Prior to the upcomingFinal Fantasy 16, the series has historically aligned heroes with classes influenced by fantasy tropes. Even in role playing games where the setting and story abandon a fantasy setting, many characters still fulfill the traditional “warrior”, “rogue”, or “mage” roles.Final Fantasyis no exception, dating all the way back to the 1987 original. Although many of the protagonists in theFinal Fantasyseries are defined by their class, newer titles in the long-running franchise have started to move away from this historic trend, includingFinal Fantasy 16and its protagonist Clive.
The development team behindFinal Fantasy 16has been candid about the desire to update the series and abandon many aspects of the franchise they considered to be “fossilized”. As a result,Final Fantasy 16is looking quite differentfrom what many have come to expect from Square Enix’s RPG juggernaut. Among the more obvious changes are the switch from turn-based to real-time combat and a non-traditional party system, with players primarily controlling Clive throughout the duration of the adventure. Despite these changes,Final Fantasyhas a rich history of varied and unique classes, andFinal Fantasy 16could add depth to its combat model by incorporating these class archetypes.
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Stranger of Paradise Established Final Fantasy’s Classes Work in Action Combat
While last year’sStranger of Paradiseisn’t likely to win any awards for its narrative, Team Ninja should be commended for how it was able to ensure each traditionalFinal Fantasyclass or job felt satisfying. Somehow the developers were able to take 27 different classes and make each feel unique while also making most of them viable in the challenging endgame content. It might be a bit of an odd duck in the history ofFinal Fantasyspin-offs, butStranger of Paradiseestablished that real-time combatwith a variety ofFinal Fantasyclasses works.
Considering thatStranger of Paradisewas developed by the same studio behind the fantasticNiohgames, the successes of its combat should come as no surprise. With veteran combat developer Ryota Suzuki behind the helm ofFinal Fantasy 16’s new real-time combat model, there’s plenty of room for another successful incorporation of the traditionalFinal Fantasyclasses in combat. Much is unknown regarding the full slate of Clive’s abilities, but it would be a missed opportunity to not include a variety of class types or jobs for Clive to choose from.
Final Fantasy 14 Has a Diverse Group of Combat Classes
One of the many ways thatFinal Fantasy 14has been able to differentiate itself from other MMORPGs is by including a vast and diverse roster of combat classes for players to choose from. Several key members of theFF14development team came over to work onFinal Fantasy 16, so there’s hope that some of the skill exhibited in creating classes carries over as well. Additionally,Final Fantasy 14has extended its playabilitythrough a series of successful DLC that each introduce new classes for players to experiment with. A similar DLC model inFinal Fantasy 16could open up potential pathways for Clive to assume new classes.
TheFinal Fantasyseries has traditionally been defined by the freedom that it affords the player in crafting their dream RPG party. Beginning with the original title on the NES, players were free to choose from six classes that each had their own strengths and weaknesses, with the series eventually evolving to give players the opportunity to blend melee combat and magic however they pleased. Although Clive is set to be thesole playable character inFinal Fantasy 16, it would be a mistake to have him be pigeonholed into one set class when historic precedent and development pedigree create opportunity for class experimentation.
Final Fantasy 16launches June 22 for PlayStation 5.
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