And even though FF15 was a story about a party, we mustn’t forget that it was first released without any party control - just some AI buddies. A more solitary protagonist, on a mission of revenge, would severely differentiate it. More than anything else, FF15 was a love letter to friendship and the concept of the unbreakable bonds of a party of four Warriors of Light. In context of the series, I also feel it makes sense. That doesn’t stop those games having a strong supporting cast - but it does mean there is a more laser-tight focus on the lead than is traditional in FF.
Part of the strength of these games is with their resolute focus on having players identify with a single protagonist. If FF16 has a lot in common with God of War, it’d make sense. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Yoshida make a game in that sort of vein. In 2016, he called out God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn as the sorts of games he was “frustrated” Square Enix wasn’t making. Only in one clip do we see another AI-controlled character joining Clive in combat - and it’s awfully brief. But then the footage we’ve seen so far of FF16 seems decidedly solo-focused. Suzuki could naturally be working with others at Square Enix to blend a more traditional party system with the type of combat he’s known for. These are the sorts of combat systems Suzuki has the most history with, and one can definitely see Devil May Cry DNA in the footage we’ve seen of FF16’s combat so far. These are single-character games - though of course Dragon’s Dogma has its ‘pawn’ system where the protagonist is joined by AI companions. Before that, he worked on the truly legendary Dragon’s Dogma. Why does this matter? Well, Suzuki’s history is telling: he was most recently a design lead on Devil May Cry 5. While Square Enix hasn’t offered confirmation, it appears inevitable that Suzuki is the combat lead of FF16.
That’s why we previously featured a large profile on FF16 director Hiroshi Takai - but in this article, I want to look at one other staffer in particular.Ī few years ago it was widely reported that designer Ryota Suzuki had left Capcom and joined Square Enix, and was working as the Battle Director on a large-scale project within the business division led by Naoki Yoshida, FF16’s producer. You can, after all, learn a lot about what a game might be like by examining who is making it. It looks more like a pure action game.Īll of this makes sense when some of the likely staffing of FF16 is considered. Basically, it’s appears far more dynamic and action-focused than the more traditional combat on offer in FF7 Remake. Scrutinizing that footage last year, I also felt we saw what sure looks like a jump-cancel to follow up on a launcher attack. In the first trailer, we see Phoenix’s wing summoned to send enemies flying into the air ready to be air comboed, and Titan’s fist used to slam into enemies to break their guard. When you look at the scant footage of FF16 released so far, we’ve got what appears to be an action-focused combat system where summon powers at least partially take the form of small moves executed mid-combat.