Nobody can pinpoint what makes a Final Fantasy game, that is the nature of the anthology series, but it hasn’t stopped people from trying. With 16 mainline entries, there are bound to be some titles that fans feel stray from the “correct” path. For a large part of the fanbase, the worst offender against traditional Final Fantasy is Final Fantasy XIII. Despite its initial bad reputation, the game has been re-evaluated since its original release, and thirteen years later, its impact on the franchise’s modern direction is undeniable thanks to one innovation — the stagger system.
Final Fantasy has been struggling in recent years, something that the team working on Final Fantasy XVI has openly stated, but this isn’t a new problem. In many ways, the series has struggled to find its footing since franchise creator Hironobu Sakaguchi left following Final Fantasy IX. Since then, each new entry has sought to appeal to a global audience with a taste for high-octane action-oriented games.
Since FFXIII, Square Enix has steered the franchise in a more action-oriented direction. Final Fantasy XV, XVI, and Final Fantasy VII Remake all outright abandon the turn-based systems of old in favor of real-time action combat.
