Exploring Final Fantasy 16's action battle system with producer Naoki Yoshida - Gamesradar

Naoki Yoshida on Final Fantasy 16's combat: "We have a lot of confidence in these systems".

Final Fantasy 16's combat looks fast, frenetic, and undoubtedly action-packed, with Clive responding in real-time to the player's inputs – making use of a host of different swappable Eikon abilities.

Our first proper look at the combat in Final Fantasy 16 highlighted a marked deviation from the classic turn-based and command-based combat of older games in the series. .

From what we've seen of Valisthea so far, it looks like classic Final Fantasy – sprawling environments, gorgeous architecture, and beautiful skyboxes.

That, Yoshida-san explains, is why developer Creative Business Unit 3 has tried to "go back to the series' roots" in terms of Final Fantasy 16's world building and tone – a more "classic fantasy feel" – while trying to drive modern sensibilities through the action.

He adds that his team is "focusing on creating a setting reminiscent of the original Final Fantasy games, but then adding to this that real-time action that's more reminiscent of modern games.".

Yoshida-san offers us reassurance that combat in Final Fantasy 16 will be approachable for those who may not have played, or necessarily excel at, these types of fast-paced, timing-based action games in the past. .

In order to bring a real-time action battle system to life in Final Fantasy 16, BU3 brought in Ryota Suzuki to serve as battle director – Suzuki spent over 20 years at Capcom, working on games like Devil May Cry 5, Dragon's Dogma, and Marvel Vs.

There have already been parallels drawn between the combat style of Devil May Cry 5 and Final Fantasy 16 – a star rating feature, for example, shows up to seemingly rank the delivery of your attacks, which is similar to the style rank system found in the latest installment of Capcom's long-running action series.

Using this new battle system, Clive will be able to perform a variety of moves tied to the unique powers of Final Fantasy 16's Eikons – powerful creatures that can reside within certain individuals known as Dominants, who can call upon these summoned monsters and utilize their abilities.

Summons have been a key part of the Final Fantasy franchise, and in 16 many fan favorites (such as Geruda, Odin, Phoenix, Shiva, Titan) can actually be equipped – imbuing Rosfield with new skills to wield in combat.

In the Dominance trailer from Sony's Summer State of Play, you can see just a handful of these Eikon abilities in action – Garuda's 'Deadly Embrace' appears to pull enemies in towards you to help maintain a combo, or Phoenix's 'Rising Flames' which looks to launch foes into the air. .

While we're yet to play Final Fantasy 16 for ourselves, Yoshida-san promises that these Eikon abilities and skills will bring some diversity to battles – allowing you to decide how you want to fight, and have some freedom in how you approach each instance of combat.

With the battle system moving away from the command-based format we've come to know from past games, one aspect of the combat has really stood out – the fact that Clive appeared to be fighting alone

Historically, Final Fantasy games have featured a Party system – allowing us to take control of multiple characters in combat, and tweak their loadouts, items, and abilities in the menus

The Dominance trailer is heavily focused on Clive, so much so that we started to wonder whether Final Fantasy 16 would be a more solitary affair. 

However, Final Fantasy 16's producer tells us that Clive will not be alone in his journey

There's understandably a great fondness for the turn-based systems of games past, but it's exciting to see Final Fantasy 16 try something different for the next installment slated to come to PS5 in Summer 2023

With Eikons imbuing Clive's arsenal of attacks to offer a variety of different moves on the battlefield, companions who will fight alongside us, and a new setting to visit that the team hopes will capture that classic fantasy feel, Final Fantasy 16 looks like it's shaping up to be a new entry that will offer something to existing fans and newcomers alike.