Square Enix hasn’t so much as confirmed thatFinal Fantasy 17is in development, and fans are already feverishly speculating what the next mainline entry in the series will be like. It’s easy to see why, as the JRPG genre got a serious shot in the arm this year with the phenomenalClair Obscur: Expedition 33, and its near-universal acclaim and success seemingly run counter to the mixed fan reception to the modernity espoused byFinal Fantasy 16. In particular, RPG fans seem to be honing in onClair Obscur’s use of turn-based combat as the biggest lesson the title has to impart onFinal Fantasy 17, but that debate arguably misses the bigger issues that theFinal Fantasyseries has faced in the modern era.
Long beforeFinal Fantasy 16, theFinal Fantasyseries had slowly but surely started to drift away from the staples that longtime fans had come to expect, and with the exception of the hugely successfulFinal Fantasy 14, the franchise has experienced diminishing returns as a result. Rather than focusing on whether thenext mainlineFinal Fantasyshould be turn-based, the bigger issues at play are the problems brought about by the series' emphasis on spectacle and removal of the RPG systems and mechanics that make each entry ‘feel’ like aFinal Fantasy. Even ifFinal Fantasy 17features real-time combat similar to its predecessor, it’ll still be an improvement to see it learn fromClair Obscurin other, more important ways.
Regardless of What Combat Looks Like, Final Fantasy 17 Needs to Fix the Series' Pacing Problem
The biggest problem that theFinal Fantasyserieshas faced sinceFinal Fantasy 13is each entry’s struggle to maintain solid pacing.Final Fantasy 13starts as an extremely linear experience for two-thirds of the game, but then shifts to an open world in its final act once players make it to Gran Pulse.Final Fantasy 15gave players a vast open world, but its cohesion and impact of larger narrative beats suffered as a result.
TheFinal Fantasyfranchise’s big-budget spectacle is at least partly to blame.Final Fantasygames cost significantly more to produce than just about any otherAAA RPG series, which puts pressure on the developers at Square Enix to deliver visually stunning spectacles. In contrast, Sandfall Interactive was able to produce a cohesive and impressive experience inClair Obscur: Expedition 33at a fraction ofFinal Fantasy’s typical budget, and it did so while maintaining even pacing that balanced bigger story beats with intimate character moments.
Clair Obscur’s RPG Systems, Party Management, and Character Development Should Influence Final Fantasy 17 More Than Its Combat
IfClair Obscur: Expedition 33has anything to impart on Square Enix for the development ofFinal Fantasy 17, combat is only one of the lessons, and perhaps its least pertinent. Instead, whatFinal Fantasy 17should focus on cribbing fromClair Obscuris how the game implements smart and engagingRPG systems, party management, and regularly zooming in the lens to show how the game’s characters interact and grow together in the context of the game’s world. Even ifFinal Fantasy 17has real-time combat, it can do all these other things and more to feel more like a traditional JRPG.
Coincidentally, Square Enix has already proven it can balance modernity and tradition with one of its own games:Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. If there’s a perfect poster child for how a real-time combat model can strike a middle-ground between action and a traditionalturn-based RPG, it’s arguablyFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and the next mainline game in the series would do well to use it as a foundation for its interactive elements.Clair Obscurcan and should be a paradigm-shifting game, but that doesn’t meanFinal Fantasy 17should borrow its combat wholesale while letting other, more important elements fall by the wayside.
