The debate over the future of Final Fantasy, namely its approach to combat, continues, and this time the question has been put to Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki ‘Yoshi P’ Yoshida, who admitted there is no “clear-cut” answer.
Final Fantasy XVI was a radical departure from previous installments by being a completely real-time action game, even eschewing command menus present in the action-oriented Final Fantasy XV. During an interview at Anime Expo, Yoshida was asked whether the series would return to a turn-based system, given the recent success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which was in turn inspired by earlier Final Fantasy games and Persona.
“With this question of turn-based versus action, it tends to isolate the gameplay to just the battle system,” Yoshida told Anime News Network. “That doesn’t take into account what kind of game the creators want to deliver to players. For example, based on a certain graphical quality we want to present to our players, or the narrative we want to deliver to our players, it relates to how we set up the game’s systems around it. This includes the battle system, game design, and gameplay feel. It’s not a clear-cut answer, whether it will become all turn-based, or if it’s going to become more action-based.”
