It is 7:30 in the morning on release day and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has already well surpassed both Final Fantasy XVI and FFVII Rebirth's all-time highest player count on Steam.
But no, we have to keep making Final Fantasy an action game because otherwise it 'won't sell'. Otherwise Square won't be able to appeal to the 'modern audience'.
Meanwhile, Clair Obscur is a game made for classic, turnbased RPG fans, BY classic turn-based RPG fans. A team of thirty dedicated, passionate people. And I might be jumping the gun here, but it seems like the game is going to do pretty well.
When was the last true, turn-based, mainline Final Fantasy game? I would argue that Final Fantasy X fits the bill. On the PS2. Twenty-four years ago.
Perhaps Square has been gone too long on their own expedition, in search of the mythical 'modern audience'. Where are they? Does anybody know? Perhaps Square will let us know if they ever find them.