Summary
The action-RPG era ofFinal Fantasyis still going strong, withFinal Fantasy 16under its belt andFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthfast approaching. While most mainlineFinal Fantasyentries have some sort of action twist to their turn-based combat,Final Fantasy 15marked the transition over to full action-based gameplay, and bothFinal Fantasy 7 RemakeandFinal Fantasy 16have further refined that approach. TheFinal Fantasy 7 Remakegames settled on a mixture of menu and action-based gameplay, whileFinal Fantasy 16distinguished itself by committing to becoming a 3D hack-and-slash game.
As a consequence,Final Fantasy 16follows considerably different design philosophies than many of its mainlineFFbrethren. Progression is slightly more linear thanks to action game levels replacing RPG dungeons, and stats can generally be ignored as long as players keep trading up forFinal Fantasy 16’s better weaponsand unlocking new combat options. The concept of party members has also been left behind, a severe break from tradition that the nextKingdom Heartsentry could learn from.
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Few Square Enix RPGs Lack A Party System
While Square Enix has always experimented with varying degrees of action and RPG elements in its games, its first major action-RPG success wasKingdom Heartson the PS2. This game gave players control over Sora, the series' main protagonist, as he explored various worlds populated by merged Disney and Square Enix, oftenFinal Fantasy, elements.
Kingdom Hearts' light tone is a far cry fromFinal Fantasy 16’s grim war story, but they both largely focus on single playable characters in action-heavy contexts. Even so,Kingdom Heartsfeatures Donald Duck, Goofy, and many other characters as temporary or permanent party members, a conceptFF16lacks.
Final Fantasy 16 Uses A Party’s Imagery In Place Of Party Mechanics
One ofFinal Fantasy 16’s biggest criticisms is that it is the first mainlineFinal Fantasyto do away with the standard RPG party structure. Clive’s faithful canine Torgal is usually around for his support mechanics, but Clive’s traveling companions can shift between Jill, Cid, and several other characters at a moment’s notice.
Theyresemble a typicalFinal Fantasyparty in cutscenes, but unlike many of those titles and evenKingdom Hearts, Clive’s allies have no mechanical presence besides drawing enemy aggro. They have no equipment, low damage output, and no visible UI elements, leaving players to manage Clive’s combat and little else.
Kingdom Hearts 4 Could Justify Minimizing Party Members Like FF16
The removal ofFinal Fantasy’s iconic party members fromFF16was a bold move, but it may fit even better inKingdom Hearts 4. While details are currently scarce, fans know thatKingdom Hearts 4marks the start of a new story arc that separates Sora from many of the characters and settings common to prior games. Even Sora’s usual party members, Donald and Goofy, are searching for him, raising the question of whether there will even be a party system inKingdom Hearts 4’s new world of Quadratum.
How Kingdom Hearts 4 Can Copy Final Fantasy 16’s One-Man Team
Sora wouldn’t necessarily be fighting alone, but like inFinal Fantasy 16,Kingdom Hearts 4’s party members could evoke the image of a party not supported by any mechanics. World-specific characters, Strelitzia, or friendly faces that fans have not met yet could still take Sora’s side for a time, but the player would only be able to control and customize Sora himself.
This isn’t to say that brief stints with other playable characters or team-up attacks would be left out, as evenFinal Fantasy 16found room for both. Still, breaking RPG tradition with anon-conventional party would proveKingdom Hearts 4’s intenton entering a radically new era.
