Final Fantasy 16 is set to release later in the month, and a demo came out to show players what the game's opening hours will be like. Final Fantasy 16's demo is surprisingly meaty with several hours of content to go through and does an excellent job showing how detailed the world is, along with having references to prior games in the series.
SPOILERS BASED ON THE FF16 DEMO AHEADOne of these might be a reference to the previous mainline game in the series, the controversially received Final Fantasy 15. Despite the radical change in direction apparent between the two games, the beginning of Final Fantasy 16 might be tying its opening moments to the last moments in Final Fantasy 15 as a way to pass the torch from one game to another.
Keeping Final Fantasy 16's Scope Condensed
A potential parallel between Final Fantasy 15 and FF16 is that the former ends with a lit campfire and the latter begins with another campfire being extinguished. The likelihood that this is a coincidence is high, but if it's not and this is supposed to represent moving on from one game to another, it could be a subtle yet effective way of showing the series' new direction.
Final Fantasy 15 was a divisive title upon its release and arguably still is one with fans and detractors alike. It was overall seen as disappointing thanks to simplistic combat and a story that felt unfinished with many loose ends that get abruptly dropped or explained in material outside the game. Many questions did get answered in DLC and other supplemental material, but since story content after Episode Ardyn was shelved, there is a feeling the game will always be unfinished.
It's probably for this exact reason Final Fantasy 16 will not receive any DLC, as the narrative and structural philosophy behind it appears to be the complete opposite of how it was handled in the previous title. These things are condensed significantly, hopefully bringing more focus to the story and gameplay as players wouldn't need to watch any spin-off material or have to play additional paid story content to explain some glaring omissions from the main game's story.
Some may miss all the cross-media content that came out around Final Fantasy 15's launch, but it probably is for the best that the latest mainline FF title keeps all of its story beats and content within the scope of a single game. Since Final Fantasy 16 will be following protagonist Clive Rosfield for 3 decades of his life, there will be no doubt a lot of ground covered that fleshed out its characters and world.
Minimizing any supplemental material outside the game would also be for the best because the narrative contained within Final Fantasy 16 is already confusing according to its developers. It's the reason features such as Active Time Lore were included in the game, as it provides a quick and easy way to catch up on any details lost to players. Still, it offers a streamlined way for players to not get confused with any names and terms being casually dropped with little explanation.
Final Fantasy 16 Leaves Almost Everything Behind
Ending the story of one game over a campfire and having the next one show a campfire being extinguished can be interpreted as one game passing on the torch to its next installment, and that fire is extinguished so that the game can go on its own path. Not to say Final Fantasy 16 isn't taking some influence from how its predecessor delivered its story because when looking at the broader story both games look, they do cover the protagonist's life from when they were a child to when they are in their 30s, showing how they have changed and grown over the years.
Influences that have been taken may be more subtle, as the direction in Final Fantasy 16 came due to criticisms of its predecessor's open world. Mainline Final Fantasy games often differ greatly from each other, but it is interesting to see producer Naoki Yoshida be open about how the previous game's failings shape the newest one.
Final Fantasy 16's influences are clear thanks to developer interviews either stating fondness for properties that proved to be obvious tonal influences or implications of other Final Fantasy games being more influential thanks to several of the game's staff stating their favorite games in the series. If anything, Final Fantasy 5 might be more of an influence since most developers in the interview have said it was among their top 3 favorite games in the series.
Not only that, but Yoshida had also been open about his love for HBO's Game of Thrones, which has had a clear influence since Final Fantasy 16 was unveiled, and favorable comparisons have only grown since its demo launched. These interviews reveal how distant the game will be from Final Fantasy 15, which was structured as a road trip between 4 friends in a world influenced by modern technology.
Seeing where its influences lie, having one of the few parallels between the two games be that of a campfire can be easily interpreted as a coincidence, but it can also be seen as the series' way of showing that it's moving on. Not only with tone but also in the kind of world it's set in as Valisthea lacks the technology that could be found in most mainline games after Final Fantasy 7 fused fantasy and sci-fi concepts to create the world its inhabitants occupy.
The darker tone is still a bold direction, as while it has tackled many serious topics in prior entries, the focus on political intrigue and ensuring no character is safe ensures tensions remain high throughout its runtime. It seems to be paying off so far given Final Fantasy 16's demo has seen a strong reception, but it remains to be seen if the full game can stay just as effective.
Final Fantasy 16 comes out on June 22 for PS5.
