Final Fantasy: Building The Perfect Sequel (1 Feature From Each Game)

After venturing into the realms of tabletop (Triple Triad, Tetra Master) and physical (Blitzball) games to serve as the primary distractions in Final Fantasies VIII, IX and X, Square-Enix opted to integrate the main side quest of XII with its core battle mechanic.

Through the hunt system, they created a series of increasingly difficult optional battles to engage players at every stage as they progressed through the game.

Many hunts had their own interesting mini-story behind them and the fact that there were 45 of them in total, mostly with unique rewards, kept players coming back time after time.

Some were simple, some were mind-numbingly difficult, but together with Rare Game (the only other major side-quest in the game), it emphasised the strengths of the battle system. Elite Marks in particular necessitated precise Gambit setups rather than the button mashing mentality that can be used to get through most of the game’s storyline battles.

XIII and XV have both subsequently featured hunts in their own way, so it would seem a safe bet that they will continued to be included in future titles. XII’s take on them should definitely be the benchmark to follow, as both later titles went for quantity over quality, repeating the same monsters over and over again and offering nondescript rewards.

A good hunt system would also be an interesting way to make callbacks to the series’ history, as renowned bosses from past titles could easily be included akin to how some featured in XIII-2’s Coliseum.