Final Fantasy 16 is June 2023’s IGN First! We’ll be bringing you tons of exclusive content all the way up to the game’s release on June 22. To kick things off, check out this lava-hot boss battle against Liquid Flame. “Liquid Flame awaits you at the Inner Sanctum of Drake’s Breath, a location you visit somewhere mid-game,” Director Hiroshi Takai tells IGN.
For longtime fans of the 35-year-running series, the name Liquid Flame might sound familiar. That’s because Liquid Flame is one of the most iconic bosses of Final Fantasy V, which was also the first game in the series Takai worked on as a developer. Takai was not the one who decided to include this nostalgic foe in Final Fantasy XVI, though, as Creative Director Kazutoyo Maehiro came up with the idea. Maehiro also wrote Final Fantasy XVI’s story, and he says that Final Fantasy V was the game that inspired him to become a creator himself.
Producer Naoki Yoshida explains: “Takai was one of the original developers for Final Fantasy V, so it is a title he has very strong feelings for. And Maehiro, well, he’s a real nerd – he’s a Final Fantasy nerd, a game nerd, and he’s crazy about detailed scenarios. Just as with Final Fantasy XIV, the many references to the series’ history come from these two guys. It’s just their touch.”
Explaining why he wanted to include Liquid Flame, Maehiro adds, “There are various reasons. First of all, I’m just a huge fan of Final Fantasy V. For me, Liquid Flame left a lasting impression because of how the character takes many different forms and shapes during battle. Drake’s Breath is a volcano stage with lava as its main concept, so for this area’s boss I thought, ‘Who else but Liquid Flame!’”
That being said, Final Fantasy XVI’s boss battle against Liquid Flame is more than just a cool reference. According to Maehiro, there’s a solid reason for why it appears. “It’s not like it appears out of nowhere,” says Maehiro. “Liquid Flame has a purpose of its own. If you play the game casually, it might be no more than, ‘Oh, here’s a tough enemy!’, but if you think it through you might be able to figure out why Liquid Flame appears.”
Final Fantasy XVI’s boss battle against Liquid Flame is more than just a cool reference. According to Maehiro, there’s a solid reason for why it appears.As can be seen in our gameplay video, Liquid Flame’s characteristic of changing shapes during battle was faithfully implemented into Final Fantasy XVI’s real-time action. “Sometimes it’s standing on two feet, but then it transforms into a beast-like form standing on four feet, only to change into a flying enemy later,” explains Combat Director Ryota Suzuki. “So yes, we’ve definitely incorporated that unique trait.”
“It’s an enemy with the element of fire,” Suzuki continues. “When standing on four feet, it will charge at the player with agile attacks. When in the air, it becomes out of range and attacks protagonist Clive with a breath of flame. When it’s standing on two feet, it becomes a more traditional melee encounter. We designed the battle so that the player has to react to these different forms.”
According to Suzuki, many of Final Fantasy XVI’s bosses consist of multiple phases. “We’ve designed it so that heading into a new phase of a boss battle doesn’t only become more difficult, but it also functions as a change in flow that keeps the player engaged,” says Suzuki. “With cutscenes in between, the attack patterns and other characteristics of a boss will change, which demands the player fight it in different ways and use different Eikon abilities.”
Eikon abilities are special attacks that stand central in Final Fantasy XVI’s combat. Clive will learn new Eikon abilities over the course of his adventure. The player can equip multiple Eikon abilities and switch between them during battle. “Even if you lose, you can change your build directly from the game over screen before you head back in,” says Suzuki. “You can learn from the attack patterns on your first playthrough, and then equip Eikon abilities accordingly. For the battle with Liquid Flame, I think you’ll be able to work out which Eikon abilities are a good match.”
Suzuki says that the team has made sure that Final Fantasy XVI’s battles never become so difficult that they make you want to give up.Suzuki says that the team has made sure that Final Fantasy XVI’s battles never become so difficult that they make you want to give up. If you are defeated by a boss during one of its later phases, the battle starts from that phase on your next try. This is true for both of the difficulty settings that you can choose from on your first playthrough.
“The game’s main pull is its story, and we want our players to see Clive’s life through to the end,” says Takai. “This is why we made sure that both Story-focused Mode and Action focused Mode – the difficulty settings you can choose between on your first playthrough – aren’t too difficult.”
“As you enjoy the story in your first playthrough, Clive will naturally grow stronger and learn many different moves and Eikon abilities,” says Suzuki. “We made sure that enemies aren’t so difficult that some players might want to give up, and even when you are defeated we do our best to make it a bit more manageable on your next attempt. For those who are looking for more challenging action, a new difficulty setting called Final Fantasy Mode unlocks on your second playthrough. Here, you will be able to take the version of Clive from your first playthrough with everything you unlocked to enjoy the game’s action to the fullest.”
Stay tuned for many more exclusive content drops before Final Fantasy XVI lands on PlayStation 5 on June 22.
Esra Krabbe is an editor at IGN Japan. He usually stands on two feet.
