The Final Fantasy series has spanned games vastly larger than it’s roman numerals would have you believe, taking us to different worlds, times, and vastly different play styles. The series has evolved and branched out over the years in many different ways, we’ve seen the graphics vastly improve, the combat style shift and change as directors have added their own flavor to it each entry. This often leads to a divide when a new game launches, a divide that exists in most art mediums, should you embrace the new, or long for the old?
With the release of Final Fantasy XVI and the upcoming release of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, a new question emerges about how these games should proceed going forward, should Final Fantasy return to a more linear story structure, expand into the ever growing world of open world games, or is there a happy middle ground for all players?
The Open World Relationship of Final Fantasy.
Final Fantasy has always had some what of an open world feeling to it, following the classic “party goes on adventure to destroy the evil” plot line. But with the advancements in gaming, they have been able to play with what exactly an open world means. In FF7, arguably the most popular game in the franchise from a pop culture sense, we get semi open cities were we can explore different stores and shops, as well as side quests and other activities. This eventually leads us to the open world of FF7 which in its day was impressive, it even featured two major fan favorite party members of the series that you can miss recruiting if you don’t explore enough.
Related: Todd Howard Secures Skyrim Win Ahead of Starfield Release
Obviously the games have gone further and further from there, but have kept a mostly linear path with just cityscapes as explorative hubs, and badlands areas to grind and level up. This often give games a more cinematic approach, as opposed to the “let’s ignore the main quest of saving the world because this townsperson needs eggs collected from a nearby farm” approach.
Game producer Naoki Yoshida stated in an interview that “Final Fantasy 16 is not an open world game“ and that “To bring players a wide variety of environments, in the highest quality possible, and ultimately enhancing game experience, we selected several areas that we wanted to focus on – and created those in extreme detail.” This is the give and take of the open worlds that the series has given us.
Final Fantasy 15 gave us a large open world to play in with Noctis and his pals, but as much as you may or may not have enjoyed the game, the environments and details of the world were lacking, and while it looked beautiful, the scenery could feel a bit stagnant while completing fetch quest after fetch quest and ignoring the games sense of urgency. That being said the game did offer up a sense of freedom, and let you just enjoy roaming around a fun world fighting monster and bad guys, or fishing and snapping pictures.
What makes this interesting is that two massive Final Fantasy games are here and on the way. We will see Final Fantasy XVI with its detailed mostly linear approach, which so far has fans raving, the game receiving extremely high praise from fans and critics alike. On the other hand we have Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, which will feature “Players will be able to journey across the wide and multifaceted world with a high degree of freedom, experiencing a myriad of different stories along the way.” according to director Naoki Hamaguchi.
With both games looking like they will be successful, it will be interesting to see if one sways the series one way or the other, or if they will continue to split the difference and go both routes. At the end of the day it comes down to what kind of Final Fantasy is more enticing, one where you can experience the full breath of the world at your own pace, or a more detailed and cinematic story experience?
Will you be picking up either of the upcoming Final Fantasy titles? Let us know in the comments!
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
