How Final Fantasy XVI Redefines the Series Again (And Don't Call It a JRPG)

ign.com:

Change is in the air for Final Fantasy.

Once considered the golden child of mainstream gaming thanks to the emergent success of Final Fantasy VII in 1997, the series that helped created a new sub-genre of RPG has created and rebuilt its fan base over again many times as each new release seeks to reinvent the series while retaining its general vibe of crystals, giant summonable monsters, and speculative stories crammed with melodramas. Every Final Fantasy is different, and every Final Fantasy is the same.

This continues with today's release of the latest mainline title in the franchise, Final Fantasy XVI. The first single-player numbered title in seven years, producer Naoki Yoshida's take on Final Fantasy shifts the gameplay toward a third-person action style reminiscent of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta, while retaining the series's trademark fantasy setting, sprawling story, and breathtaking set pieces.

But, all these changes have many fans asking what it means to be a "Final Fantasy?" How many knobs can you turn before it becomes something else entirely, despite the name on the box? Or, for that matter, does it even qualify as a "JRPG" anymore—a genre it helped create in the 80s—or is that term itself dated, meaningless, and sometimes hurtful?

For a few days in February 2023, social media was buzzing with the idea that Final Fantasy XVI creator Naoki Yoshida didn't want people thinking of his latest game as a "JRPG." In an interview with the YouTube channel SkillUp, Yoshida said, “There was a time when this term first appeared 15 years ago, and for us as developers the first time we heard it, it was like a discriminatory term.”

It opened the door for a complex discussion about the label's use and history—particularly its use