Final Fantasy XV To Be An Action RPG?

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Think back to the early-to-mid ’90s. Remember the Final Fantasy games back then, in all of their 8 bit and 16 bit glory? Those games were RPGs that defined a genre, and many of them will go down in history as some of the best games ever made. Fast forward to the modern era of gaming, and the Final Fantasy series has changed quite a bit.

That’s because Square Enix has been making constant changes to the Final Fantasy formula. Some changes have been more successful than others: Final Fantasy MMOs? Probably not the best idea. The combat system in Final Fantasy XIII? Pretty awesome, depending on who you talk to.

In a new interview with Edge, Final Fantasy XIII-2 producer Yoshinori Kitase hinted that there may be another change on the way for the Final Fantasy franchise, but this change would be a quite a bit more significant than the ones we’ve seen lately:

I think the nature of the franchise is to present something new each time. In the global market we see many players moving away from games that used turn-based systems toward what you might term an action RPG. That’s a trend, and you ignore things like that at your peril.

That’s right, Final Fantasy XV could be a full blown action RPG. We’re already seeing hints of action RPG in Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2‘s battle systems, but it looks like Square Enix might be looking to make that fast paced action the theme of the next game. Of course, nothing is set in stone yet:

FFXIII and FFXIII-2′s battle systems have those elements of speed and action that are the key words for us, though that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to stick to the same route in our next game. That’s something only time can tell.

I know a lot of people are probably weeping at the thought of a an action RPG Final Fantasy XV, but I actually welcome the change. Final Fantasy XIII bored me to tears, so a nice dose of action would help reignite my interest in the series.

What do you think? Would you play a Final Fantasy game that had more of an action RPG formula feel of the classic turn based system? Have you long since given up on the Final Fantasy franchise? Head down to the comments section and sound off!