ThoughFinal Fantasy 16is less than a week away from release, the demo has taken gamers by storm and garnered favorable reception for Square Enix’s latest entry in its long-running series. In just the short time thatFinal Fantasy 16’s demohas been available, gamers have been able to get a feel for how the action combat works inFinal Fantasy 16. But, between the Eikonic abilities at Clive’s disposal, sometimes it is the most underappreciated abilities that can become the most powerful when in the thick of battle.
Under the direction of former Capcom developer Hiroshi Takai,FF16’s action combat has taken inspiration fromDevil May Cry 5and other action-focused titles. Given that Takai worked onDMC 5in addition to titles such asDragon’s DogmaandMarvel vs. Capcom 2, it comes as no surprise that the fast pace of combat would make its way to Valisthea. However, during theFinal Fantasy 16launch event on June 11, Square Enix revealed that developers that worked onNieR: Automataand theKingdom Heartsseries were brought in to assist with developingFF16’s combat systems. As a result, the flow of battle has become one of the main selling points of the game - though one ability seems to make a lot of fights easy.
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The R1 Button is Clive’s Best Friend In a Fight
Despite wielding the power ofFinal Fantasy’s most powerful beings such as Garuda, Titan, and Ifrit, Clive’s arsenal comes down to the fundamentals of swordsmanship. One of Clive’s most useful maneuvers can be done by any player with the push of a button. Still, the art of dodging inFinal Fantasy 16boils down to more than just pressing the R1 button. If players choose to use one of the game’s Timely Accessories, the Ring of Timely Focus, time will slow to a crawl and give the player a moment to escape an attack. While some players may opt to use any of these Timely Accessories, others may choose not to. Either way, with enough practice and patience, players that prioritize avoiding attacks and countering with strong Eikonic abilities of their own will see success in combat.
While the Eikons may be the stars ofFF16, Clive’s use of Cinematic Evasions makes avoiding damage all the more stylish to look at as they happen. Even in theFinal Fantasy 16demo,one of Clive’s first tests is against a Dragoonthat can Jump in the air and swing his spear with a wide range. From the onset, Clive must use a Cinematic Evasion maneuver to avoid being ambushed by the Knight of the Blinding Dawn. Though the Dragoon’s spear strikes can be parried with a timely weapon swing, his Jumps need to be evaded to claim victory. As the fight progresses, the Dragoon will get desperate and use Double Jumps and escalate the battle against the young but deft Shield of Rosaria.
In theEikonic Challenge portion of theFF16demo, Clive squares off with Chirada and Suparna, the top lackeys of Benedikta Harmon, the Dominant of Garuda. With their wind attacks and swift attempts to dive bomb Clive, it serves as an advanced tutorial for players and rewards them for recognizing patterns in the heat of the moment. While Creative Business Unit 3 already uses this tactic inFinal Fantasy 14across multiple levels of combat,FF16’s action combat amplifies that aspect even more. Though the styles and genres of bothFF14andFF16differ greatly, the fundamental concept of avoiding attacks remains constant.
Other games such as theDark Soulstrilogy andHadesmake dodging nearly mandatory to success,FF16’s approach to combatprovides room for players to improvise and find a style that suits them. Still, those that master dodging will find themselves taking very few hits during even the toughest fights. While the wait for the game’s full release cannot be dodged, only time will tell what tactics players take up once it launches.
