Get medieval

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 16 is looking like the biggest and most detailed game in the series to date and takes full advantage of the PS5’s capabilities to achieve its lofty ambitions. It’s slated for a June 22 release. 

The biggest difference that separates Final Fantasy 16 on PS5 from most of its predecessors is the real-time battle system which goes for all-out spectacle. This is done by utilizing the console’s NVMe SSD and GPU prowess for enemy encounters that just weren’t possible on older hardware. 

A recent hands-on with Final Fantasy 16 from the PlayStation Blog has deep-dived into exactly why the RPG will become: “an essential PS5 title”. This can be evidenced through encounters with the Eikons, which are essentially giant monsters that you’ll have to face throughout your journey. Inspired by Japanese Kaiju, you’ll be taking on all manner of larger foes to see what you’re made of. From the early gameplay revealed, it’s looking to have more in common with something like God of War Ragnarok than your everyday JRPG.

The combat appears to have taken influence from Devil May Cry 5 in terms of the sheer scale and cinematic flair. So, if you’re a fan of fast-paced spectacle fighters, Final Fantasy 16 should cater to you with the lengthy combos that can be pulled off and special Eikon-themed moves that are only a cooldown away.  

For a game that’s this fast-paced, it’s no surprise that the PS5’s internal was required. The console uses NVMe Gen 4.0 technology and can be expanded with one of the best SSDs for PS5 if you’re running out of room on the system. This will mean a seamless game world without loading times, as some of the best PS5 games can go from menu to gameplay in less than 5 seconds. You won’t be having to wait around for long when entering new areas, fighting through random encounters, and watching cutscenes. 

Though it hasn’t been detailed extensively, there has now been confirmed support for the DualSense’s haptic feedback. Little information is out there as to what role, if any, the adaptive triggers will play, but you should be able to get an immersive experience through the localized HD rumble. That means everything from explosions to more subtle movements will be captured as accurately as possible. 

A world split 

Everything I’ve seen from Final Fantasy 16 looks incredibly promising. As someone who isn’t really into turn-based JRPGs, I definitely appreciate the more action-orientated tone that this upcoming release has in its approach to monster battles.

The concept of standing there and waiting for my time to strike never really sat right with me. Surely if a giant beast came down from the sky and started tearing things up, the last thing it would do would be to wait patiently before reducing the population to charcoal.

Other entries in the series have certainly experimented with real-time combat. We saw this with Final Fantasy 15’s Active Cross Battle System, and later with Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s Active Time Battle gauges. However, Final Fantasy 16’s combat looks faster and more dynamic than its predecessors and seems to offer a big step up for players. Instead of slowing things down, the action looks to be tight and focused, and will hopefully make for far more engaging, and challenging encounters.

• Final Fantasy 16 may already have been outdone by a new 16-bit RPG

See more Gaming news