Although it hasn’t always hit the mark with every installment, Square Enix has consistently tried to keep things fresh with itsFinal Fantasyseries.Many of the entries in the long-running JRPG franchise have innovated on the series’ existing gameplay formula without straying too far from its distinctive roots.Final Fantasy 4, for example, introduced the Active Time Battle system, which added a real-time combat element to liven up turn-based battles.Final Fantasy 10, meanwhile, featured the Conditional Turn-Based Battle system, which replaced the traditional round-based combat formula in priorFinal Fantasygames with a new gameplay mechanic that used speed to determine the number of turns that combatants could take.
Even though Square Enix has frequently switched up the combat formulas in many of its mainlineFinal Fantasyinstallments, there is one trend in the series that has been prevalent throughout its recent titles. Over the last several years, theFinal Fantasyfranchise has gradually shifted away from conventional turn-based combat and has prioritized action-oriented gameplay instead. WhileFinal Fantasy 15andFinal Fantasy 7 Remakewere action RPGs with minor turn-based elements,Final Fantasy 16, on the other hand, wasa straight-up hack-and-slash game. Some fans may prefer the more action-focused approach in the newerFinal Fantasytitles, but the franchise has unfortunately lost some of its most inventive features during this transition, including a certain status effect.
Square Enix Should Bring the Zombie Status Effect Back in Future Final Fantasy Games
The Final Fantasy Games Have a Wide Assortment of Different Status Effects
Like in most JRPGs, characters inFinal Fantasygamescan be afflicted by status effectsduring battle, which can impact them in either good or bad ways. These ailments range from things like Paralysis and Petrify, which prevent a combatant from taking turns, to Regen and Bubble, which can recover or increase a character’s HP. Many of these status effects appear consistently throughout the franchise, but there are some specific ones that are no longer used these days.
The Zombie Status Effect Was Present in Early Final Fantasy Games, But Was Retired
One notable example of a retiredFinal Fantasystatus effect is Zombie. Also referred to as Undead in some of the series' installments, this ailment zombifies those that are afflicted by it. In some games, Zombie reduces a character’s HP to zero and makes them hostile towards their fellow party members. However, in other titles, it turns characters into the undead and gives them the weaknesses and immunities that this enemy type usually has. In these instances, combatants inflicted with the Zombie ailment will get damaged whenever a character uses a healing spell on them, and they will be healed whenever they get hit withan Instant Death effect. While the Zombie status effect does typically persist after finishing a battle, it can be cured through the use of Holy Water.
CertainFinal Fantasygames, likeFinal Fantasy 5and6, include both variants of the Zombie ailment, under separate names.
The Zombie status effect was originally introduced inFinal Fantasy 5, and it was, at one point, very prevalent throughout the earlyFinal Fantasytitles. Sadly, however, the effect has barely been used in the series as of late. The last mainlineFinal Fantasygame that featured the Zombie ailment wasthe hit MMORPGFinal Fantasy 11, which came out in 2002. Since then, this effect has only ever made appearances in 2003’sFinal Fantasy Tactics Advanceand 2013’s Japan-exclusivePictlogica Final Fantasy.
It’d Be Interesting to See The Zombie Status Effect in a Final Fantasy Game With Real-Time Combat
The omission of the Zombie status effect in modernFinal Fantasygames can largely be attributed to the franchise’s gradual shift to real-time combat. As the series has evolved, Square Enix has abandoned some of the once-common ailments fromthe earlyFinal Fantasygames, since they don’t fit in an action RPG context that well. Because the Zombie ailment was fairly unique and had a lot of untapped potential, however, its removal from the series is especially disappointing. Although it may be hard to implement into a game with a real-time combat system, it would be great if Square Enix included it in a future mainlineFinal Fantasyinstallment.
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy is a sci-fi fantasy franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed/owned by Square Enix. The series centers on role playing style games set in a science fiction and fantasy style worlds. The first game originally released in 1987 and since then, the franchise has spun off into other mediums like novels, CG films, and anime. The series has also branched into other video game genres including racing, fighting, rhythm, MMOs, and more.
