Little is known about Square Enix’s upcomingFinal Fantasy 16, as there was even some confusion of its platforms on announcement. One thing that does seem clear, based on the trailer alone, is a return-to-form approach for the game. Over time,Final Fantasyhas gone back and forth telling more fantasy-oriented stories like the first few games and more sci-fi oriented stories likeFinal Fantasy 7andFF15.Based on what was shown, it seems clear thatFinal Fantasy 16finds itself in the former camp, at least in style.
However, it’s possible that the new entry is bucking tradition in one way. Many may recall the young man in theFinal Fantasy 16trailerwhose name appears to be Joshua. Based on his character design and the fact that he seemingly heals the main character at one point, it would seem that Joshua is a White Mage. The history there is simple, but Joshua also seems to be more than that class in the trailer by doing something no White Mage can normally do.
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Joshua is Clearly a White Mage…
Beyond the healing spell Joshua casts, he has some strong and apparent connections with White Mages past. The class has existed ever since the first game, and there has been a couple of staples. First, in design, there’s theWhite Mage’s white and red robe(usually more white than red) and a cat-ear hood. These characters are usually more timid, with some exceptions, and have access to powerful healing magics. It’s worth highlighting howFinal FantasyWhite Mages typically only have one offensive spell: Holy.
Because of her connection with the Holy Materia,Aerith is often considered a pseudo-White Mage inFinal Fantasy 7, which goes to show how this class does have some variants. After all, the color most commonly associated with Aerith is red. So, the very fact that Joshua appears to be wearing a white and red robe, even if it’s mostly red, can easily put him in this class. Just like Aerith and many White Mages before him, so too does Joshua appear to be mostly soft-spoken.
One could likely make an argument for a Red Mage, but it has seen many iterations over the years. Red Mages typically have access to basic, arcane magic as well, and that’s not something Joshua seems to have an affinity for, although this could change as more information aboutFinal Fantasy 16becomes available.
Regardless, Joshua appears to be more than just an ordinary White Mage inFinal Fantasy 16. Nothing necessarily offensive is shown, but as someone dies in front of him, it appearshe summons the Phoenix. Given that this particular summon, likely even inFF16,revolves around rebirth, that wouldn’t be much of a shock, but what happens after is.
But He’s Clearly Something More Too
Upon seeing someone (presumably a loved one) die in front of him and getting covered in their blood, Joshua glows a feint yellow-ish red, even expulsing this aura from his body. His eyes take on the same color, and the Phoenix sweeps in. Someone looks at Joshua stunned, however, implying that it’s impossible but that Joshua has summoned anEikon of Fire inFinal Fantasy 16.
Barring any misdirection, it seems that not only does Phoenix arrive to aid Joshua, but Ifrit emerges as well. Despite having several traits of a classic White Mage then, it seems that Joshua has some special relationship with Eikons of Fire and/or the ability to summon them into combat. That’s not traditional of characters with a similar design, and it’s something that Square Enix will hopefully explain soon. Again, this could be some misdirection or non-linear class progression based thing, as it’s not impossible that Joshua is a party member of sorts. The trailer also implies thatFinal Fantasy 16doesn’t have companions, but at the same time, there’s so little shown that the only supporting evidence isFF15’s first trailer did show the companions.
Whether it’s some misdirectionto imply that Joshua can summon Ifrit, it’s something to do with a unique party or class approach, it’s a major buck to tradition for White Mages, or what any number of other things, it seems Joshua’s importance to the story is matched with his possible implications for the direction ofFF16.After all, embracing its roots doesn’t mean leaving innovation behind, and Joshua could be a primo example of that.
