The upcomingFinal Fantasy 16is taking the series back to its roots. Most of the mainline games over the past two decades have featured settings that lean more heavily on sci-fi or otherwise modern world-building. This has been very popular for the franchise with games likeFF6’s steampunk andFF7’ssci-fi world helping make them two of the most beloved titles overall.Final Fantasy 16is looking to bring the series back to its traditional fantasy roots, and it’s putting the game in a position to differentiate itself from its predecessors in a big way.
This isn’t the first timeFinal Fantasyhas gone back to its roots, though.Final Fantasy 9was in much the same position thatFF16is in now. It followed the success of the three releases before that all featured more sci-fi rather than fantasy in their worlds. Returning to the more traditional,DnD-style aesthetic proved a good move for the series, asFF9is considered one of the best in the series. A similar approach to the game’s world, albeit with a much darker tone, could help propelFinal Fantasy 16into similar success.
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A Return to Tradition Could Work Well for Final Fantasy 16
The sci-fi/fantasy blend has worked well for the franchise in modern memory. The reimagined world ofFF7 Remakeleaned into the sci-fi aesthetic hard, and was part of its success. But the previous modern releaseFinal Fantasy 15showed that some fans believe this approach had grown somewhat stale.Final Fantasy 16seems a drastic change from series hallmarksin many ways, but half of the franchise’s name is “fantasy,” so many fans are excited to see a return to those roots. This is especially true in the current market where games steeped in traditional fantasy archetypes have been very successful.
TheDark Soulsseries is an apt comparison given the much more somber tone thatFinal Fantasy 16is taking.FF16has stayed quietsince its original announcement, but the tone has been made clear. The world ofDark Soulsis steeped in medieval fantasy tradition, from its overarching themes, enemy and character design, to the lofty castle architecture. This has been something many fans have latched onto about the series, and it could work very well forFinal Fantasy 16as well. A medieval-style world could mean a smaller-scale story forFinal Fantasy 16, at least at its outset. That was true inFinal Fantasy 9as well, where the heroes originally found themselves embroiled in just one kingdom’s politics before the story bloomed into the cross-dimensional conflict later on.
Fans are usually very reticent about such a drastic shift in tone for a beloved franchise, but another good example for why the fantasy setting could work well forFF16is the success of its MMO siblingFinal Fantasy 14. Some of the series' standard steampunk elements are present, like airships, but overallFF14sticks closer to classic fantasy archetypes. That game is obviously successful, considering just this month there was ashortage of digital copies ofFinal Fantasy 14. Again, the tone of the MMO is a far cry from the morose atmosphere that’s been showcased forFinal Fantasy 16, but the common theme of a pure fantasy setting could point toward success for the next game in Square Enix’s lauded franchise.
