I mean I’ve played FF1-9, excluding 8 so far, and they’re all very light on the RPG mechanics. There’s no choice, very little customization (jobs in 3 and 5 were basically the extent of character building, and even then there was almost always a “right time” for all the jobs), sparse sidequests, and little to no meaningful choices to make in the story. I thought 2 was interesting because conceptually the system with characters getting better at abilities through use was neat, but it effectively just meant that my team became good at everything.
16 isn’t much different in that regard. Sidequests are a bit more strictly defined than they historically have been, but there’s still similar levels of character building, linear storytelling, and lack of meaningful choice shared by all the others that came before.
I think people often forget this about Final Fantasy. Characters are pushed down one of several archetypal roles, and personalities, due to story and lore dictating most elements. So much so that little flexibility is left for the customisation and personalisation. You don’t get to build your character, the world does that for you.
I mean I’ve played FF1-9, excluding 8 so far, and they’re all very light on the RPG mechanics. There’s no choice, very little customization (jobs in 3 and 5 were basically the extent of character building, and even then there was almost always a “right time” for all the jobs), sparse sidequests, and little to no meaningful choices to make in the story. I thought 2 was interesting because conceptually the system with characters getting better at abilities through use was neat, but it effectively just meant that my team became good at everything.
16 isn’t much different in that regard. Sidequests are a bit more strictly defined than they historically have been, but there’s still similar levels of character building, linear storytelling, and lack of meaningful choice shared by all the others that came before.
I think people often forget this about Final Fantasy. Characters are pushed down one of several archetypal roles, and personalities, due to story and lore dictating most elements. So much so that little flexibility is left for the customisation and personalisation. You don’t get to build your character, the world does that for you.
edit: words.