The future of Final Fantasy continues to be a hotly debated topic amongst fans, as they all want different things. After the release of Final Fantasy 16, fans are torn about what they want to see in the next entry. Depending on who you ask, the 16th entry is either a great action game or the worst in the series, but no one’s calling it the best entry in this franchise.
It’s been almost two years since the release of 16, and fans still don’t know what they want for the 17th entry. Square Enix has also been pretty tight-lipped about their progress on 17, as we imagine they will sink millions of dollars into this title. While the company will likely make this game a multi-platform release, we still don’t know how this game will turn out.
Now that I’ve observed what some fans want and the gameplay mechanics Square Enix likes to implement, one conclusion has been made clear to me: the next Final Fantasy needs to use FF7 Rebirth as a blueprint.
Why Rebirth? Because it satisfies both the core audience’s wants and needs. It also fulfills everything Square Enix wants from their modern titles.
Gamers who have been playing Final Fantasy all their life want a big adventure where they ride chocobos and airships with a party of people who like each other. Rebirth has that. Square Enix likes to make action games that mix modern triple-A mechanics with RPG elements. Once again, Rebirth has that.
You could argue that Final Fantasy 15 paved the way for Rebirth, as it’s an open-world RPG with real-time combat. Future updates would make it more like Rebirth, even making the other characters playable in the main game. Unfortunately, Square Enix released the game in an incomplete state, which made the story difficult to understand without watching the tie-in anime and movie. It’s a shame, too, because Noctis and his crew have that party charisma that a lot of JRPGs strive for.
Rebirth learned a lot from 15 while also perfecting mechanics from its Remake predecessor. Combat is much tighter and has more options, with each character controlling differently despite all using the same button combinations. The mix of open-world exploration and linear story missions allows story moments to breathe, letting fans decide their own fun before the ending breaks their hearts.
It doesn’t matter how fans feel about the current FF7 trilogy; there’s no denying that these games are successes. Even if Rebirth underperformed on PS5, the critical and fan responses have been positive. Ask anyone who’s played the game, and they probably enjoyed the story, its addictive combat system, the numerous side quests, or something else not mentioned here.
What’s really going to carry the next Final Fantasy game is if it has a lovable group of characters and a story that everyone can get behind. Rebirth is lucky that it's a remake because they can just use characters people already love, like Cloud, Barrett, and Tifa. This next Final Fantasy will have to build its heroes and villains from scratch while trying to find a balance that makes them likable.
Old-school JRPG fans are begging Square Enix to make the next Final Fantasy turn-based again, as games like Persona and Like a Dragon have used these formulas brilliantly. Even the upcoming Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 uses turn-based battles, which has Clive’s voice actor in it so that fans will love it. Square still makes turn-based RPGs, but they’re usually HD-2D projects like the Dragon Quest 3 remake and Octopath Traveller 2, both of which are brilliant.
Don’t get me wrong, I would love it if the next Final Fantasy returned to its turn-based roots. However, Square Enix insists that the franchise’s future is in real-time combat, so fans must compromise with this company’s wants. Having Rebirth’s freedom and combat in the next installment will give both parties something to chew on, which should keep this franchise alive.
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