Following the launch of Final Fantasy XVI, there has been some controversy regarding the title’s identity, which is really not a new conversation topic at all. Final Fantasy VII’s original launch, Final Fantasy XV’s release, and Final Fantasy XIII’s debut all faced similar elements of controversy.
Of course, it should go without saying that Final Fantasy XVI is indeed a Final Fantasy game. And aside from bringing up non-points like the title of the game itself, one of the most evident strings of commonality within this franchise, even for the mainline entries, is how much they differ. From settings to gameplay ideas, each entry has its own takeaway on what Final Fantasy is, continuously molded by the perceptions of the development team at the time. For instance, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy XII couldn’t feel more different in their approaches, yet they’re united under one banner.
Final Fantasy’s mainline outings have always embraced innovation at their cores, bolstered by shifts in genre, both drastic and slight, storytelling design, and so much more. These games are all self-contained fresh experiences that don’t restrict themselves to presumptions. Honestly, with Final Fantasy XV taking a more action-centric approach than previous games, it really shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Final Fantasy XVI would take that base idea and evolve it to significantly greater extents to a degree where it’s unrecognizable from what came before.
