Final Fantasy 16 combat director calls game his “personal masterpiece”

Final Fantasy 16’s combat director, who previously worked on action titles like Devil May Cry, Dragon’s Dogma, and Monster Hunter, has called the game his “personal masterpiece.”

The hype surrounding Square Enix’s next main installment in the Final Fantasy series — Final Fantasy 16 — is reaching its peak now that the full release is nearly here.

Ahead of its release on June 22, 2023, fans have gotten a clear look at the game’s fast-paced action combat system, which looks to incorporate tons of different moves that can help players pull off some flashy combos.

Now, Final Fantasy 16’s Combat Direct Ryota Suzuki has called the game his “personal masterpiece” despite his previous work on prolific action games like Devil May Cry 5 and Monster Hunter: World.

FF16 combat director calls the game his “masterpiece”

Suzuki appeared on a Japanese live stream for the game in which he said that in the course of his 25-year career designing action games, he believes Final Fantasy 16’s combat to be his own “personal masterpiece.”

A handy translation from aitaikimochi shed a clearer light on Suzuki’s statement. The combat director said, “I’ve been making action games for the past 25 years in my career, and I truly think this game is my own personal masterpiece.”

Suzuki Ryota's message from the Final Fantasy XVI Japanese live letter was enlightening- he says that throughout his entire career designing action games for the past 25 years, he truly thinks FF16 is his own personal masterpiece.

I added English subs to his heartfelt message! pic.twitter.com/LlXKzAAn2C

— ☆オードリーAudrey☆ (@aitaikimochi) June 18, 2023

For those who may not know, Suzuki has credits on some titans of the action-adventure and action RPG genre, including Monster Hunter World and its Iceborne expansion, Devil May Cry 4 and 5, as well as Dragon’s Dogma and the Dark Arisen expansion.

The Square Enix dev went on to explain that the team made it a priority to design “the game’s battle system to appeal to those who previously have not played or are not well-versed in action games.”

This is clear in the FF16’s demo, which has a plethora of different options to help new action RPG players grapple with the many different systems at play during combat.

Suzuki ended his statement with: “I hope this game will give you a chance to experience the allure that an action game can bring.”

Clearly, Suzuki’s credentials speak for themselves, making it all the more impressive that he’s given the game such high praise. Fans interested in learning more about Final Fantasy 16 can check out our preview ahead of the game’s full release.