Reflections on Final Fantasy XVI’s Pre-Release Celebration
By: Mithrandiel
Playstation Showcase. Summer Game Fest. Xbox Games Showcase. Ubisoft Forward.
It’s that time of year - the call to gamers everywhere to get ready for a fun-filled summer of gaming goodness, with the biggest developers building hype for forthcoming titles. The shows this year have been pretty good overall, despite some disappointment out of the Playstation Showcase and a noticeable lack of representation at Summer Game Fest.
Still, there are some great games coming up, all vying for our attention, and of course, our money.
Standing tall among the most anticipated games of the year is the latest in Square Enix’s flagship franchise: Final Fantasy XVI.
Not to be outdone by the larger shows in close proximity to their game’s release, Square Enix took a page out of their own playbook from Final Fantasy XV and hosted a pre-release celebration for the upcoming game: a multi-hour showcase that dove deep into the combat, lore, and music of Final Fantasy XVI, complete with notable Square Enix staff and content creators such as Yunalescka (known for her world-class collection of Final Fantasy memorabilia), and Maximilian Dood, whose viral reaction to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake was confirmed to be a motivating factor for Square Enix devs and engineers.
Square Enix was kind enough to extend an invitation to The Geekly Grind for the event, and the opportunity to be in a room with hundreds of other excited fans as we learned more about the upcoming game was really something else!
The showcase began with an opening statement from Square Enix President and CEO, Takashi Kiryu - and man, it was a barn-burner. In his first public appearance since taking the reins from Yosuke Matsuda, Kiryu shared that watching the trailers for Final Fantasy XVI transported him back to 1987, when he begged his parents for a copy of Final Fantasy as an early Christmas present.
His story continued, and in a testament to his ability to connect with the crowd, it sounded like a story that was no doubt familiar to many: when a new game came out that he loved, he didn’t worry about sleeping or eating or doing homework…he could only think about the game! Of course, authority figures in his life were concerned: “I had more than a few teachers tell me, if you play games all the time, you are not going to succeed in life. But! They would be very surprised to see me standing on this stage right now with you!"
Kiryu’s motivating words carried across the auditorium to a mixture of laughter and uproarious applause and cheers. Then, he brought it home:
"I believe games offer infinite possibilities. They have the potential to alter the course of our lives. As the new CEO of Square Enix I will continue to cherish those childhood memories that instilled in me a gamer's spirit, and strive to deliver to all of you, all of the fans across the world, that entertainment that promises new and unforgettable experiences."
And just like that, in a matter of 5 minutes, Square Enix’s new CEO got this gamer to buy into his vision utterly and completely.
Being a CEO of a game company is hard. Being a CEO of a game company with the legacy and expectations of Square Enix is extremely hard. And yet, Kiryu took an important and powerful step in building goodwill and faith in this new chapter for Square Enix, and I cannot wait to see/hear more from him.
From there, he introduced Naoki Yoshida, lovingly referred to by fans as “Yoshi-P” - Producer for Final Fantasy XVI, as well as the fan-favorite online experience, Final Fantasy XIV.
With the assistance of Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, lead translation director for Final Fantasy XVI, Yoshi-P announced that the demo would be live just a few short hours after the celebration ended. It would be two hours long, and progress would carry over into the main game at launch. Furthermore, completing the demo would unlock a special “battle mode” demo for players to grow more familiar with evolved combat tactics, as the demo is literally the prologue and so you will find yourself lacking those later-game skills and abilities.
Finally, they reviewed the structure of the showcase, which I think was very well done: first, a combat demo featuring Maximilian Dood and combat director Ryota Suzuki. Then, a conversation on the story and lore with Alanah Pearce, before ending with a panel on the music of Final Fantasy XVI with beloved composer Masayoshi Soken.
The combat demo featuring Maximilian Dood was a real crowd pleaser. A skilled fighting game and action title player, Max was a great choice for a fast paced and exciting demo. Taking on a boss 15 levels above his own character, Max showcased some impressive combos and well-timed dodges and blocks, really giving a feel for the fluid action-style gameplay that have left early testers raving.
However, some battles are just too tough, and Max was ultimately felled by his hunt.
“I would love if you could show me how it’s done, Suzuki-San.” Max offered with a knowing grin.
What followed was an insane encounter that proved the combat director really knew how to play his game.
The display left the crowd energized, and even more eager to dive into the gameplay.
The next two panels shed some light on the lore/story of Final Fantasy XVI, as well as the music. Alanah Pearce’s panel on the lore, alongside creative director Kazutoyo Maehiro, introduced us to an innovative mechanic in which pressing the gamepad button will bring up relevant lore about everyone in a given cutscene or dialogue sequence. Similar to Amazon’s “X-ray” feature, this can be a great way to familiarize yourself with the context and implications of NPCs and other notable characters as the game progresses.
In addition, Maehiro detailed how players would get to learn more about the world of Valisthea. Rather than burden players with vast amounts of text, there are two key NPCs that will introduce Clive (and by extension the player) to the rich, though often turbulent, history of the world through additional cutscenes and interactive elements. There was also a lot of intentionality around the crafting of dialogue with this in mind. “Sometimes it can feel like certain towns are removed from the impact of the broader story. We wanted to make sure every piece of dialogue reflected the world around them.” Maehiro explained.
Finally, content creator Alex Moukala took the stage with Masayoshi Soken to discuss his approach around composing the soundtrack for Final Fantasy XVI. Already hard at work on XIV, one of the first questions that was brought up by Moukala was essentially: “How did you manage to compose for two Final Fantasy games at the same time?”
Soken replied that the experience was like “going into Hell” - but that it was worth it. He also explained the importance of the pacing of music, alluding to an advanced system that smartly adjusts the tempo of the music depending on your playstyle. In other words, more fast-paced players familiar with action titles would likely experience higher BPM versions of the soundtrack, so that gamers could appreciate the crescendo and climax of tracks at appropriate points. “You mean to tell me that inside every PS5, players can imagine they have their own personal Soken conducting the music?” Moukala asked after the explanation was finished.
“Just like that.” Soken confirmed with a grin.
Overall, my time at the Final Fantasy XVI celebration was fantastic, and I’ve already spent some time with the demo, which I will discuss in some more detail soon enough. Until then, rest assured that Final Fantasy XVI is sure to reinvigorate the franchise once again, and this event was a fantastic introduction to this next chapter for Final Fantasy.
