Final Fantasy 16 Has Four Large Zones, but No Optional Dungeons

Final Fantasy games have a long-standing tradition of tucking away optional and hidden dungeons that usually turn out to be among the highlights of the experiences, but it seems like Final Fantasy 16 is going in a different direction, much like it’s doing in other areas. Speaking recently with IGN, the game’s developers talked a little bit more about how its world will be structured, and in doing so confirmed that there will be no optional dungeons for players to seek out.

As per director Hiroshi Takai, though Final Fantasy 16 isn’t an open world game, it will still afford players plenty of room for exploration, with four zones in the game being about two kilometers by two kilometers in size. Even so, all of that real estate won’t be hiding away any secret dungeons. The reason? Primarily, the development team wanted to focus on the main story- which, given the fact that the critical path has over 11 hours of cinematics, doesn’t come as much of a shock.

“We didn’t create any [hidden dungeons or maps] because we wanted players to focus more on the main scenario and not have this feeling that you have to go to this area and clear this area,” he said. “We wanted them to focus on this and we wanted to focus our development more on the main areas. So we didn’t go out of our way to create maps that didn’t need to be visited.”

Takai went on to say that though there are areas in the game that could be considered dungeons, all of them are connected to the story, with the development team not wanting to create something that most players wouldn’t find.

“There are areas that I guess players could consider dungeons,” he said. “They’re off the field and you go deep down, but those are all connected in some way to the story. And they’re all expertly crafted dungeons. We created these as great places, we want players to go there and so we’re going to give reasons for players to go there. We didn’t want to create something that most players may not even find.”

That said, producer Naoki Yoshida made sure to assure fans that there will still be plenty of opportunities for players to explore. “The one thing is that as you hear this answer and you’re thinking, oh, and so there’s not many places you can explore,” he said. “There are a lot of areas that you can explore. So don’t worry about that.”

Square Enix has also revealed several other details on the highly anticipated RPG over the last day. Final Fantasy 16 will not have any difficulty options, though it will have a New Game Plus mode for those looking for a greater challenge. Meanwhile, the game will also feature a new Active Time Lore system for those who wish to dive deeper into the world and its backstory. It will also have options for multiple graphics modes for players to choose between.

Final Fantasy 16 is due out on June 22 for PS5, with a PC version also in consideration. A demo of the game will launch roughly two weeks before release, and will allow players to carry over their progress into the full game.