While some of them might think they’ve seen too much of it prior to release, Final Fantasy fans will probably forget all about their apprehensions when Final Fantasy 16 finally releases this week.
Though many have been trying to avoid spoiling the sense of wonder they’ll inevitably experience upon jumping into the game for the first time by playing through already released titles in the series, others have read every preview they’ve seen and racked up plenty of hours in its demo.
If you’ve found yourself struggling to defeat bosses in the latter and are hoping to improve your combat skills ahead of Thursday, a recent discussion on Reddit might be worth checking out.
How have you been coping with combat in Final Fantasy 16’s demo?
The skirmish-focused symposium in question was kicked off by a recent post on the subreddit r/finalfantasy by user -Megaflare-, who declared: “I’ve been seeing some comments here and there saying that [Final Fantasy 16] is a ‘button masher’ or that they're just spamming square [in battles]. I know some people who play mainly turn-based games might not be used to action combat games so I'd like to offer a little advice.”
They went on to declare: “First and foremost: if you are ‘button mashing’ or just spamming square, that's not an issue with the game, you are not playing it correctly,” before offering some guidance as to how modifying combos using magic and phoenix shifting into them can be relatively simple ways to add a bit more flavour to your attacks.
While the response to their post saw a number of other players contribute some their own tips, such as user Writer_Man’s recommendation that: “The best way to think of Magic Burst is that it's similar to Squall's gunblade trigger [from Final Fantasy 8], just in real time.”
Similarly, user ThePepek160 emphasised that those having issues getting to grips with abilities should make sure to consult the tooltips in the game’s ability menu before getting frustrated, as it’s often easy to work out what you might be doing wrong.
Meanwhile, others weren’t fans of -Megaflare-’s assertion that button mashing is an incorrect way to play, with user The_Stuey arguing: “I also think that [you] should rephrase [your post]. Button mashing isn't playing wrong. There's no such thing. What it is is sub-optimal.”
They also pointed out that the game contains an accessory that allows you to use a single attack button and have the game pick out abilities for you, should you wish to play that way.
Regardless of how you plan to best foes in Final Fantasy 16, make sure to follow us for updates on an array of helpful guides to both it and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.