Combat in Final Fantasy 16 can be a lot. There's the general swinging of the big sword, Eikon abilities, dodging to varying degrees, and even a dog's moveset to juggle. When you really think about it, this makes the fact that there's really only one true member of the party in the ever dour and self serious Clive probably a blessing. This is also why I appreciate that the developers at Square Enix explicitly designed a system that lets me decide exactly how much I want to engage with it.
From some of the earliest moments of Final Fantasy 16, it's clear that it's not really all that much like the vast majority of its mainline ilk. At least, that is, from a systems perspective. Gone are anything resembling turn-based actions, and in their place is a much more action-oriented system. In some ways, it's the combat of Final Fantasy 15 taken to its natural conclusion without any pretense.
Combo juggling
Does Final Fantasy 16 even know why it's copying Game of Thrones?
Which is fine and good if that's how you want to play, and plenty of people do and will. It can be incredibly satisfying to chain a series of abilities into a particularly impressive combo that devastates your enemies. There's a reason that games like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry have robust audiences, and it's not just because of their stylish design. And the same pedigree is certainly on display in Final Fantasy 16 thanks in part to combat director Ryota Suzuki, who previously worked on games like Devil May Cry 5 and Dragon's Dogma.
But that can also be overwhelming. Locking one of the cooler parts of the game behind the ability to accurately and effectively press the right series of buttons at the right time would have been a shame, and it certainly sounds as if core members of the development team agree.
"I've spent my career making action games. And I feel that through that experience, I know exactly what those action gamers want and what the hardcore action gamers want," Suzuki previously told us during a demo of Final Fantasy 16 earlier this year. "But this game, again, the core concept design is not making a game just for those gamers, it's making a game for the gamers that are Final Fantasy fans or fans that are not used to action types of games and creating something that doesn't leave them behind, and that includes them in the experience as well. And so making a system that will be fun for all gamers was my top priority."
Enter a set of aptly named "Timely Accessories" that do exactly the above. I've not finished Final Fantasy 16 yet myself, but I've access to a series of four of these that have greatly improved my experience – three of which were immediately available and one of which became available the moment that specific system was introduced. These are not quite accessibility settings as the accessories take up an actual equipment slot each, and therefore there are mechanical benefits associated with not using them, they address some of the same issues.
"I think I'd likely have given a pass to Final Fantasy 16 if it actually asked me to keep up with its combat on its own terms"
While I'm not exactly old at the age of 36, I'm also not as spry and quick as I once was. One of the accessories allows me to just press a single button consecutively in order to chain different attacks together as they come off cooldowns. Another will dodge whenever appropriate so long as Clive is able to. A third will simply use potions as appropriate, and the fourth is all about controlling Torgal, your stalwart hound. I use… as many of them as my character can equip. (Helpfully, the combo one also includes Torgal's actions.)
Could I play without them? Probably. Do I want to play without them? Probably not. In the same way that I am able to appreciate Dark Souls and Elden Ring but also have absolutely zero interest in muddling through their combat and dying constantly, I think I'd likely have given a pass to Final Fantasy 16 if it actually asked me to keep up with its combat on its own terms.
But thanks to these helpful accessories, I've come to enjoy the wild, action-heavy combat. I've been able to invest myself in the relationships of Clive, Jill, Cid, Joshua, and all the rest. I've come to care about the game's world and its people. At this point, I'll likely see it through to the end, which is not something that happens often with games I'm not explicitly required to cover for work. I can think of no higher praise for a specific design decision.
Final Fantasy 16 is currently available for the PS5. Despite its recent release, we already consider it one of the best Final Fantasy games of all time.
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