Square Enix says Final Fantasy 16 is impossible without the PS5
We’ve heard plenty of times that Final Fantasy 16 uses the power of the PS5, and Square Enix finally explained what that actually means in a new PlayStation Blog post. First up is the console’s super-fast solid-state drive, which apparently does more than just reduce load times to three seconds.
Director Hiroshi Takai said the drive’s speed and memory capacity make it possible to include more visual detail in everything from clothing and environments to special effects from Clive’s attacks.
“It’s really resource-intensive just to render these models on screen, and the lighting and shadow effects are then layered on top of that,” Takai said. “We’re only able to do this thanks to the size of the PS5’s memory. Clive can unleash a wide range of attacks, and the animations and effects for them can all fit in the memory, too. And the way that the game seamlessly flows between resource-intensive gameplay to equally intensive cutscenes and back again wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the speed of the SSD.”
The team also took advantage of the DualSense’s haptic feedback capabilities. Takai mentioned using adaptive triggers in certain situations, such as opening heavy gates or doors – which we experienced in our Final Fantasy 16 preview – but they went even further as well. Sound effects, such as the wind, were translated into haptics and turned into vibrations to help make the experience more immersive in cutscenes and regular gameplay.
Very few PS5 games have used haptics at all, let alone in a way that feels interesting or necessary. We don’t have too much longer to see how well it turns out, either. Final Fantasy 16 launches on June 22, 2023, for PS5, and while a PC port is planned, it won’t see the light of day for much longer.
