Now that Final Fantasy 16 has made its way to PC, fans’ eyes are seemingly focused on the future of the franchise and what the next several years could bring for the Final Fantasy series. Beyond having the third and final installment in the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy to look forward to, the next mainline entry in the series should also be arriving in the next few years, and expectations for it are arguably high following Final Fantasy 16‘s many stark deviations from series tradition. While details about Final Fantasy 17 remain a mystery, a return to form through the incorporation of classic series elements could be just what the franchise needs.
One of the more surprising omissions from Final Fantasy 16 was the game’s lack of party management, with players only ever controlling Clive and having their companions controlled by the game’s AI. Final Fantasy 17 has the chance to do right by longtime fans by reintroducing elements like multiple party members and party management, which could be further enhanced via bringing back the Job System used in classic entries such as Final Fantasy 3, 5, 12, and Tactics. And for a fresh take on how to make the Job System feel new, Final Fantasy 17 need look no further than one of 2024’s best RPGs.
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Final Fantasy 17 Can Look Within and Outside the Series to Inform a Potential Job System
Even though Final Fantasy 17 could benefit by looking to the series’ past, there’s nothing to suggest that it has to strictly stay within the confines of the Final Fantasy franchise for inspiration. Starting with the framework of the series’ successful implementations of Job Systems, Final Fantasy 17 could branch out to include elements from other games that utilize a class-switching mechanic like Square Enix’s own Bravely Default or Dragon Quest III HD-2D. But the game that Final Fantasy 17 stands to learn a lot from, one with one of the best Job Systems in recent memory, is Atlus’ Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Metaphor‘s Archetypes take the classic approach to a Job System and expand on it through meaningful and powerful synergies between class lineages that add significant depth and dimension to the game’s combat. If Final Fantasy 17 takes things back to basics for the franchise, the return of turn-based combat would be almost a guarantee, and the next mainline entry in the series stands to benefit by looking at how more modern JRPGs have successfully implemented an aging combat model while simultaneously making it feel fresh and engaging. Atlus continues to be a leader in the genre in that regard, making its games a great source of inspiration for how Final Fantasy 17 could balance innovation with nostalgia.
Supporting Party Members Should Play a Larger Role in Final Fantasy 17
Final Fantasy 16‘s Clive is an excellent protagonist (perhaps one of the best in the Final Fantasy series), but that the game positions itself as a mostly solo affair does a disservice to some great supporting characters. To add insult to injury, players never get to directly control allies like Cid, Jill, or Joshua, making it a question of what could have been had Final Fantasy 16 incorporated the franchise’s classic approach to companions and party management. If turn-based combat and the Job System make a return in Final Fantasy 17, it only makes sense for party management to return as well.
Final Fantasy games have always been about more than just the hero, with some of the best games in the series having memorable casts that help to define the experience. It’s almost impossible to imagine Final Fantasy 6 or 7 without any of their iconic characters, and the next mainline Final Fantasy game should honor that tradition by giving players control over not one but a cast of iconic and memorable heroes. As a bonus, Square Enix already has a great example to look to with how Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth handles juggling various party members and switching up party compositions on the fly.
