Final Fantasy 16 Really Wants You to Know Its Action Combat Can Be Made Easy

I really find it bizarre that they continue to emphasize this so much. Button mashing action games by nature are already easy and far less tactical than they want to pretend to be.

Simply by going the route they have chosen merely to TRY to appeal to a wider western audience, they have made the game easier by changing it's genre and simplifying it's systems away from rpg mechanics and more toward action adventure mechsnics. The whole easy mode rings thing added to the already seemingly half baked and minimized gear system just seems like they are trying to make this essentially a glorified minimally playable movie if you prefer.

I would have much preferred an actual difficulty system in the options menu, as I have a suspicion this game is going to be way too easy even without the lame rings. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I really do not like when games only become challenging in a rewarding way if you do additional playthroughs. Is this game even going to have a NG+?

Is there an accessory that makes it ATB? 😉

"It's not Dark Souls, it just looks like it"
I could see market research highlighting that as a concern people actual have. It's a series which has traditionally been light on reflexes and timing.

These are a good idea. My mum’s been loving playing a lot of the big releases but her reaction speed isn’t what it used to be and it’s a shame that certain games are just completely off-limits.

More options should be great for accessibility, allowing less-able gamers to get in on the action. Great news.

@nessisonett Watching older relatives actually try different games because of accessibility options really helped open my eyes to how important they can be. They simply wouldn't have played those games without the settings.

@StrickenBiged
Well said 👍🏻

I'm a huge DMC fan so this sort of stuff is definitely not for me. Give me all the dodging, combos, etcetera. I love that ****!

But good for the folks that want this.

I love how square thinks turn based fans problem with real time combat is that it's too hard for them.

@Balosi Now the game can be both un-appealing and too easy for me! Oh, joy! Just what I wanted.

Amazing, more options the better. I cant wait... Already have vacation penciled in for Friday and Monday.

Guessing this is just easier than making functionally different AI for different difficulties?

It’s better than harder modes just increasing how much health you and the enemies have I guess.

Interested to see how it impacts what the trophies are like. Although I’m losing faith in most devs in that respect.

@Balosi this isn't for turn based fans, it's for people that suck at action games but still want to play the game

Definitely not making use of these rings, I'd like to pull off all those badass moves on my own, thank you

Can think of a lot of Souls players interested in this for the opposite effect.

No thank you, Square. FF 15 was utter nonsense and then the FF7 Remake drove it into the ocean. But, I'm still enjoying FF 13. Didn't appreciate it when first released, but it's aged well.
Mhhmmmmmm check please!

@SplooshDmg We gonna do this again with another article? I’m your huckleberry.

@FatalBubbles I got time, if you got time.

@SplooshDmg 😂😂😂

sounds like s-e regrets making it a twitch action game? it would be best if you see your vision through until the end instead of attempting to frankenstein your way to appeal to everyone. not every game can or should be aimed at everyone. please try to understand this. ff xv was a complete failure for this very reason...

@KundaliniRising333 " glorified minimally playable movie if you prefer."

What part of "PS5 exclusive" did you fail to understand 3 years ago?

@NEStalgia lmfao so true I actually was going to mention something along the lines it trying to be just like most PlayStation first party exclusives for sure.

When you look back at the diversity of with something like the Ps2 and even the ps3 era, and see how narrow and iterative they have focused their first party content down to, it's a bit of a shame really. We wait 4-7 years for these playable movies that play everything safe as to not upset the "winning" formula.

Yet here we are in a generational spot where most first party content is years away and even then, aside from a few, we know exactly what those games will be because we have already played them before. This narrow safe sequel cycle is really getting stale.

but hey, there's the live service games to look forward to, and some 3rd party stuff I'm genuinely looking forward to, so there's that.

@NEStalgia Oh no, you’ve entered the chat too. Stop being so mean to Clive.

@Korgon Exactly, those rings will just be sold for me. Would've been better for those rings to just be difficulty options

I love these medieval looking environments.

@FatalBubbles Clive should be in the Capcom chat where he belongs.

@KundaliniRising333 I honestly can't tell how much of this game is "Square's vision for FF" and how much of the game is "Sony's paying the bills, so we're making Sony's game according to their standard template for max sales" And I'm not sure which is worse, if Sony actually bought the game to convert it to it's guaranteed-sales formula, or if Square is just copying them of their own volition. Or the fact that Sony devolved that they have an identifiable standard template to begin with. But just like another Trolls movie, it seems to be what the mass market demands....

@KaijuKaiser agreed that it's on us to vote with what we support for sure. Here's hoping For New ips

I have not looked at this just like the previous one. Once I bought it I didn't leave the game for months. I love the level grind I go exploring and only leave over powered.

@KaijuKaiser On the contrary re Zelda, obviously can't speak for the latest game yet, but what was so satisfying about BotW was it's dramatic return to form to the roots of the original game (showcased in said avatar.) The series was veering farther and farther from it's 1980's roots, becoming more "story and dungeon" driven, and less and less about it's grand overworld free-form unguided adventure, and BotW, felt essentially like a modern remake of the original game, snapping the series back to it's origins. Which was it' intent when Miyamoto took the reigns again early in BotW's development steering it back away from the more anime-focus Aonuma had been taking it.

So it's quite on target. It's a series that didn't "change" recently, but in fact decided to halt the steady change and reset back to its original roots.

It's not flawless, there was too little dungeon compared to the original in BotW, but the overworld was a spot on modern remake of the format and themes of the original. Right down to being brutalized by Lynels.

If only a certain other franchise about fantasies would do the same and remember its roots rather than remembering God of War's roots.....

@NEStalgia Older gamer here as well. I was so happy that BOTW went back to its roots. That is one major reason it was so good. Because it trusted the player to be smart enough to enjoy getting lost, getting destroyed, and then figuring out a better way.
Same goes for the original Final Fantasy. It kicked the crap out of you, but that challenge kept you wanting to go back and try again.
I have pretty mixed feelings about the next Final Fantasy and Square as a whole. It looks edgy and epic, but it doesn’t really look…fun.
I’m probably a minority, but an M Rated Final Fantasy, just isn’t why I fell in love with the series. I love taking my time choosing strategy in a battle. I love comedy woven into the moments. I love a well lived in world that still allows my imagination to fill in the gaps.
Yeah. I still have Dragon Quest and Zelda, but it’s tough to see the series that gave me Cecil, Sabin, Celes, Cloud, Tifa, Zidane, Quina, etc. become what it’s becoming. Even FFXV let you wear a Cup Noodles hat, and had some great banter and light moments.
FfXVI will probably have some of that too? I hope for those that play, but there emphasis on being “darker and more mature” is so far removed from what sold Final Fantasy to us oldies, that it’s hard to feel any excitement for it.
Thankfully we still have access to the older games, and I do have to credit Square-Enix for that. Also, they deserve credit for sticking with the Chrono Cross remaster. It’s now the definitive version of the game. SE still makes a lot of great games, but it’s not usually when they’re trying to impress a Western audience.
Sorry. Old man rambling…