Support NeoGAF

[KàIRóS]

For reference this is how Square Enix teams are currently structured:

Creative Business Unit I led by Yoshinori Kitase, currently working on Final Fantasy VII Remake 3, SaGa Emerald Beyond and Kingdom Hearts IV

Creative Business Unit II led by Yuu Miyake, currently working on Dragon Quest III 2D HD and Dragon Quest XII

Creative Business Unit III led by Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P), currently working on Final Fantasy XVI DLC and Final Fantasy XIV Expansions

Creative Business Unit IV led by Kei Hirono, currently working on Visions of Mana and also co-develops remasters and remakes from the company

Creative Business Unit V is basically the Mobile division, they are currently working on most of Square's Gacha games

Personally I really liked FFXVI so I wouldn't mind another FF by that team, if not them the other obvious one would be the FFVIIR team but they are clearly way too busy with other projects so my third option would be the Dragon Quest team, honestly it would be cool to see what the DQ team does on a FF title.

 

[ByWatterson]

CBU III.

Final Fantasy XVI was easily the best game of 2023 and soon you people will understand.

 

[Doomtrain]

Literally anyone except CBU III. XVI was a flaming dumpster fire. Even handing XVII off to the gacha division would be an improvement.

 

[TheDarkPhantom]

I loved FFXVI, I love Remake, I love all FFs for different reasons. One of the worst things about the FF fandom is the tendency to choose one or two favourites and then shit on the rest, I don't have that problem. All of this is to say I really don't care which team does FFXVII, I'll be there day 1 and I'm sure I'll love it, Final Fantasy for life .

 

[ByWatterson]

I loved FFXVI, I love Remake, I love all FFs for different reasons. One of the worst things about the FF fandom is the tendency to choose one or two favourites and then shit on the rest, I don't have that problem. All of this is to say I really don't care which team does FFXVII, I'll be there day 1 and I'm sure I'll love it, Final Fantasy for life .

King take.

 

[Coherenthy]

I don't mind CBUIII again. Totally loved FFXVI.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Id take the same team that did XVI, but they need to actually add RPG elements and deeper aspects. Otherwise the foundation was solid.

 

[Pejo]

Outsourced to Mistwalker.

 

[YukiOnna]

Could be Remake Trilogy team or FF14/16 team, I'm fine with either. It will be a different type of game from both anyway.

I am curious when it will come out though, CEO said they wanted to increase output and shorten release gap, but I just can't see Remake Trilogy members on anything until 3rd title is out.

 

[Naked Lunch]

Bring back Matsuno.

 

[Andyliini]

Team Asano

Take another FFIX approach, and make a love letter to games of the past again. I'm sure Asano and his team can find a competent developer and create good story and awesome music to support the title.

 

[Sub_Level]

CBUIII but obviously work on not making FFXVI’s same mistakes. I think its going to end up being them regardless, as Kingdom Hearts and FFVII are too much bandwidth for Kitase’s team to tackle. They will probably start after XVI DLC is done and release after FFXIV 8.0 but before FFXIV 9.0.

 

[Celcius]

Wait until the FF7 trilogy is done and then let that team do FF17.

 

[Katatonic]

I'm confident CBUIII/Platinum/Sony could deliver a magnum opus if they set out on a mission to prove all the haters wrong.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Based on the timelines and what the other units are working on, it'll probably be CB3. It's just needs 3x the RPG elements and a party system.

 

[ProtoByte]

As much as I would prefer Unit 1, it's gonna be CB3.

 

[Seyken]

I would give CBU3 a second crack at it, now that they probably understand what they got wrong in the first game. FFXVI had a lot of positives, but had just as many glaring flaws.

 

[Faust]

I loved FFXVI, I love Remake, I love all FFs for different reasons. One of the worst things about the FF fandom is the tendency to choose one or two favourites and then shit on the rest, I don't have that problem. All of this is to say I really don't care which team does FFXVII, I'll be there day 1 and I'm sure I'll love it, Final Fantasy for life .

One of the few sensible takes I have seen as of late.

 

[FeralEcho]

Can we just take a moment and agree that calling your devs Creative Business Unit I II III IV V is badass as hell. They sound like Yakuza famillies.

Yoshi-P -4th Patriarch of the Creative Business Unit III familly,subsidiary of the Square Enix clan

Anyway yeah Yoshi-P should get another chance at it as FFXVI was amazing and it would've been a masterpiece had it not been padded with useless boring sidequests that broke the flow of the game completely.Less pepio nuts fetch questing and more Eikon battles and you've got a winner.Also lean more into the rpg side of it,more interesting loot....finding the 100th chest with 1 gil in it is beyond trolling at that point.

 

[Kumomeme]

schedule wise, CBU3 might be the one do it. CBU1 still occupied with FFVII atleast until 2026-2027. other AAA team thats free is former Luminous Production team but based on Forspoken track record, i doubt that.

if CBU1 not gonna occupied with another remake after VII, then they could be the one develop FF18


i like to see what CBU3 gonna do next. FFXVI is their first single player AAA game where they learn alot and spend time to develop their new engine alongside with it. gonna be interesting to see what they would do next once they has more headroom since their engine and other development hurdle already cleared. hopefully. similliar with FF15 to Luminous Production but with Forspoken i believe they are lacking strong key figure to lead the team unlike CBU3 and CBU1.

hopefully this time they take on challenge of doing things they are expertise at, which is develop big open world game with cities and locations. something that missing from FFXVI, something that i wish they transfered from FFXIV. something that what i expected from them for FFXVI at beginning. they avoided this due to fear of not able to do open world properly thanks to FF15 reception and they end up focused on development efficiency foremost. but i like to see them take bit risk next time. CBU1 proved that they could do it within spans of 3 years of development with FFVI Rebirth and why not are they?

they also has record of willing to take look from others games and take some feedback so i hope they take look at right example. FFVII Rebirth benefit alot taking inspiration from Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon and Witcher 3.

quality wise, FFXVI is one of most polished game within SE while having smooth on time development(aside Rebirth & Remake). i like to see them carry similliar output for their next game.

 

[lh032]

As long not Yoshi team

 

[German Hops]

The one with Tetsuya Takahashi

 

[Valonquar]

Honestly? The people I'd like are no longer even at SquareEnix. Gimme another lore heavy, well written but... COMPLETE Matsuno FF. I really loved 12, but the final act felt very rushed. Hell have him make a FF in Ivalice that plays like Vagrant Story

 

[Efren is G.O.A.T.]

OP, I'll tell you what I want from XVII and you tell me which team is best suited to deliver the good. But before I start, I want to throw out there that I really enjoyed 16 but have some criticisms for it and I adore 7 Rebirth so far (I'm in the Corel Region).

- Turn-based combat (It can be real turn-based like 10 or Active Turn-Based like 4-9)
- Full party control
- Deep RPG elements
- I don't need 100 side quests but those that are there have to be interesting and give unique/useful rewards. (i.e. I don't want to kill 3 rats for 10 potions)
- Mature story
- Characters that have a defined role/job like in 4, 9 and 10
- Mini games

 

[Sleepwalker]

OP, I'll tell you what I want from XVII and you tell me which team is best suited to deliver the good. But before I start, I want to throw out there that I really enjoyed 16 but have some criticisms for it and I adore 7 Rebirth so far (I'm in the Corel Region).

- Turn-based combat (It can be real turn-based like 10 or Active Turn-Based like 4-9)
- Full party control
- Deep RPG elements
- I don't need 100 side quests but those that are there have to be interesting and give unique/useful rewards. (i.e. I don't want to kill 3 rats for 10 potions)
- Mature story
- Characters that have a defined role/job like in 4, 9 and 10
- Mini games

Congratulations, your custom final fantasy is being developed by :

GameFreak!

 

[Doom85]

I’d be willing to let the XVI team have another shot, but they have to make the RPG elements more fleshed out because at the end of the day, this has been, and should always be, a RPG series, at least the main entries. That’s not “shitting on XVI”, it’s a reasonable stance and flawed games should be criticized so future entries can be improved on.

Also, maybe this time make the main character’s personal story more original and not just a pale imitation of a main character’s personal story from a Tales game, including several specific plot twists (but executed far worse in XVI), but that’ll be lost on all of you who didn’t play Tales of Berseria. Also, if you end up with only one great character (Cid), don’t flush them down the toilet halfway through the game. ALSO, don’t tease several awesome-looking and visually unique locations…and then never let the player ever visit them.

It’s because I love Final Fantasy that I want it to better. XVI is not really much of a RPG, it’s Devil May Cry with the challenging difficulty mode locked behind a second playthrough. Also, in a post-Nier Automata world (a game which balanced both character action AND RPG), XVI is just that more disappointing.

For as much as people clown on him, Nomura and his team actually get what I want in an action RPG. They nailed it with Kingdom Hearts games, VII Remake, and I assume Rebirth (been busy these past two weeks, hopefully I can play more of it soon, only played like two hours so far).

 

[Gp1]

What's Matsuno doing these days?

 

[OGM_Madness]

Loved the spectacle in FFXVI, but I’m enjoying the vibe of Rebirth a ton more.

Wouldn’t mind a new FF by either team, as long as it has a party based structure and feels like an RPG (again, rebirth as a template in terms of how action/RPG I like it balanced).

Make it original characters and tap more into the steampunk/medieval/fantastical side of FF and I’ll be all in. Heck, Square has a good sense of what a numbered FF has to be like, so I’ll probably be there day one again.

 

[Kataploom]

Whichever where Nomura isn't. The man has some of the hard to digest character designs ever, currently playing 7R and can't stand Japanese voices body gestures and dialog with those weird doll faces, and I know in English it would be even worse

 

[kiphalfton]

Give me a FF game with Kingdoms Hearts gameplay already (and no the abomination known as FF XV is not even close).

Namely menu/deck command setup. So damn good. Would have gotten this with Versus XIII, but obviously that wish went out the window.

 

[Perfo]

Easily CBU3, I think they’re the only team right now which understands the legacy of the IP while also looking to deliver fresher products with competent writing and knowing the target audience is now adults vs teenagers of before.

 

[Pejo]

Easily CBU3, I think they’re the only team right now which understands the legacy of the IP while also looking to deliver fresher products with competent writing and knowing the target audience is now adults vs teenagers of before.

I read this as "guys that can use memberberries the most effectively".

 

[Perfo]

Whichever where Nomura isn't. The man has some of the hard to digest character designs ever, currently playing 7R and can't stand Japanese voices body gestures and dialog with those weird doll faces, and I know I'm English it would be even worse

I was a big fan of Nomura for years but I can’t deny I can’t stomach his designs anymore. They’re stuck in early 2000s aesthetics and never evolved past those years. Even in FF7R you can feel characters are all a very product of their time and look a bit “dated” today…

 

[IAmRei]

For reference this is how Square Enix teams are currently structured:

Creative Business Unit I led by Yoshinori Kitase, currently working on Final Fantasy VII Remake 3, SaGa Emerald Beyond and Kingdom Hearts IV

Creative Business Unit II led by Yuu Miyake, currently working on Dragon Quest III 2D HD and Dragon Quest XII

Creative Business Unit III led by Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P), currently working on Final Fantasy XVI DLC and Final Fantasy XIV Expansions

Creative Business Unit IV led by Kei Hirono, currently working on Visions of Mana and also co-develops remasters and remakes from the company

Creative Business Unit V is basically the Mobile division, they are currently working on most of Square's Gacha games

Personally I really liked FFXVI so I wouldn't mind another FF by that team, if not them the other obvious one would be the FFVIIR team but they are clearly way too busy with other projects so my third option would be the Dragon Quest team, honestly it would be cool to see what the DQ team does on a FF title.

As long as not Nomura, i recall his damage to 13/15 and still sour with it.

 

[Sakura]

Outsourced to Armor Project.

 

[nial]

It will be CBU3 again, CBU1 is full as hell and CBU2 is mostly focused on Enix franchises.
That said, isn't SE restructuring their development division?

Can we just take a moment and agree that calling your devs Creative Business Unit I II III IV V is badass as hell. They sound like Yakuza famillies.

Those are very standard department names.

 

[Zheph]

I loved FFXVI, I love Remake, I love all FFs for different reasons. One of the worst things about the FF fandom is the tendency to choose one or two favourites and then shit on the rest, I don't have that problem. All of this is to say I really don't care which team does FFXVII, I'll be there day 1 and I'm sure I'll love it, Final Fantasy for life .

Beautiful take. I love all of it myself and what a time to be a fan, Rebirth is absolutely amazing I am having the best time with it!

 

[tamago84]

Perfect lol

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

I loved FFXVI, I love Remake, I love all FFs for different reasons. One of the worst things about the FF fandom is the tendency to choose one or two favourites and then shit on the rest, I don't have that problem. All of this is to say I really don't care which team does FFXVII, I'll be there day 1 and I'm sure I'll love it, Final Fantasy for life .

 

[Brigandier]

I'd be happy to see Yoshi P get another crack at mainline FF, Bigger budget and more manpower needed though!!!

Please make party members playable in battle and their fighting styles customisable when cpu controlled with more interaction with them, A bigger more involved world with meaningful quests and rewards, Better graphics and more Soken music too!! More fantasy and charm whilst keeping that mature and grounded vibe.

One can dream I guess

 

[sigmaZ]

Out of the choices you gave, CBU II would be interesting as they would have to balance traditional with new creating something that is completely different from the last two games. Both FF7 rebirth and Infinite Wealth have solidified that with action RPG combat, synergy attacks with other party members is a must. I just don't want another 16. I don't want another offline action MMORPG with try-hard writing. I would prefer a tone more similar to Yakuza where its dark, violent, serious, emotional with moments of levity.

 

[Dynasty8]

CBU III.

Final Fantasy XVI was easily the best game of 2023 and soon you people will understand.

 

[Chukhopops]

Wow, looking at the list of teams those are some pretty grim options either way.

But I’d take the 7R team over the XVI one. 7R has issues but has some great moments (haven’t played Rebirth). XVI is by far the worst mainline FF ever created (maybe tied with II). It’s a game that tries very little and still completely fails at it.

Ideally they would outsource the entire gameplay to the Stranger of Paradise developers since they’ll go the action route anyway.

 

[GymWolf]

My expectations are lower than ever but i would be ok with anyone that is not the mmorpg dude or the ff7 milking team.

 

[Hudo]

Any team led by Yasumi Matsuno und Hiroyuki Ito.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

I'd rather you gave it to the Bravely Default team or the Octopath team over anyone else on that list.

Any team led by Yasumi Matsuno und Hiroyuki Ito.

Ito? MOBILE TEAM IT IS.

 

[Myths]

Bring back Matsuno.

Whatever team he’s on + Yoshida.

 

[Hudo]

I'd rather you gave it to the Bravely Default team or the Octopath team over anyone else on that list.


Ito? MOBILE TEAM IT IS.

it's such a tragedy that Square lets retards like Nomura loose on big projects but good systems designers like Ito are being kept in the closet.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

it's such a tragedy that Square lets retards like Nomura loose on big projects but good systems designers like Ito are being kept in the closet.

Nomura'a garbage sells because its accessible for brain dead teenagers who like anime. The man who made the ATB system, directed two (maybe 3) of the best Final Fantasy's just isn't important in 2024.

 

[Hudo]

Nomura'a garbage sells because its accessible for brain dead teenagers who like anime. The man who made the ATB system, directed two (maybe 3) of the best Final Fantasy's just isn't important in 2024.

At least Akitoshi Kawazu can do what he wants. Not the biggest fan of his games but he makes interesting stuff at least. And he's one of the very few OGs left (which is probably why Square let him do his SaGa games)