Anime fans are saying Final Fantasy XVI is giving strong Attack on Titan vibes after that State of Play trailer.
ICYMI: Square Enix finally released the first trailer in over a year for the next Final Fantasy game at PlayStation’s State of Play today. In it, we got our first proper look at how Final Fantasy‘s summons play a key role in the game’s world and combat.
In the land of Valisthea, summons (called “Eikons” here) are trapped in the souls of human hosts (“Dominants”). Dominants are treated as royalty or weapons of war in the vying factions of Valisthea. The trailer appears to suggest they transform into the Eikons trapped inside them.
Attack on Titan fans picked up on that motif and said it felt similar to the way Eren transforms into the Attack Titan in the popular anime series. Like Eikons, the titan-shifters teens in Marley were also conscripted and treated like weapons of war.
“[Final Fantasy] XVI is legit Final Fantasy Attack on Titan and I am so here for it,” said one fan after watching the trailer.
“So basically Final Fantasy XVI is like Attack on Titan but with the FF summons instead of titans,” speculated another.
One fan went so far as to claim director Naoki Yoshida and the team were “heavily inspired” by the hit show. They felt the inspiration was similar to how Final Fantasy XII directors Hiroyuki Ito and Hiroshi Minagawa were inspired by the original Star Wars trilogy.
Hmm, a couple of things here. Would this theory make Clive, who appears to not be a Dominant, the Levi of the Final Fantasy XVI universe? Is sweet little Jonathan the Armin Artlert? Or Garuda’s Dominant Benedikta Harman the Annie Leonhart?
We’ll be able to answer these questions, and more, when Final Fantasy XVI releases on PlayStation 5 in summer 2023.