Well, we already knew that the new Final Fantasy would aim for a slightly more “mature” rating; through many interviews with the game’s producer Naoki Yoshida, it was clear that the world and story of Final Fantasy XVI will be very different from what we are used to in this long-running JRPG series. Now we have a full confirmation for that as well as a few new details because the Brazilian MSRB has released an M rating for the game due to – scenes of sex, drug use, torture, and hate crimes.
Are You Ready for Sex, Drugs, and Hate Crimes in Final Fantasy XVI?
Okay, so let’s dive in. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security, Final Fantasy XVI contains the following:
- Sex scenes (Game of Thrones-like)
- “Intentional deaths” (Murder!)
- Torture scenes depicting suffering victims (Hello GTAV)
- Drugs use (Remember when Tidus and Yuna smoked one by that lake?)
- Prostitution (Well… Don Corneo has something to say about this one)
- Other Sexual content (Shown and discussed HBO style)
- Hate Crimes (Possibly race wars and genocide, again nothing new for Square Enix games, check Triangle Strategy when you have time)
So what to make out of all of this? Square Enix and Yoshi P want to appeal at all costs to the older western audience that they judged as average Game of Thrones fans. However, whether all this has a place in a Final Fantasy game is highly debatable. Some of the things from the list have been in other games (OK, I was joking about smoking weed by the lake), but even still, compared to the darkest moments of some of the previous games, the vibe that Final Fantasy XVI has so far seems way too different.
However, it is a game in which kaiju-sized summoned monsters fight with pro-wrestling moves, so there is still a chance that this will be a full-on Japanese madness, in addition to flirting with more “serious” western themes. What happened to the cute JRPG game where we rode the big yellow birds to save the princess?
Final Fantasy XVI does not have a date for now, but the planned release of this PlayStation 5 timed exclusive is in 2023. However, at this year’s The Game Awards show, which will be held on December 8, the game producer, the man himself Yoshi P will be there possibly with the new trailer – and possibly a release date reveal.
For more Final Fantasy XVI here on Prima Games, check out How Many Final Fantasy Games Are There? Full Final Fantasy Games List, All Summons In Final Fantasy XVI So Far, and Everything We Know About Final Fantasy 16: Plot, FFXVI Gameplay, Platforms, More.
