Arc System Works has proven itself to be one of the best at creating fighting games. It has numerous IPs under its belt, such as Guilty Gear Strive, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, DNF Duel, and more. However, one project that the developer needs to create is a true Final Fantasy fighting game by partnering with Square Enix to create a tag team fighter that fully utilizes the iconic JRPG series. Final Fantasy Dissidia was well received on the PS Vita, but fighting games have come a long way since then. Arc System Works has proven itself capable of adapting different series into high-octane fighting games, and Final Fantasy absolutely needs to be its next priority. Between the different games, Arc System Works can pull from numerous characters and game mechanics.
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A fighting game’s roster is one of its most important aspects, and Final Fantasy has so many iconic characters. Even pulling from a single game can fill up so many slots, especially for a popular game like Final Fantasy VII. This doesn’t even take into account things like Jenova, Ifrit, or Shiva, that could be a character, too. Arc System Works and Square Enix can even troll players by adding characters like Cactuar or Tonberry.
Most of the protagonists from Final Fantasy are a must. Terra, Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus, Lightning, Noctis, and Clive are all excellent choices that could play differently. Then there are supporting characters like Aeris, Rinoa, Vivi, Yuna, or Cid that would be perfect fits, too. And, of course, a Final Fantasy fighting game has to include its iconic villains like Kefka, Sephiroth, Kuja, and Ultimecia.
Including odd picks, too, is something Arc System Works should consider. A chocobo or Moogle would be funny and allow players to have odd picks. The hardest part of deciding on a roster is limiting it and finding a cohesive art style that does each game justice. Arc System Works has shown they can excel in this last department, as it has adapted numerous different franchises into beautiful-looking games.
That said, one area of challenge will be deciding on mechanics. A tag team fighter is a must. This pays homage to the party-based gameplay and allows players to use multiple of their favorite characters. But from there, the choices only get harder for Arc System Works.
Between Limit, Materia, Summons, and other mechanics from Final Fantasy’s many games, there are so many possibilities on how Arc System Works could incorporate these. Choosing one or two could be put toward a skill bar that grows as players take damage, inflict damage, or just over time. This would function as supers and other powerful attacks that players can use in combos.
Arc System Works could incorporate statuses from the Final Fantasy series and make them function like those in Persona 4 Arena. Some, such as frog, would likely be a bit too overpowered and need to be excluded, but poison, silence, berserk, and others would add interesting layers to the game. These could be applied over time by certain moves or by powerful super attacks.
If Arc System Works wanted to honor the games even more, it could include a gear system that changes a fighter’s stats. This may be overly complicated or lead to unbalancing, as Injustice 2 suffered from. At the very least, a mechanic like this could be used to alter a character’s appearance. Changing weapons or armor, or even equipping accessories, could be interesting ways to handle costume swaps.
The tag team element of a Final Fantasy fighting game by Arc System Works opens the door for many JRPG-inspired possibilities. Characters could have classes, such as rushdown, zoner, etc., that are built around archetypes from the games. Players could also utilize powerful team attacks that show off party building.
Finally, music for this kind of game would be incredible. Final Fantasy has some of the best music in gaming, and remixing these for a fighting game would give fans absolute bangers. The soundtrack alone would make Arc System Works’ fighting game worth a purchase.
Arc System Works and Square Enix could strike gold within the fighting game community by partnering up for a Final Fantasy fighting game. Not only this, but it would expand the fighting game community’s audience as Final Fantasy fans would likely give the game a chance.
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