Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida has commented on the possible turn-based future of the series, following the recent success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Over the course of the series, Final Fantasy games have moved away from classic turn-based battles and progressed towards the all-action gameplay of 2023’s Final Fantasy 16, which disappointed some long-term fans.
By contrast, Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur, released earlier this year, features an action twist on turn-based battles and has become something of an exemplary talisman for RPG fans hoping Square Enix‘s series will return to its roots.
Now, in a recent interview at the Anime Expo 2025, Yoshida (also director and producer of MMORPG Final Fantasy 14) was asked what the success of Clair Obscur could mean for the future of Final Fantasy.
“With this question of turn-based versus action, it tends to isolate the gameplay to just the battle system,” he told Anime News Network. “That doesn’t take into account what kind of game the creators want to deliver to players. For example, based on a certain graphical quality we want to present to our players, or the narrative we want to deliver to our players, it relates to how we set up the game’s systems around it. This includes the battle system, game design, and gameplay feel.
“It’s not a clear-cut answer, whether it will become all turn-based, or if it’s going to become more action-based.”
He added: “[I’m] not necessarily going to be on Final Fantasy 17, so we also don’t want to obstruct or limit our future director or whomever will be producing the games like 17 or even 18. We don’t want to put them on a rail.”
While I personally enjoyed the ambitious, cinematic storytelling of Final Fantasy 16 and its Game of Thrones inspired setting, I can understand why some felt its action combat was a big departure from series tradition. Final Fantasy 7 Remake, for instance, more readily blurred the boundary between turn-based and action battles.
Yet when I interviewed Yoshida ahead of Final Fantasy 16’s launch about the essence of the series, he responded: “I think, for me, that Final Fantasy is all about making that cinematic experience. You think back all the way to the original Final Fantasy on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, you start out, you play the game a little bit, you get to a certain point, and then you finally get that opening scene. And that truly cinematic experience, it separates itself from other games and makes it like a movie.”
Meanwhile Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the series, stated in an interview with Yoshida at the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest in London 2023 that Final Fantasy is all about taking risks.
“I think with Final Fantasy you always want to take a challenge, to take an adventure into building a new system for the new installment, that courage to be able to take that risk,” he said.
“Of course it’s a very hard job and a very large undertaking, but with a series that has continued for this long sometimes people might think, ‘Why don’t you just make more of the same thing?’. I think that shouldn’t be the case in Final Fantasy.”
I agree that what makes the series special is how unique each game is and how daring its developers have been in trying something new with each installment. It’s a series about pioneering new ideas, not following trends. I would love to see that continue with Final Fantasy 17.
A return to the tradition of turn-based battles would look like a step backwards for the series, and a white flag from Square Enix it’s resigned to compete with Sandfall (and, really, Atlus) in the turn-based stakes instead of looking forward.
Still, Square Enix admitted sales of both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 “did not meet expectations”, so perhaps it’s time for a rethink for the next mainline entry.
What’s more, that celebration of tradition certainly worked for Final Fantasy 9. And perhaps that rumoured remake could satisfy long-term fans – if, in fact, it’s ever released.
Until then, Yoshida has assisted with the forthcoming remaster of Final Fantasy Tactics, that’s due out in September. It might also be turn-based, but as a strategy tactics game it’s yet another example of the combat variety the Final Fantasy series offers.
