Final Fantasy 7 Remake proved that high-budget gaming can be linear, and fans praised its stunning presentation, sublime combat, and fantastic recreation of a beloved story and characters. Final Fantasy 16 will presumably try to recreate this, as time restraints have restricted the project’s overall scope. However, it may have dodged a bullet, as Final Fantasy 15’s open world had its issues, and it would have been all too easy to fall into the same traps, making the game almost as polarizing as its predecessor. Final Fantasy 15 was flawed, and many of its drawbacks came from the size of its world.
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What Final Fantasy 15 Did Wrong
While it brought fantastic characters and a gorgeous soundtrack, Final Fantasy 15 was met with a lukewarm reception when it released in November 2016. Noctis, Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis were great, and the relationship between them made for some of the game’s best moments, but its story was confusing and the world in which it was set was cumbersome to move around in. The Regalia is a thing of beauty but the driving mechanics were disappointing, and the world was too large to abandon it entirely. Players had to either stomach the poor driving or cross the setting on foot, but both were equally undesirable, so when the quest marker was across the map it could be more of a chore than an adventure.
This made stumbling across the stunning Lestallum or the Disc of Cauthess that’s the dwelling of the Astral Titan feel frustrating, when it should be anything but. In games like Horizon Forbidden West, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Elden Ring, so much of the experience is about the journey between destinations, finding distractions that lead down a completely different path. Final Fantasy 15’s open world is too large and empty to provoke the same curiosity from the player, and so the news that its follow-up will be a more linear affair relinquishes the worries of those who didn’t enjoy traversing Final Fantasy 15’s open world.
How Final Fantasy 7 Remake Side Steps the Problem
A stark contrast to Final Fantasy 15, Final Fantasy 7 Remake doesn’t even try to craft an expansive open world, instead focusing on character development and world building within a gameplay format that doesn’t allow much room for exploration. It may only cover the Midgar segment of the original, but it does so in a way that never feels restrictive. There’s no telling how Final Fantasy 16 will play out, but it’s likely that it will be closer to Final Fantasy 7 Remake than Final Fantasy 15, which could be for the best.
Eos is all together different to Midgar, with the latter being more dense and atmospheric than the former’s open, but bland world. Final Fantasy 7 Remake opting to forgo open-world level design entirely is the source of its strength. It’s all about the world’s tone, which feeds into the storytelling and character journeys. The Eos of Final Fantasy 15 is far lighter in tone, and prioritizes exploration and the grandness of the adventure itself, but in doing so makes some costly gameplay and level design mistakes.
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Final Fantasy 16’s Linearity is a Strength
Despite so many games utilizing the formula, not every AAA game has to feature an open world. It’s a great way to show a sense of scope and provide gamers with a litany of things to do and discover, but while expansive landscapes bring a few advantages, there are some significant drawbacks like a lack of story focus and less emphasis on cinematic presentation. Final Fantasy 16 is likely to be a narrative-heavy experience, so a linear level design puts it in the best position to tell its story in detail.
Final Fantasy 15 deploys linearity in some places, and the result is inconsistent in quality. Once players arrive in Altissia the game becomes a more story-centric experience. It’s a change that helps develop the characters and story, but when chapter 13 begins, the linearity becomes Final Fantasy 15’s biggest weakness. The result is a polarizing game when the credits roll, in large part due to the contrasting ways the game plays out. Final Fantasy 16 committing to linearity means it can flourish within the format it chooses.
Final Fantasy is Constantly Changing
While the series has been around for such a long time, Final Fantasy has changed radically in so many ways with each new entry. Spiky haircuts, hi-potions and Cid are Final Fantasy mainstays, but on a structural and mechanical level Final Fantasy is in a constant state of change. Noctis’ story is perhaps the most expansive the franchise has ever been, and while it was a valiant attempt at a Witcher-esque open world, there were too many missteps and mistakes that prevented it from being great.
It may be frustrating to learn that Final Fantasy 16 will not feature an open world, but the benefits this brings via the avoidance of errors cannot be ignored. Linearity is not a bad thing, it provokes tighter storytelling and allows more creative power to be used on atmosphere and tone rather than forging an open space that is diverse and easy to explore. Both philosophies fit the Final Fantasy mold, but using a more restricted format like Final Fantasy 7 Remake does will undoubtedly ensure that Final Fantasy 16 doesn’t fall into the same traps that its predecessor did when it released six years ago.
Final Fantasy 16 releases in 2023 for PS5.
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