Never Ending Realm

Video game reviews, fan fiction, gaming news, and more! Since 2003. We especially love JRPGs, RPGs and the best of the rest. Never Ending Realm: Where your favorite games live forever!

Menu
  • News
    • PlayStation
    • Nintendo
    • Xbox
    • PC
    • Mobile
  • Fan Fiction
  • Opinion
    • Throwback Bit Thursday
    • Games Costing A Kidney
    • Thank God It’s Friday
  • Lists
  • Reviews
  • Humor
  • About
Menu
Final Fantasy XVI sun

Final Fantasy XVI: New Trailer and Target Release Season Revealed 

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Samuel Rivera

Sony’s state of play was not a mind-boggling event. Most games in the presentation were cross-generational titles. However, JRPG and Final Fantasy fans in general had much to celebrate about as a new trailer of Final Fantasy XVI was unveiled. 

A More Mature Fantasy: Final Fantasy Goes Witcher 

Political turmoil, large scale bloody battles, and even some romance was showcased in the game’s trailer. This is a new step for a series that has maintained a PG-13 (or Teen) rating for decades and it seems that FFXVI might finally earn the main numbered entries a much-needed M rating. 

“Much-needed” as in the large fan base that the game series acquired in the 1990s with Final Fantasy VII is currently in their 30s and 40s, in terms of age. Mild fantasy fare won’t cut it anymore, and sales have demonstrated this as more mature western games and RPGs have taken the forefront commercially over the last decade and half.  

Final Fantasy XVI, at times, in terms of feel and visuals, seems to have taken a lot of inspiration from western hits such as The Witcher 3.  

Action Combat Galore 

Fans hopeful for a return to ‘turn-based’ battles will have to remain hopeful for a while longer as Final Fantasy XVI’s focus seems to be solely based on action combat. Final Fantasy has moved away from Turn-Based Combat since 2016 (Final Fantasy XV) and given the popularity of western open-world action games, it is unlikely that the series will return to its turn-based roots anytime soon. 

Final Fantasy XVI Will Not Be a Cross-Generational Title

Final Fantasy XVI

As a PlayStation 5 exclusive, Final Fantasy XVI will not be a cross-generational title. Final Fantasy is ‘next-gen’ despite what I consider (based on the trailer) to be less than stellar looks in its visual department. Solely judging on the trailer, the game seems to be lagging behind in terms of visuals to Sony’s Horizon, Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us, and God of War franchises just to name a few games which are either last generation titles, or cross-generational ones.

Final Fantasy XVI is utilizing the Unreal Engine 4 (which is a last generation engine), and while Square is quite comfortable with the engine at this point, I have yet to see a Square Enix game that utilizes that particular engine better than The Coalition (Gears 5).

Still, given that the game is a year away from its Summer 2023 release, there is plenty of time for the game to be polished and perhaps for some sort of ray tracing features to be implemented.

That said, the trailer is quite exciting, and this seems to be the most action packed Final Fantasy since…the 1990s? Let’s hope for a return to glory.

What About Final Fantasy VII Remake Part II?

It is expected that Square Enix will make an announcement regarding Final Fantasy VII’s quarter century anniversary this month. Thus, I still expect Remake Part II to make an appearance before July. Most details about FFVIIR Part II have been kept shrouded in mystery regarding the aforementioned installment in what essentially is a Final Fantasy VII Sequel/Reboot.

Agree with the author? Couldn’t disagree more and are frothing at the mouth to tell him? Leave a comment here, on Facebook or send an email and make sure to follow Never Ending Realm on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!

Category: News
Tags: Action-RPG, Final Fantasy XVI, JRPG, PlayStation 5, Square Enix

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow us on social media!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Must Reads

  • 2023 is Here and The Never Ending Realm Turns 20 Years Old
  • Throwback Bit Thursday: Remembering a Merry 1998 Christmas 
  • A Mid 2022 PlayStation 5 vs Xbox Series X Comparison
  • TBT: Five Critically Underrated 32-Bit Era JRPGs
  • The Rise and Fall of Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPGs)
  • Yoshida: Final Fantasy is Struggling to Keep Up With Industry Trends
  • The Top Ten Greatest Final Fantasy Games of All-Time
  • Top Ten Greatest ‘The Legend of Zelda’ Games of All Time
  • 5 Of The Best JRPG Heroes
  • The Top 10 Best Selling PlayStation 2 JRPGs (All Time Sales)

Action-Adventure Action-RPG Bandai/Namco Bethesda CD PROJEKT RED Chrono Cross Cyberpunk 2077 Final Fantasy (Series) Final Fantasy IX Final Fantasy VI Final Fantasy VII Final Fantasy VII Remake Final Fantasy XVI First-Person RPG First Person Shooter Halo: Infinite Halo Series JRPG Microsoft Nintendo Nintendo 64 Nintendo Switch PC PlayStation PlayStation 1 PlayStation 2 PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 RPG SEGA Sega Saturn Sony Square Enix Tales Series The Legend of Dragoon The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time The Legend of Zelda Series XBOX Xbox 360 Xbox Game Pass Xbox One Xbox Series S Xbox Series X Xenogears

  • Legend of Dragoon
    Masayuki Kasebe: The Legend of Dragoon Could Have Saved FFVII Remake
  • Wukong cover
    Wukong Dev: No ‘Black Myth’ Version for Xbox Thanks to Difficulties on Underpowered Series S
  • Astro Bot Water Effects
    2024 Recap: Xbox Launches its Best Games, Xbox Gets out of the Race Against Sony, Astro GotY, and More!
  • Intergalactic protagonist
    Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet the Most Hated New Game Reveal? Concord 2.0?
  • Astro Bot Water Effects
    Astro Bot Review (PS5)
  • FFVII Rebirth
    Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Welcome to the Multiverse! Review (PS5)
  • Echoes of Wisdom Raises Zelda To New Heights Through Brilliance, Grace and Elegance – My Review and Verdict
  • Legend of Zelda Fanfiction: The Plane of Masked Yearning – Part Seven
  • PS5 Pro
    PlayStation 5 Pro’s $700 Tag: A Peek at a Future Without Xbox?
  • Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
    Final Fantasy Should be “Political”: Has Sakaguchi Been Misunderstood By News Outlets?
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright 2022 by Never Ending Realm, Mont Cessna & Samuel Rivera