While most Final Fantasy games have gone with an aesthetic that blends sci-fi with medieval fantasy settings, the upcoming Final Fantasy 16 is fully embracing its medieval fantasy roots. This will already ensure that it stands out from the majority of its predecessors, but there's another way that the new game will be different from the pack. As it turns out, Final Fantasy 16 is breaking a major series tradition, though for good reason.
With Final Fantasy games being developed primarily by Square Enix in Japan, it makes sense that they usually record Japanese voice lines and motion capture first, with English dubbed over the characters. However, according to Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida (speaking on Washagana TV), the new game is recording English voice lines and facial capture first, with a specific focus on British English. This makes sense given Final Fantasy 16's medieval fantasy setting, which is most commonly associated with Britain.
Yoshida added that Final Fantasy 16 facial capture will be in more than just cut-scenes. So it seems fans can expect to see high quality animation throughout the entire Final Fantasy 16 experience. It will be great to see this in action, so hopefully fans don't have to wait too much longer to get another look at FF16.
Unfortunately, fans haven't seen much of Final Fantasy 16 since the game's initial reveal. The Final Fantasy 16 reveal trailer confirmed some of the protagonists and the setting, but not a whole lot else. Some were hoping to get an update on Final Fantasy 16 at Square Enix's E3 2021 event, but the game was absent from the show, and there's a good chance it won't make an appearance at this year's Tokyo Game Show either.
If Final Fantasy 16 isn't at Tokyo Game Show, it's possible fans won't get to see the game again at all in 2021 and may have to wait for sometime next year. Then again, it's possible Square Enix will showcase Final Fantasy 16 at The Game Awards in December, though that remains to be seen.
Besides Tokyo Game Show and The Game Awards, there's a chance Final Fantasy 16 could be shown off during a PlayStation State of Play event. After all, Final Fantasy 16 is a timed PS5 exclusive, and the game was originally announced at a State of Play event anyway. For now, all fans can do is keep their fingers crossed that Final Fantasy 16 will make an appearance whenever a gaming news event rolls around.
Final Fantasy 16 is in development for PS5.
Source: Gematsu