Final Fantasy 16will have a surprisingly high number of cutscenes, and they will last more than the entire run of theLord of the Ringsmovie trilogy. The news was revealed byFinal Fantasy 16producer Naoki Yoshida, who talked more about how the new title is shaping up, and the expectations from its story.
Final Fantasy 16is one of themost anticipated games of 2023, and gamers already know a few details about its story. The game will follow Clive, a man in a story of revenge in the magical world of Valisthea. It will feature classic magic crystals, and summons, but also have a darker, more mature storyline than previous titles in the franchise. Clive saw his kingdom being destroyed, and along with his younger brother Joshua, he’ll be out for revenge on the people who wrecked his life.
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In a recent interview, Yoshida revealed thatFinal Fantasy 16will have 11 hours of cutscenes alone, following the tradition of long cutscenes that are found in many JRPGs. As a comparison, the wholeLord of the Rings Trilogytakes 557 minutes (9 hours, 17 minutes) to watch in their theatrical versions. Someone would need to watch the extended version, which has 682 minutes (11 hours, 22 minutes), and that’s counting the credits, to match the upcoming Square Enix title’s cutscene time. These won’t be 11 hours of doom and gloom, though, as it was already confirmed thatFinal Fantasy 16will have romance in it, so Clive will get at least a bit of happiness in his dark journey.
The reason for so many cutscenes is that the team wants to tell a story that will feel really complete.Final Fantasy 15was widely criticized for using DLC to finish its story properly, so the developers are trying to avoid that. Also, according to Yoshida, all of these cutscenes will be “seamlessly interwoven into the game, playing in-engine in real time” and none of them will have the characters doing anything that players can’t do in-game. If Yoshida succeeds in his ambition, this can be one of thebest years of Square Enix ever.
Unfortunately, PC players may need to wait a long time before they can get their hands on this cutscene-filled JRPG. In a recent statement, Yoshida affirmed thatFinal Fantasy 16will not reach PC this year. The reason is that the team is currently focusing its efforts on optimizing the PS5 version, not on further ports.
Final Fantasy 16will launch on June 22, exclusively for PS5.
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