Former Devil May Cry Dev Praises Final Fantasy 16, Calls Game His ‘Personal Masterpiece’

The combat director ofFinal Fantasy 16and former Capcom developer, Ryota Suzuki, states that he believes the upcoming RPG is his “personal masterpiece.” The RPG will finally be launching on PS5 later this June after much anticipation and overwhelming hype. Fans got anextensive demo ofFinal Fantasy 16earlier this month, which allows them to try out the game’s various aspects, including its new action-RPG combat approach to battles, which is very similar to games likeDragon’s DogmaandDevil May Cry 5. Those who have been following the game for a long while will recognize the similarities are due to its combat designer, Ryota Suzuki.Suzuki’s past works when he was working at Capcominclude the aforementionedDragon’s DogmaandDevil May Cry 5, along with other titles likeMarvel vs. Capcom 2. He left the rival company in 2020, joining Square Enix later that year.Final Fantasy 16evidently sharesDevil May Cry’s DNA in its combat, where Clive’s wolf companion shares elements withDMC5’s Shadow. Building upon these previous action games, Suzuki states that the RPG is one of the best that he has worked on.RELATED:Final Fantasy 16 Details Day One UpdateThis praise for the game was stated during a Japanese livestream held by Square Enix addressing the fans. Ryota Suzuki states that after 25 years of designing action games, he believes thatFinal Fantasy 16is his “personal masterpiece.” Most notably, he and the team at Square Enix put priority into designing the game’s battle system, allowing newcomers or those not experienced in the action game genre to be eased into it.

Suzuki states that he hopes those who have never played the genre before could try out the RPG and that it will give them a chance to experience what is so appealing about the action game genre itself as well. This approach to accessibility has been provided withFinal Fantasy 16’s various equippable rings, which provide ways for the game to be easier such as auto-dodging most attacks or automating commands for Torgal as well.

Theshift from turn-based to action forFinal Fantasy 16’s combathas been a divisive topic for much of the fanbase. There are many who decry this change, finding it an ill fit for the series, while others are open to seeing the franchise taking things in a different direction. At the very least this game could open the floodgates for discussions about what the genre can implement from Square Enix’s RPG.