“However, to bring a story that feels like it spans an entire globe and beyond, we chose to avoid an open-world design that would confine us to a single open-world space, and to instead focus on an independent, zone-based game design that can give players a better sense of a truly ‘global’ scale.”
Square Enix offered a better picture of that world in an update that went live last October. when it introduced the six realms of Final Fantasy 16. Modeled after traditional European fantasy, each nation will have a “Dominant” – a special person who wields the power of an Eikon, a special incantation that “can level nations to the ground”.
We have found in our extensive user research that many younger generation gamers have never played Final Fantasy or have no interest in the series
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The Eikons were unveiled during Sony’s recent State of Play event, and Yoshida also shared more information about them how they will engage in combat and more.
Square Enix’s decision to forego a traditional open world is surprising given current trends, but fans will also recall that Final Fantasy 15’s open world has been widely criticized as such barren and underdeveloped (even if the Fishing was pretty fun). Final Fantasy 16 might have been an opportunity to address those criticisms, but as is often the case with this series, Square Enix chose to go in a different direction.
Final Fantasy 16 was first announced for PS5 in 2020, but still “Basic development” already completed, it quickly disappeared from the collective radar. It finally reappeared with a earlier this month new trailer, screenshots and a post introducing the development team.
Final Fantasy 16 is currently slated for summer 2023, but for series fans who can’t wait that long, Square is also launching a remaster of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, which is due later this year. In the meantime, stop by we learned everything new from our interview with Yoshida in the wake of the new trailer.
Kat Bailey is Senior News Editor at IGN and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Do you have a tip? DM her to @the_katbot.