Final (*16*) 16 is shaping up to be one of the biggest PS5 exclusives, but according to producer Naoki Yoshida, it could have been on PS4 as well.
Yoshida was recently interviewed about Final (*16*) 16 by Japanese publication Famitsu (opens in a new tab), following the release of the latest trailer for FF16 during Sony's State of Play earlier this month. Suggesting that the trailer received a better response than expected, Famitsu asked what Yoshida thought about the response given to the 16 FF2020 reveal trailer. It was here that Yoshida confirmed that the team had taken a different approach, mainly because it was being considered. a PS4 version.
Translated via Google Translate, he confirmed: "At the time, I was developing with an eye to releasing it on PlayStation 4, so I was afraid I couldn't improve the quality. I could have pre-rendered it there once, but it would be a waste of development hours, and I didn't want to do that. It's because I wanted to make a trailer that extracted what I could enjoy as a gameplay experience."
It's not particularly surprising to hear that a PS4 version of FF16 has been removed. Square Enix still has several cross-gen releases planned, including a recently announced Crisis Core remaster, but the Japanese publisher is gradually moving towards next-gen. As it stands, there are some great PS5 console exclusives on the way, including Forspoken and Final (*16*) 7 Rebirth.
Final (*16*) 16 feels like a true next-gen experience
This isn't the only interview Yoshida has recently given about Final (*16*) 16. Speaking on the PlayStation Blog (opens in a new tab), the FF16 producer praised the PS5's capabilities. “Only through the power of the PlayStation 5 system can we make Final (*16*) 16 the roller coaster that it is,” he said. The producer also praised the graphics capabilities and "super fast load times" of Sony's latest console.
However, what really interests me is your feedback on the gameplay. "In Final (*16*) 16, you jump straight from story cutscenes to real-time battles and back again without any loading time, making gameplay fluid at a fast pace." It feels like a true next-gen experience and I'm afraid if Square Enix had gone with a next-gen version it would be severely limited.
Personally, I'm glad Square Enix didn't stick to those PS4 plans for Final (*16*) 16. Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing the idea of cross-gen releases, but Sony's old console is nine years old. . ancient. There isn't much you can do with outdated hardware before it inevitably limits developers. The PS5 launched almost two years ago and with the shortage of stock starting to wane, it's finally time to move on.