With Square Enix having recently released its latest high-profile title in theFinal Fantasyseries, the developer should look at where that game succeeds best for the upcomingKingdom Hearts 4. One of the key combat designs to note is the way thatFinal Fantasy 16utilizes Limit Breaksto give players a temporary boost that is more than just a one-time special attack throughout the game’s long boss battles.
While the specifics of limited use power-ups inKingdom Hearts 4haven’t been confirmed yet, previous entries in the series could give an idea of how Sora can get a temporary boost to help burn through enemy and boss health bars. Looking especially at the fan-favorite Drive Forms fromKingdom Hearts 2, a simple change in design lifting fromFinal Fantasy 16’s Limit Break could make these temporary boosts more impactful across more combat encounters.
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Higher Availability for Drive Form Changes
There were two key ways that the originalDrive Forms inKingdom Hearts 2balanced how powerful the new power-ups were. First, it would temporarily remove either Donald, Goofy, or both from the party, leaving Sora without the backup that could otherwise heal him or manage aggro from enemies. Second, the Drive Gauge that grants access to the Drive Forms charges very slowly, depletes additional bars with stronger forms, and can only be replenished with items while outside of battle.
The biggest drawback of this type of balance is that players are incentivized to only really use Drive Forms during boss fights, since using the boost during regular combat will likely make it unusable by the time a boss shows up.Final Fantasy 16takes the same gauge building system in order to limit access to the Limit Break form, but still makes it usable across more general encounters and bosses. Unlike theDrive Gauge inKingdom Hearts 2, however, the Limit Gauge inFinal Fantasy 16charges fast enough to be used multiple times throughout a single boss fight.
This results in a temporary power-up that players don’t need to be so particular with, saving it only as an emergency button to get them out of dangerous situations once per encounter. It then has a two-sided effect, where controllingFinal Fantasy 16’s Clivemakes the player feel powerful, while also allowing this temporary boost to feel like a more consistent part of the combat. Otherwise, the limiting factor seen inKingdom Hearts 2can make that aspect of Sora’s combat almost like a plot device that only shows up to counter the toughest bosses instead of a part of his toolkit to use across the various worlds.
Kingdom Hearts 4’s Temporary Power Boosts
Little has been shown ofKingdom Hearts 4’s gameplayso far, with only an initial trailer giving a basic idea of how combat will work during the scripted fight against a Darkside. So, there is no particular indication yet on how Drive or Second Forms will appear in the upcoming title. However, the success of these temporary boosts on player experience are definitely the type of thing that Square Enix will want to continue to maximize on, similar to how the developer is bringing back Reaction Commands based on player feedback.
In that case, with Square Enix taking player feedback into account, the feedback ofFinal Fantasy 16’s Limit Break should inform the developer that giving frequent access to these temporary boosts is good for fans. This has already been tackled to a degree withKingdom Hearts 3’s Keyblades, as each unique weapon has a transformation that can be activated by landing strings of combos on enemies, sometimes while interlinking specific attacks. Taking a similar step in this direction of giving more consistent access to these upgraded forms could help to improve the pace ofKingdom Hearts 4’s combat and give Sora his full toolkit at all times.
Kingdom Hearts 4is currently in development.
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