Announced during the PlayStation 5 showcase all the way back in September 2020 (it does seem like ages ago, to be honest), Final Fantasy 16 is the latest entry in arguably the most well known JRPG franchise on the planet. But what does Square-Enix have in store for us with Final Fantasy 16? Well, let’s saddle up onto our Chocobos and find out!
Final Fantasy 16 Release Date – When Does It Release?
While Square-Enix hasn’t yet officially revealed the Final Fantasy 16 release date, there are still a number of clues lurking about which point to when we might be able to get our grubby mitts on the game. Last year the Official UK PlayStation Magazine made the bold statement that Final Fantasy 16 would arrive on PlayStation 5 sometime during 2021, with Square-Enix themselves confirming that as of September 2020, basic development and scenario production for the title had been completed. That said, Final Fantasy games are monstrous development endeavours and so if it does release in 2021, it’ll likely be right at the very end of the year. Otherwise, I think a much more likely scenario is that we’re looking at an early 2022 release for Final Fantasy 16.
Will Final Fantasy 16 Come To PC?
When the first trailer for Final Fantasy 16 dropped last year, eagle-eyed PC gamers pointed out that the original version of that trailer had references to the game coming on PC; despite Square-Enix repeatedly saying at the time that the game would be a PlayStation 5 exclusive. As it turns out many months later, Final Fantasy 16 on PlayStation 5 is intended to be a ‘timed console exclusive’, thus opening the doors to a PC release further down the line. How much further though? Well, if we assume that Final Fantasy 16 gets a PlayStation 5 release in early 2022 and add an extra six months on top of that, then PC gamers could conceivably get the game by the end of 2022.
Final Fantasy 16 Gameplay – What’s New?
Though the nuanced particulars of Final Fantasy 16’s gameplay have yet to be revealed, we already have a fair idea about how this latest entry in the series will play. Based on the only released trailer for the game, Final Fantasy 16 would seem to be an open world JRPG with real-time combat, in a fashion similar to what Square-Enix achieved with the previous title in the series, Final Fantasy 15.
However, where Final Fantasy 16 differs from other titles in the series is in how action-packed the combat actually is. Boasting a hyper-kinetic combat system which deftly combines devastating magic and lightning quick melee attacks, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the combat is closer to Devil May Cry than it is Final Fantasy. You’d be right too, because Ryota Suzuki, developer of the battle systems for Devil May Cry 5 at Capcom, has been part of the Final Fantasy 16 development team for some time.
What’s The Story In Final Fantasy 16?
While the details regarding the story of Final Fantasy 16 are sparse, there’s still a fair amount of tasty tidbits that we can glean. A much darker themed effort, Final Fantasy 16 would seem to center around one Clive Rosfield, the firstborn of the immensely powerful Archduke of Rosaria. Here, it would seem that the powerful summoned beings called Eikon’s have run amok, with one in particular (Ifrit) wreaking havoc across the Dukedom. In a bid to restore balance to the world and uncover the mystery behind the Eikon’s hostility, Clive teams up with Joshua, his younger brother and heir to the Rosarian throne and Jill Warrick, a former warrior from the Northern Territories who was fostered by the Archduke of Rosaria and is a close friend of both brothers. In short, we can expect yet another epic saga with titanic battles, massive stakes and likely some heart-rending betrayals to boot. Game of Thrones eat your heart out.
