The pivot to a full-action combat system means that Final Fantasy 16 will have a higher skill ceiling than many of the previous, turn-based entries in the JRPG series, at least as far as input dexterity goes. But rather than give the option of different difficulty levels, Square Enix has devised an unusual item-based system that allows players to tailor the game to their required level by equipping special rings.
Discussing the system as part of a roundtable interview attended by IGN, combat director Ryoto Suzuki explained that “when making this system, the one thing that I didn’t want to do was create a system where it was just auto battle, that you’d get to the battle and then you’d put the controller down, it would fight for you, and then you’d pick the controller back up and play again. Because then that splits the experience for the different types of players. And also, the player that chooses auto battle doesn’t feel like they’re part of the battle and not participating in the battle. And we didn’t want to do that. So that’s when we had the idea for the accessories.”
These accessories take the form of five different rings that bestow combat-easing effects, and can be used to both reduce the game’s difficulty as well as make its combat more accessible. The five rings are:
The Ring of Timely Focus, which temporarily slows time before enemy attacks connect, providing more time to react and dodge. The Ring of Timely Assistance, which automatically issues commands to your pet dog, Torgal. The Ring of Timely Strikes, which executes combo attacks with just one press of the attack button. The Ring of Timely Evasion, which auto-dodges most attacks. The Ring of Timely Healing, which automatically uses potions to keep your health topped up.
“We wanted this game to be kind of a gateway for players that aren’t good at action games to get into the genre and showing them that action games can be fun and you can be good at it and it can feel good,” explained Suzuki.
As we discovered during our hands-on demo, the items certainly make the action combat more approachable. But they may also help out in terms of accessibility. For instance, disabled players who are unable to quickly input multiple button presses may find the Ring of Timely Strikes and Timely Evasion helpful.
Only two of these five accessories can be equipped at anyone time. When asked why all five cannot be equipped simultaneously, producer Naoki Yoshida said: “If you put all of them on, then basically the player doesn’t have to do anything anymore. And so even with the two strongest ones, like the Ring of Timely Evasion […] and then maybe Timely Strikes […] when you get it down there, even then you still have to press square and you still have to get out of the way of some things. Even with those two most powerful accessories on, you’re still actually part of the action.”
Suzuki noted that while the items were made to help those who struggled with action combat, even highly skilled players may find use in them. “The other thing is that there’s just a lot of different types of players out there,” he said. “You’ll get some players who are really good at action but always forget to heal. And so by having [the Ring of Timely Healing] accessory, those players can still focus on action and they can still use their techniques, but then it becomes something that’s more quality of life rather than something that’s helpful.”
“But you still have to pay attention to how many potions you have left,” Yoshida warned. “You can’t auto use them if you don’t have any.”
For more about Final Fantasy 16, read our stories about how it was only possible to make it for PS5 hardware, as well as how its world map won’t have any hidden dungeons. You can also read Yoshida’s comments on Final Fantasy 16’s approach to the diversity of its characters and cultures.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.
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