A pivot to a full-action combat system means Final Fantasy 16 has a higher skill cap than many turn-based entries in previous JRPG series, at least as far as input dexterity is concerned. Rather than offering different difficulty options, Enix devised an unusual item-based system that allowed players to tailor the game to their desired level by equipping special rings.
Discussing the system as part of a roundtable interview attended by IGN, Combat Director Ryoto Suzuki said, “When creating this system, one thing I didn’t want to do was create an auto-battle-only system. It was to create,” he explained. Once in combat, put the controller down and it will fight for you, put the controller back on and play again. Because it splits the experience for different types of players. Also, players who choose auto-battle do not have the feeling that they are in and out of combat. And we didn’t want to do that. That’s where I came up with the accessory idea. ”
These accessories come in the form of five different rings that give combat mitigating effects and can be used not only to make the game less difficult, but also to make combat more accessible. The five rings are:
- Ring of Timely Focusthe time it takes for an enemy attack to connect is temporarily slowed down, giving you more time to react and dodge.
- ring of timely assistautomatically issues commands to your pet dog, Torgal.
- timely strike ringPerform a combo attack with a single press of the attack button.
- Timely Evasion Ringauto-evades most attacks.
- ring of timely healingautomatically use potions to stay healthy.
“We wanted this game to be kind of a gateway for players who aren’t good at action games to enter the genre and show that action games can be fun, you can get better, and you feel better. ‘ explained. Suzuki.
As we discovered in the hands-on demo, items certainly make action combat more approachable. But they may also be useful in terms of accessibility. For example, players with disabilities who can’t quickly input multiple buttons may find Ring of Timely Strike and Timely Evasion helpful.
Of these five accessories, only two can be equipped at a time. When asked why he couldn’t equip all five at the same time, producer Naoki Yoshida said:And even the strongest two like the timing avoidance ring […] And maybe a timely strike […] Even if you do get there, you still have to push squares and away from a few things. This guy is actually part of the action, even though he’s wearing his two most powerful accessories. ”
Suzuki said that while these items were made to help people struggling with action combat, they could potentially be used by highly skilled players as well. , there are a lot of different types of players,” he said. “There are some players who are good at action but always forget to recover. [the Ring of Timely Healing] Accessories allow those players to focus on the action and use their techniques, but they are not helpful, they are a quality of life enhancer. ”
“But we still need to pay attention to how much potion remains,” warned Yoshida. “If you don’t have any, you can’t use them automatically.”
For more on Final Fantasy 16, read our stories about how it could only be created on PS5 hardware, and how the world map lacks hidden dungeons. You can also read Yoshida’s comments on the approach.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.
