The road to Final Fantasy 16 has begun. After presentations, previews, and a general sense of breathlessness surrounding Square Enix’s latest iteration of the Final Fantasy series, an interesting titbit has emerged. Final Fantasy 16 will include a level of accessibility in the form of equipable rings that alter the fundamental gameplay experience.
Square Enix has revealed five of these rings that we’re expected to fit into three slots: one that slows incoming attacks, another which removes the need to give commands to an ancillary character, another that ties combos to a single button, and one each for automating dodges – because every game must have dodge rolls now, apparently – and healing.
If these sound like typical accessibility features, that’s because they are. Square Enix’s intentions behind this system aren’t immediately clear. As reported by Game Informer, Naoki Yoshida, the game’s producer, suggests the rings about making “something that felt accessible but also customizable so that each player could create something that felt like a difficulty level that matched them,” going on to suggest Square Enix had “listened to players that are maybe not as good at doing combos and attacking.” (This is spoken through a translator.) “Some players maybe are not as good at dodging as other players.” This is the target audience for the rings then, as opposed to being considerations specifically for disabled players.
Regardless, the changes these rings implement are the exact features many disabled players need. Intended or not, this has already become an accessibility issue.
And an issue it is.
It can be tempting to look at unorthodox ways to implement accessibility as being clever. Indeed, innovative solutions to make baseline gameplay as accessible as possible – with accessibility menus to supplement – are needed across the industry. But Final Fantasy 16’s touted system is one that unintentionally disadvantages disabled players.