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In almost every other mainline Final Fantasy game, the player controls a whole party ranging from about 4 to 6 people on average. So does the game have a party? Yes and no. Single Character or Party?Īnother big point of contention so far is that the game only seems to have 1 playable character: Clive. Much more love seems to have gone into this systems. It’s definitely a step up from the previous entry Final Fantasy XV where most actions could be performed on a single button press with very little input. Overall, on the combo and combat front, the game seems to have a lot for players to work towards, whether that be parrying, dodging, getting in as many hits as possible or just racking meter for big super moves. An example is that ‘Collateral Upheaval 圆’ (3 stars) is rewarding far more energy than a simple ‘Collateral Upheaval x2’ (1 star). This will likely be how much energy each accolade gives you, with more stars meaning more energy to the bar, with more difficult acts rewarding more energy. There are special attacks mapped to the circle button, Garuda’s ‘Deadly Embrace’ and Odin’s ‘Arm of Darkness’ being 2 examples, but it doesn’t seem like these are the special attacks that require meter as Clive performs ‘Deadly Embrace’ without requiring a full bar during the trailer.Įach accolade also has a star rating, going from 1 to 3 stars. We don’t ever see this gauge being depleted during gameplay, only it being filled by combos and attacks, but we can safely assume that this will likely give the player access to large special attacks. These are racked up on the right side of the screen and appear to give Clive energy for a certain blue bar beneath his health gauge (which turns yellow upon fully filling). Others are more specific, such as ability specific accolades like ‘Diamond Dust x2’ or ‘Collateral Upheaval 圆’, seemingly tied to certain attacks that can be performed. Phrases such as ‘Eikonic Strike’, ‘Precision Dodge’, ‘Precision Counter’ and more are seen during all of Clive’s combat encounters. Throughout all of the trailers, combos and accolades for completing certain activities in battle seem to be a big part of the game.
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While some may be disappointed by this shift, there does seem to be a lot of variety and decision making to go along with the spectacle. It seems fast, frantic and alongside the stellar animations, super fun. Each hit gives off damage numbers that are sure to trigger some dopamine glands on certain players, and items such as potions are are mapped to the directional face buttons. So far, most of the combat we have seen has been of the main character, Clive Rosfield, cleaving through packs of enemies with various magical abilities and weapon combos, dodging and weaving as he dispatches enemies.
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As a result, the general moment-to-moment gameplay of XVI is expected to have much more emphasis on that action focused experience as opposed to the slower tactical gameplay of classic titles. The comparison isn’t super unexpected considering that the famed Ryota Suzuki, the combat director on the title, previously worked on Dragon’s Dogma and Devil May Cry 5. This culminated in a completely action heavy (if far too simple) combat model in Final Fantasy XV.įinal Fantasy XVI’s take on action gameplay is far more akin to something like Devil May Cry or the original God of War – character actions games where the focus was on scoring big combos with flashy moves and a cool protagonist. While not a new thing, it certainly seems to have been refined and built upon far more than any other entry: since Final Fantasy XII, the series has been drifting away from the turn based battles that many fans know and love. 3) Closing on Final Fantasy XVI’s Combat Diablos May Cry: Final Fantasy XVI’s Action-Oriented CombatĪs previously stated, the biggest change to the typical Final Fantasy formula is a more direct pivot towards action oriented gameplay.
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