Final Fantasy 16's biggest series departure is still partly influenced by one of the older games

It turns out Final Fantasy 16's combat was partly inspired by Final Fantasy 5.

Speaking to the Japanese outlet Dengeki Online (as translated by SiliconEra), senior developers Hiroshi Takai and Kazutoyo Maehiro have shed new light on the game, comparing the Eikon Summons of Final Fantasy 16 to the job system of the classic Final Fantasy 5.

The new game's development team want to recreate the Spellblade, Dualwield, and Rapidfire gauntlet of endgame abilities in Final Fantasy 5 with Eikons in Final Fantasy 16, leading to a similar system whereby players would be able to create unique combinations with the abilities and Summons presented to them.

Going a step further, director Maehiro said "it would be easier to understand if I say that (combat) will feel like controlling Bartz, the main character from Final Fantasy 5, in real-time action," outright comparing Final Fantasy 16 to a real-time version of the classic Square Enix JRPG.

Maehiro also points to the popularity of streaming games as inspiration for Final Fantasy 16's new combat system. Producer Naoki Yoshida also chimes in, adding that the new real-time combat system would genuinely excel in successive playthroughs of Final Fantasy 16.

Much has been made of Final Fantasy 16's new real-time action-packed combat since it was revealed years ago. Square Enix even struggled to get the combat system working initially, resorting to hiring Devil May Cry 5's combat lead from Capcom to get the entire feature working (as revealed in our extensive Final Fantasy 16 interview last year). 

Final Fantasy 16 launches later this year on June 22 as a timed exclusive for the PS5.

Head over to our upcoming PS5 games guide for a look ahead at the coming year for Sony's new-gen console.