Square Enix
Final Fantasy XVI is 95% complete and will announce its release date before the year ends
The game's director assures that development is almost finished and that we will have information about the release date before the end of 2022.
Although it was scheduled for 2022 Final Fantasy XVI will not be delayed again and will finally see the light in 2023. In a new interview with the folks at Famitsu, the game's director, Hiroshi Takai, and Producer Naoki Yoshida, announced that its development is 95% complete and assured that it is almost finished. “The current situation is that we play through the game day by day, tweak the rough parts, and brush up the parts that have flaws in performance or drawing. The rest is bug fixing. There is a notice that it is forbidden to add code because new bugs will appear,” Takai explains.
Asked about the wide release window given so far (their latest and spectacular trailers are accompanied solely and exclusively by "Summer 2023"), Yoshida has also spoken out to give good news to all fans of the saga. There will be news before the year end. "We plan to release the information again later this year, so I think we can say it at that time. I don't think it's going to be over the summer, so I think it's okay," the director replied with a laugh. Is he aiming for The Game Awards 2022 scheduled for December 8? Is he hinting that it will come out before June 21 or is it just us?
Final Fantasy XVI debuts combat system
Six years have passed since Final Fantasy XV and the hype for this sixteenth installment has already crossed all the layers of the atmosphere. Among all the details we know about the game, the one that stands out the most is undoubtedly its new combat system, which always used to be the focus of debate within the saga. FF XVI will not return to the turn-based fights of the originals but will bet on hack-and-slash style action. The best example of what we can expect is given by Ryota Suzuki, the person responsible for this area, who in turn is responsible for the combat of games like Devil May Cry 5 or Dragon's Dogma. That's nothing. But the purists should not be alarmed because Suzuki has also promised a neat skill tree with different ways to develop the heroes.
As for the story, Final Fantasy XVI takes us to the world of Valisthea, region of the Crystals, strange precious stones whose influence allows the locals to master magic and enjoy a prosperous and long life. Or at least it had been so until now when great developed powers began to emerge that yearned to monopolize this power and make it their exclusive use and enjoyment. Such factions as the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Iron and Waloed Kingdoms, the Republic of Dhalmekia, and the Holy Empire of Sanbreque.
Valisthea, the long-awaited return to medieval fantasy
These houses we are talking about will undertake the search for the so-called Dominants, the people who best channel these crystals and who possess unique abilities, such as the ability to summon different beasts known as eikon. The kingdoms will welcome (or hunt down and capture) the Dominants to use them to their own benefit, so it won't be long before war for the future of Valisthea is unleashed. And in the middle of it all is Clive Rosefield, a mercenary of high lineage who must decide what role he plays in this. If he gathers and protects the Dominants, or if he takes control of the Crystals and subjugates the world himself.
Crystals, summons, a medieval world? Much of what is told here will evoke memories of past installments. Although this 2022 Final Fantasy XVI misses the 35th anniversary of the franchise, everything suggests that this work will be a tribute to the imaginary and legacy of the franchise. A tribute that we can not be more eager to try. At least now we know that it won't take much longer.