In an interview with Comic Days, Square Enix’s producer on Final Fantasy 16, Yoshida, says that he believes the game’s transition to the more action-oriented fighting system may not be accepted by older fans of the series who enjoyed the traditional turn-based combat.

Final Fantasy 16’s New Combat Style

Square Enix switched to this modern combat style to ensure that the “younger generation” experiences the series, mainly Final Fantasy 16. He said that people in their teens or late 20s have heard of the series but have not experienced it due to the combat systems. This will allow the game to have a wider appeal.

Yoshida also said that mainstream games are intuitive in terms of controls. “where you press a button and the character shoots a gun or wields a sword.” This is why the traditional RPG turn-based combat is not familiar to the new generation.

It is also a fact that people are becoming less familiar with the old-fashioned style of RPGs, where you fight by selecting turn commands. That’s why the battles in Final Fantasy 16 are very action-based. We want to make people all over the world think that Final Fantasy is a great game.

This means that Final Fantasy 16 may not appeal to everyone, and some players may still want the old style of combat. But with this change, it is impossible to satisfy everyone’s demands, and some players will definitely be left out. But the goal of Square Enix is to make a game that is primarily enjoyable to play and reaches the right audience.

Last month Yoshida discussed and defended the team’s decision to change the combat style in an interview with Famitsu magazine.

He said that RPGs started off as tabletop games, which is when turn-based games were necessary, and now they have been replaced with real-time commands in video games. The dev team at Square Enix knows that this is a major factor when it comes to the game’s sales figures and is confident that this is the right direction for Final Fantasy 16.

What Does This Mean For Square Enix?

Regardless of which combat system Final Fantasy 16 has, as long as the game itself is fun, and has enough to do along with a deep narrative that the Final Fantasy series is known for, it will hopefully not disappoint. Final Fantasy 16 was originally planned to be released this year, but recently it was delayed to June 2023.