Is FF16 a ‘real Final Fantasy game’? Of course it is – but there is something to this incredibly stupid debate

As I sit down to write this article we’re precisely one week from the release of Final Fantasy 16, a little under a week from the review embargo (which will have passed and our FF16 review published by the time you read this), and the game is trending on Twitter. Click the trend and what do you find, though? A bunch of bloody nonsense about if it’s a Final Fantasy game or not.

It’s nonsense from all sides too, by the way. On one hand, you’ve got those who aren’t strictly picking up what FF16 is putting down. These people don’t like the game’s tone and style, which is hugely different to past games, and therefore say that it’s not a FF game. On the other hand, you’ve got fans who are well up for FF16 snarking back, noting how different each FF game is from the last. And here I sit, with 100% completion of the game, desperate to tweet and give both sides a digital slap. But I can’t. So here I am, in the past, writing to you in the future, when I’m finally allowed to talk about the game.

So, let’s start with the big, dumb question, yeah? Is Final Fantasy 16 a Final Fantasy game? Well, of course it is, dummy, shut up – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t complicated.