In the days and weeks following the release of the teaser trailer for Final Fantasy XVI, fans have analyzed every frame of the impressive spectacle.
They’ve also been questioning some elements of the trailer, leading many to wonder if major changes are in store for Square Enix‘s long running JRPG series.
First off, it looks like a return to form in some ways for the series. The futuristic settings and modern technology seen in games like Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XIII, and Final Fantasy XV might not be appearing in this title.
The trailer makes the world of Final Fantasy XVI appear to be a fully medieval setting, which would harkon back to some of the earliest entries of the series that appeared on the original Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo.
The last major Final Fantasy to feature a totally medieval world was Final Fantasy IX on the PlayStation 1. This is a shift that many Final Fantasy fans have been clamoring for, so it will be a sure crowd pleaser if this turns out to be true.
However, it also seems as though another major change in format could be coming, and this would be a first for the series.
In the PlayStation 5 reveal trailer, we only see a single playable character in combat. Now, it might just be that these were early in the game scenes, but it could also mean that Final Fantasy is doing away with the party member feature.
This popular feature allows you to control various characters during combat. Back during the turn based days, this was easier to do, with the player selecting attacks and actions for each character before a round of combat would occur. In more modern games, players could switch back and forth between characters during live combat.
This was recently done to perfection in Square’s most recent game, Final Fantasy VII Remake.
If Square is indeed moving away from party members and creating a single character experience, it would be a groundbreaking and controversial change to not just Final Fantasy, but the JRPG genre in general.
Of course, this is only speculation based on one short teaser trailer. There has been absolutely no confirmation from Square Enix about this. However, it is likely that we will be getting some more information this month.
At the Tokyo Game Show it was announced that a teaser Final Fantasy XVI website would be coming online in October that would have additional information about this highly anticipated title.