With the exception of a sequence of particular battle challenges, Final Fantasy XVI doesn’t have any mini-games within the conventional sense of the phrase. That means no fishing, farming, playing or taking part in a fictional sport like Final Fantasy X’s Blitzball.
The purpose behind that is that such actions didn’t match the imaginative and prescient director Hiroshi Takai had for the 35-year-old sequence’ newest installment. He needs the participant to turn into one with principal protagonist Clive Rosfield, avoiding something that may detract from that goal.
In the start of Final Fantasy XVI’s story, Clive’s youthful brother Joshua is killed proper in entrance of his eyes. Clive – who had devoted his life to the artwork of swordsmanship with a view to shield Joshua – has failed his most necessary responsibility, and loses his dearest pal. After this occasion, Clive’s mere goal of dwelling turns into revenge.
“I simply can’t think about {that a} protagonist bearing such a harsh destiny and somebody who seems like he has misplaced his humanity would need to play a puzzle sport that doesn’t match his targets, or chill out and go fishing,” Takai tells IGN, in an unique interview at Square Enix’s Tokyo workplace.
“Of course, you may put actions like that within the sport and go away it as much as the participant whether or not or to not have interaction in them – that’s definitely a method of approaching issues,” says Takai. “But for us, an important factor was to depict Clive’s way of life. Adding pointless components for the sake of selection didn’t appear the appropriate factor to do, so we shunned implementing actions that Clive in all probability wouldn’t be mentally prepared to interact in as a lot as attainable.”
Final Fantasy XVI does embrace a wide selection of facet quests, however even these should not all the time obtainable for the participant to simply accept.
“There’s a scenario by which Clive is extraordinarily depressed, so we determined to dam facet quests throughout that point,” explains Takai. “When Clive is depressed to the extent that he seems like he may as nicely die, we simply don’t see him taking over a quest to go and acquire wooden. Even if it’s the participant’s personal selection to interact in such a quest, the sight of Clive working round with a tree on his again in such a second would appear ridiculous. We didn’t need the participant to expertise one thing like that.”
“As quickly as one thing like that occurs, you begin to pull again,” provides Creative Director and Scenario Writer Kazutoyo Maehiro.
“If one thing like that occurs while you’re immersed within the expertise, it is going to make you notice that it’s only a sport,” Maehiro continues. “We wished to keep away from that, as a result of we have been aiming for an expertise that’s as immersive as attainable. By avoiding pointless components, I consider it actually grew to become that immersive sport we have been striving for.”
Interactions with Clive’s wolf buddy Torgal additionally exhibits this dedication of wanting the participant to behave as the primary protagonist would himself. As introduced throughout a panel at PAX East, it’s attainable to pet Torgal in Final Fantasy XVI. However, not all the time. If there’s a second the sport doesn’t allow you to pet Torgal, it in all probability implies that the present scenario or Clive’s emotions are standing in the way in which.
When we requested if such short-term restraints are defined to the participant by having Clive mentioning he isn’t within the temper, Takai answered by saying that even that may break the immersion.
“Having Clive saying one thing with a view to block among the sport’s programs alone would stand in the way in which of immersion,” says Takai. “However, we do make the participant conscious of the scenario by different dialogue in a much less apparent method. For instance, if Clive is saying one thing like, ‘What’s left for me to do?’, that’s sufficient to ship the message. So we’re truly telling the participant that Clive is just not within the temper throughout the story.”
It appears that Takai and his staff are doing all the pieces they’ll to let the participant actually turn into Clive in Final Fantasy XVI. Whether this dedication will create a roleplaying expertise worthy of the Final Fantasy identify or not stays to be seen when the sport releases on June 22 for PlayStation 5.
For extra on Final Fantasy XVI, take a look at how the event staff have been impressed by FromSoftware and Dragon Quest V, and why Chocobos are known as “horses” within the Japanese model.
Esra Krabbe is an editor at IGN Japan. He is a fan of those restraints.
