For fans who’ve been keeping a close eye on Final Fantasy 16’s development, last night’s State of Play didn’t offer all that much in the way of new information. But for those newly interested in learning about the next mainline entry in Square Enix’s long running series, the 25-minute broadcast offered the best overview of the upcoming game yet.
Introduced by producer Naoki Yoshida, the State of Play covered almost every aspect of the game’s core features, including the story setup, combat, ability upgrades, and even accessibility features like rings you can equip to enhance or automate dodging of enemy attacks.
Final Fantasy 16 is set in the fantasy world of Valisthea. Its protagonist, Clive, is a Dominant capable of utilizing the powers of, and even transforming into, a mighty being called an Eikon. The story promises to follow Clive over three stages of his life: His teens, twenties, and thirties.
Final Fantasy 16 also marks a notable departure from the series’ turn-based roots. The game has been designed as an action-RPG first and foremost, with all combat taking place in realtime. There’s a touch of the cinematic thrown into the mix too, with some enemy attacks locking you into lengthy animations, some of which even feature quicktime prompts.
Enemies include humans, monsters, ancient constructions, and, of course, other Dominants and their Eikon summons. The game's grand-scale Eikon vs Eikon battles look to be a real highlight. Each promises to deliver a different style of gameplay in immensely cinematic sequences as mighty these mighty monsters clash.
While Clive is the primary character, it looks like you will get the chance to control other characters too. Combat will see players fighting solely as Clive, with AI-driven companions assisting him. But we also get a brief look at Clive’s younger brother Joshua unleashing some fiery powers of his own in a segment controlled by the player.
Yoshida concluded the broadcast by announcing that the game's main theme was produced by Kenshi Yonezu. In a message accompanying the news, the musician said: "Words cannot express the impact Final Fantasy has had on my life. I never throught or imagined that I would ever receive an opportunity like this."
Introducing the Final Fantasy XVI theme song “Tsuki Wo Miteita – Moongazing”, performed by Kenshi Yonezu. #FF16 #KenshiYonezu #TsukiWoMiteita pic.twitter.com/o5BVyGArfF
— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@finalfantasyxvi) April 13, 2023
Final Fantasy 16 releases June 22 on PS5.
