As the next entry in the Final Fantasy franchise was unveiled, some interesting tidbits of information came out afterwards as well. Fans learned a lot about the directors and development team working on Final Fantasy 16. One notable member of the team was Ryota Suzuki, who's former position at Capcom was developer of the battle systems in Devil May Cry 5 and Dragon's Dogma. That influence is made known in Final Fantasy 16's trailer, showing off a new action-based battle system that already looks very impressive.
Between Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 15, each sports a different version of an action-RPG battle system. Final Fantasy 15's battle system was largely serviceable and set a precedent, but also lacked elements of challenge or skillful depth expected from a Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy 7 Remake made a strong and impressive improvement over Final Fantasy 15's battle system, but that system was not without a few flaws as well. Knowing who's working on the battle system for Final Fantasy 16, this game could be the perfect balance between the two games.
Final Fantasy 15's First Attempt at Action Combat
Final Fantasy 15 was the subject of an exorbitantly long development time. There's no indication that the battle system was the subject of many changes, but comparing the final release to early footage from its precursor Final Fantasy Versus 13, and there's several clear differences in the final game. Final Fantasy 15's combat is largely attack and reaction based, with some elements of magic usage available to players. Summons were largely relegated to a comeback style mechanic, or depending on the severity of the fight, would charge and become available over time. If anything, the game was a severe departure to previous mainline Final Fantasy titles.
In practice, the combat system in Final Fantasy 15 lacked a lot of depth that could've made battles interesting. Since a lot of the open world in the game focuses on monster hunting and exploration, battles would largely be reduced to "attack, block and counter, attack." Noctis' MP system was focused on his warping and dodging, and players could hold the block/dodge button and automatically dodge incoming attacks. A giant flashing "Block" indicator would light up whenever there was a strong attack that players could parry and counter, and the timing was by no means difficult. As a first outing it was relatively serviceable, but players weren't often challenged by Final Fantasy 15's combat.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Thoughtful Evolution
Things did change upon the release of the latest entry, Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Though it was the polar opposite of the turn-based combat in the original game, Final Fantasy 7 Remake's action-oriented battle system was a thoughtful evolution from Final Fantasy 15. All of the familiar elements from the original Final Fantasy 7, like Materia selection for magic and charging Limit Breaks, were all rebalanced and re-tooled. Players had more agency on their actions when attacking, dodging, and using magic/abilities, each with tangible effects on the battle.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake tackled and surpassed a lot of the criticisms on Final Fantasy 15's combat without sacrificing the spirit of the original game's characters and battle system. There were a few interesting decisions, like how dodge rolling didn't have any kind of invincibility, which oftentimes made blocking the more optimal play. Sometimes the AI for party members wasn't particularly active, largely focusing too much importance on the player. However, if Final Fantasy 16 were to borrow any influence from a previous battle system, the Remake would be the most likely.
Mending Both Together for Final Fantasy 16's Combat
From what's been shown in Final Fantasy 16's initial trailer, there's a clear influence of Devil May Cry-style action combat mixed in with Final Fantasy elements. The two presumed protagonists in battle show some version of augmented battle stances that are very clearly inspired by Capcom's action-RPG battle mechanics. However, elemental magic attacks like fire and wind are also seen playing a key part in combat. One of the knights uses fire spells in tandem with warp-like attacks (like Noctis in Final Fantasy 15) to attack a Malboro.
Several characters are seen utilizing elemental attacks combined with physical attacks to chain damage on enemies, mixing the two best aspects from Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 15's battle systems. Considering the franchise seems to be moving in the action-RPG direction moving forward, this is yet another thoughtful evolution on Final Fantasy's battle mechanics. Plus, with the new combo attacks and fluidity reminiscent of Devil May Cry games, Final Fantasy 16 may have the deepest action-RPG combat yet.
Final Fantasy 16 is in development as a timed exclusive for PS5.