Nogle klassiske Final Fantasy-fans har været lede og kede af at se serien gradvist overgå til et mere action-orienteret kampsystem med årene, og derigennem glemme sine RPG-rødder. Det er en udvikling der er sket igennem et årti, og det lader til at Final Fantasy XVI vil fortsætte hvor blandt andet Final Fantasy XV og Final Fantasy VII: Remake slap.
For nylig dykkede producer Naoki Yoshida lidt mere ned i kampsystemet i det kommende spil i en japansk radioudsendelse, og Tony Garsow fra Nova Crystallis har efterfølgende oversat bidder af det. Han skriver følgende på Twitter:
"Yoshida briefly discussed FF16 on a radio broadcast he was invited to primarily to discuss FF14. He said that FF16 is "action-oriented" and that they're putting effort into supporting players who are less-skilled at action games -- also that they're working hard on the story."
I forhold til historien fortalte Yoshida også mere om denne, og den bid har Gematsu oversat:
"I'm from the generation that has been playing the Final Fantasy series from the first game in real-time—I'm almost in my 50s. I think the Warriors of Light have grown up in their own worlds, so I want to create a world of Final Fantasy that those who know the good and bad of reality can also be passionate about. I believe there are certain hardships that are experienced when becoming an adult, so I want to make the main theme of this game something that those who grew up playing Final Fantasy and understand reality can still enjoy, get something out of, and think about."