During the PAX East 2023 a panel was held entirely dedicated to Final Fantasy XVI entitled “You can pet the Torgal”, a nice reference to the companion of the protagonist Clive who can actually be caressed good-naturedly.
Despite some serious technical problems that interrupted the second part of the broadcast, now the full video of what is shown is also available on Youtube (you can find it below). The protagonist of the panel was Naoki Yoshidawhich he introduced the team behind the development of Final Fantasy XVI, the so-called “Creative Business Unit III“: from these pros come other great titles such as The Last Remnant, Final Fantasy XIV, Dragon Quest X, Dragon’s Dogma and Devil May Cry.
In addition to showing some new short trailers and gameplay clipswe talked about the four founding pillars on which the sixteenth chapter is based: it is inevitable to start from narrative component, centered on the concept of “high fantasy” with the aim of building a complex, political, war and medieval-style story. It points to engage longtime fans of the franchise who have now grown up with it but at the same time also entertain new players who experience a Final Fantasy for the first time.
The second pillar is represented by personages: everything will be based on the protagonist, Clivewhich we will see grow from childhood to adulthood, so as to better understand its motivations and history. At the same time, however, there will be a multitude of secondary characters that we will get to know and that we will find along the way, always well characterized thanks to a solid narrative background.
The third pillar is dedicated togame aestheticsspecially curated so as to give the world of Valisthea different biomes and large explorable areas (a short trailer was dedicated to this topic to present the different settings, from green and lush areas to large populous cities full of life). The feeling is that of an open world even if, we remember, Final Fantasy XVI is not.
Finally, the last pillar is that of the fightswhich are divided into two types: clashes between Clive and different enemy creatures (we can freely create our own build by customizing skills of the protagonist) and epic battles between Eikon (impossible not to notice the references to the giants of Attack on Titan).
You can find the video of the entire event below:
Valisthea, as mentioned during the panel, is divided into five warring kingdoms and one neutral: you fight for the energy of the Mother Crystal running out.
Naoki Yoshida, pad in handshowed a short section of gameplay taking the opportunity to talk about theClive’s equipment: Final Fantasy XVI has a “customizable” difficulty thanks to the objects that we will be able to choose to add or remove from our warrior’s endowment, some of these will in fact allow us to make everything easier by changing the challenge level. There are some in the game combat challenges, facing them with these objects that simplify things we will get a lower score. All that we will have equipped is visible on screen, so even streamers won’t have to show the menus to explain the chosen fighting style to the audience. We will have several available swords, belts and bracelets with different characteristics, while the Eikon will be able to take advantage of two different equipped skills. Yoshida re-emphasised how it is a game really designed for everyoneyou don’t have to be an action lover to appreciate it thanks to the possibility of adapting the gameplay to your preferred style.
We also took a look at the world map it’s at a shop managed by Lady Charon where you can buy weapons, accessories and consumables.
Yoshi-p also took the time to answer some doubts and criticisms from fans: in particular, regarding i QTE during battlesspecified that these are used between one phase and another of the fights to make everything more dynamic: however, missing a quick time event it will not determine gameover.
At the end of the event it was confirmed that Final Fantasy XVI, although it has not yet entered the “Gold” phase, will not be postponed: we all look forward to the next one June 22, 2023 on PlayStation 5, pre-orders are open. A demo should arrive later, a couple of weeks from the release date.
