If you’re looking forward to seeing what Final Fantasy 16 minigames Square Enix has in store, you’re in for a disappointment. Producer Naoki Yoshida told Gematsu in a recent interview that the series’ usual quirky side games just don’t fit with the upcoming RPG’s darker tone.
“We have countries at war—we can’t really have some blitzball matches going on when people are killing each other,” Yoshida said. “And then when you have this hero who’s talking about and driven by revenge be like, ‘I’m gonna go out and fish!’ In that sense, there aren’t those types of light things that are going to detract from the story that we’re trying to tell.”
Instead, Square Enix is adding an arcade mode, where you can replay stages, earn points for your performance, and try to beat your score.
The statement seems slightly at odds with the equally serious stories of death and destruction Final Fantasy usually tells – of going on a road trip while the neighboring empire invades your homeland, for example, or turning yourself into a meme during your hunt for Chaos.
Still, it is in keeping with what Yoshida said the team’s overall goal is, of returning to the setting and style of the first six Final Fantasy games, before critics used JRPG as a pejorative. Final Fantasy 6, for example, tells a grim story of war and apocalypse, and despite having some lighthearted moments, there are no quirky side games.
Final Fantasy 16 launches for PS5 on June 22, 2023.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
