Summoning has been a large part of the Final Fantasy franchise for many years, so much so that the ability to collect and unleash these powerful magic creatures has become one of the most iconic aspects of the series at large. Games in the series treat summons differently, as sometimes the powerful creatures exist largely outside of the story as just an expression of the characters' magical prowess, and sometimes they are active deities that affect the course of mortal events. Final Fantasy 16 seems to embrace the latter, with the first trailer vaguely explaining the link between Eikons (the name given to the summon monsters this time around) and the Dominants who seemingly channel the summons.
From a gameplay standpoint, the next entry has a chance to expand on what many players considered one of the best summon systems from the recent Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Final Fantasy 16 was announced recently, and though not much is known yet about the next title's story, many fans have glommed onto the idea of Eikons and Dominants. It would appear that in the universe of the upcoming FF16 Eikons are powerful deities that are attached to and channeled through individuals known as Dominants. While fans are wondering what to expect from Final Fantasy going forward into 2021, many are pondering how the next game may implement the Eikons in actual gameplay. The system for summoning in combat in FF7 Remake was popular, and FF16 would do well to learn from and expand upon that success.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Summons
Part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake's success was due to the adaptation of the PS1 classic's gameplay systems into a more modern system that featured a blend of real-time action and menu-driven strategy and planning, and one facet of that gameplay that many players enjoyed was the way the summons were implemented. The modern take on a classic Final Fantasy trope was a great mix of flair and combat utility.
In FF7 Remake, a summoned monster like Ifrit would be called into battle during important story fights or when a higher-level encounter turned south for the player. Impressive entry animations ushered in each creature's joining the battlefield. After spending an amount of time battling alongside the other party members, complete with predetermined attacks and special attacks that players could command by expending their own actions, another flashy sequence would ensue and the summons would deliver their signature attacks like Shiva's Diamond Dust. Afterwards, the creature would vanish until called on again during battle. This system was an impressive mixture of summon mechanics from Final Fantasy games that came before and a system that might be easy to build into other real-time games like the upcoming FF16.
An enhanced version of this mechanic could be utilized to great effect in FF16. And as many fans await the next big announcements for FF16, imagining how that might look is an interesting undertaking. It is worth noting that, in the world of FF7 Remake, the summons don't have a direct impact on the world itself. The summon creatures like Ifrit and Bahamut exist as powerful materia that allow for Cloud and party to unleash their magical might. In FF16, however, it would appear that the Eikons have a more influential role in the mythology of the world and, importantly, seem tied to individual characters in lieu of something available to any party member. This would definitely have bearing on the mechanics of how the summon system could work.
Potential for Final Fantasy 16's Summons
Even if the relationship between Eikons and Dominants means that party members, if there are other playable characters at all, are limited to individual Eikons, the system from FF7 Remake could still work well within that framework. The desperation-driven timing for summons would fit well into a world where characters like Clive and Joshua have less control over their associated summons. A boss battle or similarly tense situation would be a great place to have the Eikons make dramatic entrances in order to turn the tides of a fight. Although in that vision of the system, the Eikons might replace the players temporarily similar to how Final Fantasy X worked over Remake's assists. Although it is not hard to imagine either option fitting the playstyle, watching Ifrit deliver powerful flame attacks while Clive continues his sword attacks could be an interesting scenario.
Alternatively, if FF16 does indeed feature few party members, Clive may be able to obtain new Eikons to use in some show of his individual power. Again, this would be more similar to FFX where Yuna was able to acquire access to a wide range of summon attacks. Story elements are sparse ,but that leaves the door for speculation wide open, and the drastic change Clive undergoes in the debut trailer could indicate a more powerful and wizened Dominant-shared powers that has gained access to multiple Eikons. It is again worth noting this is purely speculation, but the themes of defying fate hinted at so far may also include the Eikon/Dominant relationship.
Battling against the Eikons as a means to obtain them would also be a nod to the system from Final Fantasy 7 Remake; however if that ends up being the case, it stands to reason that these battles are happening in the real world and thus have implications in the world similar to the encounter with Titan in FF15. While there are definitely things to avoid from FF15 for FF16 to succeed, the encounter with Titan did a lot to build on the summon's impact in the real world versus the virtual reality fights from FF7 Remake against Bahamut and the like. This could help build both the world and the stakes in Final Fantasy 16.
While speculative this far from release and without much detail to go on, Final Fantasy has a history of expanding on successful mechanics from the games that came before. As a result, the success of Final Fantasy 7 Remake is something that has surely been noted. Final Fantasy 16 will be standing on the shoulders of some of the biggest games, and if Square Enix hopes to recapture success from previous Final Fantasy titles, learning from systems that were popular before will likely be key to the success of the next mainline entry for Final Fantasy.
Final Fantasy 16 is in development for the Playstation 5.