Final Fantasy 16’s Intro Directly Inspired by the Original Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy 16’s intro is as intense and dramatic as a game can be, but fans able to pay extra attention amid the chaos may have noticed similarities to the original Final Fantasy game.

That’s because the opening is directly inspired by the 1987 classic according to Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida, with its music, a key scene, and even the title card’s timing all reminiscent of the original’s.

Industry insider Genki translated on Twitter (below) comments from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, who noticed the opening of Final Fantasy 16 features the same intro music as the original Final Fantasy that released on NES.

Sakaguchi says FF16 opens with the Final Fantasy Prelude music just like FF1!

Yoshi-P said the opening of FF16 was inspired by FF1, which is his favorite FF game. He said the title screen showing up 2 hours into FF16 was an idea taken from the original Final Fantasy game! #FF16 https://t.co/xaI8ipnbmQ pic.twitter.com/fy3Kwys3jQ

— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) June 23, 2023

The tweet also shares insight from Yoshida, who said during an interview that the original Final Fantasy is his favourite, and it therefore inspired Final Fantasy 16’s opening hours. As Genki points out, the original game’s title card shows its protagonists standing over a cliff and looking at the landscape before them, which also happens in the opening minutes of Final Fantasy 16.

Finally, those who’ve played the original Final Fantasy will remember the title card appearing after a lengthy opening sequence, and Yoshida said this element was pulled over for Final Fantasy 16 as well.

Final Fantasy 16 launched on Thursday June 22 to much fanfare from Square Enix, which put the game’s signature sword on display in the Tower of London as a marketing stunt. Players who tried the demo ahead of time also grew obsessed with a new feature called Active Time Lore and are calling for it to be an industry standard going forward.

In our 9/10 review of the game, IGN said: “Featuring fast, reflex driven, action heavy combat, Final Fantasy 16 is certainly a departure from what fans may expect out of a Final Fantasy game, but its excellent story, characters, and world building are right up there with the best the series has to offer, and the innovative Active Time Lore feature should set a new standard for how lengthy, story-heavy games keep players invested in its world.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.