Why Final Fantasy 17 Should Be Turn Based

It's actually a little hard to believe, but the last time Final Fantasy had a traditional, fully turn-based combat system in a mainline game was almost twenty-five years ago. Final Fantasy X is still the last of the core series to feature a turn-based combat system as we know it.

In that time, the series experimented with real-time combat mechanics, as well as hybrid systems. Ultimately, however, the Final Fantasy that a lot of us grew up with hasn't had its day in the sun for a while.

The move to real-time systems made sense at the time. That style of combat was almost starting to feel like it had said everything it needed to, so the genre had started to expand.

That's not to say that classic turn-based battling has gone away completely, of course. In fact, the past decade has proven that not only did turn-based combat never go away, but it's also never been more in style than it is right now.

Over the past ten years, games like Persona 5 Royal, Dragon Quest 11, and the newly crowned Game of the Year winner Clair Oscur: Expedition 33 have shown that in full force. Turn-based combat isn't a niche. It's still a key, untouchable part of the industry.

Whatever form Final Fantasy XVII's combat takes, it doesn't seem likely that it will be turn-based. Square has noted that they will let the director dictate whatever direction that takes, but Final Fantasy's success with action-based combat systems doesn't fall on deaf ears.

That being said, there's an argument to be made that Final Fantasy XVII should absolutely be a classic turn-based experience. This may not convince the suits at Square, but if I can convince you, then I've more than done my job.

Turning Heads

Turn-Based Combat Used To Be The Default For JRPGs

Turn-based battles defined such a key, integral part of my formative years. Were it not for becoming hopelessly obsessed with Final Fantasy VII, I would not have found my way into this lovely genre of video games.

Even as the genre started to invoke more action-based systems, I didn't care how outdated or non-modern those older battle mechanics felt in contemporary times. They spoke to a part of my soul that still burns to this day.

While I do enjoy the complex nature of modern JRPG combat, sometimes it's the simplicity of older games that really gets me excited. Or rather, how the simplicity hides other, more complex systems.

It's a big reason why I love Final Fantasy VII as much as I do. The way a game like that would use the simple turn-based battles to inform stuff like the Materia system and weapon modifications is still so much fun for me.

Post Final Fantasy X, it was hard for me to wrap my head around the series shifting to something different. It didn't mean that Final Fantasy was bad now, or that I would never enjoy the series again.

Indeed, many of the FF games that followed Final Fantasy 10 have been some of my favorite entries in the series. I'm a certified Final Fantasy XII enthusiast, and you should be, too.

I love some of the post-FFX battle systems. Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy VII Remake, as well as its stupendous sequel Rebirth, all feature phenomenal combat systems.

That being said, I always found myself missing those older styles of battling. I had done such a great job at convincing myself that the turn-based style of combat was dead that I would often find it surprising when a game would use it. The truth is far simpler, of course, because turn-based combat never truly went away.

A Decade Of Turn-Based Masterpieces

Turn-Based Combat Didn't Die, It Got Better

Starting in 2016, turn-based JRPGs went on a run that can only be described as generational. It wasn't just a couple of good turn-based JRPGs, but rather a strong, consistent line-up of absolutely incredible games.

Persona 5, followed by the revised edition known as Royal in 2020, got the ball rolling in 2016. And we're not just talking about a good JRPG, of course. Persona 5 Royal is a contender for one of the greatest JRPGs ever made, as its intoxicating mix of slick, stylish combat and addictive social simulation is marvelously well-made.

Another Atlus gem, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, would also release in 2016 to rave reviews. It continued using the Press Turn system, which proved that the genre was about more than just waiting for your enemy to stop hitting you. SMT4 was one of the best JRPGs you could find on the 3DS.

Just a year later, in 2017, Square would contribute to this run with Dragon Quest XI. It's one of the forerunners of the genre, and has never abandoned its turn-based roots. It continues to prove that while reinventing the wheel and doing something crazy is fun, sometimes it's just as important to remember where you came from.

Dragon Quest never needed to go for broke because it often comes out during times when JRPGs are struggling with their identity, reminding everyone just what makes this genre so special. It doesn't need to break the mold because it literally created the mold, and Dragon Quest XI showcased exactly why that is. Everything about this timeless masterpiece is brilliant, from its music to its art direction, and, of course, its spectacular turn-based battle system.

This run of games culminated just this past year, however. It was as major a victory for the turn-based enthusiasts as you could find, as not only did Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 use a turn-based combat system, it managed to convince people who never enjoyed them before to jump on board. Even more convincingly, it swept and utterly dominated the 2025 edition of The Game Awards.

Turn-based combat systems have not only never died, as the internet may lead you to believe, but have been thriving over the past decade. Final Fantasy, in many ways, is the outlier. Many of the genre's most prominent franchises have continued to refine and perfect turn-based combat in its stead.

Sweet Seventeen

Final Fantasy XVII Should Join The Turn-Based Brigade

Ultimately, Square's decision to stop going for traditional turn-based systems lies in the changing modalities at the company. The onslaught of realistic, more modern design systems was an avalanche. It just couldn't be stopped. The entire seventh generation of gaming is best described as the rise of the dark, morally complex military shooter. That reach was far and wide.

Square was just following trends, not in terms of aesthetics, but in terms of what combat was popular. Methodical, deliberate turn-based combat was seen as outdated or a relic of the 1990s. Twitch-based shooters and action-focused games like Devil May Cry and God of War had more impact on the JRPG genre than was initially seen at first blush.

Final Fantasy's transition into a different style of combat was entirely reactionary. And while Square has not produced a mainline Final Fantasy game with a turn-based system in over two decades, they're not shy about the franchise's past. Remasters and ports of classic games are celebrated for their battle systems, not hidden or ignored.

This past decade, especially with a turn-based JRPG winning Game of the Year, has proven that people genuinely love turn-based battling. It's not dead or outdated. In fact, it may be more popular than ever.

Whoever Square assigns to direct Final Fantasy 17, whether it's Naoki Hamaguchi of FF7 Rebirth as speculated or someone else, that person has a pretty big job ahead of them. Final Fantasy 17 will be responding to an entire decade of incredible turn-based JRPGs, including one that won the industry's ultimate prize.

Due to how successful Square's action-focused Final Fantasy games have been, the likelihood of FF17 being turn-based doesn't seem very high. In fact, I'd say it's downright impossible that Square goes back to that style of combat. It's almost too ingrained in contemporary Final Fantasy to make any sense for them.

On the other hand, I think it has to be impossible for Square to ignore the obvious. This isn't just a call to nostalgia, but rather realizing that one of the key things that made this franchise so beloved has a chance to come back into the spotlight.