Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been one of many breakout hits of 2025. It is also a classically styled turn-based role-playing sport, taking cues from many fashionable collection, together with Closing Fantasy. These two components have each led to many questions on whether or not Closing Fantasy may return to its personal roots, and now the query’s been posed to considered one of Closing Fantasy’s front-facing leads.
Naoki Yoshida, the director/producer of Closing Fantasy 14 and producer of Closing Fantasy 16, was requested in an interview with AnimeNewsNetwork whether or not mainline Closing Fantasy video games may return to being turn-based, within the wake of Clair Obscur’s success.
“With this query of turn-based versus motion, it tends to isolate the gameplay to only the battle system,” stated Yoshida. “That does not bear in mind what sort of sport the creators wish to ship to gamers. For instance, based mostly on a sure graphical high quality we wish to current to our gamers, or the narrative we wish to ship to our gamers, it pertains to how we arrange the sport’s techniques round it. This consists of the battle system, sport design, and gameplay really feel. It isn’t a clear-cut reply, whether or not it should turn into all turn-based, or if it is going to turn into extra action-based.
“[I’m] not essentially going to be on Closing Fantasy 17, so we additionally do not wish to hinder or restrict our future director or whomever can be producing the video games like 17 and even 18,” Yoshida continued. “We do not wish to put them on a rail.”
The reply, primarily, continues to be up within the air. Closing Fantasy modifications with every entry, in any case; except for creating new tales and casts for every mainline numbered entry, every sport can vary from extremely iterative to full-on evolutions or change-ups. Wanting on the gameplay shifts from, say, Closing Fantasy 9 on by 12 and 13 emphasizes how the collection typically shakes issues up for every successive installment.
Finest Mainline Closing Fantasy Video games
Finest Mainline Closing Fantasy Video games
Yoshida has talked about this prior to now, throughout the context of Closing Fantasy 16 choosing a really action-oriented system. That entry tried to attraction to a special crowd, due to the “anticipated” gross sales and impression of a mainline Closing Fantasy.
We have had these conversations earlier than, round the way forward for Closing Fantasy, and can in all probability have them once more. In spite of everything, merely judging by the improvement timelines of the previous few mainline video games, it is perhaps a bit till we begin listening to about Closing Fantasy 17, a lot much less 18 or past.
In the meantime, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and its improvement workforce at Sandfall Interactive have actually struck success by honing in on their objectives and passions, so possibly that’s the true goal to attempt in the direction of.
Eric is a contract author for IGN.
