Final Fantasy 16 is IGN First in June 2023! We’re bringing you tons of exclusive content until the game’s release on June 22nd. First things first, check out this lava-hot boss fight and liquid flames. “Liquid Flame awaits you in the inner sanctuary of Drake’s Breath, a place you’ll visit somewhere in the middle of the game,” director Hiroshi Takai told IGN.
For long-time fans of the 35-year-old series, the name Liquid Frame may sound familiar. That’s because Liquid Flame is one of Final Fantasy V’s most iconic bosses. Final Fantasy V was also the first game in the series that Takai worked on as a developer. However, it wasn’t Mr. Takai who decided to bring this nostalgic enemy to Final Fantasy XVI, it was Creative Director Kazutoyo Maehiro who came up with the idea. Maehiro also wrote the story for Final Fantasy XVI, and says that Final Fantasy V was the game that inspired him to become a creator himself.
Producer Naoki Yoshida said, “Mr. Takai was one of the original developers of FINAL FANTASY V, and it’s a title I’m very attached to. And Maehiro, yes, he’s a real otaku. A nerd, a game nerd, obsessed with detailed scenarios.As with Final Fantasy XIV, many references to the history of the series come from these two.It’s just their touch.”
Maehiro added the following about why he wanted to introduce Liquid Flame. “There are many reasons. First and foremost, I am a huge Final Fantasy V fan. Drake’s Breath” is a volcanic stage with lava as the main concept, so I thought that the boss in this area would only be “Liquid Flame!”
That said, Final Fantasy XVI’s boss fight with Liquid Flame is more than just a cool reference. According to Maehiro, there is a solid reason why it appears. “It doesn’t just appear out of nowhere,” says Maehiro. “Liquid flames have a purpose of their own. If you’re casually playing, you might say, ‘Oh, here comes a powerful enemy!’
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As you can see from the gameplay video, the Liquid Flame feature that changes shape during battle is faithfully implemented to the real-time action of Final Fantasy XVI. “Sometimes it stands on two legs, then it transforms into a four-legged beast-like figure, and then into a flying enemy,” explains Combat Director Ryota Suzuki. “Yes, we definitely incorporated that unique feature.”
“It’s an enemy with the fire attribute,” Suzuki continues. “When standing on four legs, it charges at the player with an agile attack. When in the air, it is out of range and attacks the protagonist Clive with its flame breath. When standing on two legs, it is more traditional. We designed the combat so that players had to react to these different forms.”
According to Suzuki, many bosses in FINAL FANTASY XVI consist of multiple phases. “We designed it not only to increase the difficulty when entering a new phase of the boss battle, but also to function as a change of flow that keeps the player engrossed,” says Suzuki. “Between cutscenes, boss attack patterns and other traits change, forcing players to fight in different ways and use different Eikon abilities.”
Akon’s abilities are special attacks that are central to combat in Final Fantasy XVI. Clive learns new Akon abilities over the course of his adventure. Players can equip multiple Eikon abilities and switch between them during combat. “Even if you lose, you can change your build directly from the Game Over screen before returning to the game,” says Suzuki. “You can learn from your attack patterns on your first playthrough and equip Eikon’s abilities accordingly. I think you’ll know which Eikon’s abilities are good for fighting Liquid Flame.”
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Suzuki says that the team is careful not to make Final Fantasy XVI’s combat so difficult that you’ll never want to give up. If the boss is defeated in one of the later phases, the fight will start from that phase on the next attempt. This is true for both difficulty settings you can choose on your first playthrough.
“The story is the game’s greatest attraction. I want players to see Clive’s life through to the end,” says Takai. “This is why we made sure that both the story-focused mode and the action-focused mode (the difficulty setting you choose in your first playthrough) are not too difficult.”
“As he continues to enjoy the story in his first playthrough, Clive will naturally grow stronger and learn different moves and Akon abilities,” says Suzuki. “We tried to make sure the enemies weren’t so difficult that some players would give up. Even if we lost, we tried our best to make the next challenge a bit more manageable. Looking for more challenging action For those of you who have unlocked a new difficulty setting called Final Fantasy Mode on your second playthrough, here you’ll find the first with everything you’ve unlocked to enjoy the game’s action to the fullest. A playthrough version of Clive is available.”
Stay tuned for even more exclusive content dropping before Final Fantasy XVI hits PlayStation 5 on June 22nd.
Esra Crabbe Editor of IGN Japan. He usually stands on his two legs.
