Final Fantasy got a huge blowout event when the release date was revealed. Alongside the release date, Square Enix also announced a plethora of tie-in media from games to anime. After the game launched, a bunch of DLC was also revealed to be in the works. Square Enix wanted to push that game hard.
Final Fantasy 16 has also been covered in the press a lot, but it hasn’t been as bombastic as its predecessor. Does that mean the game will not get a direct sequel akin to Final Fantasy 10-2, or a spinoff? It’s hard to say, but if there is either, here are some things fans would assuredly like to see.
8 Customize More Skills
Clive can equip three Eikons at a time and each Eikon can hold up to two skills that run on cooldowns. So, that means players can have six skills equipped at one time and they can even mix and match with other Eikons if they master these skills.
It’s a decent combat system but it could be better if the sequel allowed for even more customization. If the Eikon theme is carried over, each version could give Clive a new weapon and four cooldown skills to use as well. This would fall more in line with action games akin to Devil May Cry 5.
7 A True Open-World
This series technically began with an open world via Final Fantasy on the NES. Final Fantasy 10 is where things changed as the open-world idea was lessened to a bunch of interconnected zones and players could no longer zoom around in vehicles like airships.
Final Fantasy 15 brought the open world back and even added vehicles besides mounts like Chocobos. Final Fantasy 16 had about four zones that were adjacent to open-world games but they felt cramped. So, a sequel with a true open world would be cool to see.
6 Controllable Party Members
Clive was the only controllable character in the game which isn’t new for the series. The spinoff game, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, only allowed players to control Jack, but he at least had party members that could be swapped around. Clive instead got temporary party members and he couldn’t command them.
The only exception was Torgal in Final Fantasy 16 who mostly followed Clive around. More party members should be added to the sequel and these party members should be playable too like the cast in Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
5 An Online Component
More constant party members are a given, but Square Enix could go the extra mile and add co-op too. To bring up Stranger of Paradise again, players could team up online for three-player co-op sessions in that game. This made diving into dungeons a lot more fun with friends. Multiplayer isn’t a new idea for the series, but there isn’t a lot compared to the number of games out there.
Final Fantasy 15 added a separate multiplayer mode after the game launched called Comrades. If Square Enix doesn’t want to deal with co-op in Final Fantasy 16’s sequel campaign then they could try this mode a try again. It would make sense given the hunting side quests in the game already.
4 More Travel Options
An open world would be great to see but Square Enix could make that open world even better with more vehicles and mounts. The dream would be to see the return of airships. There are not any in the game that are drivable but there is a massive ship. Maybe the sequel could give players a boat to cruise around in as there must be more continents out there.
The game hints at them, but nothing explicit is ever said about what lies beyond. If the sequel sticks to Chocobos and that’s it, this will be fine. The one thing Square Enix could at least do would be to increase on-foot travel because Clive moves around like a snail most of the time.
3 More Whimsy
This game has a darker tone than most mainline Final Fantasy games and it’s great to see such a dramatic story play out this well. Clive, as a protagonist, deserves some recognition for carrying the narrative. As good of a person as he is, his gruff demeanor may rub some people the wrong way.
This series used to be full of whimsy and magic and a return to that tone in the sequel or spinoff would-be killer. It’s hard to imagine Clive laughing and joking around but it's not guaranteed that Clive would return anyway. There are plenty of other characters that could have this cheerier attitude like Gav and Byron.
2 Customizable Outfits
Technically, Clive gets multiple costumes in the game. He starts as a young teen with little armor and then thirteen years later he has a lot more armor. His clothes change one more time and then that is it. Players never have control of their outfits which is a step back from the last mainline game in the series.
In Final Fantasy 15, Noctis was fully customizable from hats to shirts to wilder costumes. Being able to customize Clive or whoever could help add to the whimsy too depending on the clothing options.
1 A Return To Dungeons
This game is severely lacking in the dungeons department. Most of the missions are played in open areas. There isn’t much exploring in dungeons, or temples except for some key story moments like the secret temple within Clive’s homeland. Places like this that are dungeons are linear though just like most areas in Final Fantasy 13.
If the open world exists in the sequel, then it should be littered with dungeons as well. Also, the new world should be filled with more monster varieties because Final Fantasy 16 repeats them a lot with color swaps. It feels cheap and that’s the last thing a Final Fantasy game should be like.
Final Fantasy 16 was released on June 22, 2023, and is available on PS5.