Final Fantasy 16 director on its M rating: "We decided that we wouldn't tell a juvenile story"

(Image credit: Square Enix)

The sixteenth instalment in the world's most ironically named franchise is set to release in summer 2023. While the series is no stranger to dealing with themes of sacrifice and loss, from what we've seen of Final Fantasy 16 so far, it appears to be going in a much darker direction than any of the previous mainline offerings.

According to a Square Enix European newsletter, Final Fantasy 16 currently holds a provisional rating of 18, which equates to a Mature release in America. In an interview with IGN, director Hiroshi Takai addresses the decision to make the next entry in the long-running RPG series darker than its predecessors.

"In the early stages of development, we decided that we wouldn't tell a juvenile story," Takai explains. He adds that among the major considerations when creating Final Fantasy 16 was the age range of the series' core audience and the "increased capability to portray things" thanks to modern technology.

Crucially, the director says the team didn't set out to make the game more violent or extreme for the sake of it but wanted to tell a story "more realistically and naturally".

Takai says, "The world of Final Fantasy 16 is wracked by endless wars between nations, so we inevitably had to include scenes of battle. And if a character doesn't have any blood splatter on them after slashing someone with a sword, that ends up looking unnatural with modern graphical capabilities – which creates an even stronger sense of dissonance."

He also suggests future instalments might also lean into this darker tone, concluding with, "I'm sure the series will continue to butt up against this question of depicting things realistically and naturally in the future as well."

A new trailer for Final Fantasy 16 was recently released, offering more insight into the game's setting and story. Alongside the footage came news that development has "entered the home stretch".

Keen for more role-playing action? Check out our pick of the best RPGs you can play right now.

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Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.