Much of the discussion aroundFinal Fantasy 16is how different it is from the norm. FollowingFinal Fantasy 15’s attempt at an open world action-RPG,Final Fantasy 16has almost entirely transitioned into the action genre. There are still elements of customization, a strong focus on storytelling, and a number of RPG design trends that date back decades, but the game makes its differences clear. Responses to this have varied, thoughFF16has been gaining support since its launch.
Part of that is due to the expertise behindFinal Fantasy 16. It’s widely known that Square Enix Creative Business Unit 3, which last served as the developer of the award-winningFinal Fantasy 14 Heavenswardexpansion, developedFF16. A number of prominent staff fromFF14are also shared between both projects, including director Naoki Yoshida serving as producer and Masayoshi Soken returning as composer. That’s only scratching the surface, and among the other noteworthy names isDevil May Cry 5’s combat director Ryota Suzuki. His presence has garnered attention from character action fans, and understanding what “character action” is explains a lot aboutFinal Fantasy 16.
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Where Character Action Came From
Character action, also known as stylish action, is a term describing combat-oriented games with heavy emphasis on style and mechanical complexity. Many titles in this genre have high skill ceilings and include heightened difficulty, a visible scoring system, or both to encourage players' improvement. Character action’s pillar franchises includeCapcom’sDevil May Cry, Platinum Games’Bayonetta(which was made by ex-Capcom developers), Team Ninja’s 3DNinja Gaidentitles, and Sony’sGod of Warfranchise. The genre’s invention is attributed to the 2001 classicDevil May Cry, but like many games in the genre, the answer is deeper than it appears.
1999 saw the release ofRising Zan: The Samurai Gunmanfrom snowboarding game developer UEP Systems, and it coincidentallyreplicated many ofDevil May Cry’s traits. Both games featured wisecracking heroes wielding a sword and guns, on top of character action staples like a forward-moving melee attack, difficult parries, and named style rankings after every level. They even shared super modes and unlockable content to boost replay value. What separates Dante’s adventures from Zan’s was the former’s polished gameplay and the latter’s use of cinematic quick time events, but the techniques each pioneered are still in use today.
Where Final Fantasy 16 Fits Into The Character Action Genre
That brings the focus toFinal Fantasy 16. Clive has all the trappings of a modern character action protagonist, right down to specificDMCparallels like a sword and magic projectile that can both charge, the iconic forward-sliding Stinger, launchers, animation cancels, and a form of style switching. Interestingly,Final Fantasy 16’s world sprinkles short action levelsand setpieces between longer overworld portions, a far cry fromDevil May Cry’s successive missions within connected environments.FF16also reserves its style rankings for Arcade mode, which by itself feels simple in ways akin toRising Zan.
Character action is a vast label that coexists with many genres, producing hybrid works like the third-person shooterVanquishand the rhythm gameHi-Fi Rush.Final Fantasy 16supplies another unique take, not only through an AAA RPG framework but also thanks to its many influences. Development support from Platinum Games broughtBayonetta’sepic scale intoFF16via Eikon battles, and the Stagger system pioneered byFF13is now rendered like the Break Gauge from Team Ninja’sStranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. Many of Clive’s special moves are also tied to cooldowns, a rarity outside the recentGod of Wartitles.Final Fantasy 16shares varying amounts of DNA with character action’s foundational franchises, and among such a diverse genre, the result fits in perfectly.
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