Yoshida says "open world FFXVI would have taken 15 years to make", ditched its traditional turn-based battle system in order to appeal to younglings

[John Elden Ring]

An open-world Final Fantasy 16 ‘would’ve taken 15 years to make’, claims producer | VGC​

It is practically impossible to ask for everything"

www.videogameschronicle.com

Final Fantasy 16 ditched turn-based combat to appeal to younger generations, producer says | VGC​

Final Fantasy producer Naoki Yoshida has said that Final Fantasy 16 will ditch the turn-based combat in order to appeal to a new, younger audience.

www.videogameschronicle.com

Listing the main aims for the project, Yoshida said: "I want a story of a hero who saves the world, because this is Final Fantasy. I want a summon to go wild and destroy the map. I want to release this game as soon as possible. I cannot release this game in parts.

"When considering these four main points, I believe it is practically impossible to ask for everything. If we had a development period of about 15 years, we may have had the opportunity of challenging ourselves with an open world [smiles]. After all, it's almost impossible in terms of time and cost to create a global story within an open world.

Speaking in the latest issue of Famitsu, translated for VGC by contributor Robert Sephazon, the developer said that the team had to reassess the audience Final Fantasy was appealing to:

I'm from a generation that grew up with command and turn-based RPGs. I think I understand how interesting and immersive it can be. On the other hand, for the past decade or so, I've seen quite a number of opinions saying 'I don't understand the attraction of selecting commands in video games'.

This opinion is only increasing, particularly with younger audiences who do not typically play RPGs.

Yoshida went on to explain that he believes the evolution in console technology has pushed RPGs towards action-based mechanics rather than turn-based:

For several console generations now, all character expressions can be done in real-time. Actions such as 'press the trigger and your character will shoot a gun' and 'press the button and your character will swing their sword' can now be easily expressed without going through a command system. This is not an argument of what is good or bad, but there is a difference based on the player's preferences and age. Furthermore, there is a big difference between a command system and a turn-based system, and these are often conflated, but are two different concepts. RPGs

 

[Bryank75]

Yes, ditch turn based to appeal to us late 30's young go-getters!

Still, the combat looked fun. I'm excited to see how it plays.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Turn based was a product of it time. It was basically a "menu selection game".

I hope is not "corridor simulator" like FF13, or FF7 part 1.

 

[Swift_Star]

Good. Open World doesn't belong on FF.

Turn based was a product of it time. It was basically a "menu selection game".

I hope is not "corridor simulator" like FF13, or FF7 part 1.

It's most likely going to be wide linear, like FFXII.

 

[Papacheeks]

Good. Open World doesn't belong on FF.

It's most likely going to be wide linear, like FFXII.

Isn't Rebirth going to be open world?

 

[arvfab]

Isn't Rebirth going to be open world?

Well if they turn to a world map like in the original, would it be open world?

 

[Papacheeks]

Well if they turn to a world map like in the original, would it be open world?

Yea, i don't know?

Like I think Yoshida's version of open world might be different than what we think when someone says "open world"?

 

[arvfab]

Yea, i don't know?

Like I think Yoshida's version of open world might be different than what we think when someone says "open world"?

We will hopefully find out soon. I wouldn't mind a world map/overworld instead of a full blown open world, as long as the cities and dungeons are detailed.

 

[Swift_Star]

Isn't Rebirth going to be open world?

Theres no confirmation of that but most likely no. It’ll probably also be wide linear. Open world doesn’t make a lot of sense for linear games, which is what FF games are. It can have an “over world” but I feel like that’s also unlikely.

 

[Alabtrosmyster]

Well if they turn to a world map like in the original, would it be open world?

No, because you transition to go into cities, dungeons, battles, etc.

But that would make little sense with today's tech, so I think that the game will kind of need to be open world once you get out of Midgard.


This is why they should have stuck much closer to the original game's approach and not split it (which is something that I believed could be done, I was so wrong, at least with what they did to the story).

 

[Killer_Sakoman]

Turn based was the result of limited hardware. What people should ask for is good and strategic combat system.

 

[ethomaz]

Yuonglings are killing gaming confirmed

 

[ethomaz]

Turn based was the result of limited hardware. What people should ask for is good and strategic combat system.

It was never hardware limitation… it was design choice… you have non-turn based JRPGs being launched together with turn-based ones.

 

[Swift_Star]

No, because you transition to go into cities, dungeons, battles, etc.

But that would make little sense with today's tech, so I think that the game will kind of need to be open world once you get out of Midgard.


This is why they should have stuck much closer to the original game's approach and not split it (which is something that I believed could be done, I was so wrong, at least with what they did to the story).

It doesn't, really.
Having open areas with branching and optional paths going from points A to B, with various sections works much better for linear games, like on DQXI and FFXII. It's the approach that makes more sense to this kind of game and JRPGs in general.

 

[EDMIX]

Yea, i don't know?

Like I think Yoshida's version of open world might be different than what we think when someone says "open world"?

I was just going to say that. They might be using their own terms ,but Open World is how FF started in the first place.
Getting an airship and going from place to place etc.

 

[ethomaz]

I was just going to say that. They might be using their own terms ,but Open World is how FF started in the first place.
Getting an airship and going from place to place etc.

They call that overworld nowdays lol
I always thought FF games have Open World but in the modern definition there is a difference:

Overworld: you have a open world map but you have to change to a inside view in cities or dungeons.
Open world: everything is the same map... so the cities and dungeons are in your map and there is no transition between them.

 

[Cragarmi]

I felt that FF7r was a good balance of old and new

 

[EDMIX]

They call that overworld nowdays lol
I always thought FF games have Open World but in the modern definition there is a difference:

Overworld: you have a open world map but you have to change to a inside view in cities or dungeons.
Open world: everything is the same map... so the cities and dungeons are in your map and there is no transition between them.

lol semantics.

Going into a city or dungeon and the view changing is just moot. Thats most games btw lol Using this exact logic, Skyrim and Oblivion are not open world. They have a transition between them, in fact only with mods can you have a no loading type thing, but I've never see that as "now its a different genre everyone"

Those words are just too interchangeable. If you are traversing over a big ass world, its open world.

 

[ethomaz]

lol semantics.

Going into a city or dungeon and the view changing is just moot. Thats most games btw lol Using this exact logic, Skyrim and Oblivion are not open world. They have a transition between them, in fact only with mods can you have a no loading type thing, but I've never see that as "now its a different genre everyone"

Those words are just too interchangeable. If you are traversing over a big ass world, its open world.

I agree... on GAF I had and extensive discussion showing that Open World games existed since I started to play games with SNES.
It is just become a meme and every developer wants to say it is a open world game to get more sales lol

Most JPRGs were always open world.

I give the FF example... yes you have a main quest line but when you are in the open world map you can do any side quest just like modern "open world" games... you don't need to follow the linear main quest... sometimes the linear main quest become options with no order to finish... you can do A, B and C or B, C and A... the order doesn't matter just like well modern "open world" games lol
I never saw difference.

 

[ethomaz]

I will add a bit more.

Most of games that try to be Open World just to put in the marketing that it is Open World game fails miserable in doing so.
In these cases the Open World design more harm than helps the game.