Final Fantasy 16 stuck with action combat over turn-based to appeal to a younger crowd
Producer Naoki Yoshida explains why Final Fantasy 16 didn't go back to its turn-based roots.
.jpg?width=70&height=70&fit=crop&quality=60&format=png&auto=webp)
In a recent interview, Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida said that the reason the game doesn't have turn-based combat is to appeal to a younger generation.
Speaking to Famitsu (translations by VGC), Yoshida said that the team reassessed who Final Fantasy is for now. "I'm from a generation that grew up with command and turn-based RPGs," he said. "I think I understand how interesting and immersive it can be. On the other hand, for the past decade or so, I’ve seen quite a number of opinions saying ‘I don’t understand the attraction of selecting commands in video games’.
"This opinion is only increasing, particularly with younger audiences who do not typically play RPGs."
Interestingly, Yoshida noted how he believes that with the increasing power of console technology, RPGs have moved away from turn-based and more towards action-based. "For several console generations now, all character expressions can be done in real-time. Actions such as ‘press the trigger and your character will shoot a gun’... can now be easily expressed without going through a command system.
"It’s now common for gamers younger than me to love such games. As a result, it seems that it does not make sense to go through a command prompt, such as ‘Battle’, to make a decision during a battle."
Yoshida did say that this isn't him saying one is good and the other is bad, just observing how the player's preferences can differ based on age. The developer does know that more traditional RPGs can be fun, but obviously Final Fantasy 16 selling well is an important factor to consider.
Last month, Yoshida confirmed that FF16 is pretty much done, with the only things left being some polishing, meaning that vague summer release date is more likely to be true than it is some far off pipe dream.