Final Fantasy 16 succeeded in bringing the series to younger players

Final Fantasy 16 has been returning to the headlines recently. We already know that the PC version of the game is making good progress and is on track to release this year. Taking a step back and looking at the current version of the game though, Square Enix reckons that this new mainline entry in the series has succeeded at drawing in younger fans.

While each mainline Final Fantasy release has been a success, Square Enix has spent the last decade trying to find ways to bring in a broader audience. The key change was shifting to open-world design with Final Fantasy 15, although the formula has significantly transformed since, with games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 16 handling open-world gameplay in different ways.

With Final Fantasy 16, the development team chose a more linear approach to mission design, but these are broken up with periods of exploration in large open-world zones. To accompany this, the developers also put a lot of time into ensuring the game played like a top-tier action game, further moving away from the series' turn-based roots.

These changes appear to have been for the better. Final Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide director, Takeo Kujiraoka, explained to PushSquare that the new game has expanded the series' audience:

“In recent years, players of the Final Fantasy series have tended to skew towards a higher age range. However, this time there are survey results showing that more people in their teens and 20s played Final Fantasy 16. I think this shows that, to a certain extent, we've achieved one of our initial goals – to have players of all ages play the latest Final Fantasy game.”

That doesn't mean that all future mainline Final Fantasy games will follow in the footsteps of 16, but Square Enix does appear to have finally cracked a formula for large-world exploration, combined with fast-paced action combat.

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KitGuru Says: As much as I enjoy turn-based games, Final Fantasy 16 is my favourite of the series. If the quality of the game's combat can remain on par in future games, then modern Final Fantasy may finally have its hooks in me.

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