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Final Fantasy XVI is an upcoming role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 5. It is the sixteenth game in the mainline Final Fantasy series and is scheduled to be released on June 22, 2023. The game is set in the land of Valisthea, a continent with six factions on the verge of conflict due to a spreading malady called the Blight. Final Fantasy XVI is being produced by Naoki Yoshida and with Hiroshi Takai as main director and Kazutoyo Maehiro as creative director and writer.

Premise

Final Fantasy XVI is an action role-playing game set in the fantasy world of Valisthea, where the people live in peace and prosperity thanks to mountains of crystal called the Mothercrystals. The world is controlled by six factions: the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, the Kingdom of Waloed, the Dhalmekian Republic, the Iron Kingdom, and the Crystalline Dominion. A central part of the plot are the Eikons, summoned monsters controlled by or manifesting through humans called Dominants.

The main cast includes Clive Rosfield, Joshua Rosfield, and Jill Warrick. Clive is the firstborn child of the Archduke of Rosaria who embarks on a quest for revenge after tragic events involving the dark Eikon, Ifrit. Joshua Rosfield, Clive's younger brother, is the Dominant of the Eikon Phoenix and heir apparent to Rosaria. Jill Warrick, a former princess from the fallen Northern Territories, is Clive and Joshua's foster sister and confidant. Gameplay has Clive fighting using a combination of melee-based sword attacks and magical abilities. The game is planned to feature various gameplay modes.

Development

Final Fantasy XVI is developed by Square Enix's Creative Business Unit III, the same division behind the development of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Final Fantasy XIV, and was announced in September 2020. The main development staff consists of Naoki Yoshida as producer, who has the dual role of producer and director in Final Fantasy XIV; Hiroshi Takai as director, known for his work on the SaGa series and The Last Remnant, Kazutoyo Maehiro as creative director and original screenwriter as well as Hiroshi Minagawa as art director, both known for their work on Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, and Final Fantasy XII; Ryota Suzuki as combat director, known for his work on the Devil May Cry and Dragon's Dogma series; Kazuya Takahashi as character designer, and Masayoshi Soken as composer.

Work on the game began towards the end of the Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward expansion in 2016 with Takai, Maehiro and Gondai progressively passing on their duties on the MMORPG to others. They were committed to " the foundational design and the scenario" before starting development in earnest, as adding more staff would pressure them to start working on elements that have not been finalized yet. Their commitment on action combat instead of turn-based combat comes from the want to attract a wider generation of players, and the belief that trying to please every fan by incorporating every element possible would "run the risk of creating a half-baked compromise of a game" even if the reception can be polarizing to series fans. The choice of Ryota Suzuki as the battle director comes from Naoki Yoshida's opinion that action games are not Square Enix's strong suit apart from the Kingdom Hearts team, thus Suzuki's knowledge as a Capcom veteran allowed Square's animators to gain experience on action combat. Hiroshi Takai was also picked as director for his experience on the series and his popularity among the development team and his experience on visual effects.

Naoki Yoshida considers the game to cater to neither children or adults but rather something that will reach "players of all generations". He wants the game to turn the recognition of the series around as he considers series like Monster Hunter have become more popular than Final Fantasy across younger generations. Final Fantasy XVI's medieval style was chosen because a lot of the core members really enjoy that style from classic Final Fantasy games the most. Yoshida noted that user research mentioned players were starting to notice the series style was becoming static towards science fiction.

During the original announcement the game was said to be developed for Microsoft Windows, though this was later retracted by Square Enix. The release of information was intended to prevent rampant speculation around small details, with the reveals instead being created around clearly showing what kind of game Final Fantasy XVI is. In-game footage was presented instead of cut scenes to showcase that the game was well into development, and would not be released far into the future. The graphics were still being optimized at the time of the trailer's release.

By late 2020, basic work on development and game scenarios was complete and work was continuing on "large scale" resources like boss battles and development tools. By July 2021, Yoshida reported that the storyline was almost completed, and voice recording for English and Japanese was in its final stages. In April 2022, Yoshida stated that the game was in the final stages of development, with a June 2022 trailer revealing a release date of 2023. The game will feature a story-focused mode and an action-focused mode, the former delivering various accessories to assist players who are not skilled at action combat such as a slow motion feature when the player is about to get hit, or an auto-combo function. Action-focused mode will allow the player to customize their character as they see fit. The story will remain identical for both modes. In October 2022, another trailer featuring plot details and gameplay footage was released, with the release date being changed to mid-2023. A third trailer was presented at The Game Awards 2022 in December, revealing the June 22 launch date and unveiling further plot and gameplay details, including the appearance of additional party members and Clive's ability to switch between multiple Eikons mid-battle.

Release

Final Fantasy XVI is scheduled to release on June 22, 2023 for PlayStation 5. It will be a timed exclusive for the remainder of 2023 before being eligible for release on other platforms.

Notes

1. Japanese: ファイナルファンタジーXVI, Hepburn: Fainaru Fantajī Shikkusutīn

References

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18. Kiya, Andrew (July 26, 2021). "Final Fantasy XVI Will Feature Full Facial Mocap Using English Voice Actors". Siliconera. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
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External links

• Official website

• Fantasy video games
• Final Fantasy video games
• Japanese role-playing video games
• PlayStation 5 games
• PlayStation 5-only games
• Single-player video games
• Upcoming video games scheduled for 2023
• Video games developed in Japan
• Video games scored by Masayoshi Soken