but Final Fantasy 16 seeks to reinvent those aspects too, as it will offer its own unique take on Final Fantasy 16’s party system. In the new setting, players will follow the journey of Clive Rosfield, the eldest son of the Archduke of Rosaria. With an apparent doom befalling their nation, Clive will need to establish connections with other travelers, vagabonds, and all sorts of unlikely allies as he roams the lands of Valisthea, but unlike its predecessors, the focus will remain solely on Clive, as his companions will not be the tight-knit group that Final Fantasy 15 was famous for.

Final Fantasy 16 is determined to take the franchise in a new direction with confidence and boldness. If Naoki Yoshida’s projections hold true, players will be able to see it in full detail this October.

Final Fantasy 16 is set to release in summer of 2023 for PS5.

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