Board 8 > Final Fantasy XVI trailer

(+) Yeah! (+)

What Final Fantasys haven't revolved around crystals at some point? 8 and 10?
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Are people assuming this game won't have any steampunk/sci-fi elements just because we didn't see them in a 4-minute debut trailer?

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Mewtwo59 posted...

What Final Fantasys haven't revolved around crystals at some point? 8 and 10?

I mean, I guess it depends on what you mean "revolve around" and what you consider crystals. I don't know if I'd say VI's revolves around Magicite and Espers (although they're important). I wouldn't consider VII's storyline to revolve around them, even with Holy and the Black Materia. FFIX hyped up a return to crystals, but they honestly literally didn't matter until the final dungeon. Were there crystals in XIII?

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People turned into crystals in XIII

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Mobilezoid posted...

People turned into crystals in XIII

I thought about that, but I dunno if I'd say it's the same thing as "there's this crystal(s) that our entire civilization's existence depends on"

that's the kind of storyline I could do without

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LeonhartFour posted...

I thought about that, but I dunno if I'd say it's the same thing as "there's this crystal(s) that our entire civilization's existence depends on"

that's the kind of storyline I could do without

The fal'Cie basically fulfilled that role, right? Maybe it's splitting hairs at that point but it's the same kind of crystal-powered gods the series likes to dress up.

Honestly I don't mind a return to the old tropes or the western medieval trappings as long as they do something cool with it, and I have enough faith in the 14 team for that.

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Wouldn't be surprised if Joshua turns out to be the main bad guy, if the MC's vow to kill at the very end was any indication. Maybe he got fully corrupted by Ifrit.

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This is kinda way backroom industry stuff, but Ryota Suzuki is the battle director for FFXVI.

He's the designer from the DMC5 team that got scooped up by Squeenix some time ago. Keep in mind he wasn't the lead or anything - just one of many designers, but I still have to wonder based on the combat in the trailer if he's bringing some of that heritage into this project. Quite exciting!

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Most excited I've been for FF in 14 years. A return to classic fantasy and Suzuki as the battle director has me super interested.

Hard to believe this is the first truly new mainline FF announcement that isn't an MMO since 2006.

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I really wish we could have cool looking characters again one day. How long has it been since we had a diverse cast? FFIX? Besides the berries and cream boy, no characters in that trailer had any distinguishing characteristics

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YoshiP on this game means there's a good chance this game will break from chasing industry-leading tech which leads to eventual delays and development issues.

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Watched the trailer again now that I've had a chance to sleep and digest it all

Still very wet

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looks extremely boring

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_stingers_ posted...

It looks like more of ff12...dry medieval political plots that SE doesn't know how to write in an engaging way

The amount of nonsense jargon instantly brought me back to manufacted nethicite. Huge turn off.

Maybe they have improved though. The narrative style in 15 was awesome and worked well even though it was totally unfinished. If they use some of that in here it could be really good.

Gameplay looks like a total prototype, but more actiony is good. Anything like FF7R is gonna be good.

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MawiIe posted...

I really wish we could have cool looking characters again one day. How long has it been since we had a diverse cast? FFIX? Besides the berries and cream boy, no characters in that trailer had any distinguishing characteristics

I really have no problem with the visual character designs in XII, XIII, or even XV. I mean they look fine, I think. They're just boring, personality-wise.

Here's my wild guess born from a short story that dropped today for FFXIV -

(Major Shadowbringers spoilers)

Today's Tales from the Shadows reveal that the doomed Eighth Umbral Calamity timeline that was averted with the events of Shadowbringers still moves on, and the people of that timeline have gotten help from Midgardsomr in their efforts to rebuild. Maybe this timeline is where FFXVI takes place? It's ostensibly cut-off from FFXIV entirely so we hopefully don't have to worry about timeline/dimensional hopping nonsense.

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That seems like both more effort to go and more confusing for the uninitiated through than just sticking it on one of the many unused worlds in the 14 "multiverse" and having it sit as a standalone until letting 14 deal with it in the inevitable crossover.

The tinfoil theories are fun for now but until we see more than a similar Ifrit design and some shared terminology I'm not convinced they'll be hugely tied together.

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Things we know:

-Heavensward FF14 team is on it. This explains why Stormblood was a big dip in quality.
-Ryota Suzuki is battle director.
-Expected to be out in 2021

Super excited. Looking really cool!

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I dunno what it is, but I just struggle to get interested in FF these days. If it wasnt for the FF logo or other giveaways like chocobos I wouldnt have even guessed this was Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy has no single identity and never has. FF 4/5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, and now 16 are all pretty different from each other. Some of the reactions in this topic are honestly bizarre to me and only reinforces my personal perception that Square fans don't actually know what they want outside of more nostalgia.

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Did anyone else feel like the line about "The legacy of the crystals has shaped our history for too long" was more meta about the entire series in general? Like that was their warning that this one is going to be pretty different to me but it could be more literal I guess.

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skullbone posted...

Did anyone else feel like the line about "The legacy of the crystals has shaped our history for too long" was more meta about the entire series in general? Like that was their warning that this one is going to be pretty different to me but it could be more literal I guess.

felt like they were going full Dr. Cid

but yeah if the crystal thing is just a red herring I'd be good with that

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KamikazePotato posted...

Final Fantasy has no single identity and never has. FF 4/5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, and now 16 are all pretty different from each other. Some of the reactions in this topic are honestly bizarre to me and only reinforces my personal perception that Square fans don't actually know what they want outside of more nostalgia.

I know, thats why its weird to say. I think its mostly that Ive just grown apart from the series and it doesnt even really look appealing anymore even though other JRPGs still do.

KanzarisKelshen posted...

-Expected to be out in 2021

Where'd you see that? All I saw was "more info will be revealed in 2021"

KamikazePotato posted...

Final Fantasy has no single identity and never has. FF 4/5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, and now 16 are all pretty different from each other. Some of the reactions in this topic are honestly bizarre to me and only reinforces my personal perception that Square fans don't actually know what they want outside of more nostalgia.

I dunno, most fans seems to consider 1-10 at least to have a fair amount of similarities to each other. 12 and 15 are certainly very different, yes.
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They have superficial similarities (a.k.a. airships) but the levels of technology and tone of the worlds are very different. For example, both FF7 and FF8 have 'sci-fi' elements but FF8 had significantly more advanced technology and is basically modern times + magic, which FF7 is a steampunk dystopia. I think FF8 and FF15 have more in common than FF8 and FF7 do, but FF8's graphics weren't advanced enough to represent that and people played it when they were young. Then there's FF9 which is a pure fantasy with minor steampunk elements, and part of FF10's story is how the level of technology in the world is fluctuating.

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Yeah where do we know it's expected for 2021?

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Actually let me try this



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I would say pretty much all of them have sci-fi elements (other than Tactics and maybe 2, which I haven't played). 9 certainly has more sci-fi than 6, what with them doing space travel and such. I was talking about the overall feeling of the game though, including stuff like menus/gameplay/etc.
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mnkboy907 posted...

Yeah where do we know it's expected for 2021?

I think the prevailing rumor is more 2022

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4 belongs in the same tier as 9. They both have sci-fi in the same sort of way.

7 is also pretty modern. Stuff like Shinra Tower, the rocket ship and submarine, the Golden Saucer, put it way more technologically advanced than the likes of 6. It's just that most of the rest of the world is poor, lol. I don't know enough about 12 or 14 to comment.

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The airships in XII are more advanced than what IX offers.

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More advanced than the Invincible even?

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Lightning Strikes posted...

Love the obvious XIV influence though.

for sure!

on the other hand, wasn't enthused by how realistic/drab the character designs and environments look

colliding posted...

I really have no problem with the visual character designs in XII, XIII, or even XV. I mean they look fine, I think. They're just boring, personality-wise.

XIII's character designs are probably my favorite in the series. XV designs are decent. XII's kinda boring though.
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This art direction is bad. That little kids face didnt look good at all.

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Drakeryn posted...

XII's kinda boring though.

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Yeah, 13's character designs are nice. Not a fan of 15's though. The clothing is way too samey.

And from the trailer, the 16 character designs weren't good either.
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FF1 has ancient technology stuff in it.

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pjbasis posted...

FF1 has ancient technology stuff in it.

And a satellite station, and a warmech

high fantasy nothing, it's at least as techy as a Wizardry game

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KanzarisKelshen posted...

Things we know:

-Heavensward FF14 team is on it. This explains why Stormblood was a big dip in quality.
-Ryota Suzuki is battle director.
-Expected to be out in 2021

Super excited. Looking really cool!

Look I like DMC5 as much as the next guy but does that mean I want my Final Fantasy to go full hack and slash? 7 Remake is the perfect action/turn-based blend. As long as this has party members and some sort of character growth, it'll still be fine, probably. I'm just not stoked for it, which is a first for a mainline FF for me.

colliding posted...

Look I like DMC5 as much as the next guy but does that mean I want my Final Fantasy to go full hack and slash? 7 Remake is the perfect action/turn-based blend. As long as this has party members and some sort of character growth, it'll still be fine, probably. I'm just not stoked for it, which is a first for a mainline FF for me.

He was part of Dragon's Dogma too

and MvC2

so like, wide spectrum of possibilities we're talkin' about here

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KamikazePotato posted...

Actually let me try this

I think this is splitting hairs. Since 6 this kind of generic fantasy/magitek (or real technology) hybrid has become the series brand, and rarely does it actually feel like an organic part of the setting and story versus an aesthetic choice (obvious exceptions 6, 7, and 10). The fact that 8, 13, and 15 have modern-level technology have next to no bearing on the plot. It's all pretty steeped in reinterpreting Western fantasy too. I'd argue most of the settings are more similar than they appear! Especially considering that 6, 7, and 10 are playing around with the same thematic concepts.

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I think the difference between science fiction and fantasy is aesthetic most of the time, in most works. (With exceptions that don't generally apply in Final Fantasy - e.g., near-future realistic science fiction, or science fiction that is at great pains to get the science correct.) But I tend to like a blended sci-fi/fantasy aesthetic the best.

(Also FFT is absolutely high fantasy, not low; at least I don't think there are any hints that Ivalice is actually our world. Can't speak for FF2 since I haven't played it.)
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Low fantasy doesn't have to be our world, it just has to be a place that is very similar to our world outside of a couple fantasy elements.

But FFT has prominent magic and tons of monsters so I wouldn't consider it low fantasy.
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Drakeryn posted...

I think the difference between science fiction and fantasy is aesthetic most of the time, in most works. (With exceptions that don't generally apply in Final Fantasy - e.g., near-future realistic science fiction, or science fiction that is at great pains to get the science correct.) But I tend to like a blended sci-fi/fantasy aesthetic the best.

I agree that sci-fi and fantasy blend all the time but I do think the ways they blend tend to be more important than aesthetic than not.

Maybe I'm trying to say that FF's Magitek feels like a very specific blend of the two that operates on a sliding scale. But most of it is distinctly recognizable as "Final Fantasy."

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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

The fact that 8, 13, and 15 have modern-level technology have next to no bearing on the plot.

Not sure how you're drawing the line between affecting the plot or not.

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It certainly does in 8. Less so in 13 and 15, though the contrast between Cocoon and Pulse is pretty important in 13.
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pjbasis posted...

Not sure how you're drawing the line between affecting the plot or not.

Well I wouldn't say the plot is ABOUT technology in those games, beyond some form of magitek existing.

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Mac Arrowny posted...

It certainly does in 8. Less so in 13 and 15, though the contrast between Cocoon and Pulse is pretty important in 13.

Maybe I'm forgetting too much of 8 but I'm curious what part you'd say it's important for. Like, I remember you ride a rocket ship to the moon, but you also do that in 4, you just ride a whale instead.

Cocoon/Pulse in 13 is a good example of what I'm talking about because the contrast between Cocoon as "civilization" and Pulse as "wilderness" matters way more than the fact that they have HDTVs and cell phones on Cocoon. 15 is the same way where you have a car but the only important technology is magitek.

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I guess what you're saying is that technology isn't a theme in a game like 8.

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