Square Enix recently revealed that Final Fantasy XVI has changed its UI back to the original but for a sensible reason.
Final Fantasy XVI UI is Back to Original Version
Final Fantasy XVI is an upcoming video game of the Final Fantasy franchise which many are anticipating eagerly for its launch due to its different gameplay, visuals, and more. After checking out the game from various trailers and such, Square Enix got tons of feedback from the fans. One of those feedbacks was the UI, which was too sci-fi and did not fit the style of the game. Producer Naoki Yoshida shared something online that might upset some fans about this particular change.
Yoshi-P recently talked to Final Fantasy Union in an interview and asked if the team had changed the game’s UI based on online feedback. He actually confirmed that at one point, the team had changed the UI since the first one did not look to match the style of the game.
Second UI Version Had Visual Issues
The dev team did change it, but they encountered another problem after doing that. “We heard that and we went back and we redid the UI and made it into something that fits the style a little bit better, but we found that it blended too much with what was going on, it became difficult to see.”
“In the end, Final Fantasy 16 is an action RPG and the action is very fast, and things are moving. And so you need those numbers and those graphics to pop out or you’re going to miss them in the heat of the action.
“And if they’re too blended in and fit the world too well, then you won’t be able to see them and won’t be able to know what’s going on. So we decided to go back to what we originally had because that fit the best.
“And we found that, yes, the first time you see it, it takes you out. But the more you see it, the more you get used to it and the more you realize that it actually fits when what’s going on.
“So hopefully players will come to realize that as well, the more they play with it.”
UI Better to be Noticeable
It is back to the original UI version, which does look better since it would be more noticeable now. If the second version would have pushed through, it would have been a disaster as it blended TOO WELL with the background. It would be better to have a noticeable UI than the one that players will not be able to see.
Final Fantasy XVI launches on June 22, 2023 exclusively on PS5.