One of the big announcements from yesterday’s PlayStation Showcase was the final unveiling of Square Enix’s much anticipated Final Fantasy XVI. The game doesn’t have a subtitle, and the logo shows the Phoenix and another creature in battle behind the standard Final Fantasy logo font. While it was just an announcement trailer, we actually got some interesting details about not only the story but also the world, the characters, and the general gameplay. The big news was, of course, the exclusivity to PlayStation 5, though there is a bit to dive into regarding that exclusivity as well. If you’re curious about the footage itself you can check it out in the video above, and for everything we know so far about the game you can keep scrolling!
Videos by ComicBook.com
Story
We initially meet a group of soldiers who reveal they are looking for Shiva’s Dominant, and though someone questions if the girl will be there, their orders are to find her regardless. There is one person that the camera focuses in on who looks bothered by all of this, and we see him pop up later in the footage as well.
We then meet Joshua, a young boy who is the Arch Duke’s son. Joshua is protected by a bodyguard, known as his Shield, and this seems to be the other main protagonist, as we get his narration and most of the gameplay has him at the forefront. We then see both him and the character from earlier spliced together at the end with some ominous-sounding narration, so odds are they will be the two main protagonists but their paths will collide.
We also learn that without the blessing of the mother crystal the realm can’t be saved from the spread of the blight, so that appears to be the plot on the macro level.
The text in the trailer reads “The legacy of the Crystals has shaped our history for long enough. I’ll kill you if it’s the last thing I do.”
Gameplay
The combat on display is reminiscent of the combat from Final Fantasy XV, and that’s not a complaint, as that combat was extremely fun. It was hard to tell much else since there were no UI elements in place, and we don’t know how Summons will work either this time around or if any elements from Final Fantasy VII Remake will make it into the mix, but we’ll keep you posted.
Exclusivity
This got a bit messy but thankfully was cleared up later in the day. So it appears that Final Fantasy XVI will be exclusive to PS5 for 6 months, and at that point, it can come to other non-console platforms (via @PiersHR). That is when it will head to PC (as indicated in the trailer), but it cannot come to Xbox Series X or other consoles until the 12-month mark. This is all related to when it can actually release mind you, so it’s up to Square Enix and the platforms to actually work out a release date.
Development
Final Fantasy XVI Director Hiroshi Takai shared some thoughts on the development of Final Fantasy XVI. “From the establishment of an all new development environment to learning the ins-and-outs of the PlayStation 5, the team and I have taken on countless challenges during our journey to bring you the sixteenth chapter in the storied Final Fantasy franchise. And though we’re pouring our hearts and souls into this project each and every day, it may still be some time before we can get it into your hands. However, I promise it will be worth the wait!”
Release Info
No release date was revealed, though Square Enix did say that the next big reveal of information would be in 2021, so we’re probably looking at 2022 for this one if I had to guess.
So that’s everything we know so far, but we’ll keep you posted on news as soon as it is available right here, and if you want to talk all things Final Fantasy XVI you can with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
