Way back in 2006, Square Enix and then-head developer Tetsuya Nomura debutedFinal Fantasy Versus 13. The game languished in “development hell” for several years before Nomura was moved on to directKingdom Hearts 3,yet traces of Nomura’s ideas fromVersus 13ultimately made their way into several other games in theFinal Fantasyfranchise andKingdom Hearts. Almost fifteen years later, the intended spin-off title may still be impacting the development of the next mainline entry,Final Fantasy 16.
After the role of director forVersus 13was moved from Nomura to Hajime Tabata, the game slowly, slowly evolved into what would becomeFinal Fantasy 15which was released back in 2016. The main character Noctis was one element of the originalVersus 13that made its way toFF15but many of Nomura’s narrative ideas and frameworks forVersus13were scrapped or heavily adapted forFF15,but those ideas still had aprofound impact onFF15, Kingdom Hearts,and to a degree, evenFF7 Remake. As a result, it seems more than likely that those ideas and concepts are still impacting the upcomingFinal Fantasy 16.
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Lasting Influence
WhenVersus 13was originally announced, it was intended as a spin-off fromFinal Fantasy 13,as the name implies, as part of Square Enix’s ambitious Fabula Nova Crystallis project. This project included new games likeFF13andVersus 13as part of an expanded universe in a way similar to the waysthatFinal Fantasy Tactics,Final Fantasy 12, andVagrant Storyare all contained within the Ivalice universe. Square Enix also kicked off the project with an impressive tech demo of its new source engine that would later be implemented to provide the visuals forFF15andFF7 Remakeon the PS4.
The first trailer forVersus 13showed a much darker tone than the brightly coloredFF13,and early gameplay showcases featured real-time action which was new to theFinal Fantasyfranchise. While it’s now history thatVersus 13ultimately metamorphized intoFF15, many elements of the narrative planned by Nomura made their way into some of his other projects and Square Enix games at large likeKingdom Hearts 3andFF7 Remake.Nomura was character developer on theoriginal PS1Final Fantasy 7, so it’s fairly natural that his ideas would be incorporated into theRemake.
InKingdom Hearts 3,the influenceofVersus 13was worn pretty much on the game’s sleeves. The at-first-seemingly meta reference toVersus 13took the form of a trailer for a video game that plays at the beginning of theToy Storyworld. The toys hilariously confuse protagonist Sora for the main character of the game within a game, Yozora. While at first seeming not much more than a nod to Nomura’s past work at first,that isn’t quite so clear by the end of the ReMind DLC forKH3.
During the ReMind DLC, there is an almost shot-for-shotreproduction of a trailer forVersus 13. Yozora’s resemblance to the original look of Noctis seems less and less coincidental. Many fans have interpreted the ambiguous secret ending video forKingdom Hearts 3as evidence that Nomura is seeking to bring in more elements of his cannedVersus 13into theKingdom Heartsfranchise. The video sees Sora and Riku transported to what seems like real-life Shibuya as Yozora overlooks from a balcony above.
While it goes without saying that the next game in a franchise would be influenced by its predecessors, it seems likely thatFinal Fantasy 16is influencedby the success of specific games and the work of Nomura. Many elements of Nomura’s vision that made their way fromVersus 13intoKH3, FF15,andFF7 Remakeseem to be finding their way into the next game.
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Defying Fate (Final Fantasy 16)
Versus 13and other works from the Fabula Nova Crystallis project likeFF13had a big focus on the ideas of defying fate and altering otherwise inevitable outcomes. This was accomplished via time travel in the sequels toFF13and often involved “rifts” in reality being sealed or exploited. This popped up in a big way with thechanges made toFF7 Remake: Cloud and the other members of Avalanche defeat the Whispers, ghastly specters dedicated to maintaining the original timeline. This was sometimes helpful to the group, case in point being the revival of Barrett at the hands of a Whisper. Ultimately, their defeat opens one of those rifts and the ending ofFF7 Remakeleaves the door open for massive changes to the story going forward.
The shift to real-time action forFinal Fantasywas also pioneered inVersus 13. TheKingdom Heartsgames also utilized a style similar, but this was a big shift for the mainlineFinal Fantasygames. This gameplay was adapted intoFF15and to a lesser degreeFF7 Remakeconsidering the action was more grounded and featured more strategic usage of abilities via menu in a more classic style.Final Fantasy 16’s gameplay seems to beinfluenced very much byFF15as the reveal gameplay shows lead protagonist Clive teleporting around the battlefield in a way that feels veryDevil May Cry.
Both of these elements originally began byVersus 13seem to be impacting the development ofFinal Fantasy 16in a big way. While the real-time action is confirmed, fans are not yet aware of whether the game will feature some of the strategic elements present inRemake.However, the new trailer does hint at the themes of defying fate that were carried over fromVersus 13.For example, crystals have long been a major narrative backbone to theFinal Fantasyseries, whether that be the power of themateria fromFF7or the warriors fromFinal Fantasy 3being chosen by the sentient power of the Crystal of Light.
InFF16’sdebut trailer, it is stated that the influence of the crystals will be challenged. This defying of a force that has controlled the fate’s of manyFinal Fantasyprotagonists over the years is a big departure that seems to resonate with the ideas originally pioneered by Nomura inVersus 13.
There is still much fans don’t know about the nextFinal Fantasygame, butbig announcements for the Final Fantasy franchiseare expected this year. The influence ofVersus 13has crept its way into many Square Enix projects, and it seems likely that Nomura’s brainchild will still be impacting the future of the series withFinal Fantasy 16.Of course, how much so remains to be seen, but it should perhaps be something fans keep an eye on whenever the game releases.
