When Final Fantasy XVI was first announced towards the end of 2020, I was almost positive that the game was a next-gen-enhanced continuation of Final Fantasy XIV’s MMO formula. The visuals were reminiscent of A Realm Reborn’s fantastical art direction and Creative Business Unit III’s involvement spoke for itself. However, the rest of the launch trailer disproved my original assumptions; Final Fantasy XVI is likely going to be a solo, narrative-focused experience similar to fan-favorite, classic Final Fantasy games. Producer Naoki Yoshida practically confirmed this in a recent radio show talk. In fact, the latest installment in the JRPG franchise, according to Yoshida, will come with an easy mode.

Yoshida was originally talking about the future of the popular Final Fantasy MMO; a project that he's been involved with since its original release back in 2013. As questions started to focus primarily on the next chapter in the illustrious franchise, Yoshida couldn’t help but offer a few words about what the dev team is working on: “We really want players to enjoy the story, so we’re preparing a mode for players who want to focus on story,” Yoshida stated. “Since we have quite the substantial support actions, we’re of course preparing something easy to operate and smooth to play. Don’t worry too much...players who aren’t good at action games."

Apparently, Final Fantasy XVI is slated to be extremely action-oriented; I can't help but think of a cross between FFXV and FFVII Remake's combat systems, which represent Square Enix’s recent successful forays into real-time mechanics. This also makes me wonder if the upcoming JRPG is going to be difficult.

As a long-time Final Fantasy fan, I’m looking forward to seeing how Final Fantasy XVI builds upon the successes of its predecessors as well as the ways in which it’ll distinguish itself for a next-gen audience. Will you be diving into FFXVI’s easy mode, or do you plan on braving the wild cactuars and malboro’s on a much higher difficulty?

[Source: Gematsu via Destructoid]

Just last week we witnessed the return of Nintendo Directs, bringing announcements like Splatoon 3, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, and Project Triangle Strategy. Now, Sony has announced the return of its own Direct-style streams, meaning fans can get ready for an all-new State of Play broadcast this Thursday. 

Before you get overly excited about receiving updates on anticipated, previously announced first-party titles like God of War, Horizon Forbidden West, or Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, the PlayStation Blog post detailing the broadcast indicates it leans more heavily into new game announcements and updates on third-party titles and indies. However, PlayStation Blog uses the word "including," so nothing is outside the realm of possibility. The broadcast, which is set for Thursday, February 25 at 2 p.m. Pacific / 5 p.m. Eastern, is said to provide new updates and deep dives for 10 games coming to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 over the course of 30 minutes. 

PlayStation also cautions that those who go into the stream hoping for more information on today's announced PlayStation 5 virtual-reality headset will be disappointed, as there will not be any hardware or business-focused updates during this broadcast. Instead, PlayStation is focusing this State of Play broadcast on, "great games set to come out in the months ahead."

It might not be traditional E3 time, but mid-to-late February has brought about a slew of announcements between last week's Nintendo Direct, this week's PlayStation State of Play, and this weekend's Pokémon Day festivities. If you'd like to tune in to the February 25 PlayStation State of Play, you can do so by heading to the official PlayStation Twitch or YouTube channel when the broadcast kicks off at 2 p.m. Pacific / 5 p.m. Eastern.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]