Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games of 2023, Final Fantasy 16 has finally announced itself for the month of June. We take stock of this new information.
[Mis à jour le 13 décembre 2022 à 13h25] For more than 35 years, Final Fantasy has been making us dream by presenting us with colorful characters, prolific universes and extremely varied gameplay. And this video game monument has not finished with its fans since Square Enix has just announced the release date of the next Final Fantasy 16, a large-scale medieval-fantasy RPG that we expect on PS5 and on PS5 only for six months. We take stock of all the essential information on the release of the game, its content and the expectations of the fans just below.
“This story is the tale of Clive Rosfield, a warrior bestowed with the title ‘First Rampart of Rosaria’ and dedicated to protecting his younger brother Joshua, dominating the Phoenix”
A major novelty at the beginning of December: new images of Final Fantasy XVI. Called “Revenge”, this short sequence teaches us a little more about the plot of this sixteenth opus. We can discover some images of the medieval fantasy world of Valisthéa, which will welcome our protagonists in an adventure of titanic proportions. We can also learn more about the “Primordials”, these gigantic creatures linked to certain characters in the game, and about our hero Clive Rosfield.
Final Fantasy 16 finally has a release date! After more than two years of waiting the new title from Square Enix has set itself for the June 22, 2023. The game will be released first on Playstation 5 exclusively, its graphic ambition making it incompatible with the consoles of older generations. The game is already available for pre-order in its Standard and Deluxe editions, while the Collector’s Edition will be available on December 12, 2022.
Although Final Fantasy 16 has been pushed back to next year, Naoki Yoshida gave us something to wait for during his interview for the Playstation Blog. The Japanese producer spoke first about the story of this next release, which should be more ambitious than ever: “We want to give players the feeling of stepping into an epic movie by providing a jaw-dropping experience through an engaging story, dramatic cutscenes, and real-time combat.“The idea being to provide a breathtaking experience for players while expanding the possibilities for the franchise.
Of course, the game leans towards very action-focused gameplay, with long and epic real-time battles. By choosing to shelve the turn-based system so dear to the saga, Yoshida is aware of frustrating a large part of his more mature community, but justifies this choice by the desire to broaden the horizons of the game to address to a younger audience, sometimes having never gotten their hands on a previous Final Fantasy game. Also note that the game will not be an open-world, and that only one playable character has so far been confirmed: Clive. It will, of course, have fully AI-driven companions that will give the player different options if they want to take on a more support-oriented role.
At the center of the plot of this new Final Fantasy, we also find the Eikons, these creatures of colossal power controlled by Dominants. Yes, because in Valisthéa (the name of the world of FF16) humans can become masters of titans, and take advantage of their power to influence the world around them. In the new Final Fantasy trailer above, we’re introduced to two new characters, both Dominants from “Primordials.” Benedicta Harman and Hugo Kupka played their respective powers to gain influential positions in the kingdom. And their opposition will be of titanic proportions with incredible cinematic potential. You can of course consult the complete interview of Naoki Yoshida on the official blog from PlayStation.
Hiroshi Takai, the director of the game spoke about the project a few months ago: “To start, allow me to apologize for making you wait so long for new information on Final Fantasy XVI. But the good news is that the game is finally here! In our new trailer, we show you new Eikons, as well as a look at our new action-packed combat system and the freedom it offers the player. And regarding the development progress of the game, I’m happy to report that it is fully playable from scratch, but still needs optimization and tweaks. There is still a mountain of challenges ahead as we enter the final phase of our work. In the meantime stay connected, we will do our best not to make you wait too long for new information.“
To simplify this rather complex question, for the moment, no release on another platform than the PS5 has been announced for Final Fantasy 16. As for a while for Square Enix games, Final Fantasy XVI is planned as an exclusive Temporary Playstation. We can therefore expect a release on PC and Xbox Series within six months of its release. December 2023 would therefore be a perfect date for a release on Xbox and PC.